AC Milan defeated Lecce 3-0 at home in Serie A's 5th round, and coach Amorim attended the post-match press conference.

This victory echoes Milan's two excellent performances at the start of the season. Is the team's current objective to maintain this level of play and control consistently when facing stronger, higher-ranked teams going forward?

Yes, exactly. We want to play with dominance in any situation. I reiterate, it was only against Juventus and in the first half against Lazio that we had some difficulty establishing dominance. However, in the second half against Lazio, facing a team in excellent recent form, we demonstrated very clear dominance.

Of course, in the future, we need to show greater stability and consistency in how we control the game's tempo. We were very aware of the type of match we faced today — the opponent was a team that patiently waited for us to make mistakes. However, our flow of play was noticeably better today, and the runs behind their defensive line helped the team greatly.

Coach Amorim, good evening. This is our first question for you. I'd like to ask: in building this Milan team based on your tactical philosophy — especially regarding ball possession, high pressing, transition speed, and quick counterattacks — what percentage of your ideal state do you feel the team has currently achieved? Is it 50%? 60%? 40%? Or 70%? Are you beginning to approach your ideal state?

You're very focused on where we are now (laughs). Actually, we're only at the beginning. I fully understand the immense pressure that comes with being at a prestigious club like Milan, and I also understand the rumors circulating about my supposed promises — though I never promised things like great results in every match or immediate revolutionary change upon my arrival — those rumors are not true. All this building takes time.

After the next international break, we'll have a packed schedule with almost no time to calmly prepare for matches. And I'm very aware that any small setback or cascading effect at that moment could be amplified by the outside world, becoming a major focus and public controversy.

Coach, good evening. There's a common perception now that apparently all players in the squad, or at least many of them, can play multiple positions and perform various tactical tasks. For example, we saw Pavlović frequently advance to participate in attacks against Benfica, and Saelemaekers also covered ground across the field in multiple areas. Of course, each player is also performing based on their technical characteristics. Is this the tactical effect you expect to achieve from everyone? What kind of response have you received from them?

I believe we're still seeking the most ideal squad combination and best starting lineup. We're deepening our understanding of this group of players every day. The few preseason friendlies were very brief, and it's difficult to see everything clearly early in the official season, especially for players who participated in the World Cup finals and returned late.

Today's match was very effective because we used different build-up methods from defense, which helped us break through greatly. This tactical adjustment allowed us to stretch the space very effectively, using the opponent's relatively fixed defensive structure as reference. But it's predictable that in the future, opponents will gradually discover and understand our build-up methods and organization. At that point, we must be able to make changes and adjustments at any moment. I firmly believe that players don't need to rigidly memorize a specific tactical formation system, but rather deeply understand the rules of how football works and strive to implement that understanding on the pitch with their teammates.

Coach, good evening. I'd like to ask: when you began this new chapter as Milan's coach, if you could have received a report card showing an unbeaten run in your first five games — including three wins and two draws, with those draws being an away draw against Juventus in the final minutes and an away draw against the current league leaders Lazio — would you have signed that report card in advance?

I don't think this result is bad, but at the same time, I feel somewhat frustrated and regretful, because if we analyze the specific process of these matches closely, we had all the chances to earn more points. But if we look at the public reaction last week, it seems we went through five consecutive matches without a win, rather than five consecutive unbeaten matches.

I'm doing my best, and I believe the players are constantly improving. I also believe that our tactical intentions and fighting spirit are clearly present in every match. Sometimes we play brilliantly, sometimes not as well, but I reiterate: it's still early in the season, and we need to look ahead to the next phase. After the international break, we'll have a tight schedule with almost no time to calmly prepare for matches, and I'm very aware that any cascading effect or small setback at that time could be amplified by the outside world and become a huge focus of attention.

Coach Amorim, I need to ask quickly. I know you typically don't like talking much about rigid formation systems, but I still hope you can personally explain the 4-4-2 formation we saw on the pitch tonight, including Pulisic and others. Why did you make this decision? What specific advantages and benefits did this formation bring to the team? Sometimes telling the story behind the tactics can be very interesting...

I reiterate, Italian league coaches are very, very intelligent. They understand football's tactical aspects extremely deeply. I know that at times they anticipate and expect our play patterns and build-up from defense to become rigid and predictable. To maximize performance within a specific tactical system, your squad must have players whose technical characteristics perfectly match that system. A profound lesson I learned during my time as Manchester United manager was never to mechanically repeat the same things while blindly expecting different results. Today's more attacking tactical formation worked very well. We successfully controlled the tempo of the entire match and consequently won this game.

Traduzido por IA.

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