CONCEIÇÃO: "WE'LL WORK TO THE MAXIMUM AND WITH CONFIDENCE" | OneFootball

An important day at Milanello, where Sérgio Conceição was officially presented as the new AC Milan Head Coach in a press conference. Alongside him was Zlatan Ibrahimović, answering questions from the press. A new start, with the Rossoneri looking to move forward with enthusiasm as we head into 2025.

SÉRGIO CONCEIÇÃO

EMOTIONS "I feel a great sense of pride; it's a pleasure for me to be here at such an important Club. This is a step forward for both me and my staff. The fans? They're the soul of the club; everything is much more difficult without them. I'm here because some things haven't gone well. We don’t have any time to waste: there's an important match in a few days. But we won’t complain and don’t want to make excuses."

MENTALITY "The system is not the be-all and end-all; we need to have the right spirit and quality. This hunger to finish the match knowing you've given everything to win isn't easy. I want the players to experience matches in an intense manner, just like I and the fans do. Their eyes should light up when they enter Milanello. The team have experienced highs and lows: Paulo had some fantastic periods here but also some difficult moments. We're constantly striving for perfection, but that's not possible. For me, football is simple: there’s a goal to score in and another we want to keep the ball out of. For me, that's what dominant football is."

WHY AC MILAN "In the summer, I read about several teams being interested in me, and there were a lot of rumours. Why have I joined AC Milan? Because here I have the opportunity to coach one of the best teams in the world. I couldn't say no."

APPROACH "I'm a direct person, and there will always be players who are happier and others who are less so. But this is simply part of managing the group. I want direct communication and for us to work to the maximum in training. I'm confident, but words are just words; only results matter."

OBJECTIVES "We'll do everything we can to qualify for the Champions League, but there's a lot of work to do. I have confidence in the team, and now we need to focus on the Supercoppa, where we'll play our cards with the aim of winning."

MANAGEMENT "I'll speak with the management when I need to. They can come to me whenever they want because we all want to go in the same direction; the aim is to qualify for the Champions League. As for the transfer market, I want to get to know the First Team and Milan Futuro first. Then we'll see."

PAST EXPERIENCES "Can this job be compared to some of my past experiences? There are perhaps some similarities with Nantes, but I must say that the pressure is different here. This, however, should give us extra motivation. We must be responsible and work to the maximum while displaying humility. We know we have a difficult job ahead of us, but I'm very confident."

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIĆ

FONSECA "I'd like to thank Paulo Fonseca for what he did and for being the professional he is; I have the utmost respect for him. Why was he relieved of his duties? Because we lacked consistency in terms of results, and results are very important for AC Milan. We made the decision after the match against Roma, but we made the mistake of letting him go to his post-match press conference, for which I apologise to Paulo and the fans. We understand our fans and respect them, but we are the first to be unhappy when we don't achieve our objectives. The Supercoppa is one of our aims. It isn't just the coach who is responsible for the current situation; everyone must shoulder responsibility."

CONCEIÇÃO "Sérgio is a very direct person with a strong character and a winning mentality. He has taken over a club mid-season before and been successful. Our job now is to put him in the best position possible to do his best. We welcome him."

Tickets are available for AC Milan v Cagliari, AC Milan v Girona and AC Milan v Parma: see you at San Siro!