APPIANO GENTILE – Speaking to Inter Channel,
Jonathan discussed the next challenge that awaits the Nerazzurri in their home
game tomorrow against Udinese: "We need to get back on track immediately.
This is what we want to do and tomorrow we’ll try our best, just as we did
against Atalanta. Unfortunately we let in another goal and we weren’t focused
enough. We’re expecting a tough game. Our team needs to play well to lock up
these three points. They’ll be crucial in this final stretch of the season."

The
Nerazzurri defender also explained some of the more purely tactical aspects of
the match: "It’s a tough game. We could even say it’s a mirror image since
their formation is more or less the same one we play with. We’ll have to be
aware of forward runs from their outside midfielders, and the same goes for
when we have the ball because that’s when they really look to hit you on the
break. We had a very good performance the first time we faced Udinese, but it’s
a different game tomorrow. Everything’s different, and if we’re focused we can
certainly do a good job as we did when we played in their stadium. Support from
the fans can help the match become easier for us."

And
regarding all the chances the Nerazzurri players have had in recent games, and
the amount of times they have struck the woodwork: "These things come down
to chance in football, like me hitting the crossbar, then Palacio and Guarin
hitting the woodwork as well. We tried everything, but in the end the ball didn’t
go in and we paid for it."

MILAN – Giacinto Facchetti made his debut for the Italy national side on 27 March 1963 in Istanbul. His first international cap came in a 1964 European championship first qualifying round second leg match, which saw Italy beat Turkey 1-0 thanks a goal from Sormani four minutes from time. Facchetti would eventually go on to represent his country on 94 occasions, scoring three goals.

Facchetti’s final appearance for the Azzurri came in a 2-0 defeat to England on 16 November 1977, having worn the armband in 70 of his 94 caps. He won the 1968 European championships and was a beaten finalist in the 1970 World Cup.

Statistics courtesy of Football Data

MILAN – President Erick Thohir took questions from the reporters waiting for him at Milano Malpensa when he arrived this morning.

"Has Milan become my second home? No, I have to be here to do a lot of things.

"Angry about the last match? No, I never get angry. You feel sad, but that’s normal when you lose a game as a fan or as a president. It would be strange if you were laughing after losing a game.

"A forward with experience or a young player? It depends on the discussions we have with the coach and the management about how we can be more consistent up front. In the end it depends on the players, the formation and the strategy that we want to use.

"Am I satisfied with Mazzarri’s work? Yes, I don’t have any problem with him or with the management. When it comes to the end of the season we review everything, for example if our website’s not doing well, why that is, how do we improve ticketing and so on. As a businessman I need to review things.

"Torres, Morata and Dzeko? What I said is that we need someone up top. The media have written about those players and I mentioned that one of them would be good for Inter.

"Evra and Sagna? We’ve never had any negotiations with Evra. We’re interested in Sagna because we need to balance the team. Right now we only have Nagatomo and Jonathan. If one of them gets injured you need somebody else to come in.  But if Sagna decided to stay in England, we’d understand and in that case we might bring in a young player from our academy.

"Would Bardi coming back next season mean Handaovic leaves? That’s not the plan but it’s good to have two good goalkeepers."