MILANELLO – Alex gave an exclusive interview to the Milan Channel earlier today. This is what the Brazilian defender had to say to the club’s in-house TV station:

“We have improved compared to our first meeting with Napoli earlier in the season. We did not play well in that match nor did we play well last season at the San Paolo. We can and must do better. We have everything in place to put in a great performance. Higuain is an excellent player, one of the best in Europe and the world. We will have to keep a close eye on him because he can make the difference. We will need to be on our toes for the entire match. The team presses well thanks also to Bonaventura and Honda. They help us out a lot in defence. We defend with two banks of four and we are doing well. Mihajlovic is the toughest coach I have had in my career. He says things to your face and that is perfect for me. I talk a lot to him and with the rest of the team. That’s the way it should be. He always shows us what we need to improve on. I don’t say much in the dressing rooms, but when it’s necessary I speak up. At times before a match I will try and help the team with the right words.”

MILAN – To read about today’s work-out at Milanello, please click here.

MILAN – Click here to read about the Primavera’s 2-0 victory at Vicenza.

MILAN – On the day of his 30 year-anniversary since taking ownership of the club, the President Silvio Berlusconi spoke to journalists at the press-room at Milanello. This is what he said:

“We still harbour the dream of an all-Italian Milan. We have many young Italians in defence and we’re just missing a few in attack. Even if for the moment we have Bacca who is a clinical finisher. There have been many reforms that I have put forward in the past 30 years that have been successful such as the Champions League formula. We’re still missing something like a time-out as they have in basketball or even a European Championship that involves clubs with a great European tradition. There were three final deadlines with Mr. Bee which we weren’t able to respect because of the collapse of the Asian stock-market. But we like him a lot and we like his plan to commercialise the Milan brand in China. We ignored other offers because they were only seeking popularity.”

MILAN – The team’s afternoon work-out has started at Milanello on the upper pitch. Make sure you visit the website later for a full training report.