Milan: Fabio Capello and Ruben Amorim Exchange Barbs on Live TV

Former Milan coach Fabio Capello spoke to Sky and highlighted the Rossoneri’s weaknesses despite their victory over Torino: “I’ve already seen the style of play that Amorim is calling for—exactly as he wants it: ball possession and aggressiveness. However, I’d suggest they also work hard in the penalty area when defending, because that was Milan’s weakness last year. When balls came in—crosses, even fairly simple passes—Milan’s defenders were never very attentive.”

“One of Milan’s Achilles’ heels last year was corner kicks and free kicks. So they need to work on their defense, especially when the ball is in the penalty area. We saw this weakness again today.”

Amorim, joining the show from the studio, responded as follows: “What do I think? I think it’s Capello. But yes, I agree: we need to be more careful and focused inside the box, because it’s important to perform well between the two boxes, but it’s clear that we also need to defend very well inside the box.” The Portuguese coach emphasized his respect for Don Fabio: “You have no idea how much the Portuguese love Milan and what Fabio Capello has done as well.”

On the transfer front, meanwhile, Milan still has several issues to resolve. The most urgent issue concerns Christopher Nkunku, who was left out of the squad for the match against Torino: Leipzig has made a move for him, offering a paid loan of 4 million with an option to buy for 28, while Newcastle is looking at lower figures but with a mandatory buyout clause. The Rossoneri do not intend to go below 30 million euros. Also lingering in the background is the Rafael Leao situation; he remains on the list of players set to leave but still has no definite destination: among the options being explored is a move to Gasperini’s Roma, which is ready to submit an offer for a paid loan with a mandatory buyout clause of 41 million.