“We need to go into tomorrow’s Cup semifinal with the right approach as we consider this competition just as important as the championship. We’ll have enough time to worry about our next Serie A game from Thursday morning, now we must try to do all we can in these two legs to qualify for the Cup final. There’s enthusiasm in the dressing room, which is normal in this situation, but we need to keep it under control because now there’s important goal to achieve, which is the final of the competition, while the championship race is still open as our triumph is anything but guaranteed with five games still left to play. We need to remain as concentrated as we’ve been up until now. We’ll start thinking about the challenges Serie A holds for us from Thursday on. Some players will be rested tomorrow, but Ibrahimovic will definitely play.

I think Pirlo, Thiago Silva, Amelia and Cassano will all start tomorrow. What happened yesterday? We haven’t talked about Napoli’s loss. We’ve already lost our fair share of points against Bari and Palermo. We need to collect nine points to win the title and for this we have to work hard day after day just as we’ve done before. We need to take one game at a time, always focusing on the upcoming match, which in this case is tomorrow’s Cup clash against Palermo.

The real Palermo? They’re a young team formed by great players. They’ll do everything to advance to the final so that they qualify for next year’s Europa League. The Rosaneri are one of the best teams in Italy, it’s no coincidence that one and a half months ago they were fourth in the standings. When a team has quality, it always shows”.

Regarding forward Antonio Cassano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic:

 “Ibra and Cassano? Ibrahimovic hasn’t played much lately due his suspensions, but at least he had the chance to recover from fatigue. Cassano have done this season and only when coming off the bench. The game against Parma is a good example for this. Tomorrow he’ll have the chance to play from the start as his fitness level has improved a lot in past weeks. Abbiati is expected to recover for Saturday’s game at Brescia, while as for Nesta we’ll see. Ibra and Cassano started together a couple of times. The Swede is very good at adapting to the characteristics of his striking partner: he plays in a certain way when Pato is on the field, in another way when next to Robinho and in another way when he plays alongside Cassano. Antonio always looks to set up his teammates, he’s very gifted, but lately he has also scored some big goals, from penalties against Samp and Inter and from open play against Bari. They’re a good combo. Me? I’m always available for the lads, everyone can turn to me.

On the other hand, I can count on every one of them. Everyone here has the same objective, which is winning. The veterans want to do it again, while those, including me, who haven’t won before, wants to start doing it. We haven’t won anything yet so I don’t want to speak as if we had already won the Scudetto, because mathematically we haven’t. We just need to play as focused as possible. In these situations you’re more disposed to fall than under other circumstances. Boateng? He may play from the start, otherwise someone else will. Merkel? He’s getting back to his best after a slump in form. Now he’s doing much better”.

Some other statements from Allegri: “The team has the duty of first focusing on the Italian Cup and only then on Serie A. It’s nice to win friendlies, let alone trying to win official titles. After the Palermo match we got to points in two games and at that point we ran the risk of losing our self-confidence. Then came the international break, during which the team worked in peace, preparing for the derby in the best possible way and in the end we played a great game. The match that causes me the most headaches is the one against Brescia, who we are obliged to beat. We must be aware of the fact that the match on Saturday will be, if not decisive, hugely important.

Our only worry for tomorrow has to be playing a good game, a good brand of football with a combative spirit. Our goal is to do well to get a result we could build on at Palermo when we’ll play for the qualification. It’s a semifinal, we can’t just play around.

Absolutely not. Beretta? He’s joined the first team, he’ll be available for selection, but it wouldn’t be right to put too much responsibility on his shoulders also because it’s been only a month that he recovered from a serious injury. He’s been doing great things with the Youth Team and his call-up to the first team can be considered as a kind of a reward for a very polite and respectful lad.

The Italian Cup?

I won a Serie C Italian Cup with Livorno in the ‘80s. In my opinion, the first rounds of the Italian Cup don’t matter so much, but from the semifinals the competition gets very difficult. Only the top teams have arrived at this stage. This is the right way to the Cup more value, this is how they do in Spain and England. I hope there will be a lot of fans tomorrow evening. I expect some help from the supporters at the San Siro, because Palermo certainly will have a huge crowd behind them in the second leg. I would like to advance to the final, the most important thing, then once we’re their facing Inter or Roma doesn’t make much difference. Now we need to prepare well for tomorrow’s match.

Contract renewals?

No one would like to lose stars I have at my disposal. I consider myself a lucky coach for having the chance to work with players like Ambrosini, Pirlo and Seedorf. I think they still have a lot to give to Milan, as I already said in August. Ibra? I hope they’ll cut back on his suspension. Inzaghi and Ambrosini are doing better. There is a month left until the end of the season and I think they may be available for the last three or four games. In the Milan dressing room, I’ve found great players and exceptional men and this is the most important thing for a coach. Bonera has trained with the squad for the last three days and, if not on Saturday, for the Bologna game he’ll definitely be available for selection. Ambrosini’s condition has to be re-evaluated because he’s recovering from a long-term injury. Inzaghi has shortened his recovery period a lot, he’s making progress and will be evaluated. Were it up to me, I’d play Inzaghi even tomorrow evening, but he's coming off a grave injury. He’s worked a lot, but still hasn’t done ball possession exercises with us. Pato? He got hurt while trying to pull off a technical trick with an uncanny movement. This often happens to players".