GANZ: "I WANT TO CREATE A GREAT GROUP"

In the Conference Hall of Casa Milan, Maurizio Ganz presented himself as the new Coach of the women's first team. "I’d like to thank AC Milan for thinking of me. I'm proud to be here and I want to create a great group": these were his opening words, which he used to thank the club before anything else. The conference was broadcast LIVE on Milan TV and on the official Facebook page in Italian.

THE DECISION
"I’d like to thank AC Milan for thinking of me. I'm proud to be here. I've been lucky enough to be victorious in the Rossoneri shirt, and to be able to leave as a player and return as a coach makes me so proud. I met the girls yesterday and I would have liked to have been there now for the fitness tests. I can't wait for Saturday when we leave for the week-long training camp in Ponte di Legno. I’d like to thank Paolo Maldini, Zvonimir Boban, Elisabet Spina and Angelo Carbone for giving me the call.”

THE AC MILAN DNA
"The DNA has always stayed with me, despite the fact that I wasn’t here long as a player. My son also went through the Rossoneri system. I think something good can come of it even as a coach. I've already seen so much desire and determination in the girls, I just can’t wait to start this adventure.”

KNOWLEDGE OF WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
"It's a brand new experience for me in a world I know only from the outside. My first objective is to understand the characteristics of each of my players so that I can then convey to them the style of play which I already have in mind. There will be a lot of new additions, I’m looking to create a group, and to achieve that takes a lot of work. Winning won’t be easy because the other teams have also strengthened, this year the league will be a much more even. I don't think it's right to talk about men’s and women’s football, but rather just football: I'll discover this world and my approach will be fundamental, but it will be a footballing approach."

THE WORLD CUP
"We've all been enthused by the women playing in this World Cup: we've seen so many people at the stadia, we’ve witnessed some great football and some fantastic players. There was a lot of interest and what I appreciated most was the fact that the people got behind the national team, they supported Italy. We can do nothing but thank the girls for what they did and the excitement they brought us.”

STYLE OF PLAY
"Every coach wants to play nice football: you can start from there, but one idea must always be there at the heart of everything, keep the ball and know what to do both in possession and when we don’t have the ball. This is the game of football: we start to form an identity, then step by step we’ll start to grow.”

OBJECTIVES
"It would be great to win the league, to get into the Champions League and also to win the Coppa Italia. We’re looking to improve on last season. We're AC Milan and the goal is always to excel, to reach as high as possible.”

GANZ AS A COACH
"I am a man of the pitch, a man of hard work, and I will demand a lot from the girls. I've coached in a lot of different environments and I'm proud of the path I’ve taken. I'm a fiery, gritty, demanding coach with a lot of passion."

THE WORLD CUP
"We've all been enthused by the women playing in this World Cup: we've seen so many people at the stadia, we’ve witnessed some great football and some fantastic players. There was a lot of interest and what I appreciated most was the fact that the people got behind the national team, they supported Italy. We can do nothing but thank the girls for what they did and the excitement they brought us.”

STYLE OF PLAY
"Every coach wants to play nice football: you can start from there, but one idea must always be there at the heart of everything, keep the ball and know what to do both in possession and when we don’t have the ball. This is the game of football: we start to form an identity, then step by step we’ll start to grow.”

OBJECTIVES
"It would be great to win the league, to get into the Champions League and also to win the Coppa Italia. We’re looking to improve on last season. We're AC Milan and the goal is always to excel, to reach as high as possible.”

GANZ AS A COACH
"I am a man of the pitch, a man of hard work, and I will demand a lot from the girls. I've coached in a lot of different environments and I'm proud of the path I’ve taken. I'm a fiery, gritty, demanding coach with a lot of passion."

THE WORDS OF ELISABET SPINA, ITALY ACADEMIES AND WOMEN'S SECTOR MANAGER
"Maurizio's appointment is consistent with the way in which the club is growing and the development of women's football in Italy. Maurizio has an approach of humility and professionalism; he’ll be a valuable addition. He has shown great intelligence in relating to this world which has really facilitated his entry into women’s football. The main objective for us is to improve, and that means aspiring for Champions League qualification and fighting to win the league. Winning is not easy but we have worked hard to build a competitive team. We started from a solid base last year, securing some of our important players such as Giacinti, Bergamaschi and Fusetti with three-year contracts. We were sad to see some players go, such as Giugliano and Thaisa, but these were decisions that did not depend on us alone, but rather on some rules that simply do not work in our favour. In light of this the transition to professionalism is important and necessary, not only in an economic sense."

The official PUMA match kits for the 2019/20 season are available in the AC Milan Online Store!