Hiljemark has happy memories of facing Milan, wants ‘aggressive’ Pisa
New Pisa coach Oscar Hiljemark has fond memories of facing Milan in his playing career and wants his team to be ‘more aggressive’ this evening.
It kicks off at the Cetilar Arena at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog.
Alberto Gilardino was sacked after managing just one win in the opening 23 Serie A rounds, so the club poached 33-year-old Hiljemark from Elfsborg to take over.
He is no stranger to Serie A, having played for Genoa and Palermo, including bagging a brace against Milan when the Sicilians lost 3-2 at San Siro in September 2015.
Hiljemark has strong history with Milan
“I remember scoring two goals against Milan, but it was many years ago, so I hope to win this evening,” Hiljemark told DAZN Italia.
The new boss made his debut in a 0-0 draw away to fellow relegation strugglers Hellas Verona, but this is his first home game.
“It’s a lovely stadium, the fans are ready, I am very happy to be here and with this team. Matteo Tramoni has different characteristics to some of the players who we had last week, he is able to help out the defence too. I want a player who attacks the space and creates room for the others to push up and support him.
“Pisa had one way of working with their staff before, me and my staff want them to be a bit more aggressive in training. Of course, you can’t change a lot in three days of training, but we are trying some things.”
Gilardino’s Pisa held Milan to a surprising 2-2 draw at San Siro back in October 2025, but the Rossoneri have had a definite improvement in form since then.
“Milan are a strong squad, both as individuals and a group, but there are spaces where we can hurt them, and they have some problems in certain phases. We’ll see what happens when the game starts,” concluded Hiljemark.