Pre-match press conference of Massimiliano Allegri.

“Kakà is in good shape physically and has trained well with a lot of enthusiasm. I think he’ll be a bit emotional ahead of his debut tomorrow and that’s normal as he’s lacking a bit of match fitness and that’ll come with time.”

“Having Barbara Berlusconi with us for lunch was a pleasure. I’m very happy with the fact that I have close contact with the club and the ownership is always very close to the team in terms of moral support as was the case last year, both from the President and from Barbara Berlusconi.”

“I have to think about the starting line-up, whether it’s Balotelli, or Matri or one of the others. I’ll wait and see either this evening or tomorrow morning before I decide. We have a good group of forwards even though I consider Kakà more of a midfielder. It’s good to have a fit forward line especially as the defenders are not in good shape.”

“I have to thank Zaccardo for not taking any of the transfer offers otherwise tomorrow we’d have to play with a midfielder at full back. Zaccardo has more experience. Mexes and Zapata will play with one of either Constant or Emanuelson on the left. Vergara is a bit behind the others. He has to get to know Italian football.”

“Torino are a tough team and Ventura’s teams tend to slow the game down. We risked a lot against them at home last season in a fundamental game for the Champions League spots so we’ll have to be careful not to repeat the same mistakes.”

“Kakò is hungry to get back and to show that he still has a lot to offer. He’s an exceptional guy. He spends his days at Milanello training and taking care of himself. He’s an example for other players. Technically he has a lot of quality as well as really sharp acceleration. His footballing capabilities are well above average, he’s a great buy for the team.”

“Robinho is ready and he’s on good form. He’s coring too. We’re in good shape up front. I just have to choose who’ll start and I’m very calm about that." 

"Balotelli did well for Italy on Tuesday. He’s a player that can lead the line. Every so often he takes his foot off the gas and he has to improve in that. Matri has different qualities, he’s more similar to Pazzini."

“In the game against Verona we had a Champions League qualifier ahead of us and so there was a bit of tension. Now the team is more relaxed. And with the closing of the transfer window, the players are more calm and we have a big year ahead of us. We’re three points behind the rest of the teams who’ll be fighting for the title and so we have to win them back and not drop any more points on the road.”

“As far as what Prandelli said, I believe that El Shaarawy is a non-problem. He’s played almost all the matches so far and being in a big team, you can’t fear competition  for places, it’s should be extra motivation. The first year we had Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Pato and Cassano. Two played and two sat on the bench. I think that El Shaarawy has to stay calm because he has my complete and total trust. Last year he started well and then hit a dry patch but he always played well for the team and sacrificed a lot. We shouldn’t forget that last year, he was on the back of a season that saw him criticized for scoring only 1 goals in 28 appearances. He needed time to get his balance right and against Cagliari he came off the bench very well. Competition is good for him as it’s good for everyone.”

“As years go by, any player's characteristics will change. You get more mature and you start to think more in the middle of the pitch. Kakà is very important and not just for the enthusiasm he has given to the fans, but also for the dressing room, for his charisma. He has to help the team take a step up maybe by playing more as a midfielder. Physically he’s in good shape, he jusy has to play and gradually he’ll get back match fitness.”

“I think that for all coaches, it’s normal to think about coaching the national side. Now I’m at Milan and that’s where I want to stay. Prandelli is on the job now and he has a World Cup ahead of him and I don’t think things will change.”

“The numbers will prove me right. The team has let in 12 goals since 6 January and 3 of them were penalties. We have to improve on the mistakes that we0’ve made, like in Verona and the goal we let in against Cagliari. Those are mistakes that we can easily avoid. I have very reliable players at the back and it’s not easy to find any better players than the ones we have.”

“We have three players up font or maybe two with one behind, but that doesn’t change anything. The problem is, we’ll be up against a team that tends to slow down the play. They caused us problems last season as we prepar3ed to play against a 4-4-2 formation but they played differently.”

“Kakà is a very intelligent player and he can play between the lines, linking the middle of the field with the forwards.”

“Cerci is a good player, he has good technical qualities and has a great left foot. He’s learned how to play as a second striker and he’s their most dangerous player. We’ll have to be careful tomorrow.”

“Balotelli is always in the papers and lately it’s been for positive reasons as he’s playing well for Italy. El Shaarawy has to find his balance after the amazing year he had last season.”

“The season that Ibra was here the midfielders scored an enormous amount of goals and it’s unthinkable that they can do that again. 27/28 goals is a lot. If the middle of the field can get you 16/17 goals, that’s already a good number and it also depends on the players that you have. Poli and Nocerino maybe get into better positions more often than Muntari and Montolivo.

“Having lost at Verona, we’ve dropped two points and tomorrow we can’t drop anymore. Matri could be useful coming off the bench, but I have to think about that this evening.”