GdS: ‘Agreement close’ – why Milan have chosen Fonseca to be Pioli’s heir

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SempreMilan

·25 maggio 2024

GdS: ‘Agreement close’ – why Milan have chosen Fonseca to be Pioli’s heir

AC Milan have chosen the man that they want to become their next head coach and it is Paulo Fonseca, who in turn is very eager to return to Italy and start a new challenge.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, there was no shortage of competition, in both senses. Milan could have given a contract to Conte, Flick, Tuchel, De Zerbi, Conceiçao or Galtier, while Fonseca could have extended with Lille and or gone to Marseille.

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However, they chose each other and in a few days everything could become official. There is no total agreement yet, there are no signatures, but the path is clear. Fonseca has always been in Milan’s mind and is appreciated for his style, on and off the pitch.

On the pitch he loves attacking football, he works with young players, in the last season he strangely lost some attacking effectiveness but he reduced the number of goals conceded. Away from the cameras he is considered a coach ready to work as a team and share the club’s choices, without asking for the moon. This was also important.

Milan immediately considered him a candidate: Fonseca was the first alternative to Julen Lopetegui when Pioli lost the bench, and he surpassed the other welcome coaches when Milan ended talks with Lopetegui and looked for an alternative.

Continuing Pioli’s legacy

Milan made the parting with Stefano Pioli official yesterday, which certainly wasn’t a mystery. Pioli remains the coach of the Scudetto, of the Champions League semi-final, of the recovery from mediocrity.

Today the fans will applaud him at San Siro on a strange evening, much more linked to next season than to the current one, which for Milan ended almost a month ago. Fonseca’s choice can also be explained this way, because there are many points of contact with Pioli.

Milan clearly wanted to focus on a man who, in his approach to the profession, resembles Pioli in some ways. On the pitch the differences are many and evident but the basic choice is the same: both build with harmony, not with disruptive choices.

The timing

Everyone believes that next week will be the week where handshakes and signatures come. Milan and Fonseca spoke a lot and found an agreement on almost everything. The next few days will be used to define the details and perhaps arrive at an announcement.

When? It’s difficult to say now, but Milan will play a friendly match against Roma in Perth, Australia on Friday. It is a commercial initiative and Pioli will not coach – Daniele Bonera will – but it is possible that Milan will wait for that to be done before announcing the name of their new coach.

Work to be done

Fonseca will watch on TV tonight and, barring any unforeseeable surprises, he will work on his Milan throughout June. He will have a new No.9 and a right-back, almost certainly a central defender.

He will have to evaluate the injury issue, which has been a problem for both him and Pioli, and understand how to use Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic, Theo Hernandez and Ismael Bennacer if they also remain.

He will have to give Milan shape and after all, it runs in the family: his father, who was a metal worker, did the same with metals.