Consistency more important than derby win, says Kaka

AC Milan’s world player of the year Kaka says a victory over Italian champions Inter Milan in Sunday’s city derby would be great but it is consistency that his team needs the most.

Milan lost their first two games of the season as high profile new signings Ronaldinho and Andrei Shevchenko failed to inspire them.

They have since won three matches – two in Serie A and one in the UEFA Cup – but the Brazilian playmaker insists that beating the small teams is even more important than a win over Jose Mourinho’s Inter.

“Right now we’ve won three matches in a row, and that’s important because beating Lazio or Inter is great but you also have to find the motivation to play against Reggina on a rainy Wednesday night,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“In the end its the points won or lost against the little teams that make the difference.”

Consistency has been the problem for Milan already this season. They played well but lost 2-1 at home to Bologna in their first match before deservedly losing 2-0 at Genoa.

In the UEFA Cup they were rarely convincing in a 3-1 win over FC Zurich before producing a superb display to beat Lazio 4-1 at the San Siro.

Yet they were poor in a lucky 2-1 win at Reggina in midweek.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti has rotated his squad a fair bit although he looked to be settling on a forward pairing of Marco Borriello and Pato, with Ronaldinho and Shevchenko on the bench.

One of those two should play against Inter as Borriello is injured but it seems clear that AC Milan fans’ dream formation with Shevchenko and Brazilians Ronaldinho, Pato and Kaka all lining up in the same team is unlikely to ever happen.

Kaka denied it’s a formation that has been shelved, though.

“I don’t think so but first and foremost we have to have balance,” he said. That doesn’t come from the number of forwards but from the attitude.

“That’s more to do with the head than the legs because the desire to sacrifice yourself comes from there.”

While Ronnie and Sheva warm the bench, teenager Pato has proved a mainstay in the team.

“He’s a player for the future and the present. If he stays fit, I think he’ll play all season long,” added Kaka.

While Kaka has faith in his countryman, Inter captain Javier Zanetti believes his team-mate and Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic could make the difference.

“Milan are a team that always command respect because they have great players, in the last few games they’ve bounced back,” he told Sky Sport.

“But in the derby form goes out the window, it’s a special match and anything can happen.

“So, we need to be very careful and to concentrate on everything we do.

“From our point of view, of course Ibrahimovic, given how he’s playing, can be our match winner.

“For them, I think Kaka is always a player who can turn a game at any moment.”