Milan boss Vincenzo Montella has been speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash with Palermo. Calciomercato.com’s Daniele Longo was there. Here are the highlights:
 

ON PALERMO: “Diamanti is a player who I’ve coached before. He has great craft and quality and we have to be focused on the damage he can do. We never underestimate anyone and we certainly won’t do this with Palermo”
 

ON THE ABSENCE OF NIANG: “He’s a player that we will miss for sure but we can overcome this in many ways using Bonaventura and Mati further forward with Luiz Adriano. WE have options and we’ll see tomorrow”.  

ON EVENTS AT INTER & THE DERBY: “I’m not going to comment on their situation as it really does not interest me. This sort of “casting” has been happening for years and sometimes the public can see it and other times not. It’s possible to take two coaches, one Italian and the other not in my opinion, it can work”.
 

ON PASALIC: “I have to constantly evaluate every player. He does not know the language but has grown physically. I’ve tried to keep him motivated and I hold him in high regard”.
 

ON BACCA: “Bacca must do what he does best and we must ensure we help him to do this. Maybe he should also put in the extra work”.  

ON THE QUOTES OF BUFFON: “I’m not sure if these have been interpreted properly but a player should not use the same language as a coach. I believe he is suggesting that Italian players have a certain psychological issue with Juventus”.



By Daniele Longo. Translated by Steve Mitchell