24/07/2002

PIPPO, THE GROUP AND HIS OWN CHOICES

MILANELLO - Calm and peaceful. It's not only how Pippo Inzaghi appears in official meetings, it's his real nature. 'Calm', when he speaks about the National side, 'waiting' for a possible arrival of Rivaldo, 'happy with his teammates, if he's asked about the potentialities of the present Milan.
'If we are healthy and don't get injured, we can compete with all other sides without fearing any of them', the Rossonero forward remarks.
During his first press conference of the season, he also dwells on the general issue of pay cuts which some players (including him) have recently taken. 'Everybody must make his own decision', he explains, 'I did it with pleasure last year, as I really wanted to join Milan and the club had been chasing me for a lot of time. But it was a personal choice, you can't find a general rule'.
Obviously most questions were about a possible signing of Rivaldo: 'AC Milan have a lot of forwards and they will all be given the possibility to play. With the arrival of the Brazilian, my life won't change, but I hope Milan's will. However, let's think about our group at present. We are already competitive like this. Should another high-quality player join us, so much the better...'
'I hope this year we can win a lot. I don't consider so important the template we play, Superpippo points out, 'I saw a side winning at the World Cup without forwards. The best template is the one which gives you wins and success. I hope that injuries won't affect us as in the last season. Our fortune is to have a great group: this is essential'.
And about the atmosphere you can sense at Milanello, he adds: 'I know quite well how things are done here, but also the new entries are already comfortable. It's easy to fit into such a working well together group. Here you feel at your ease, and I'm not the first player to discover it.'

[ACMilan.com]