Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 10y

Barbara Berlusconi delighted with AC Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi

Barbara Berlusconi has hailed the transformation at AC Milan since Filippo Inzaghi took charge of the club in the summer.

After missing out on a place in Europe last season, the Rossoneri are currently top of Serie A on goals scored, level on points with last season's top two Juventus -- who they meet on Saturday evening -- and AS Roma.

Furthermore, they have scored eight goals in their first two matches and there appears to be a smile on everybody's face.

That was not necessarily the case under Massimiliano Allegri and Clarence Seedorf last season.

"I've not seen such a positive atmosphere inside Milanello [training ground] and within the club in a long time," said the CEO, who is the daughter of club president Silvio Berlusconi. "I've seen people who want to do well, who are enthusiastic and who want to work for the common good.

"Furthermore, a special relationship has developed between my father and the coach."

That latter point may be one of the main reasons for the serenity surrounding the club. Silvio is known to take a particularly keen interest in team matters, regularly making tactical suggestions and stating how he wants to see his team play.

Inzaghi, having played for the club for 11 years with Berlusconi in close quarters, knows precisely what the president wants and he has so far delivered it with 3-1 and 5-4 wins over Lazio and Parma respectively.

"Inzaghi is a great motivator," continued Barbara to the ANSA news agency. "He creates this enthusiasm and has everybody in harmony with him. He and my father are in contact very frequently, while my father has also started to take more of an active interest in Milan having rediscovered his passion, and this is good news."

As a result, full-back Ignazio Abate no longer wants to leave the club having become unsettled under Seedorf only a few months ago.

"I feel at home here," he told Il Corriere dello Sport. "I want to stay in Milan and I have no doubts about that. We're currently talking about it and I'm sure we'll find a solution."

Working under Inzaghi is the main reason for Abate's change of heart.

"He's brought his enthusiasm and his desire to fight and never give up," Abate added. "Inzaghi is always foaming at the mouth, never relaxing even for a second and the team now reflects the coach. We've all been right behind Inzaghi since the start of the season, but we've got to make sure we continue even in the difficult times.

"Pippo's strict and demanding, but he respects the rules and expects that we will also respect some of the obvious things that recently we had not really been doing."

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