Conceição to replace Fonseca

Milan has made their decision Fonseca has been dismissed. Conceição is set to take his place.

The draw with Roma, his former team, proved decisive. The club has already announced its decision. The former Porto coach, long chosen as the successor, turned down Wolverhampton to wait for the Rossoneri. He will lead in the Super Cup against Juve (and his son Francisco).

AC Milan has decided to dismiss Paulo Fonseca, delivering the news at the stroke of midnight, a moment of significance. The final match of the year marked his last with Milan, ending with a sending-off after six tumultuous and complex months, filled with everything from historic victories over Inter and Real Madrid to dramatic draws and too many losses against lesser teams. Fonseca bids farewell to San Siro following the game against Roma, his other Italian team, in one of those peculiar twists that football and life often present. What happened? Clearly, Milan lost confidence, and the relationship with the club became irreparable. The gap between them and Atalanta, Inter, and Napoli was too wide. The league table was unforgiving: eighth place, trailing behind Lazio, Fiorentina, Juventus, and Bologna as well. Fonseca would have been sacked had he lost the derby—that much is certain—and probably even if he had been defeated in Verona before Christmas. Continuing under such uncertainty was untenable.

Conceição

His successor will be Portuguese like him: Sergio Conceição, who has been inactive since his departure from Porto in early June, where he had been the manager since 2017. During his seven seasons there, he won three league titles. Milan had already considered him during the summer; there were discussions and negotiations, but Furlani, Moncada, and Ibrahimovic opted for Lopetegui and Fonseca. Now, six months later, the situation has come full circle, with a decision made by the technical area trio along with Gerry Cardinale. Conceição is ready to return and has recently turned down offers from Wolverhampton and several Brazilian clubs, as he was waiting for Milan. The club chose him for his winning record, consistent performances in Europe—with Porto reaching the Champions League quarter-finals twice and the round of 16 three times in his tenure—and his tough character. It seems the management believes that with this team, following Fonseca’s strong stances in recent months, even more decisiveness is needed. Conceição has a contract until June 2026 with an option to extend. Interestingly, in a twist of fate, much like Pioli and Mihajlovic, Milan once again appoints a former Inter player. In his debut as a Milan manager, Conceição will face Juventus in the Super Cup.

Fonseca concluded with 12 wins, 6 draws, and 6 losses, a record that fell short of the expectations set at the start of the year. In the league, much went awry: the dismal match in August against Parma (2-1 to the Gialloblu), the 2-2 with Lazio involving the cooling break controversy, the bizarre 2-1 loss in Florence featuring two missed penalties, and the decisive defeat to Napoli (though they were missing many players that day). Moreover, there was the 3-3 draw at Cagliari with Zappa’s brace in the second half, a goalless draw against Juventus with only one shot on target, and the 2-1 loss to Atalanta in Bergamo.

Conceição
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The Champions League fared much better: Milan lost their first two matches against Liverpool and Leverkusen but turned things around with an impressive win in Madrid against a lacklustre Real, distracted yet filled with stars. This marked the club’s second victory at the Bernabeu in its history. With the championship now out of reach and the race for Champions League qualification becoming steeper, Fonseca will not contend for the Super Cup, which is the fourth most important trophy of the season but now crucial to providing some meaning to this campaign.

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