AC Milan fired their coach Paulo Fonseca (51) on Monday after just six months. The Portuguese will have his compatriot Sergio Conceiçao as successor on the bench of the Lombard club.
Fonseca, who arrived from Lille, paid the price for the inability of his team, left behind in the championship, to string together victories. “AC Milan officially announces that it has relieved Paulo Fonseca of his duties as coach of its first team,” the Milan club said in a press release the day after a draw (1-1) against AS Roma at home. “The club thanks Paulo for his great professionalism and wishes him the best for his future,” the statement added.
After the 18th day, the Rossoneri (8th, with a game in hand) are already 14 points behind the leader, Atalanta Bergamo. They are eight lengths from 4th place, qualifying for the Champions League, so important for a club that is still financially fragile. There is therefore an emergency and the Lombard leaders have decided to act.
Successor already named
A few hours after thanking Fonseca, AC Milan chose his compatriot Sergio Conceiçao (50) to succeed him. The latter knows Serie A having played there between 1998 and 2004. He has been without a club since his departure from Porto last June. His contract with the Rossoneri runs until the end of June 2026.
The AC Milan institution, which has just celebrated its 125th anniversary, is going through a major crisis. The fans of the club with 19 Italian championship titles and seven Champions League crowns have difficulty being in the shadow of Inter, the hated rival who won their 20th championship title last May.
Lack of ambition
They are particularly upset against their American owner Gerry Cardinale and against his advisor, the former Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They criticize them for their lack of ambition in terms of transfers and the error in casting Fonseca to succeed Stefano Pioli, the coach of the last “scudetto” in 2022.
“It’s a new football that is arriving, dominating and offensive, with a completely different energy,” Ibrahimovic promised in June during Fonseca’s presentation. In just six months and in the always exposed context of a separate club, this energy has already been consumed.
This article was automatically published. Source: ats
