Tomorrow there will be no Fofana. Who can do his job?

“I would have wanted everyone available, certainly. Someone else will play, I have faith in everyone. It’s good for you too, you were always talking about when Fofana would rest. Someone else will play.”

At Inter there is a calm atmosphere. The only note is the revenge for the Supercoppa final. Here at Milan instead there is some pepper around. Which of the two situations will then lead to an improvement in the performance on the field?

“At this level here there is no favourite because the environment is better or worse. These games take their life when the referee blows the whistle. If there hadn’t been the transfer market it would have been better but it’s not possible, we have to concentrate on what we can do.

“We have to give life to the game, it’s the players who go on the pitch and the game has its history, every game is different. The Supercoppa is the past, it will be a different game.”

You arrived a month ago. If we were in August we wouldn’t be so strict, a month of work is nothing. How should we look at your work?

“It’s an important consideration. In the end, even as a job, because I’m talking about working on the pitch, it’s not easy for me. I was talking about it with 2-3 players, it’s not easy for someone like me who likes to work on the pitch. The feeling of working on video is different.

“At the start of the season, there are free weeks to do this type of work. Those who play less have already taken more than we want compared to those who play more and have to recover, it seems a bit counterintuitive.

“In Riyadh they misunderstood that we need positive energy, to be emotional, with a sparkle in our eyes like when we play football as children without ever getting tired. This basis, this passion is what I try to transmit. I also do it with my posture, with the players and with those who work here. And then, on the game plan, I feel that we are still a long way from what I want.

“I like a compact team, that presses high, that has great intensity, that allows little to the opponents, that creates a lot.

“Do I have the players to interpret this way of playing? At the moment I say no, that’s why we play differently. Today we worked a little because it’s the third day after Zagreb. Is that an excuse? I don’t work with excuses.

“Before signing the contract I knew how many games I would have. I thought that by coming here I would be able to convey what I wanted, but that’s not easy. We talked about duels and aggression, that’s something you train too. Like offensive and defensive transitions, there are still some weaknesses. That’s something you train.

“We have positivity and energy, sometimes even too much. But I don’t want to find excuses. We have to be men and try to change, we’ll improve. After the first half in Zagreb, I don’t think we can go any lower. There’s a lot to change and improve.”