Allegri: Milan must be ‘more focused’ in derby, I could have been Inter or Real Madrid coach

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri expects a ‘fantastic’ derby della Madonnina, but warns his players that they must be ‘more focused’ and confirms he could have coached Inter in 2021.

Milan meet city rivals Inter at San Siro on Sunday in the big match of Serie A Week 12.

Allegri previewed the game at a pre-match press conference on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a wonderful evening. Inter-Milan is a historic rivalry, and it will be a fantastic game,” the Rossoneri boss said via Milan News.

“Inter and Napoli are favourites for the Scudetto; they have won 11 of their last 12 games. They have technical and physical players, but the derby is always something apart. We’ll need to play a solid match and be more focused; this is what we lacked in Parma.

“These are the big games that give you so much adrenaline and excitement when preparing for them. Then we’ll see whether we’ve been good and a bit lucky enough to get a result, or whether the others have been better.

“Inter are in an excellent physical and technical condition, but we also are,” Allegri continued.

“They are physically strong, they have good shooters and solutions inside the box. They are the top team for shots on target and the one that concedes the fewest goals. We’ll need to play the right way and have great focus.”

Inter replaced Simone Inzaghi with Cristian Chivu, but Allegri feels the Nerazzurri have not changed much.

“In terms of characteristics, they are more or less similar,” he noted.

“The core of the team is roughly the same. Chivu is doing an excellent job, for a first experience at a big club, he’s doing really well. You can see the team is a tight and united group. I think there’s little difference with Inzaghi. The players are more or less the same.”

The Rossoneri are enjoying a 10-game unbeaten run but picked up three draws in the last five league games, including an away 2-2 stalemate at Parma before the break.

“When you win individual duels, you have a better chance of winning. In Parma, we won very few in the second half, and so we drew,” Allegri said.

“Tomorrow it will be a high-level match, technically, tactically and physically. We have to be ready also to take a small step forward and extend our unbeaten run.

“The season is still long. In one week, with two matches, the standings can change in an instant. We must stay focused on the final objective: finishing in the top four.”

Allegri and Inter President Marotta worked together at Juventus, and the pair could have reunited at Inter in 2021.

“Everyone knows. The year I returned to Juventus, in one night, I had to make a decision. Go to Juve, Inter or Real Madrid,” Allegri said.

“With President Marotta, we achieved great things; he’s doing an excellent job at Inter. To win matches, you need to be pragmatic and concrete.”

Allegri said that Zachary Athekame and Santiago Gimenez would be the only unavailable Milan players tomorrow, while Adrien Rabiot “will play” after returning from injury.

“Today we’ll have the last training session, actually tomorrow morning. We’ll fix the last details and hopefully fix them well,” Allegri added.

“Inter have important shooters from distance. They have physical presence when they are near the box. I heard Dumfries is out. He’s an important option for them. They are good at counterattacks because they have speed and technique. We’ll need a great match to create the conditions to bring home a good result. Then football is ruthless, but we must be ready to play a great game, and then we’ll see the result.

“Lautaro Martinez is one of the best strikers. Not just in Italy, but in Europe and in the world. He has the maturity to be decisive in certain games. We’ll have to keep a close eye on him, Thuram, Bonny and Esposito. They are a strong team.”

RedBird Advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic visited the team on Friday.

“He came yesterday and we spoke. He came here once in a while, like Tare,” Allegri said.

“The club is always present, and we must have the right tension for tomorrow, but no fear. We must have adrenaline, emotion and have fun in playing these matches.”

Lastly, the coach denied he had called Thiago Silva to discuss a possible return to San Siro.

“I spent two amazing seasons with him; he’s an extraordinary player. The club is in charge of the market; we have to focus on the games. I didn’t call Thiago anyway; he’s still a footballer, not a coach.”