Former Milan coach Fabio Capello believes it’s hard to pick a favourite between Milan and Roma in the Europa League. The two Serie A sides have been drawn against each other in the quarter-finals of the competition, and speaking with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Capello explained why it’s hard to split the two sides, given their current form:
Who is the favourite between the two?
“I can’t say, giving a favorite now is impossible, because there is also a break for the national teams in between. As a coach, you know how players start, not how they arrive.”
However?
“Milan at home is in a favorable moment, and the first leg at San Siro can help them, even though Roma has been very well framed by De Rossi now. The first game must be played with great intelligence by the Rossoneri, because we have seen that when Roma finds spaces, they have the quality to harm Milan. And defense will also be important.”
Which of the two?
“Both. Milan must find its defense, while the recent Roma seems to have found compactness behind. We also saw it in Brighton, so they are to be feared in all respects. And it seems to me that they have the team spirit, the group. They play with a lot, a lot of humility.”
Are these the merits of Daniele De Rossi?
“Not only that, tactically he seems very clever to me, he has given a game plan to the team but also looks at how opponents move, this is already a sign of intelligence. As a former midfielder and orchestra conductor, he has understood that one must fear and take into account the strengths of rivals.”
You had said that Milan was a puzzle. Is it still?
“They have collected very good results and are playing a bit better, but let’s not look at the two matches with Slavia Prague, played in numerical superiority for a long time, but the fact that Leao scores has made Milan grow.”
Key duels?
“Many interesting comparisons. On one hand Dybala and Lukaku, if there is space, with the insertions of midfielders, because when Roma attacks, the two forwards are not isolated, but El Shaarawy, Pellegrini, and company come in. As for Milan, I would say Leao’s creativity, the left flank which is the team’s strength, and Pulisic who has found himself fully, playing at a high level. But, I repeat, the conditions of the players after the break will have to be evaluated. Take the example of Napoli: it was seen that with or without Osimhen, it’s a whole different story.”
The Rome derby is before the first leg and Milan derby after the return leg, how much will they weigh?
“A lot. The Milan derby will be less important for the standings, but there will be Inter’s anger. In the Rome derby, there will also be Lazio’s anger, but the Giallorossi aim to reach the Champions League, so it will be very heated.”
