The French coach has the utmost respect for the
star duo but he feels it would be a mistake for his players to presume
that the Rossoneri have nothing else in their arsenal
Although his form has fluctuated this season, Balotelli is still the Rossoneri's top scorer, with six goals, while the returning Kaka has been one of the few positives in an otherwise difficult start to the season.
Garcia is well aware of the threat posed by both players to his side's hopes of maintaining their title push but he feels it would be a mistake for his troops to presume that by nullifying Balotelli and Kaka, they will have succeeded in shutting down Milan.
"We all know that they're two great players," the French coach told reporters on Sunday. "Mario can score at any tie, while Ricky, I like him a lot because he is a complete player.
"We must do everything to ensure that we do not leave space for these two players. But Milan are not only those two."
"We also know that playing at the home of AC Milan is difficult. But we will do as we usually do: we will go to Milan to win.
"It will be tough but this is our ambition."
Garcia admitted that captain Francesco Totti will travel to Milan but refused to confirm whether the legendary No.10, who has only just returned from injury, will start at the Giuseppe Meazza.
"We are stronger with Francesco, but it's clear that he and [forward Mattia] Destro don't have a lot in their legs, so we'll see," the former Lille boss mused.
"The encouraging thing, though, is that the captain did a full week of training. He seems ready to help the team to give their best, but he is not yet at 100 per cent.
"Still, the nice thing is that he is back with the group. The team is much better with our captain than without him."
After losing top spot to Juventus during a run of four successive draws, Roma got back to winning ways by defeating Fiorentina.
Garcia claimed after their victory at the Stadio Olimpico that the Giallorossi are very much in the Scudetto race but he still believes that the Bianconeri and third-placed Napoli are better equipped to last the pace.
"We'll see at the end but, for me, the favourites are Juventus and Napoli," he argued.
"Still, we want to finish as high as possible, even in first place, and we will do everything to get the most points; we do not lack ambition." --------------- goal.com
No comments:
Post a Comment