Amorim discusses post-Genoa pride, the Ramos ‘team problem’ and losing being ‘end of the world’
By: Oliver Fisher
Ruben Amorim wants his AC Milan side to fear losing, while he believes Goncalo Ramos’ lack of goals is a team problem.
Milan got their seventh win in 11 Serie A games on Sunday afternoon as they overcame an in-form Genoa side 2-1 at the Marassi. Alphadjo Cisse and Christian Pulisic scored in the first half to put the Rossoneri in command, though Ellertsson’s late strike from range made it a nervy finish.
It was a result and a response that was needed after the dismal defeat to Ferencvaros on Thursday night, and it calms some of the turbulence before the international break. However, the search to become consistently good side is one that will continue in a fortnight.
Amorim spoke to DAZN not long after the final whistle to give his assessments on what was an important win for his side but one that they made hard work of in the end, with his words via MilanNews.
A response was expected after the Europa League, and it arrived. But it’s only the beginning. What positive things do you take away from this?
“I’m proud of my players. The most important thing was to be competitive, I said it before the match. If we approach every game like this, we’re one step closer to winning them all.
“There are times when you manage to play really well, but there are also times when we changed our approach and were strong on second balls and played a different kind of football. And that’s what great teams do: they play differently within the same game. I’m really pleased with my players today.”
How far can this team go in the league?
“What I can say is that we can win every game, but I can’t guarantee we’ll reach that level of confidence by the end of the season. I don’t feel like we’ve got that kind of consistency yet.
“And I don’t want to say anything more than ‘we can win the next game’. Because that’s the feeling I get when I look at the team. But it depends on many things. If we’d had everyone available, we would definitely have been better in the Europa League, too.
“This run of matches has been tough for us with everything that’s happened. But I can say that if we’re competitive, then we can win every game in the league. Let’s focus on that and take it one day at a time.”
What does being competitive depend on?
“It’s the mentality. When you’re a player, there are no off days. If you play for Milan, for these clubs, there are no off days. You can’t show up like you did on Thursday and then turn on again for Sunday. It’s not possible, it’s not something that will work.
“It’s not a physical condition, it’s a question of anxiety about defeat. If you ‘panic’ about defeat, it’s not that you’re afraid of losing, but that you know that losing is the end of the world. That’s the feeling I want my teams to have.”
How is Gonçalo Ramos’ development going? He got an assist today…
“I think it’s difficult for a striker when he doesn’t score goals. But I’ll repeat: we don’t spend much time in the final third of the pitch. We have possession, we’re improving our ball output, but we’re missing that. When we’re consistently in the final third, Gonçalo will score a lot of goals.
“It’s a team problem, we’re not helping Ramos, but he’s helping us a lot. It’s a process, a journey. And we’re not yet at the point of being so dominant that Ramos spends most of his time in the opponent’s penalty area. We’re still a long way off.”
