Conceicao prepared for Feyenoord: “We know our opponents, the players and their characteristics” | OneFootball

Sergio Conceicao visits what is a happy hunting ground for him personally tonight as AC Milan take on Feyenoord, and once again refused to give much away on selection.

Both teams come into the game in circumstances that are not ideal, starting with Feyenoord who currently sit fifth in the Eredivisie. They lost their star striker Santiago Gimenez (to tonight’s opponents) at the end of the winter window and sacked their head coach on Monday.

Then, Milan have eight absentees due to suspensions, injuries and squad exclusions which means they are really struggling for midfield depth. Not only that, but the reason they are even playing at this stage is because of last month’s defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the final round of the ‘league phase’.

As a reminder, Conceicao has made it clear from early in his time at Milan that he does not like doing pre-match interviews in the build-up to kick-off. So, he spoke to Amazon Prime Video a few hours before instead, and his comments were relayed by MilanPress.

You’ve scored goals here before as a player…

“Many years ago, it’s a nice memory. I scored three goals, yes.”

Any advice for the strikers, then?

“It doesn’t have to be a striker who scores, if we win it’s fine even if a defender scores (laughs).”

Does Feyenoord’s change in coach alter your plans?

“We don’t know if their coach will keep things as they are, maintaining consistency. What is certain is that we know our opponents, the players and their characteristics. We have worked on that and on the Dutch way of playing, not so different from other teams that play here.

“They play on the wings, they often provoke one-on-ones, they have players suited to this. But we also have strong players, it will be difficult.”

Will you use the ‘Fantastic Four’ forwards and can they co-exist?

“The four forwards we are talking about [Leao, Joao Felix, Pulisic, Gimenez] are part of the group, let’s see who will play.

“I think that regardless of their characteristics, the important thing is to make themselves available to the team, if they do their job they or other forwards can also play. But we need balance, to stay compact and solid as it is a Champions League match.”

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Conceicao also spoke to Amazon Prime Video after naming his starting line-up for the game, with his comments relayed by MilanNews again.

In the end you want with the four forwards…

“It doesn’t matter how many attackers there are, the important thing is that each one does their job in their role, with and without the ball.”

Will this be a tough atmosphere to play in?

“I’ve been here as a player and coach. I know it. We want an atmosphere of fans passionate about football, we have it in Milan too. We’re used to it.”