Devil’s Advocate: A bulldozer on a short road – questioning Conceicao’s Sinatra approach | OneFootball

It has been one month since Sergio Conceicao was announced as the new head coach of AC Milan and yet, by his own admission, it feels like a year has passed.

In many ways, Conceicao’s brief tenure is simply holding a magnifying glass over what has been a tapestry of chaos in 2024-25 so far, starting with a strange summer and continuing down the rock road to a nuclear winter

The first warning sign arrived that Milan were heading for a turbulent path when the reports surfaced claiming that Julen Lopetegui was set to be hired as the new head coach. This in turn was met by protests that were so vocal that the management pulled the plug.

The people’s court was back in session not long after when it emerged that the directors had turned to Paulo Fonseca rather than an established winner like Antonio Conte or an up-and-coming profile such as Roberto De Zerbi or Thiago Motta.

If the head coach hire might not have gained unanimous approval, there was still the opportunity for the summer business to do a lot of legwork towards an entertaining season, yet confusion rained down on this front two.

In addition to signing Emerson Royal despite widespread scepticism (and even celebrations from some Spurs fans about his exit) and turning from a €40m deal for Joshua Zirkzee to a 31-year-old Alvaro Morata, headlines were made by the outgoings too.

For example, Milan renewed Luka Jovic’s deal and gave him the No.9 shirt before openly trying to ship him off late in the window to whomever expressed even a slight interest. Fonseca publicly stated his desire to keep Alexis Saelemaekers as well, yet he was sent to Roma in order to get Tammy Abraham on loan.

It didn’t take long for the first cracks to appear in a structure that wasn’t even close to being fully built yet. Fonseca perhaps knew that he was arriving and would not have full powers, but he was reminded of it when he declared in August that the summer business was done in his eyes after Youssouf Fofana’s arrival.

Then, Zlatan Ibrahimovic responded at the presentation of the same player, stating: “The coach is the coach, the club does the rest. We don’t need any more purchases, but the market closes when I say it closes.” In short, a message not to speak out of turn.

A dramatic 2-2 draw against Torino to start the season would be the sounding of the starting gun. A defeat to Parma followed, after which Yunus Musah admitted he and his team-mates ‘didn’t know whether to press high or drop in deep’. It was the first open sign that Fonseca might not be getting his message across.

After that game, Fonseca left Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao out of the side against Lazio. Both of them came on, and the now infamous ‘cooling break saga’ resulted where the left-sided duo stood on the other side of the field while the coach spoke to the team. It led to accusations that the Portuguese coach already had faltering support in the dressing room.

Things would get even worse in Florence, during the defeat to Fiorentina. Milan got two penalties at the Stadio Artemio Franchi and it was confirmed after the game that Christian Pulisic should have taken both. What happened could only be described as mutiny: Theo took the first from him, then for the second Fikayo Tomori passed it to Tammy Abraham. Naturally, both missed.

More Stories / Features

Devil’s Advocate: A bulldozer on a short road – questioning Conceicao’s Sinatra approach

31 January 2025, 14:30

How AC Milan secure top eight in the Champions League and last 16 seeding explained

29 January 2025, 14:30

Kyle Walker insight: Scouting report, stats, transfer rating and more

28 January 2025, 15:45

The list goes on and on. Fonseca would wage war on the officiating crew after the loss to Atalanta which Paolo Scaroni then went against, the tug-of-war between the coach and Leao became a weekly headline and – the factor that counts above all – the results were never good enough to offset the ammunition being given to the media.

When Fonseca was eventually relieved of his duties following the draw with Roma on December 29, he looks an exhausted figure. It had been only 24 games in charge but it might as well have been ten times that amount.

One of his most striking quotes came after beating Red Star in the Champions League, when he very openly with the attitude that he saw from his team, especially in a second half which saw them surrender a lead and find it difficult to establish dominance against – with respect – an inferior team.

“I’m tired of struggling with these things, I’m not satisfied with the team’s performance. The problem is that our team is a roller coaster. Today we are fine, tomorrow I don’t know. It’s like tossing a coin and waiting to see what happens. It’s almost impressive,” he said.

“I know that I work every day to prepare the team, to do well. I don’t know if everyone in the team can say the same. We had the obligation to arrive today and do everything to win the match. And we didn’t do it.”

An insight into his man-management was given during the spell in which he repeatedly benched Leao, too. The ex-Lille boss visited the ex-Lille winger while at the training camp with Portugal ahead of the European Championship, yet from there things seemed to gradually skid downhill.

“Maybe it’s strange for you not to see him [on the pitch], but this must be normal. It’s not normal to see Leao on the bench, but it is normal for me when I say that the team is more important.” He would add: “I don’t give a f*** about the players’ names.”

The parting shot came from Fonseca when spoke to reporters as he left the stadium in his car following his sacking: “Yes. I left Milan. That’s life, that’s how it is. I have a clear conscience, I did everything I could do.”

To provide some symmetry, we fast-forward to the present day, and more specifically after Milan suffered yet another damaging defeat, this time at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.

It was said that Conceicao appeared ‘almost resigned’ in his post-match press conference. A fighter like him, someone who by nature never gives up, forced to accept all this with the phrase: “I try to do what I can, but if there’s no fundamentals, if there’s no passion…”

Here we arrive at the more controversial basis of the article: Sergio Conceicao’s approach to tackling the difficult situation he inherited. To simplify the above, the former Porto manager took over a flawed squad with injury problems yes, but also a demotivated and listless one that was drifting week by week towards a very forgettable campaign.

The start couldn’t have been any better. Comeback wins against against Juventus and Inter to lift the Supercoppa lit the touchpaper and had many thinking that Milan had somehow landed the right man, just a few months later than they should have done.

Then came he difficulties in Serie A (a home draw against Cagliari and a defeat away against Juventus), with a more recent upturn through the victories against Girona and Parma, even if the most recent game was in itself chaotic.

When Conceicao arrived he signed a contract until June 2026, and Milan have an option to extend until 2027, but also a clause to unilaterally terminate the relationship at the end of this season. Thus, he effectively had six months to show he was the right man, an ‘audition’ of sorts.

Many might tread carefully in these circumstances, examining and analysing all aspects of the situation before proceeding with caution. Conceiçao has done the only thing that seems logical in his mind: to take on this half-season with his ideas, his rules and everything that comes with that.

As we lifted the lid on a bit more in a recent Substack feature, the 50-year-old has a tough character that some would say borders on abrasive, but it comes from a burning desire within to push the standards higher and to create a team that the fans are proud of.

The directors knew who and what they were hiring, while the players are learning it the hard way. The warnings and the scoldings have not been lacking in recent weeks, meaning the Rossoneri have gone from a ‘yes-man’ like Fonseca (who was also tough at times) to a bulldozer.

The Saudi Arabia trip ended up being like a boot camp of sorts, with double sessions to try and rectify the sub-par fitness levels the new coach spoke of. That was only the beginning, though, as Conceicao begun work at Milanello changing the entire culture of how the squad do things.

Some of the changes have already been reported in the media, such as flip flops and sandals not being allowed at Milanello. At first, the players were almost in a state of shock at being faced with a military sergeant who wouldn’t just do his talking in the media (as Leao suggested Fonseca did) but would tell you things from a yard away too.

Speaking of talking in the media, Conceicao has done plenty of that and this is where the more contentious aspect comes into play. For example, when he arrived he immediately pointed out some shortcomings in character and approach to work in his first press conference, referencing the two stars his predecessor clashed with.

“Theo and Leao are the same as all the others, in terms of how I manage the dressing room. It depends on what they do every day in training. They have to do their best, which maybe isn’t the best in their opinion,” he said.

“The players aren’t children but men, inside the dressing room they have to take on the responsibilities too. Many players are already fathers but then they arrive on the pitch and they are kids who need someone to get into their heads? […] The players are too pampered, and so am I. It’s a job, not a hobby.”

After the first home league game he took charge of – the 1-1 draw against Cagliari, the game before which the Supercoppa trophy was presented – he began to further intensify his criticism of the team’s attitude. As a reminder, this was after just three games.

“I expected much more at all levels. I’ve been a coach for 13 years, comparing the quality of this group to what we did, it was the weakest first half of my coaching career. We lacked rhythm, quality, and they were all in front of the goal,” he stated.

“What is lacking? A bit of everything. A bit mental, a bit physical, we have to do a lot of work to improve. There were many periods in the game that I didn’t like at all. A draw is losing two points, I’m angry because if we had done everything we had prepared there would have been… We have to improve and work.”

More Stories / The Match

Baresi happy to avoid Juventus in UCL after Milan ‘made life difficult for ourselves’

31 January 2025, 14:55

GdS: Walker, Bennacer and the doubts – how Milan should line up against Inter

31 January 2025, 13:40

Official: AC Milan to face Feyenoord in Champions League play-off round

31 January 2025, 12:27

After the defeat against the Bianconeri – as game where Milan were totally at sea, especially in a wretched second half – Conceiçao confessed to those close to him that he has ‘never coached a team with so little character’ and such little desire to win, according to one newspaper.

Finally, in terms of quotes, we come to what was said after the Dinamo Zagreb defeat on Wednesday night, referenced above. Conceicao claims that he is ‘trying to do what he can’, and we don’t doubt that for a second, but can this kind of uncompromising results really fix such a delicate mess?

An analogy that springs to mind is the necessity for someone to pick up a dismantled jigsaw and put the pieces back together with a bit or care and precision, yet what Milan actually have is an industrial excavator determined to go for the very roots.

Don’t get us wrong, there is plenty about this club that is rotten and needs overhaul, starting from the very top. It means Conceicao has come into a very difficult situation, too, one that he is no doubt learning more about with each passing week. And yet, we must also question where the signs of progress are.

On the pitch, the Rossoneri have started games poorly and continue to do so. There are only two games so far in which the team have gone ahead under the new coach (against Cagliari and Girona), despite the five wins racked up.

This is something that must be changed sooner rather than later, which doesn’t take someone with a UEFA A licence to figure out. Yet, the issue remains uncorrected and seems to be a mental block that Conceicao – despite his very harsh words and focus on mind over tactics – has been able to bust through so far.

Christian Pulisic conceded after the defeat in Croatian that Milan are continuing to dig themselves a hole by going behind in the first half of games. His answer when asked why that might be? “We also expected a different start, but I can’t explain it, I don’t know.”

Rather than diluting his point by paraphrasing, we refer to the words of Franco Ordine and his recent column on the state of affairs at Milan. He became one of the first respected journalists to turn the microscope towards the coach as well as the squad.

“At this point we must ask ourselves with great realism what Sergio Conceiçao has given to this Milan in the few days available, with very few training sessions (about ten in total)?

“Judging from the facts lined up we must start from the series of comebacks after some disastrous incipits, and the Riyadh Supercoppa that cannot be forgotten but in terms of organised football and tactical balance almost nothing.

“All with the surplus of nervousness, also transmitted by his attitudes, which is not always a good ally in healing a group of young players left without a leader.”

It’s true that Conceicao has only had nine ‘normal’ training sessions to this point, so we are far from reaching any definitive judgement on the tactical side. But it is a good job in some ways that this is the case, given the team have already offered up halves under the Portuguese (by his own admission) that were below the level of anything witnessed under Fonseca.

In fact, there have so far been more clashes with players than there have complete performances. The incident at full-time after the Parma win involving Davide Calabria was in the headlines for days to come, and while there may have been reason, it isn’t something you want to see unfold on the field as a fan even if emotions were high.

This piece is not intended to criticise Conceicao, because his ways are known and they will not change. Instead, it serves to ask difficult questions. Will this approach get the best out of a deflated squad now? Will it do so for a sustained period of time, perhaps with the coach putting his stamp on things with signings? Is mentality the most important aspect to fix, before anything tactical?

It is also quite apt to point the blame elsewhere. Yes, the squad is poorly constructed, and the management that put it together should be in the docks. The mindset of the players probably isn’t right and needs a lot of work.

However, there are complex human dynamics at play, and until bigger overhaul can happen the focus must be on salvaging the current season so that the next one isn’t compromised with a lack of Champions League football.

Everyone should want Conceicao to succeed because that means that Milan succeed, and having to find another manager in the summer would be hitting the reset button again. The early signs though, which nobody can ignore, show a combative figure trying his best to firefight by lighting more fires.