AC Milan’s new coach, Sérgio Conceição, made an impressive start to his career by winning the Italian Super Cup! After completing a semi-final comeback against Juventus, the Rossoneri executed an even more impressive turnaround in the derby against Inter, trailing 0-2 until the 51st minute. However, AC Milan’s wildcard Rafael Leão turned the game around by assisting in goals from Theo Hernández, Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham. In an interview with Sport Mediaset, Conceição shared how he transformed a team already blessed with character, and that if Leão continues this momentum, he could become the best player in the world next season:
– Of course we are happy and celebrating now, but tomorrow we will start focusing on the match against Cagliari. There are clearly areas for improvement, but the players are aware of them, and I feel that we will be patient and able to have wonderful months in Serie A and the Champions League, returning Milan to the place they deserve. I’m very happy for the players – it hasn’t been easy. When I arrived, the atmosphere was not at its best, and there was little time to work on details before two matches against top teams. But the players absorbed everything we discussed wonderfully. Against Inter we had to make adjustments both in attack and defense – a coach has to make changes during the match, and that’s what I’m paid to do.
– It was very disappointing to concede the first and second goals just after halftime without reading the long ball correctly. However, the fact that the team managed to turn the match around twice and beat strong opponents shows that the players have character. We need to control pressing, and for collective play, if we want to be more reliable, we need to be closer to each other and maintain our structure. We can do this even more effectively if our defenders and midfielders show more courage and determination, and regarding the great AC Milan, this team should not be afraid and wait in defense. Although it is difficult to establish defensive timing quickly, especially when short on time – this is very important to me; However, we have players from national teams with high football intelligence, and they quickly understood what we need to do to win. I have known Rafael Leão for a long time; he is also Portuguese, but unlike me, he is calmer and less tense. Leão needs to learn a few things, and then he could become the best player in the world. I believe in that, and I’ve already mentioned that he has many individual qualities – if he puts them to work for the team, he can become even better. I have no doubt that next season Rafael can become the best player in the world if he learns these things.
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