Fikayo Tomori spoke about winning and about leadership, as Milan prepare for the game against Juve.
Milan tomorrow play their second pre-season friendly of the United States tour as they are set to take on Juventus at Dignity Health Sports Park (04:30 CEST in the night between Thursday and Friday).
Ahead of the match, Fik Tomori was present at a press conference, as reported by Milannews.it’s Manuel Del Vecchio:
What did you tell Pulisic about Serie A?
“We’ve known each other from Chelsea, we talked a lot. I told him that Serie A is really difficult, from the point of view of tactics and details – it’s much more difficult. He is getting on well with the team and we hope to have a good season together.”
Now it’s a Milan in which there are many new players, a stronger Milan?
“Yes, we feel on the field that we have a strong team. There are situations that we need to improve. With new players it’s difficult to have a perfect connection on the pitch right away. We want to win again, we didn’t do as well as we wanted last year. We can improve further.”
Is the victory a concrete objective?
“Yes, of course. Because we are Milan and we want to win. Last year we didn’t win and this year we want to win. We have new players, we can win in my opinion. We know what qualities we have.”
Do you see a more grown Leão?
“We’ve all grown a bit more. Rafa is becoming a man, of course we listen to him when he speaks. I’m glad we can see this maturity of his, I hope he can bring this mentality onto the field.”
How has you role in terms of leadership changed over the years?
“I like to communicate a lot, on and off the field. When I arrived there were a lot of young players and they [the experienced players] helped us, now I want to do the same thing with the new ones. Also with regards to the language. I like this role, I’m happy to help the new players settle in, I want to do my best to help the team.”
The mistake against Real Madrid?
“Even though we lost there were positive things like the first half. It was a good test, and especially in these games you can use mistakes to improve. You have to take the positive things and learn from the negative ones.”
Do you feel ready for the Scudetto race?
“We are focused only on ourselves. We know that we have a strong team, we are Milan and we want to win. There are other teams that have the same ambition as us, so right now we are focused only on ourselves. We have a strong team, we have to try to do the right things to win. Those who are outside can speak how they want, we are focused only on ourselves.”
You lost Zlatan and Tonali. How do you give leadership in the locker room? Who are the other leaders?
“In my position on the pitch I have to talk a lot. We have many leaders but in different ways. There are people like Calabria and Theo, Oli talks a lot too, there’s Mike who is always a professional, always focused on the match, always focused. We have players who are leaders but in a different way. I always try to speak up both on and off the pitch, trying to show new players that we are a family. I try to help and do as much as possible.”
Do you notice if Pulisic is more focused and determined now at Milan than at Chelsea?
“Nothing stands out in particular. He was doing his best also at Chelsea. Against Real Madrid he should that he can always make a difference, but he has always been like that. He trains well, he fits well in the group. He is training well.”
Tomorrow’s game in Italy is never a friendly. What kind of test will it be?
“We want to win all matches, whether they are friendlies or real matches. Tomorrow we want to show who we are. We are not yet at a high level but we’re close. The league starts soon and we have to be ready, tomorrow will be a tough game because it’s Milan-Juve. And we want to win, of course.”
What are the challenges against Juventus like?
“Juve is always high in the standings, in the years I’ve been here we’ve played well and I’ve scored two goals against them. Tomorrow I hope to do it again. We want to put in a high-level performance. Against Real Madrid we played well in the first half and less so in the second half. Tomorrow we want to learn from those mistakes and play two high-level halves to put in an important performance.”
How is the team doing in the United States?
“We are doing well here, I was here in LA with my friends this summer. When I heard we were coming here for the tour I was happy. We are doing well, the camp is beautiful, and the training sessions are good. The important thing in my opinion is the games, we can try different ways of playing and defending. Tomorrow is another test to show who we are and how we want to be this season.”
Which past defenders do you like?
“Terry, Maldini… Also Sergio Ramos, I also liked Rio Ferdinand, Jaap Stam. I liked Ricardo Carvalho… There are a few.”
What are the objectives for this year?
“We want to win trophies. Last year we didn’t win and that gives us even more hunger and awareness for this year. We have made several signings who can help us. Now we are focused on tomorrow’s game, we will approach it as always – game by game.”
How do Milan defend?
“We defend with the whole team, not just with defenders. We want to defend for each other, we want to be a strong team and win as many games as possible. We have quality in defense, we can do better than last year.”
