Amorim before Lecce clash: No one wants to win more than me

Rubén Amorim, the head coach of AC Milan, spoke about the upcoming match against Lecce, emphasizing the importance of winning and delivering a performance worthy of celebrating 100 years of San Siro. He stressed the need to focus in the upcoming phase after the defeat against SL Benfica.

Amorim said: "It is an honor for me to be part of the history of San Siro after 100 years. I wouldn't describe the victory as an obligation, but we want to win and play well to honor the stadium and the fans. When you lose, you feel differently, and if you don't feel that, that's a problem, but we can't change the past, so we must focus on the upcoming matches."

Regarding the loss to SL Benfica and not scoring in the first half, he explained: "Not scoring in the first half is just a coincidence. We created chances, but opponents are often very organized at the start. The most important thing for me is that we don't concede goals in the first half. We needed to rotate against SL Benfica, and I don't think we lost because of the players who started the match; we had a lot of possession and created chances, but it was a team game, and sometimes you fail to score while your opponent does."

AC Milan's coach said: "The most important thing now is to overcome Lecce. We want to control and dominate the match, but we are still working on building our play. Tomorrow's match will be a great opportunity to improve. We need to create more chances and give Ramos more support, and we want to spend more time near the opponent's penalty area and build stronger connections between our players."

Rúben Amorim discussed his tactical philosophy, stating: "My philosophy is based on principles, not formations. When a new coach arrives, it is impossible to immediately have all the required characteristics in every position. I am very clear about what I want, so it will be difficult to find contradictions in what I have said. All of our forwards can play together, and you might see them tomorrow. We change our pressing and ball recovery methods, and sometimes we switch from sitting back to high pressing, which also depends on the players' fitness and rotation of the lineup."

Regarding player management and the starting lineup, Amorim said: "Of course, players feel unhappy when they don't play, and I appreciate the honesty. When you are direct, a player may disagree with you, but he understands your decisions. Looking at our schedule, everyone must be ready, and I assess what I see during the week, the workload, and injury history. I try to manage everything, and the players understand that."

Amorim also defended his choices, particularly regarding Modrić and Rabiot, stating: "You will see a different starting lineup every week. When you play three matches in one week, you also have to manage the substitutes. You want me to start with these players, but what do we do if we need to push at the end of the match? I know this is not your job; it's my job. Opinions change very quickly because Moisés is performing at a very high level. I will try to win every match, and no one here wants to win matches more than I do."

AC Milan's coach touched on Zlatan Ibrahimović's visit and his relationship with Cardinale, confirming: "Ibrahimović's visit was a normal visit, nothing special. Our focus is on the matches and winning, and we are fully focused on Lecce. His visit did not distract us in any way. My relationship with Cardinale is normal, and we talked about the team."

Amorim concluded his remarks by stressing the team's need for more balance, saying: "In every match, we tried to control the game, press, and possess the ball. We may lack some fluidity, but what we need more is balance. In previous matches, we had very few touches inside the opponent's penalty area, and this is something that needs to improve, even though the situation was different against SL Benfica. As for SL Benfica's second goal, I believe everyone was angry about it, but I do not criticize the defenders; I am just giving examples."