Paulo Fonseca: The 5 key reasons it all went wrong at Milan – report | OneFootball

Paulo Fonseca’s adventure with AC Milan lasted just half a season. A mere 24 matches were enough for the Rossoneri board to decide they had invested in the wrong man when snaring the Portuguese from Lille last summer.

During his brief tenure, Fonseca enjoyed an impressive victory over champions and city rivals Inter in the Milan derby, as well as a stunning 3-1 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Yet there was always a sense the former Porto boss did not quite fit at San Siro, with Italian media now sifting through the wreckage.

“This is a move towards dominant, attacking football,” were the words of Milan director Zlatan Ibrahimovic when Fonseca was paraded to the media last June. Having forged a reputation for developing a slick, attractive style in his teams, the Portuguese was charged with evolving Milan to something more aesthetically pleasing than that offered by previous incumbent Stefano Pioli.

Within weeks of the season beginning, it became apparent that Fonseca had also embarked on a cultural overhaul. The Portuguese publicly challenged his players and was happy to drop star names Rafael Leão and Theo Hernandez. “If there’s a problem, I don’t give a sh*t about player names,” he said back in October, while later stating he “doesn’t have to beg for commitment,” when addressing Leão.

In the end, Sunday’s tepid draw with Roma came as the team had descended on a run of increasingly mundane showings. Everyone in the press room knew Fonseca’s days were numbered when the final whistle sounded, with more dropped points leaving the 19-time Italian champions languishing in 8th place in the table.

On Wednesday, iconic publication Gazzetta dello Sport published an article focusing on five key reasons Fonseca lost control at the club and ultimately lost his job.

Empathy

“From the very walls that in theory shouldn't speak, a murmur came. Then another and another. And when they start to become too many, then there's probably some truth in them. They are the unspoken quotation marks of the players, the afterthoughts that inevitably come out when things don't go the right way. And these whispers tell of a presumed lack of empathy of Paulo with the team. A coach who "can't get into your head", as some players say.”

Battles with the big stars

Of Fonseca's complicated term, the "battles" against the stars of the squad will remain in the collective imagination. Big shots like Leão and Hernandez punished in front of a blackboard as happened in schools a century ago. On the one hand, a commendable operation: Fonseca put the players against the wall, publicly explaining their shortcomings. Clear recipients, even in the absence of names and surnames. On the other hand, however, a decidedly risky operation: Rafa and Theo, in particular, are two of the most important assets of the team and too many benches do not benefit the value.”

Public management

At a certain point Fonseca decided to wash his dirty laundry by taking it from his family home to the streets. A choice that was decidedly against the grain in the world of football, accustomed - with a few exceptions - to rivers of rhetoric and a succession of "everything is fine". Paulo put some players under media pressure when he deemed it necessary, without receiving any particular endorsements from the management, on the contrary. The post-Red Star outburst was not very welcome by the club (to put it mildly), and the same goes for the attacks against the refereeing after the match with Atalanta. In this case, the coach was even contradicted in the space of a few hours first by [chairman] Paolo Scaroni and then by Ibrahimovic.”

The defensive phase

“Strictly in terms of the pitch, the defensive lapses (in terms of phase, and not just department) are the loudest siren that Fonseca leaves unleashed at Milanello. In these first 24 games of the season, the Devils have conceded goals with glaring errors in individual and in collective senses. A fragile, exposed, battered team, although some improvement in recent times is undeniable.”

The comfort zone

“Fonseca leaves behind a Milan that is practically the opposite of what he wanted to shape. He demanded ferocity and dominance, he found himself a wet and lost team, wrapped up in an endless series of back passes and dribbles that were never executed. Victim of his own ghosts, a fear that has taken away imagination and responsibility from the heads and legs of those who would have had the potential to carry their teammates on their shoulders.”