Gianluca, what do you see in today’s standings?
“We have 21 points. We didn’t need Lecce’s win: now we have six points over the fourth team from the bottom. Sunday we’ll have a delicate game at Udine, but, fortunately, they won today against Modena, and it’s never easy to win two games in a row at home.”

Your performance in the championship continues to be exceptional.
“There are still 15 games left. So many things can change. But I liked what Gazzoni said about giving me an Oscar.”

How did you manage to stop that short-distance shot from Kaka in the first half?
“Kaka shot well. Fortunately, I stayed on my feet, and I blocked the ball on the line.”

As for the goals that did go in, did you make any mistakes?
“We had agreed not to try for off-sides, and in fact in the first goal we tried to set it up and made a mistake. Shevchenko rose to the occasion: nice header.”

Shevchenko has already scored quite a few times on you.
“He’s my new nemesis. First it was Batistuta, now it’s Shevchenko.”

What do you think about the contested episodes that were appealed to Pellegrino?
“I was far away, but my teammates told me that of the four contested situations at least one was a clear penalty. The one involving Kaka, however, was not necessarily a penalty.”

To sum it up, this loss against European champions does not condemn you?
“All losses are bad, but we were hoping for a different score. Milan showed superiority from all points of view. We did well, but they were more vicious near the goal.”

The team continued attacking: did you still believe in yourselves, notwithstanding the disadvantage?
“I believed in myself until the end, but then exhaustion set in.”

You faced Milan with many players absent. Could it have gone differently with a full team?
“With two or three more players, for example, Beppe, Colucci and Amoroso, we would have had a better chance.”

Bologna continues to be strong with the weak and weak with the strong, in the words of Mazzone.
“Better strong with the weak and weak with the strong than weak with the weak: if we were like that, we’d be where Ancona is today.”