Amorim: We Have a Substantial Gap with Inter Right Now, But Everyone Starts at Zero Points

Milan will play an away match against Torino in Serie A Round 1 on August 24 at 02:45 (CEST). Coach Amorim attended the pre-match press conference; this article is the second part of that conference.

Carlo Passerini (Corriere della Sera): Coach Amorim, welcome. I'd like to ask you to broaden your perspective a bit—not just looking at Milan, but at Serie A as a whole. Which team do you think is strongest this season? Who is the best favorite for the title that all teams are desperate to beat? And if you were to place Milan on the starting line for Serie A this season, where would you put us?

I want to share my personal opinion honestly through this question. Last season, I watched many of Milan's matches carefully. In my view, when Milan faced Inter or other traditional powerhouses in the league, our team showed very strong performances with thorough tactical preparation. However, it's unfortunate that whenever we face opponents who appear weaker on paper, our team's focus and concentration drop significantly.

Therefore, in my working dictionary, it doesn't matter which team is strongest in Serie A. At this moment, Torino—tomorrow's opponent—is the strongest team in the world for me and my players. This is the fighting spirit we must integrate into our blood every day during training and preparation. Perhaps fans and media naturally think we should easily beat Torino, but I hope our team shows extreme winning desire in every match and defeats our opponent through actual strength.

Analyzing this league, the most mature and tactically well-prepared team is undoubtedly Inter. They have a deep history of team building, and since Simone Inzaghi took over, their playing style and tactics have been highly effective and continuously improved over years. Through this, they've established a very clear and profound tactical identity, which is not achieved overnight.

There are also many other strong teams in Serie A that must not be underestimated. For example, there's the team led by Gian Piero Gasperini, who knows Serie A like the back of his hand and understands every tactical corner. We can also talk about Como, which plays very fast in both attack and defense with extreme freedom. This is partly because Como doesn't need to endure the immense pressure on titles and public opinion like Milan does. Although they have excellent coaches and high-quality players, they lack this burden of pressure, which is a decisive difference. And this pressure to win can sometimes become a heavy, cold shackle on our players' shoulders.

There are many other strong teams in Serie A like Atalanta, led by renowned coaches like Maurizio Sarri. Last season, Milan unfortunately lost at home to Cagliari in the final round, losing important points and league position. Therefore, in Italy, no match can be called easy.

What we must build is the spirit of a powerful club with an unshakeable, steel-like determination. For me, Inter or anyone else is not a consideration right now. In my mind, there is only Ignazio Abate and his Torino. If we can win tomorrow's match, everything will be perfect. My message to the players is also very simple: focus on Torino, don't be distracted, prepare for everything, and secure the first victory.

Alessandra Gocini (Gazzetta dello Sport): Coach, welcome. Nice to meet you here. When you joined Milan, you mentioned your objectives for the new season at the official press conference, confidently stating that Milan's goal this season is to win Serie A and capture the historically significant "second star." After working at the club for a few weeks, have you fully realized how special this goal is to Milan fans? Are you still confident that Milan's goal is the "second star"? Also, even if you prefer not to talk too much about competing teams, do you feel there is still a substantial gap between Milan and Simone Inzaghi's Inter right now?

Milan's goal has always been just one throughout any historical period: to win Serie A. I cannot predict or promise how many months or years it will take to achieve this great vision, but our team's fighting spirit must be established as "we want to be champions." Regardless of what kind of transition, reconstruction, or adaptation period the team is going through, the expectations of the Rossoneri supporters have always been to lift the trophy. We must fight desperately for the fans' expectations, and this also means we must be pragmatic, winning every week and every match in front of us.

To live up to our responsibility to Milan fans, we must maintain a high level of honesty and frankness. From this starting point, there is indeed a substantial gap in actual strength between us and Inter. Acknowledging this and hearing such statements might make fans a bit uncomfortable, but at this stage, it's very necessary to explain the current reality to fans honestly.

However, in competitive sport, at the start of the season, our scoreboard position is exactly the same as everyone else's: we all start at zero points. There is a mountain of work ahead and difficult refinement to do, but I still firmly believe our team can beat any opponent in a single match and should not fear any strong team in Serie A. Therefore, our first objective is to bring those crucial three points back from Turin, and then look ahead to the rest of the fixture list.

Francesco Rocchi (RAI): Hello Coach, welcome. You specifically mentioned that you prefer Milan to first become a united fighting team rather than overemphasizing your tactical style. In this transfer window, the club has signed many key new players you personally selected. So I'd like to ask: under your coaching blueprint, what kind of Milan should we expect? Will Milan's style be dominated by attacking play, or will we see a more iron-clad defense than last season? What new changes can we expect tomorrow?

The most essential and overwhelmingly important point for me is that Milan must be an unbreakable whole every moment during a match. If the game situation forces us to retreat completely and defend deep in our penalty box, all players, including forwards, must unhesitatingly drop back and build a defensive line with their bodies. If the game requires strong pressing from us, all players must press firmly from the front and organize attacks.

We must display and inherit the consistent spiritual attributes of this great club: controlling, directing, and dominating possession and game control on the pitch. This is also the core tactical theme of our entire team this season.

At this moment, I cannot 100% predict what specific processes we'll go through tomorrow on the pitch. I'm unsure if tomorrow we can achieve the flexibility and sustained ball possession and tactical pressure like we did against Manchester United. This is the tactical objective we desperately want to achieve, but tomorrow's most important task is that no matter how difficult the actual situation becomes, the entire team must stay united and closely bonded for all 90 minutes, securing victory in the opening match through genuine cooperation.

AI 번역.

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