(on the photo: PAOLO MALDINI DURING TODAY'S PRESS CONFERENCE AT MILANELLO)
MILANELLO - Here are the declarations made today by Paolo Maldini, who talked during a press conference ahead of today's training session at the Milanello sporting center:
EMOTIONS AND THOUGHTS ON SUNDAY'S GAME AGAINST INTER
"It's such an important match that personal things almost come second. It's normal that the closer the end of the season comes, the more my last appearences become, in this case against Inter, but in general against many other teams. Certainly playing the last derby is even more special, the nice thing is that this time we really have something to play for, since something really important is at stake. I still believe in our comeback, I still think this team can win the Scudetto. To win the Scudetto the important thing is that we don't lose in any case, and we have seen that you can lose points against any team. This is not something that concerns just Milan, but all the other top teams as well."
ON THE POSSIBILITY OF CHANGING HIS MIND ON HIS FUTURE
"Absolutely not. I am happy I changed my mind last year, this season I've had very few physical problems and practically I have trained every day with the team and I've always played from the start. I'm happy about the decision I took last year, but in June I will turn 41 and I think it's right to quit this season. Physically I can still do it, compared to the last two seasons I have trained best and most frequently, I think it's the right time to stop."
ON MILAN'S MOMENT AND THE DISTANCE FROM INTER
"Eight points are a lot, remember our shock start we had with two defeats, so we immediately lost six points. Then we changed things around and let's not forget that compared to last year this is a team that has made big steps forward because last year we weren't fighting to reach the top of the table, and that we didn't have Nesta for the whole season, Gattuso has been out for some time and he will be for almost the whole season. Let's not forget also that Pirlo has been out for three months, so we have had big absences in the squad. Despite this I think our season has been positive. I think that if in the end we get a victory it would become extraordinary."
ON THE DERBY WITHOUT KAKÁ
"The difficulties without Kaká increase, because we are playing away from home because Inter will play with the crowd on their side, which counts, against a great team. Playing without our best player is undoubtedly a big handicap."
ON HIS FUTURE"For now I have not had any proposals because I am still a player in every respect. What I think is important is not to be surprised about being suddenly 'out of a job', it's one of those things I have prepared for very well. Whatever will come will be evaluated based on my ideas and also my wishes. Then I will decide whether to accept or not."
ON DAVIDE SANTON"I think that compared to my history, having started playing at 16, 17 years of age, today it's much more difficult to start playing in an important team like Inter or Milan. Nowadays it's much more difficult because the squads are bigger and there's perhaps less space, but I've always said that when a player has quality, and if the coach has courage, the space can be found. Santon has shown quality and personality and I think that is the most difficult thing to have at that age."
IS THERE A PLAYER YOU WOULD WANT TO EXCHANGE SHIRTS WITH
"I have exchanged it with pretty much everyone, until today, there are players who have remained faithful to their shirt. In general I am not the one who asks because I don't collect shirts."
AHEAD OF THE MATCH AGAINST INTER
"My faith comes from the fact that this is a team that is always there for the difficult matches and we consider this an in-or-out match, because it's important for the league and fundamental, especially in case of a defeat. And this is a healthy environment, it's doing well and wants to achieve a result that might seem difficult to reach at this moment, but we believe in it because in our history we have shown that even in our dark times we have managed to reach results like this because we believed in it."
ON MILAN'S DIFFICULTIES IN THE LEAGUE
"We have had some problems in our squad because some injury lay-offs were lengthy. During the period of the record-breaking Milan of Capello there were also few opponents of the same level, so you could make this comparison with the Inter of the last few years which has always won, not perhaps with Milan who were far from the top in these last two years."
SEASONAL OBJECTIVES
"The derby is an important game in itself, but it's never been an objective for us during a season. Milan's objective has always been to achieve a victory either in the league or in a Cup and I think this proves that to be a great team you can't limit your objective to be one match, no matter how important."
ON NESTA
"We would like to have all our players available, including Nesta and Borriello, because they can be important for the Scudetto race. Having more alternatives is an advantage for us. Concerning Nesta's injury, considering also the Serginho case, it's important to be careful because it is a very delicate injury. It will be up to him when to come back and no one will push him."
ON RONALDINHO
"I've seen him a bit unhappy on the bench, but it wasn't necessary to talk to him about it because the enthusiasm he puts into the training sessions shows his professionalism and I think it was good for him to go play with Brazil, find back the national team shirt, to play and win against a strong team like Italy. What we all know, including himself, is that we are fighting for the Scudetto also thanks to him because he was undoubtedly the most decisive player in the first half of the season and we mustn't forget about that."
COMPARED TO LAST SEASON'S DERBIES HOW DO THE TWO TEAMS PRESENT THEMSELVES
"More or less we are the same. Milan have a few more players, others have grown. Kaká won't be there, so a few players less, but we have Pato who has become stronger. Inter are more or less the same team who play the same way. The teams haven't changed too much."
ON THE DEFENCE
"Milan's defence has been talked about a lot. We have to look at the reality, we are not a team built to defend, our midfielders are also shorter than those of other teams, so it's not just about the defenders, it's the whole team. Not having our best defenders for a long time can be a disadvantage because we did not manage to build a basis on which we could eventually make changes."
ON YOUR GOODBYE GAME WITH THE NATIONAL TEAM
"A goodbye match with the national team is an idea I like. I talked with coach Lippi who called me up also because this proposal came following his declarations and he is absolutely ready and happy to organise something like that if there is time. They have two qualifying matches. I wouldn't know what opponent I'd like to play against. It would have been nice against Brazil, but the organising times were too brief."
ON ANCELOTTI AND THE TRANSFER RUMOURS
"Each year there are voices of a possible transfer of Ancelotti. I don't think this will happen, but I think it's difficult for everyone who has had the luck of working in this environment to leave. I think serious would have to happen, like not agreeing with the club on certain issues or a deteriorating relationship with the players, but I can exclude that."
IN MEMORY OF GIACOMO BULGARELLI
"As a footballer I don't remember him well because I've seen very few images of him, he always seemed a good person, with knowledge about football. When a great champion disappears it's difficult to talk about what has been when you didn't know them well, but there is still sadness because he died quite young."
THE INTER PLAYER THAT PUT YOU MOST IN DIFFICULTY IN THE PAST AND WHO YOU FEAR MOST TODAY
"There have been many but the qualities Ronaldo showed during his time at Inter were never shown by any other player I think. At the moment Inter are a strong team, but the biggest push comes from players like Ibrahimovic and Maicon who are always in the thick of the action."
DERBIES YOU REMEMBER WITH THE MOST PLEASURE
"The two derbies in the Champions League, the first in particular. In the league, certainly the one where my dad was the coach, also because it finished 6-0. Also having your dad as the coach and being the captain is something to remember."
ON BECKHAM AND HIS FUTURE
"David expressed his desire to be with Milan and it's also the desire of the club. I don't know how his contract problems will be resolved, but if they do get resolved we will be very happy to keep him until the end of the season and also next year considering that is his desire. When two people meet and are happy together I think the marriage should be done. David is for us a partial surprise because there are players like Emerson who played with him at Real Madrid and he had already told us about his professionalism and his desire. The fact of choosing Milan as the team to train with, considering all the difficulties this entailed, made clear his desire to get back to being a true footballer and win back a place in the national team. He has shown he is a great professional aside from a great footballer. He has talked little, worked a lot, and I think the results have shown."
ACMilan.com
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