Conceicao: ‘Milan can handle 4 strikers if they all do their jobs’ | OneFootball

Sergio Conceicao explains how Milan are able to handle their ‘Fantastic Four’ strikers in the Champions League play-off with Feyenoord. ‘As long as they all do their jobs, on and off the ball.’

It kicks off at the De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam at 20.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Club Brugge-Atalanta on the Liveblog.

The Rossoneri are for the first time starting the so-called Fantastic Four of Santiago Gimenez, Joao Felix, Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic.

“I believe that independently of their characteristics, the most important thing is to put themselves at the disposal of the squad,” Conceicao told Amazon Prime Video Italia.

“If they do their jobs, then we can play many strikers, but what we need is balance and solidity, this is the Champions League.

“It doesn’t matter how many forwards there are on the pitch, as long as they all do their jobs, both on and off the ball.”

Conceicao dealing with a whole new Feyenoord

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 05: Joao Felix of AC Milan celebrates scoring his team’s third goal with teammate Santiago Gimenez during the Coppa Italia Quarter Final match between AC Milan and AS Roma at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 05, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Preparing for the trip to Rotterdam was made rather more difficult by the fact Feyenoord sensationally sacked coach Brian Priske on Monday and promoted Pascal Boschaart from their youth team to the main job.

This can make the team selection a little unpredictable for Conceicao.

“We don’t know if their coach will stay on for a while, if he will try to have a sense of consistency with what came before. What we do know is the players in the squad and their characteristics.

“We worked on studying the way the Dutch side play, as there aren’t generally that many differences between the various teams here. They attack down the wings, like to take men on one-on-one and have the players suited to that style.

“We too have strong players, so it’s going to be a difficult game for everyone.”

Conceicao has a good history against Feyenoord in his career, both as a player a coach.

“I know the atmosphere well, we want to see many people passionate about football and we are used to it because we have San Siro.”