GdS: Milan welcome ‘Fonseca 2.0’ – how he has changed compared to Roma spell

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·20 July 2024

GdS: Milan welcome ‘Fonseca 2.0’ – how he has changed compared to Roma spell

It may only be a preseason friendly and more glamorous opponents await in the United States, but we will see Paulo Fonseca’s AC Milan on the field for the first time this evening.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport writes, Fonseca stated in his first press conference as the new head coach of Milan that he is ‘very ready’ after his previous experience in Serie A with Roma, but what exactly has changed since then?

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The Roma version

For a few years, Fonseca had the reputation of being an ultra-offensive coach, a manager capable of giving an attacking imprint to his teams, but less focused on coverage. It also happened in Italy. The Portuguese left Roma in 2021, having shown an interesting style of play and enhancing several players.

However, the scale of his Italian adventure was weighed down above all by the lack of attention at the back, with 109 goals conceded in two league seasons (51 in the first season, which ended in fifth place, and 58 in the second, which ended in seventh place).

His Roma side are remembered for good football and for having reached a Europa League semi-final, one they lost against Manchester United, with a squad of a lower level than Jose Mourinho’s. It ended 6-2 at Old Trafford (after being 2-1 up at half-time, but injuries to Veretout, Pau Lopez and Spinazzola complicating things).

In the return match, the 3-2 victory at the Olimpico was useless in terms of qualification, but they showed character. Compared to the Special One, Fonseca also had a better points average in the Capital (1.76 against 1.70).

Players developed

If in Ukraine he always used a 4-2-3-1, the move to Roma opened up other opportunities. Fonseca initially used the same system, then often played with a three-man defence. The Giallorossi fans remember some sparks with Dzeko, who then ended up at Inter, but also the exploits of Borja Mayoral.

Having arrived at Roma in October 2020 on loan from Real Madrid, the Spaniard was rekindled after a spell at Levante: in his first season in the capital he put together 17 goals and 7 assists in 45 games. Among the players he raised in value are also Spinazzola, Zaniolo, Mkhitaryan, Veretout and Villar.

Also worth remembering is the debut of an 18-year-old Riccardo Calafiori against Juve, in August 2020. On the following 3 December, in the Europa League against Young Boys, the defender scored his first goal in Giallorossi with a great strike from distance.

Facing Milan

Italy is part of Fonseca’s destiny. In 2017, the coach married Kateryna, whom he met at Shakhtar, in a villa on Lake Como. Then, in 2019, his son Martin was born here.

On Milan TV , the former Lille coach also had some nice words to say about his first approaches to San Siro: “What I felt when I played here was incredible.”

He has faced Pioli’s Milan on four occasions and the balance shows one win (the 2-1 on 27 October 2019, at the Olimpico), one draw (3-3 on 26 October 2020, at San Siro) and two defeats, the 2-0 on 28 June 2020 and the 2-1 on 28 February 2021, at the Olimpico. Now, he will return to San Siro as home.