CARNAGO (ITALPRESS) – Milan is in a hurry, in every sense of the word. So, if on Sunday it had gone in a matter of hours from Fonseca’s at-risk position to his exoneration, just before the departure for Riyadh here was the press conference to present the new coach Sergio Conceicao. In a hurry, because there was a plane to catch and little time available, this at least was the explanation of the press office regarding not asking questions to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, seated next to the Portuguese. The Swede, however, did say something in the introductory pistol, in which he explained the reasons for his exoneration and admitted the serious miscommunication on Sunday night: “Fonseca has failed to have continuity with results, and when you are Milan, results are fundamental,” he explained. “The decision to exonerate him was taken after the game and we made a mistake in sending him to the conference: I apologize to Paulo and the fans. We understand the fans and we have respect, we are the first ones who are not satisfied and we will not be until we achieve our goals. The Super Cup is one of them. The responsibility is not only the coach’s, it is shared with everyone, we have to take it.” Ibra then explained the reasons for choosing Conceicao (“A very direct person, he brings character, he is a winner. He had experience in taking over in the middle of the league and did very well. He did great results at Porto. Yesterday he arrived and immediately wanted the team on the field to work.”), then making way for the Portuguese and, from what we saw, the change in register was evident. Because there is a lot of difference between one Portuguese and the other, with Fonseca’s calmness replaced by Conceicao’s toughness, who didn’t mince words, making things clear right away: “If I’m here it’s not a good sign, it means that something didn’t go well,” he said. “I told the guys that you can also change the system of play, but that’s not the point. Because then there is spirit and mentality, which are non-negotiable. You need hunger, getting to the end of games knowing that you have given everything. You know how many times I’ve been ejected in my career, right? It’s because I live it intensely, I want the same mentality from my people, the players need their eyes to shine when they enter the field and they need to push to their limit. With this mentality, everyone in his role, we will be a strong team. “The opportunity is one of those important ones (“I am proud, it is a pleasure for me to come and work for such an important team, a step forward in my career”) and as of now he will have six months to keep Milan next year as well, since in June the club reserved the clause to terminate one year in advance. If it came to that, it would be the certification of a season entirely to be trashed, but at least now Conceicao is not thinking about it. Better to focus on the upcoming Super Cup engagement against his son Francisco (“Professionally he will be an opponent, at home he is my son”), but above all on managing a locker room that with Fonseca has repeatedly manifested anarchy and disconnection: “More stick or more carrot? It depends on the situations, I cannot change at 50, the players know they have a straightforward person in front of them. There will always be 11 happy and the others less so. This is what group management is all about, eyes to eyes with the players, training to the max, pressure is part of soccer, especially in a big club. If bad times come, we will then move on to a better time. “We are confident that we are doing a good job. I told the players that you can talk a lot, but then the facts count. The players for me are the same in terms of how I run the locker room, I don’t make a difference if someone is 17 or 37, it depends on what they do in training. They have to do their best, which may not be the best according to them. There are other limits,” Conceicao added. No dominant soccer as his predecessor dreamed of (“For me, soccer is simple, very simple: there is a goal where to score goals and another where not to take them. For me tiki taka is to put it in”), no frills nor too many questions. There is a plane to catch and a cup to try to win. Then there will be a Champions to play for now and another to reach next year. Of time at Milan they have already wasted too much. – Photo Ipa Agency -(ITALPRESS).
