Super cup, Pioli in the conference: ‘Milan don’t have a full stomach’

by our correspondent Luca Bianchin

January 17th
– Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)

Stefano Pioli enters the press conference room and doesn’t even look at the Super Cup. Touch it, let alone: ​​widespread superstition. Yet he has been thinking about it for days. The words before Milan-Inter bring something new: Pioli tries to overturn the table on two concepts. First: Milan have enthusiasm, not fear. Second: hunger has never gone away. “The final is a moment of pride, enthusiasm, energy. Winning a trophy would be very important, how can you think you have a full stomach after just one championship? Milan haven’t played a winning Super Cup for a long time, I don’t think it’s a tough moment.” And Davide Calabria, alongside him: “It would be absurd to be full for a Scudetto, honestly. We’ve seen what it’s like to win, so we want to win again. We are hungry”.

Buffon to Milan

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So far, the key concepts. The funniest moment of the conference, however, is the reply to a Saudi journalist on Buffon at Milan, a market rumor that frankly made little noise in Italy: “This is a bomb”, Pioli jokes. And on the market: “We are recovering important players, we will soon be complete”. As if to confirm: there is no big game on the market.

Inter

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The feeling is that Pioli has played the game in his head ten times. And something about those thoughts makes you pass. Rediscovering Milan’s DNA: “The key is the quality of the game, the technical quality and the choices. You have more chances of winning if you raise that quality, if we lower it it becomes difficult”. Think positive: “We play against rivals we have beaten the last two times, in very intense, energetic matches. The last week hasn’t been the best, but tomorrow is another story”. Have motivations: “Winning would mean a lot. It’s a derby.” Avoiding defensive mistakes: “We all have to defend better, the goals we concede are too many. We need to rediscover compactness. We got some situations wrong that we usually don’t get wrong.”

The criticisms

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Between one comment and another on the match, there is time to look up and look at his moment in life and career: “Neither the compliments nor the criticisms of these days have surprised me, I’ve never exaggerated by one side and on the other. We try to improve situations with balance. In my life I have learned more from negative situations than from positive ones”.

Capitan Calabria

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Davide Calabria, at his side, speaks as captain for the first time in a great eve. Spontaneous as always, he doesn’t hide: “Yes, I imagine what it’s like to lift a trophy as a captain. I want do it. My dream is to win as many trophies as possible.” And on the complicated situation this week: “We talked but we remain positive. Who speaks in these moments in the locker room? Players with more experience but the team assumes its responsibilities. We must continue to work and give everything, the rest will follow by itself”. More than a statement, it’s a wish.