With the opening that AC Milan have had, criticism is to be expected. From the players, to the manager, to the management, to the owner, the finger is being pointed everywhere, and fans are frustrated.
At present, Milan do not look like a positive football club. Results are poor, worsened by the fact that they lack any suggestions of an identity. A period of transition was expected when Paulo Fonseca arrived, but the transition shouldn’t be regression.
Fonseca’s football is not working, and fans are very quickly getting frustrated at the Portuguese coach. Perhaps, it is stubbornness, perhaps something else. However, he is yet to change his approach, even with the very clear signs of its failings.
Now, he finds himself in a questionable position. Another loss in the Derby della Madonnina and he will be waving goodbye to his new office already, and the management are already eyeing up new candidates.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport today, Fabio Capello offered his opinions on the Rossoneri at present, and had some harsh words for Ibrahimovic who fronts the management.
Isn’t it that Venezia has deluded, Mr. Capello?
“It was such an abnormal game that it allowed Milan to play in peace, they were 2-0 after a quarter of an hour. While many were exalted, however, I noticed that too many times the way to the door had been granted to the Venezia. As in the other games. Then you meet Liverpool…”
And what happens?
“When others increase the pace and go at higher speed, we Italians suffer. Always. Liverpool also highlighted organizational and technical shortcomings, such as the inability to score on corners. It is unthinkable that two jump undisturbed in front of the door, even if Fonseca assured me that the marking was man.
“Did you see that, when Liverpool increased the pressure, Milan couldn’t get out? They always recovered the ball. Organizational but also technical gap. And here I break a spear in favor of Fonseca. The players who in Italy make the phenomena abroad are then very different, especially against English teams or with English rhythms.”
Wouldn’t it be easy for a club to set up an English preparation?
“I was on Sky and on the monitors I saw City’s pre-training. Do you know what they were doing? Pure technique, having fun. We don’t do it anymore. Technique combined with an important physical preparation. With us, only tactics, especially in the youth sectors. I knew parents who were happy that their son trained with a coach “very good at tactics, who makes him raise his hand to call the schemes on punishment. I would take away his license.”
What can we do?
“Maybe a federal intervention would be needed.”
Would Milan need a new intervention from Fonseca?
“When I took a team, I was attentive to the past but I put my ideas in. I always made wine with the grapes I had.”
How is Fonseca’s grapes?
“We should ask who made the market. I heard the boss [Ibrahimovic] on TV: he says he’s in charge, right? So he has some responsibility too…”
One thing is certain: many figurines, but a leader has been missing since Tonali.
“Of course! I add: of the Milan that won the Scudetto there is no one from that midfield. If you won, you have to improve the base, don’t destroy it. In recent years, half-points have arrived, half-attacking… And where is the director? But the problem concerns many roles. Like the center forward.”
Morata for Giroud?
“Giroud is a 9 of the area, Morata is something else…”
“Exactly. Morata is not a 9 of the area. Such a tactical turn must be studied by the company and coach.”
But Reijnders is a good player and Loftus-Cheek comes from the Premier, they are not unknown.
“Reijnders had a great European, Loftus knows how to play but it is not yet clear where, Pulisic is a striker. And again: on the right you have problems and sell Kalulu who is immediately a starter at Juve and plays great with the Psv. I can’t explain what’s going on. I don’t know if some are not from Milan or if the context is wrong. I see eleven players scattered on the field, not a team. Already from last year.”
Paradox Leao: what to do?
“Leao sometimes makes you lose patience, but he’s the only one who knows how to do different things. Maybe it’s taking a little too long, sometimes it’s annoying other phenomena. With him you have one less in the defensive phase: it can be done if the one in front does special things like Ronaldo.”
What would you do?
“I should train the players to understand, but the technicians have to invent something. Ancelotti moved Pirlo, I put Desailly in front of the defense. At least he would have taken by the neck those who did not run or did not defend.”
What if Fonseca also loses the derby?
“I’m surprised by De Rossi’s dismissal: if you’ve made a half-revolution you have to give him time, don’t kick him out after four days. Fonseca must also be given time. But now it’s his turn. Conte made himself heard immediately: he failed the first, he was hard publicly and not only in the locker room, and the immediate alarm came.”
What should Fonseca do?
“Get into the players’ heads. I don’t think they have the right competitive tension. As if they were not prepared to face situations different from those in training in the game. After the Scudetto, the spirit was missing, as if they had a full belly: Tomori seemed like a phenomenon, today he struggles tremendously. Maybe the tension could instill it in him Ibra: he didn’t lack it on the field.”
Once again only facts coming out of his mouth. 100%
I don’t understand the analysis about Italian teams’ style of play. This Milan is not an Italian team. Zlatan said it a few days ago again, it’s a European team. Coach, players, executives, nobody is Italian and only a few players were playing in Italy before Milan. It’s just a team built with algorithms and greed, that’s the problem.
For the rest, amen. Especially this:
“One thing is certain: many figurines, but a leader has been missing since Tonali.
Of course! I add: of the Milan that won the Scudetto there is no one from that midfield. If you won, you have to improve the base, don’t destroy it. In recent years, half-points have arrived, half-attacking… And where is the director? But the problem concerns many roles. Like the center forward.”
Inter showed last night (against a better team than Liverpool) that Italian football – albeit evolved but still culturally the same, still works. You are in fact, better off pitching system against system in Europe as long as you have the quality to do so.
We have tried too hard to adapt to this non-tactical, more dynamic and direct “brand” of football, but with inferior players to those who do that well. In short, the other night what we looked like was a lower-mid table EPL team.
Tonali, Udogie, Zaniolo, Jorginho, Gnonto, Calafiori (already), and I’m sure Chiesa too, have all shown that ‘Italian football’ is not a symptom of being an Italian footballer; they have all gone and adapted to new systems because they are quality footballers.
I don’t care about algorithms – I think there is too much hype around something everybody uses now. However, I believe we are asking those algorithms to go and find the wrong players. We have taken the wrong path, and I only foresee and increase in the alienation of fans as time goes on.
I have no problem with Milan becoming a ‘global brand’, but we should be taking Calcio with us, not sweeping it under the carpet like some dirty past we’d rather forget.
The good news is, this new ethos hasn’t embedded yet, and the next manager (cough cough SARRI) con eradicate it with the flick of a switch.
The bad news is, the biggest barrier to that seems to be Mr God Complex himself, and I don’t think he’s going anywhere, at least until Gerry gets tired of his arrogance.
100. Maybe being a more global brand of football with a ‘more modern’ brand of playing style are couple of KPIs set by the new owner. Nothing wrong with it. But you should never leave your root while doing it. You should never forget your true identity. You should never disregard your past bandiera and let go your future bandiera.
Zlatan is just a parrot. He reportedly wanted Conte. He’s not in charge of anything, he’s here to call Morata. These guys don’t like challenges. I’m sure Zlatan has credit with Jerry because he’s a star and Jerry loves some good storytelling, hanging out with The Rock, LeBron, etc. “Look at my friends, I’m successful”.
Milan always has been a global brand. I’ve been travelling a bit and I saw Milan jerseys almost everywhere. It’s ok to raise the awareness, especially since the club disappeared in the past decade, but at what cost… Milan is a club of strong traditions and it’s fading. We agree that it’s possible to combine football results and financial results and it was this way with the previous management but the new guys in charge don’t think that way. It’s the corporate way. “Buy low, sell high” kind of bs.
I’m disappointed by the environment around Millanelo. Everyone is complaining about Fonseca. Let the man cook in peace
No, everyone is complaining about the management. And it’s “Milanello” 😉
If we are thinking of him being sacked then we are heading for a tough period because the next manager will need time then lose against Leverkusen stay in the tenth position on the log. Eventually be sacked mid – November. Look for another choice then get sacked on January. The cycle carries on because the foundation of the squad wasn’t there because of Pioli.
Girona, whose squad worth is comparable to our top 5 players, played more respectful football than we did…
Also, they lost 5 of their stars: Couto, E.Garcia, A.Garcia, Salvinho, Dovbyk…
Capello is absolutely right that it’s more mental issue. They might be playing bad but quality-wise, we are definitely a better team than these results showcase.
Although, I would blame the management for leaving midfield half-finished. Bennacer injury also unlucky, he would have balanced our midfield and RLC could have been perma-benched…
Easy fix would be Schouten and Freudnep signings for CDM spot and promote Liberalli as Reijnders sub.
The one who should be under fire is the one who made the call on Fonseca. Quite contrary when we hired Giampaolo, in all fairness, he was the up and coming exciting name with exciting style back then. Just like when we hired Allegri when he got the best coach award in Serie A.
But to hire Fonseca? We (at least most of the fans) exactly know what we’re getting. His name and reputation is no where near exciting. It’s very questionable move, moreover after that Nopetegui fiasco. So, the one (or ones) who responsible should take a stance. Walk the talk.
Yeah even Lille fans were happy to get rid of him.
But the clowns’ meeting at San Siro after the game was probably to find a way to save their job. Maldini, Pioli, Fonseca. Three scapegoats in one year and the team going backwards. Either Jerry is a complete idiot and is fooled by the clowns, either he just cares about business. Hard to tell.
I don’t entirely disagree with “The one who should be under fire is the one who made the call on Fonseca”
However, perhaps the belief was real that he was the most suited to this team, even if they were wrong.
For me there is 1 decision that should identify who should be under fire, letting Kalulu go and bringing in Emerson.
Whoever did that, firstly doesn’t care or understand about building an actual team of happy players, whats more they clearly don’t understand the difference between a very good player and a very poor one. Whoever asked for that should be fired immediately!!!
Maybe this could answer our concerns;
Episode 1: Milanello, eve of Milan-Torino, first day of the season. Zlatan Ibrahimovic addresses the team, as he used to as a player. He and the players are present, but Fonseca is absent.
Episode 2: San Siro, Milan-Torino, August 17. Fonseca had declared the market closed, but Ibrahimovic, during Fofana’s presentation, stated: “The coach does the coaching, the club does the rest. We don’t need more signings. With these four new players, we’ve doubled our options. The market closes when I say it closes. We’re on day 6 out of 7.” Fonseca was displeased and expressed his concerns to the club. Shortly after, Abraham arrived, much to Fonseca’s liking, in exchange for Saelemaekers, whom he valued.
Episode 3: Eve of Milan-Liverpool, after the victory against Venezia. Ibrahimovic returns from a two-week absence and speaks to the players again. He asserts that, even though he was away, he remains the boss and asks about the situation with the coach.
These three moments, two of which are less publicized, highlight the difficulty in balancing Ibrahimovic and Fonseca. Ibrahimovic is assertive and self-referential, showing little willingness for compromise. He began his role with a strong desire to be a key figure, often emphasizing his personal influence. Unlike typical club management, where the club handles transfers and the coach has limited input, Ibrahimovic’s public comments and actions reflect a departure from traditional norms, making it challenging for Fonseca.
Fonseca is clearly in a tough spot, as reflected by these details. Ibrahimovic’s role is still being defined. Although he’s not directly involved in daily market operations, he endorsed Fonseca’s appointment alongside Moncada and Furlani, despite not being the primary decision-maker. His broad involvement in the club’s various aspects contrasts with his minimal impact on classic market dynamics.
📰 @lucabianchin7
Interesting, thanks.
Zlatan is just trying to be what Maldini was with the players but in the Redbird way; stupid, loud, noisy and arrogant. He’s more of a nuisance than a bliss.
Also, the issue is that our players have very bad basics. Pioli plug a hole but never fixed it! Fonseca system is skill and exp based, while we don’t have that much time.
Also midfield has hideously built. We have only 4 players: Reijnders, Fofana, Musah, Zeroli… no Reijnders sub or partner for Fofana + that players sub…
Reijnders sub is the only fixable position atm and is by promoting Liberalli… the double-pivot problem needs to be fixed quickly now and spammed until January. After RLC and Bennacer (his injuries ruined him, used to be one of my favorites. Also, Pioli going to Saudi can help us get good money 30-40M) are sold, we need to bring quality midfielders!
Alternatively:
Reijnders back to double-pivot and Liberalli placed as CAM should work for now. if Reijnders is better pivot than CAM, we can also target Ferguson and have Fofana-Ferguson-Reijnders, which is what a quality midfield should look like!
Lopetegui better than fonseca
He might as well be. It even puts more concern doesnt it. And that’s the point. Fans marching on towards the Lopetegui’s appointment surely expected other name that’s not Fonseca.
Yes, lopetegui is bad, but the management goes from bad to worse
And if they sign Terzic to replace Fonseca then they will go from worse to disastrous. I don’t even understand why Terzic is being considered.
He is not an upgrade to Fonseca or Pioli. He’s more or less the same or worse. Smh
I think they won’t replace Fonseca with another non Italian. We’ll see. This management tends to make us surprised. And not in a good way. Lol.
“If you won, you have to improve the base, don’t destroy it”
This sentence says it all and is basically my main frustration with management
Capello is 💯💯💯💯
“I add: of the Milan that won the Scudetto there is no one from that midfield. If you won, you have to improve the base, don’t destroy it. In recent years, half-points have arrived, half-attacking… And where is the director? But the problem concerns many roles. Like the center forward.”
SPOT ON