[Aladino]

Maldini in buoyant mood Monday 6 August, 2007

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Veteran Milan defender Paolo Maldini has insisted that the mood in the Rossoneri camp couldn’t be better, despite poor pre-season performances.

The Diavoli looked less than impressive at last weekend’s Moscow tournament as they struggled to a third-placed finish with a penalty shoot-out victory over Lokomotiv Moscow.

Boss Carlo Ancelotti slammed his side for looking out of shape, but the injured Maldini believes that the San Siro outfit will be ready when the time comes.

“It seems normal to me that a side that wins the Champions League has a slight hangover,” he told Il Giornale.

“This doesn’t mean that we aren’t ready to tackle the challenges and we believe that we can climb mountains as we did last term.”

As for his own recovery from a knee injury that has seen him regularly sidelined over the course of the last season, Maldini is pleased with the progress.

“At the end of August I’m scheduled to go on a course in Antwerp and a month after that I should be ready to play,” he revealed.

“It has been strange and not nice being missing from pre-season training at Milanello for the first time, but I’m working as hard as I can to rejoin the squad."

Finally, the 39-year-old took a moment to express his excitement at the imminent arrival of Brazilian starlet Alexandre Pato.

“I’ve seen him twice on TV in the FIFA Club World Cup and I was struck by his talent. I’m delighted because he already has such skill,” he concluded.

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