AC MILAN, Allegri: "If the young players are playing, it’s because they deserve"

© foto di Simone Ferraro/PhotoViews

Here’s what the Rossoneri coach Massimiliano Allegri had to say during the pre Parma-Milan press conference

“If the young players are playing, it’s because they deserve to and it’s also thanks to the club’s work with the youth sector. El Shaarawy has improved a lot, most of in his off the ball movements. He looks more secure. He has a lot of technical and physical quality. He has to understand that he hasn’t done anything yet. In football the sign of a great player is to stay at the highest levels for a long time and to do that you can’t let things stick to you. He’s an intelligent lad and he understands this. It’s an important moment for him and the club. As I’ve said before there’s only one Milan, not ten of them. Everyone’s objective is to improve and keep things tight”.

“I’ll have to evaluate things today. We spent a lot of energy at Udine as well. There are a few players who have played a lot of football. Boateng will defitely be back, the others I don’t know about. We’re all fine though. Bojan might start, he’s not doing badly. Pazzini has come from a three month period when he didn’t play. I’m happy with what he done, he ran a lot against Cagliari”.

“The team had a good first half on Wednesday and they conceded little or nothing when it was time to defend. We have to make less mistakes and keep on playing. Against Udinese after 20 minutes the game was evenly balanced. We have to manage possession better and we have to be more calm. When we go ahead like we did against Bologna we seem to drop back a bit and we have to stop that from happening. There are positives though, we concede very little space in defense and we defende as a unit. That’s a step forward but we have to improve in how we control the game”.

“The team is working hard and the players have to show each other respect as this is what makes a good group. A coaches job is clear. He has to give instructions, chose the right players and can’t have favorites and he needs to have a compact group that works together for the result. When the players win it’s because they’re a good group with respect for one another. I had hoped we’d have had more points, we’ve made some mistakes but the league this year looks more evenly balanced even though Juventus are still the favorites. Napoli have their Europa League commitments but that’s not as heavy as the Champions League. We shouldn’t forget Inter and Roma. We’ll need balance in the difficult times. Having 2 or 3 extra points would be better but we don’t so now we’re thinking of Parma and then Zenit after that. The derby is the last game before the break”.

“Parma will be tough, they’re well organized and good at the back. We’ll have to very alert. It’s the third game in a week and there could be some fatigue. The bench will be very important tomorrow as when the players on the pitch start to fade, they can play their part. We have to start not conceding goals away from home as well and show some continuity. I think the team will do better tomorrow”.

“if you’re off the pitch, the game is less intense but you can see things better. I wasn’t worried on Wednesday and the team did well and of course Mauro was on the bench”.

“More than talking about formations and numbers, I think the game has to be played with the right concepts and good technique, defending all together. This year it’s tougher than ever to score in Italy and so the defense becomes ever more fundamental. You need to concede little to win the title”.

“Mauro Tassotti has important moral values that he has shown in his 32 years with the club. I’m happy to work with him and the others at the club. I haven’t spoken about the Cagliari result with the president. We needed the win and we got it. We could have played better but the important thing was to win”.

“With Pazzini we have to change the way we play up front and we need that capability. We’ll have to be good to change the way we play based on whether he’s there or nor”.

“Flamini has a swollen knee and after surgery that can happen, he was back after 6 months but you need time to get fitness levels back”.

“Pato is working well and when we get back from St Petersburg, he’ll join up with the rest of the team and I’ll evaluate if he’ll be available for the derby or not. I might ask him to play a couple of games with the youth team to build up his confidence”.

“Nocerino and bate went to the Euros and have been playing no stop. Abate is getting his fitness back and Nocerino gave us a lot of intensity against Udinese. It’s not strange with the way we’re playing now that he sees less of the ball when we’re pushing forward but he’s been working well in the defensive part of his game. When we get more fluidity it’ll be easier for him to get forward more”.

"Traorè played on Wednesday as I thought he’d be able to put in a good performance in the first half but he was late to the ball a few times which is normal as it’s his first game in a league that’s different o the one he comes from”.

“De Jong plays the ball well on the ground. He had a good first half but tactically he has to improve. Boateng is an all-round midfielder so it makes little difference if he plays a bit forward or a bit back”.

“I think from here on out, we have to make the most of the characteristics of the players we have. The team has to play better for the whole 90 minutes”.