Gattuso turns AC Milan around
Sports •
afp25 gennaro gattuso has sparked a fire in ac milan.unbeaten in 12 games with five wins in a row the italian coach has transformed the demoralised squad he took over three months ago from vincenzo montella1 gattusos side are just seven points adrift of the last spot for the elite european competition. when he took over fourth place was 11 points away1 at the end of the match i congratulated the group but i also said that we have to keep our feet on the ground said 2006 world cup winner gattuso whose appointment last november raised eyebrows1 in gattuso the chinese-owned club who spent 230 million euros 270 million in last summers transfer market turned to a member of one of their most successful sides but one with little coaching pedigree who was training milans youth team at the time of his appointment1 but the former defensive midfielder who also spent a season at scottish club rangers during his playing career has proved an astute choice and wants to seize his chance1 i need to thank directors marco fassone massimiliano mirabelli and owner mr li yonghong for the opportunity they gave me. i love milan and they are my priority. its like a family for me said the 40-year-old after sundays win1 a beautiful relationship was born between me and these guys1 the secret hard work1 but what is the secret that has got the seven-time european champions winning consistently again1 for the players the answer is simple hard work1 sundays 2-0 win against as roma in the stadio olympico was an important one against a direct european rival which allows ac milan to dream even of champions league qualification1 with montella we did very little work in training but its different with gattuso and you can see the results on the pitch1 its like a family here and the results are arriving1 patrick cutrone 20 who scored the opener on sunday for his 13th goal in all competitions his season added its an important win one that will make a difference1 the coach really cares about the squad and weve come together under him. we are really united now1 gattuso made us understand from the first day what it means to wear this jersey added left-back davide calabria who scored the second goal against roma1 the winning mentality that gattuso brings is incredible as he focuses on every detail. we are working with great intensity1 older players have benefited as giacomo bonaventura has scored five goals under gattuso. their defensive base is also strong with just four goals conceded in the last 12 games1 ac milan will play lazio in wednesdays italian cup semi-final back in the stadio olympico inter milan in next weekends derby clash and arsenal in the europa league round of 16 on march 81 from tomorrow the head goes to the lazio said gattuso. we are playing something important and we will think about the milan derby from thursday1 has arsenal lost today league cup final we are not manchester city we have to put on a helmet and go to battle1 gattuso is making us work harder especially on tactics explained ivorian midfielder franck kessie 211