AC Milan will be facing a bit of an unknown tomorrow night in the Champions League as their play-off opponents Feyenoord have just sacked their manager.
Preparing for games in Europe is, of course, massively different to the games that happen in Serie A for example, however, this preparation is made even more difficult when the opposition decides to sack their manager in the days before the game.
Whilst Sergio Conceicao will have a split focus on tactics and players, the new coach may bring in some new ideas, which could be somewhat unexpected. Nevertheless, the Portuguese will ask his team to be the dominant force in the game, rather than allowing the Dutch outfit to control the game.
Today, Pascal Bosschaart, the temporary head coach of Feyenoord, spoke to the media about his team’s chances, and Milan Press have relayed his comments.
“I didn’t have that much time to prepare for Milan… Last night until late I spoke with the staff about how to improve in one day and the plan we have to prepare. Tomorrow we have a beautiful and intense game to play.
“I’m not a proud person, I just want to work well. Maybe this feeling will come later. There are too many injured players. There are seven or eight players who cannot play tomorrow.
“Today we did a couple of new exercises that the players had not done before, we have to do something new to take our minds off what happened. Priske had his ideas and believed in them.
“My preparation is not so different, I don’t want to change anything at the last moment. Tomorrow will be very special, even more special if we achieve a good result.”
Santiago Gimenez has worked with the coach previously, so he may have an inkling of how Bosschaart may set up his former side, and perhaps, he can be a big help off the pitch too in the next few weeks.
Hhhhhhhh Santiago Gimenez has worked with the coach previously, so he may have an inkling of how Bosschaart may set up his former side, and perhaps, he can be a big help off the pitch too in the next few weeks.
Yep, let’s not rely on Gimenez’s extensive experience as a then-20yr old Mexican just coming to Netherlands for tactics advice and inside knowledge. Also, they should be adjusting to our style, not the other way around. As Ronaldo used to say, I don’t know who are the guys on the other side, but I am pretty sure they know me.
Not that we are playing well against weaker teams this season, but the importance of this match is far too great to bomb it. I have the feeling it will be a very comfortable win, but let’s see if I am pulling the devil’s tail.
Gimenez hasn’t really worked with this coach btw. Only with Slot and Priske. He also wasn’t a assistent.
Normally it should be an easy win, if you look at how Feyenoord plays these last weeks. They also miss one of their best players with ‘Hwang’. But the stadium De Kuip (I always go there) gives the team always a whole new energy, it’s incredible. So Milan should be careful. Don’t think this is just a small team in The Netherlands.
Milan needs to play its own game. Door on the throat and press hard. Sitting back and defending deep is asking for trouble.