Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Milan will challenge Juventus for Serie A title, says Silvio Berlusconi

AC Milan are strong enough to challenge Juventus for the Serie A title next season, according to club president Silvio Berlusconi.

Berlusconi officially unveiled new coach Sinisa Mihajlovic on Friday and set him an ambitious target. After two years without European football, qualifying for the Champions League next season is the minimum aim for Milan at the end of his first season in charge.

"That's absolutely fundamental," Berlusconi told a news conference. "I would like to deliver my best wishes to Sinisa, with whom I have already been able to exchange plenty of ideas. He has the characteristics to take Milan back to where they belong.

"There are always cycles in football and you can never make predictions, but it's imperative now for us to get back into the Champions League from next season."

That would mean finishing inside the top three amid fierce competition. Juve go into the campaign as favourites for a fifth straight Scudetto while Roma will be looking to challenge them once again. Inter Milan have also invested heavily this summer and will be looking to challenge at the top, while Napoli and Lazio will not be settling for anything less than a top-three finish.

Emerging triumphant from that group of clubs is nevertheless the ultimate aim Milan go into the 2015-16 campaign with.

"Absolutely yes we can [win the league]," Berlusconi added. "You have got to start with the idea of being able to win it. With this Milan that we are giving Mihajlovic, and with the input from Mihajlovic, we absolutely have the characteristics and quality to compete with Juventus to win the league."

It is an objective that the former Sampdoria coach subscribes to as he cited the club's founder Herbert Kilpin in his opening address to the media.

"Kilpin said 'we will be a team of devils made from the colour red like fire and black like the fear we see in our rivals,'" he said. "We've got to forget the bitterness from the past few seasons and be faithful and optimistic.

"The president once said he has never met a pessimist who has done well in life. I can say I am sure and convinced that this year, we can have plenty of satisfaction. The objective is as has been described by the president, but the aim for Milan can only be one: to win game after game, then we see where we arrive, but certainly it's got to be high up."

That, Mihajlovic says, is the least one can expect from such a club.

"I've made many debuts in my life, but this is certainly an emotional one," said the 46-year-old. "The environment, ambitions and climate here make you realise what I already knew from the outside -- Milan are one of the top clubs in the world.

"Being chosen by such a prestigious club makes me proud, and to have got here not having played for this club is even more stimulating. Thanks for this opportunity. I will do all I can to play back their faith, and to gain that also from the fans.

"After a couple of difficult seasons we will do what we can to get back to being the best. I don't think there's a more ambitious project in Italy than this. You are destined to think big at this club."

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