Fonseca has to go
©IMAGO
This article was first published on December 30, 2024 at 10:09 a.m. and was updated after the presentation of the new trainer.
After less than half a year, AC Milan is parting ways with coach Paulo Fonseca. The 51-year-old Portuguese confirmed his early exit to the broadcaster “Sky Sport Italia” on Sunday evening. “Yes, it’s true,” he said as he left the San Siro stadium after the 1-1 draw against AS Roma: “I did everything I could.” On Monday morning, the Rossoneri also announced the separation – and only presented it a few hours later the successor: Sérgio Conceição.
To make matters worse, Fonseca received a red card shortly before half-time in the home game against Roma. In the table, Milan is eighth, even outside the international ranks.
Fonseca took over the team on July 1st as the successor to former master coach Stefano Pioli (now Al-Nassr) and scored an average of 1.75 points in 24 competitive games. This is the lowest yield since his stint at FC Paços de Ferreira between 2013 and 2015.
Successor Conceição: Family duel in Supercoppa is imminent
The 50-year-old Conceição once played in Italy for, among others, Milan’s city rivals Inter Milan and most recently coached FC Porto for seven years until last summer. With the Dragões, Conceição won, among other things, three championship titles and the Portuguese Cup four times. According to Fabrizio Romano, he turned down several interested parties from Europe and South America before signing with Milan.
Conceição’s commitment is also notable because it leads to an interesting family duel on Friday. In the Supercoppa, Milan will face Juventus and Francisco Conceição, the son of the new Milan coach, will play there.