Milan coach Stefano Pioli says no players showed up in his office to say they are tired and insists last season’s Champions League semifinal was undervalued because the Rossoneri were eliminated by city rivals Inter.
The Italian tactician spoke at a press conference on the eve of a Serie A match against Cagliari, in which Rossoneri ultras will continue their protest, demanding clarity over the club’s future from its directors and owner.
“I believe that the club has demonstrated in recent years that it knows how to work and can be ambitious. Then I repeat, I believe that all together we must try to finish in the this season in the best possible way, then the club will try to give the right answers at the right time,” Pioli said, as quoted by Sempremilan.
“I believe that second place is an important objective in any case and is not completely achieved, and therefore because we are professionals, out of pride and respect for our club, for our fans and all the motivations that go into this match.”
Alessandro Florenzi said Pioli has also been important because he’s been a ‘lightning rod’ when things have gone wrong.
“I’m focused on these last matches, then at the end of the season, I’ll meet the club, and we’ll decide what our future will be,” said the Parma-born coach.
What Pioli said about his future and Cagliari game
“But I believe that in the figure of the coach, my role also includes being a lightning rod, protecting the team, protecting the club because the responsibilities are all there and this has never been a problem for me.
“The team is doing well. It’s clear that we are at the end of a long, demanding and complicated season, and there may be those who have a little more energy, those who have a little less, those who are a little better, some a little less,” he continued.
“I will try to choose those players who I believe have the energy, the best possible condition to try to put on a fair match, with quality concentration to try to win tomorrow’s match.”
Pioli said Pierre Kalulu and Ismael Bennacer are fit to play against Cagliari even if the French defender is not fully fit while the Algeria international is “putting more intensity in.” Tomorrow’s meeting with Cagliari will give Pioli a chance to reunite with his ex-coach, Claudio Ranieri.
“I had three masters. Trapattoni, Bagnoli and Claudio. Ranieri is top of the line in terms of style, ability to motivate, and ability to coach and has always done a very good job. He has always achieved great results, so he knows how much I respect him, but he also knows that tomorrow’s match will be important for them, but it is also very important for us, so we expect to do well.”
The Rossoneri coach refused to comment on Paolo Maldini’s recent claims about the importance of club directors and relationship with players.
“As regards Paolo’s statements, I don’t think I should be the one to comment on his statements,” said Pioli.
“I believe that, in general, the merits and demerits of a season are always shared between the coach, the club, the players, and those who are the creators of the positive and negative results. As for Leao, to be smiling, I think he wants to do well, score and help the team score goals.”
Pioli’s office ‘open’ for Milan players
Pioli does not fear that some of his players are not motivated enough for the last three games even if the Rossoneri have already secured a top-five finish.
“I gave them the opportunity, they know where my office is,” he revealed.
“At the beginning of the week I said that my office is always there, and therefore who, without making any further speeches, those who feel they have already given everything, those who feel a little tired, less energetic, those who don’t feel they are able to help the team the office was open, but no one showed up.”
A reporter told Pioli that he had been mocked by some fans on social media after saying Milan were not too far away from Man City and Real Madrid.
What Pioli said about Milan, Atalanta and Europa League regrets
“I was also made fun of because I said that Atalanta were one of the favourites to win the Europa League. I was referring to the fact that only a year ago, we reached the semifinals of the Champions League, and then the fact of being eliminated by Inter had diminished the importance of having reached such an important goal.
“If you talk to me about this year, this year we have shown that we are clearly far from their teams [Man City and Real Madrid], but I believe that Milan in the future, based on the investments they can make, I believe that this is a good team, but I don’t want to talk about the future because I think it’s more important for me to be focused on tomorrow’s match, we’ll see about the season finale and then about the future.
“However, we are not far from Atalanta,” he continued.
“Our regret this year was the two matches against Roma, absolutely, because we, too, could have gone to the semifinal against Bayer Leverkusen. The fact that I then said that these two reached the final was because the quality of the team and the coaches are high.”
Talking about Atalanta, La Dea confirmed they’d sign Charles De Ketelaere permanently after reaching the Europa League Final. What didn’t work for CDK at San Siro?
“I think there could be two, as far as I can tell. Last year, Charles was in his first season in a different, difficult, very competitive league. He certainly suffered from this. So this year, he found himself with a superior experience in a role that is probably more suited to his characteristics,” Pioli concluded.