Category Archives: Lazio

MIHAJLOVIC TALKS TO THE MILAN CHANNEL ahead of the Milan Derby

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MILAN – The coach is confident that his team has what it takes to win Sunday’s derby. These were his thoughts in an exclusive interview to the Milan Channel earlier today and before facing the press:

“The derby is always a massive match and for us it represents the last chance to aim for the top positions in the table. We know that we possess the abilities to defeat Inter while recently I have seen them off the pace. I envy their position in the table, but there is still a long way to go this season and if we win tomorrow we can cut the gap. Had we not been a united squad, we would have fallen apart. The atmosphere at Milanello has always been one of confidence and calm. We have found an identity and balance in the team. We have not been good enough at putting games to bed this season, but we are a solid and compact unit. It would be nice to win without struggling too much however. Each one of us has to give our best. We could not afford to lose against Alessandria and we managed to win the game, but we should have killed off the contest. The players that I chose to start all deserved it. The team now has its own identity and has balance. We are solid and have character and are stronger than we were 4 months ago. The players have got used to the work-loads in training and this is a different Milan. We must take the chances that come our way tomorrow.”

DERBY WORTH 3 POINTS SAYS INTER COACH ROBERTO MANCINI

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MILAN – Roberto Mancini held his pre-derby press conference earlier today. Here is an extract of the Nerazzurri tactician’s pre-match thoughts:

“It’s not decisive but it is important. Winning the derby is always a boost for morale and confidence. Like any match it’s worth three points and it’s important for us so that we can stay up there with the leading pack. We have to try and perform well and win this game thinking about where we want to be ourselves, not who is behind us.”

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BIRTHDAY BOY CRISTIAN BROCCHI CELEBRATES WITH A WIN

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MILAN – Primavera coach Cristian Brocchi marked his 40th birthday today by overseeing a 2-0 win at home to Cesena. Speaking afterwards, this is what he had to say:

“It’s been a nice birthday because I asked the lads to maintain winning ways, the same attitude and performance. I am happy with how the team played and so I am left feeling satisfied. We are not a team that plays on the counter-attack and so when we find ourselves in those rare situations, we aren’t clinical. We need to work on this so we know how to make them count in the future. It’s taken too long to see what I wanted from the team and this is the only complaint I can have with the players. On the other hand, it was a lot harder to turn the situation around in terms of the group, unity and attitude and now I am pleased because even when we have lost, we have played as a team. I am very calm ahead of matches because I do not let myself get influenced by results but rather by what I sense from the players. Lately, it has all been very positive. Every match is a useful opportunity for the players to improve, the Viareggio Tournament has always been an important chance and it will be another one to show what they can do. There are a lot of players that are improving. Locatelli has that little bit more in some respects and I think he can be a member of the first team squad in the near future. He, along with lots of others, is developing and maturing and therefore the hope is to promote him and a few others to the first team at the end of the season.”

AC MILAN GROWTH IN CHINA

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Club expanding reaching in China

MILAN – AC Milan have proven themselves to be a successful anomaly in China. Despite recent difficulties on the pitch, their popularity in China across online channels is the fastest growing amongst all European football clubs.

In July 2015, they re-branded their Weibo account and launched an official WeChat presence, ahead of their pre-season tour to China later that month as part of the inaugural ICC China tournament. Weibo (China’s Twitter equivalent) and WeChat (the fastest growing social network worldwide) are the top two social networks in China, platforms which most top European teams have been targeting over the past 4 years, attempting to establish themselves as the most popular and engaged club in China.

Their tour in China was a huge success across all media platforms. The club’s match against Real Madrid had the highest % viewership rating of all summer fixtures in China. Meanwhile, their social following increased by 200,000 fans, with their engagement level growing to a level comparable with a top 5 club. The surprising part however, is that following the tour, their growth did not slow down, instead it sped up.

Clubs like Manchester United and FC Barcelona have amassed more than 5 million followers across these networks and are two of the most engaged clubs online. AC Milan are now approaching the half a million mark, but what’s so impressive is the loyalty and passion of their fan base in this region. The club’s online engagement has surpassed that of Europe’s top teams who have more than 10 times the number of online followers. AC Milan ended the year with the highest engagement per post of any club on Weibo.

As a result of their transformational six months, AC Milan finished 7th in this year’s Red Card report, an online study into top European team’s digital performance in China.

AC Milan’s success is most remarkable when compared to other Italian teams and when considering the lack of support from the Serie A. Juventus similarly launched their Weibo account prior to their China tour this summer, however, they experienced a very different level of growth to AC Milan. With only 10,000 total Weibo followers and an engagement 4 times lower than their Italian rivals, Juventus are trailing the Milan time online in China. Meanwhile, Serie A is now the only top European league without an official digital presence in China, with Premier League, Bundesliga and LaLiga all supporting their domestic teams online – a huge benefit for each club.

One of the reasons behind the huge growth in engagement is Milan Quan (米兰圈), the only supporters club in China that work as a central hub for all their fans. AC Milan recognised their influence, and rewarded them for their growing level of activity on their official social channels. Having involved these core fans in the club’s social activity, the fans felt a huge sense of recognition and incentive to come back. This was clearly seen after AC Milan’s birthday post became the #2 most engaged Weibo post from any European club in 2015.

2016 will bring new opportunities for the club to grow, a Chinese language website is key to providing in-depth content, whilst increased co-operation with major Chinese media will continue to grow their fan base.