Stefano Pioli says the recent investigations into Milan have not impacted his squad: “We are solely focused on the match.” The Rossoneri’s headquarters were raided earlier this week as Italy financial police investigate issues related to the sale of the club from Elliott to Redbird Capital. Speaking ahead of Milan’s match with Slavia Prague, Pioli insisted his players were only thinking about the game, having secured a 4-2 win in the first leg:
“The corporate investigation? It won’t affect us. The atmosphere is calm. It helped us prepare for the game with maximum concentration. We have a lot of trust in our club. There are no problems, only focus on tomorrow’s match.”
The Rossoneri coach then discussed the challenge against Slavia Prague: “We still need to secure passage to the next round. We have a good advantage, but it will be a tough game because our opponents have shown resilience with ten men. We have our principles and great motivation to progress.” He also commented on their Europa League journey: “We have a slight advantage, but we must close out the tie. We know how to interpret these types of games.”
Pioli also mentioned his meeting with Giorgio Furlani: “We had an appointment last night, we met. I saw Furlani calm and composed, but we didn’t discuss the corporate issues. We are solely focused on the match.”
Regarding Slavia Prague, he concluded: “We worked on the first half-hour in the first leg. We prepared a strategy, but it will also depend on what our opponents do. Perhaps tomorrow we will face a different opponent than in the first leg.” On the lineup, he concluded: “We’ll have our final training session, and then we’ll see, but the choices have been made. We’ll have players ready to help us during the game.”
