GdS: The one word Fonseca wanted every Milan player to see before win vs. Inter | OneFootball

AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca made the decision to change something in the dressing room in the hopes it would inspire his players, and Sunday’s derby win suggested that it did.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, Fonseca and his staff instructed the club to put the word ‘courage’ above the individual seats of all 25 players called up for the derby, but in their native languages.

On Sunday, Inter were playing at ‘home’ and – as agreed between the two clubs – Simone Inzaghi’s team kept both their own locker room and the one that Milan usually uses when they play home matches at San Siro.

Fonseca’s men prepared in the ‘big room’ reserved for away teams that the Portuguese asked to personalise: each player’s spot was marked with their shirt number, the Milan crest and the word ‘courage’ written in the language spoken by the player in question.

A curiosity: courage is written the same in English and French, but the Dutch, Serbian, German and Portuguese versions was present. The message was clear: everyone should go out onto the pitch without fear of the Italian champions.

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It is just one of a number of things intended to galvanise team spirit, including the over 90-minute chat that the coach had with the players on Wednesday about the season so far and the barbecue at Milanello on Friday.

Then there was the final party. The team were on the field to receive the chants of the Curva Sud and when they returned to the dressing room they found the physiotherapists, members of the coaching staff, the warehouse workers and the managers who welcomed them with huge and applause. The finale included dinner and music in a well-known venue in the city.