MILAN – The Rossoneri will now set their sights on the TIM Cup and the semi-final second-leg with Alessandria.

Milan carry a 1-0 lead going into the return fixture which will be played on Tuesday March 1 at 21.00 at the San Siro. Ahead of the cup meeting, we take a look back at a previous meeting at the San Siro, the players from the past and the present and how the teams reached this stage of the TIM Cup.

PREVIOUS MEETING

Season 1936/37: Milan-Alessandria 4-0 (14′ o.g. Parodi, 59′ Boffi, 61′ Gobardo, 71′ Boffi)

FORMER PLAYERS

Alessandria: Ferdinando Vitofrancesco (came through the Milan youth sector)

The following have played for both clubs: Gianni Rivera (at Alessandria from 1958 to 1960, at Milan from 1960 to 1979), Mario Foglia (at Alessandria from 1939 to 1945, at Milan from 1946 to 1951), Franco Pedroni (at Milan from 1952 to 1956, at Alessandria from 1956 to 1960), Alessandro Vitali (at Milan in 1954/1955, at Alessandria from 1955 to 1958 and from 1960 to 1965), Mario David (at Milan from 1960 to 1965, at Alessandia in 1966/67), Sergio Maddè (at Alessandria in 1965, at Milan from 1965 to 1967), Silvano Villa (at Alessandria in 1969/70, at Milan from 1970 to 1972), Riccardo Sogliano (at Alessandria from 1963 to 1965, at Milan from 1971 to 1974) and Daniele Daino (at Milan from 1996 to 1998 and 2000/01, at Alessandria in 2011/2012).

Here is how Milan reached this stage of the competition which for the Rossoneri began in August in the third round:

17 August, Milan-Perugia 2-0.
1 December, Milan-Crotone 3-1.
17 December, Sampdoria-Milan 0-2.
13 January, Milan-Carpi 2-1
26 January, Alessandria-Milan 0-1

Alessandria meanwhile also started back in August, but from the first round:

2 August, Alessandria-Altovicentino 2-0
9 August, Pro Vercelli-Alessandria 1-2
15 August, Alessandria-Juve Stabia 1-0
2 December, Palermo-Alessandria 2-3
15 December, Genoa-Alessandria 1-2
18 January, Spezia-Alessandria 1-2
26 January, Alessandria-Milan 0-1

MILANELLO – On Monday afternoon, Sinisa Mihajlovic held a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s TIM Cup semi-final return-leg with Alessandria. The Rossoneri go into the cup tie with a 1-0 lead from the first-leg.

Opening comments from the Rossoneri coach: “We have the chance to progress to the final and I will be starting some of those players that have played less this season. We all care a great deal about this competition and I am expecting a great performance from everyone. We are in good form and we know what we have to do: battle and work hard for one another. We need to step things up a gear and I am expecting a lot from those who have played less such as Balotelli and Menez. They are quality players and they have to make the most of the opportunities that come their way. They will both play.” 

Mihajlovic called on the team to grasp this chance: “We cannot lower our guard tomorrow. By progressing, we will have a chance to lift a trophy and we need to make the best of this opportunity. We are preparing well and we are looking to keep our concentration levels high. It’s very hard for me to settle, I always want to improve. I focus on what I ask of my forwards and then I look at the overall performance. Even on Saturday, we had a few chances to shoot but we didn’t take them. We need to have more confidence and the courage to shoot. We are one of the sides that has the most shots on goal. I like to have the confidence of everyone. Hard work pays and we are now seeing the results. But we still haven’t achieved anything yet, we are in sixth place in the table, and we must take things one game at a time.” 

The focus is entirely on Alessandria and the TIM Cup: “After the cup game with Alessandria, we will have four days to prepare for the match with Sassuolo, but we will focus on that game after the cup tie. The players deserve all the credit. After a testing time, they have turned things around. I have a great relationship with the President which is frank and honest. You cannot always agree on things but I have always listened to everything, but as coach I make the choices. He has never imposed anything on me and he has given me his full backing. Our goal is to get the very best out of the team. Tomorrow we have to kill-off the contest early. As for Jose Mauri, we will see after training.” 

Joining Mihajlovic in the press conference were Abbiati and Abate. This is what they had to say ahead of the match with Alessandria:

CHRISTIAN ABBIATI
“Reaching the final would mean a lot. It would increase our self-belief. I also think it would have a positive knock-on effect in the league. Winning a trophy for this club would be an immense source of satisfaction. It won’t be easy though tomorrow and we will have to earn our spot in the final. We need to play like we know how. We cannot get ahead of ourselves however and let’s focus on getting to the final first. It will be hard for Inter to overturn their first leg defeat, but the main thing is that we qualify for the final.”  

IGNAZIO ABATE
“I am feeling good. I have enjoyed lots of positive periods during my time at the club. I like to think that I have always played my part. We are focused on tomorrow, it is a big match. We need to have the right level of concentration to achieve an important objective. I enjoy playing alongside Honda. He is a very bright lad and he works hard for the team. We cannot hold back as we are now entering a decisive stage of the season. We all expected to turn things around and I am not surprised by the positive displays from Honda. We are all of the same opinion; it would be a shame to start from scratch next season. What’s more, no one has ever said the coach is leaving.”

MILANELLO – The Rossoneri ran through their final preparations on Monday afternoon for tomorrow’s TIM Cup semi-final return-leg with Alessandria.

The work-out got underway at 15.00 on the central pitch and started with a warm-up consisting of running and exercises for the upper and lower body.

Following that, the players were split into two groups. Those that played versus Torino took part in a keep-ball drill while the others went through fitness drills over the hurdles.

The rest of the session was centred on tactics across a full size pitch with goalkeepers and with the use of the metal mannequins.

Individuals: Riccardo Montolivo trained apart in the gym.

At the end of training, Sinisa Mihajlovic called-up the following 23 players for the cup game with Alessandria: Abbiati, Donnarumma, Livieri; Abate, Alex, Antonelli, Calabria, De Sciglio, Romagnoli, Simic, Zapata; Bertolacci, Bonaventura, Crociata, Mauri, Kucka, Locatelli, Poli; Bacca, Balotelli, Boateng, Honda, Menez.