The Pioli Cup will line up the strongest squad and only those who deserve it will get a contract extension

Milan Circle

At 4:00 a.m. Beijing time on February 10, AC Milan will face Lazio in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia, and Milan coach Pioli was interviewed by the broadcaster "Slow Motion" before the game.

What is Milan's current state after winning the derby? Then came another very important Coppa Italia quarter-final...

We won a very important victory in the derby that satisfied the whole team, but it was still only three points in the table, we know that the road ahead is still very long, 15 games means a potential 45 points, and we are still going to work on the same points as we did last year. The most important thing at the moment is tomorrow's game, it's a quarter-final, the goal of the great teams is to get to the end in all competitions, and we also want to see what the team can achieve.

Is winning the Coppa Italia a specific goal for Milan?

Our goal is to try to eliminate Lazio tomorrow, which is a tough opponent because Lazio is in good shape, they have a fantastic victory in Fiorentina (3-0) and have a very strong attacking line, we want to focus on tomorrow's game and then go step by step.

What do you think of Olivier Giroud's performance? He has also received some criticism before...

Criticism is always there, which is normal and doesn't affect the team. The most important thing is that we have a lot of confidence in Milan's squad, the quality of the players and the way we play. Olivier Giroud has proven himself, he is a valuable player on the pitch, able to provide us with depth in the squad and also to make a huge contribution to us, he is a very strong player.

What is there to worry about in Lazio?

This team is well trained, has a strong squad, with attackors such as Milinkovic, Luis Alberto, Imobile, Zakani, Felipe Anderson and Pedro, I think the front line is their strongest place, we have to play a very cautious game, keep the formation as tight as possible, don't give Lazio too much space, and we also want to come up with better solutions on the offensive end and create a threat to the opponent.

Will you line up the strongest lineup?

Absolutely, we will assess the state of the players through today's training, but I will definitely line up the strongest squad against Lazio.

Can we see Tomori on the scene?

I'll evaluate it today, he was in good shape in training yesterday, he's gradually recovering, obviously he still needs more training sessions to gradually recover from injury, but I think Tomori can play tomorrow and I need to think about whether to start or be on the bench.

What happened to Rebich?

He also went to training yesterday, and today I'll see if he can play.

What about Ibrahimovic?

Zlatan is now like a lion in a cage, he is full of motivation and ambition to help the team on the pitch, he is doing everything he can to get back in shape, but he will certainly not be able to play tomorrow, we will have to wait for the next game to see how he is.

Talking about the Milan club's style of doing things

I think the club has a set of rules that I fully agree with, which is that everyone is equal, meritocratic, the club provides the best conditions for you to put your heart and soul into your work and then judge the results of your work: if a person deserves it, the club will renew his contract, and I think that applies to the players and to the coach, which is why we have to keep working hard, you have to keep proving that you deserve to play for Milan.

Did you say before that you would like to stay in Milan for the rest of your life?

I feel pretty good right now, there's no doubt about that.

Does Menion's presence mean that Milan have an advantage in penalties?

Mike is a powerful goalkeeper who is showing this to the outside world, and we all believe in him and have long learned his strength. Menion is a very determined lad and very ambitious, which means he has access to gold every day, he is definitely the kind of player who can make a huge contribution to the team, of course he must also continue to improve.