MONTELLA: "WE WANT TO BE FIRST OF THE GROUP"
The Red and Blacks will face AEK Athens at the Spyros Louis Olympic Stadium on Thursday night at 7.00 PM Greek local time. On the eve of the match, Vincenzo Montella alongside Riccardo Montolivo introduced the Europa League Matchday 4 in the pre-match press conference held in Greece:
Riccardo Montolivo was the first one to answer to the journalists: “Of course I would be happy if I get the opportunity to play tomorrow. I haven’t played much lately and I won’t lie, I was expecting to play more. However, I don’t criticize the boss, he makes legitimate choices. He has to choose eleven players he can trust, the ones he feels can give the team more confidence. The only thing I have to do is work and convince him that he is wrong by not selecting me. It's normal stuff in football, I don’t see anything new about it".
THE CURRENT SEASON
"Many things have changed compared to last season. The club made an important investment during the transfer window market, thus it’s normal that expectations are higher this year. Many new players arrived, and it’s normal that the group takes some time to adapt. The results have not been as good as expected but we continue to work hard. Europe is AC Milan's home, yet, we still have to show that we deserve to be here".
ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH MONTELLA
“In bad times, so many things are said and written. We read everything, it takes a great imagination to write some of the stuff we have read. I have a normal relationship with the coach, as I had with many other coaches. It's normal that I want to play more, there is nothing strange about that, but it doesn’t mean there is an issue between us”.
Following the Italian midfielder, Vincenzo Montella also addressed the media. The boss spoke about his expectations on the next Europa League, AC Milan’s new era, his views on some of the Red and Black players and concluded talking about his future. Here are his words in full:
ON AEK ATHENS
“AEK Athens is a very fast and dynamic team. It will definitely be a tough match. However, our players are more technical and more talented, and tomorrow they will prove it. We are here to win because we want to be first of the group, so we will not be pleased with anything else but the victory.
THE CLUB’S NEW ERA
"It's started in June. The last seasons have been very difficult, and big changes have been made. We have to be strong and be able to react in order to revert the situation. We need positive results. I'm convinced we will bounce back if we keep working hard to win.
ON THE INDIVIDUALS
On Bonucci: “Maybe the break was good for him from a mental and physical point of view. It’s reasonable to criticise a player but not the way he was questioned. We strongly believe in Leo”. On Montolivo: “He is like any other player from the squad, there is nothing strange or particular about him. I know I can count on him, but let’s remember that after playing the first games of the season, he suffered an injury, now that he is fine, he will surely play more”. On Antonelli: “He is fully fit now. He was not called up for technical reasons”.
ON HIS FUTURE
“I'm calm, I know the risks of this job, but I feel the support of the management. The club needs results and I do as well. The coach is always the one who receives all the critics, and it’s normal. I’m trying to do my job the best I can. I was expecting difficulties along the way but so many. Actually, I think I am handling well the situation because compared to last year, this season’s critics are more justified".
(Photo LaPresse)
