Fabio Capello believes that Sergio Conceicao is the right man to take over from Stefano Pioli at AC Milan, while he hit out at the hype Roberto De Zerbi is getting.
There continues to be a number of different names linked with Milan as they look for the right man to lead a new era after nearly five years under Pioli, from Conceicao and Mark van Bommel to Paulo Fonseca and Thiago Motta.
It seemed as though Julen Lopetegui was all lined up to come in and take charge, yet some rather widespread backlash from the fans forced the management to reassess, leading to a period of uncertainty since.
Capello spoke to Sky Calcio Club about Milan’s reflections on the choice of the next coach with his comments relayed by Radio Rossonera.
“So-so. I was not pro-Lopetegui. I am more in favour of Conceicao, because he is someone who has lived in Italy, he knows what we need in Italy,” he said.
“I really liked how Porto played with the concentration I saw on the pitch, with the humility of a team that sought results in all situations and manners despite being technically inferior to their opponents. I believe he is a coach ready for Milan.”
The ex-Milan boss also expressed a rather strong opinion regarding De Zerbi, admitting his skepticism over the lack of trophies on the board despite the fact he is at the start of his career.
“De Zerbi, what has he won? What has he done? He is the most praised of all and he is endorsed by Guardiola but if we look at his CV he has won a cup in Ukraine, and is eleventh in the Premier League.”
He’s 100% right about De Zerbi. He needs to cut his teeth before getting a job like Milan. Sassuolo and Brighton aren’t exactly bigger clubs. The pressure at Milan is like nothing he’s experienced. At least Pioli had the Curva Sud and the Curva Nord protest him at the San Siro. He knows what the job entails. Conceicao has represented some of the biggest clubs in Italy as a player, and has managed one of Portugal’s top 3 to incredible success. There’s only one logical choice here
Capello forgets history and that not always the right coach is the one with the credentials … Capello had zero coaching credentials when he joined Milan as a coach, and was coming after Liedholm and Sacchi.
Rather than focus on credentials, his job as an experienced coach should be to explain to the masses why De Zerbi is or isn’t the right coach from a technical, tactical or mental perspective.
Does he have something that would make him better or worse at doing this job compared to Conceisao or Fonseca or Pioli? Does it look like he makes the wrong moves under pressure? Does it look like he fails to motivate his team? Is he able to change how a team is positioned and playing through substitutions? Does he fight with anyone in the locker room or with higher management? Do his players get injured more or less than the average for the league? What formations does De Zerbi use and how would those work for our current roster of players? That’s what I’m looking to hear from Capello, not just regular talk, that even my friends at the pub could tell me.
The truth is that journalists ask Capello for opinions even for things that Capello might not fully know, and instead of saying that, we hear generic words that tell us nothing
Sacchi and Capello also didn’t win anything important when they took Milan job, even Zaccheroni, Allegri, Pioli doesn’t until they won scudetto at Milan
I would take Conceicao and it’s true he’s more proven ,however I fail to understand Capellos logic in questioning De Zerbi with trophies. No coach would be winning trophies with Sassuolo and Brighton. De Zerbi would do a better job with England and Russia national teams than Capello have done ,he couldn’t even win enough in China because with football evolving likes of Capello got lost. No wonder only coaches he’s been backing are Allegri Mourinho Mazzarri etc. You could say De Zerbi is not ideal for Milan and that may sound respectful. Don’t talk as if there are personal issues with the lad. I see why De Zerbi said it’s difficult for someone like him to work in Italy.
It’s not a question of whether a trophy is needed for a coach to be good.
It’s a response to the hype about RDZ which is not really supported by any of his achievements.
He has hardly overachieved at any point in his career to date. It would be extraordinary to pay the 15m release to get him.
In that context, Motta would also be hyped because he hasn’t achieved any silverware. De Zerbi got Brighton a top 6 spot, and various players were sold for a lot of money. This is as much as you can ask of him considering the club.
It would be like Lecce getting a top 6 spot in Serie A, it would obviously be an achievement for the club considering what is invested in the team.
The 15 mil clause is the mean reason I find it unreasonable to push for De Zerbi ,otherwise he’d tick a lot of boxes for the Milan post. He’s certainly overachieved if you look at what objectives his clubs have been setting position wise, brand of football and economically. Respectfully, If we want to see if he can as well win trophies then let’s give him a chance at a club targeting trophies. Nothing indicates he will fail other than he’s never been there to be trusted.
Pioli isnt bad too. 2nd place already on hand with limit budget and lot of injury players this season. I think hes smart ass, only need some upgrade player or method per department. Can milan ask more than this for the new milan manager ? dont think so. We need more patience.
Last but not least, tell if im wrong but the tradition at milan are they campeone seri A only with italian coach. Hehe…
I agree, Everyone forgets the crazy defensive injury crisis that dropped us from 1st place. But we still stayed above the rest of serie A. Pioli would do better in the champions league if we made proper investments, much like Conte requires. Let’s see who is out next coach. Thank you Pioli for our 19th title!
Not a fan of DeZerbi. I think he has a lot of potential to become a fantastic coach but he needs more time to mature as a tactician and find a balance.
“The likes of”, “the likes of”, and “the likes of” ROFL
Surely De Zerbi can’t be expected to win titles with Sassuolo and Brighton. Ancelotti didn’t win titles with Napoli and Everton…
I respect capello so much, but he is been a hypocrite here. Throwing rocks forgetting his own humble beginnings.
What’s the hitting out at de zerbi for.
Capello dropped the ball and cut real deep right here.