Former AC Milan coach Fabio Capello has stressed that Paulo Fonseca must deal with extreme pressure from the fans to deliver results and competitive football.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Pianeta Milan), Capello assessed the presumed appointment of Fonseca as Milan coach to replace Stefano Pioli.
Capello talked about how Milan must be moving on from Pioli so that they can improve and therefore Fonseca has to immediately do better than Pioli did, which means a stronger showing in the cups and a title challenge in Serie A.
That will be hard, though, because the fans are feeling impatient and don’t want another season with minimal hope of winning a trophy.
“Fonseca will take a seat on one of the hottest benches in Serie A. If Milan have deemed the cycle of a coach like Pioli closed, the objective for whoever comes after him can only be to do better. A mission that is already complicated in itself and made even more difficult by an uphill start. The Milan fans are on the warpath. They no longer accept not winning, or rather not fighting to win. Fonseca, in order to conquer the piazza, can ‘only’ win,” Capello explained.
Capello then goes on to talk about the transfer market and the need for the coach to be supported with a new striker and a defensive midfielder, whilst Fonseca has to ensure that the defence becomes less leaky.
“The new coach will have to be supported by the club immediately. Milan will need a quality number nine. In addition to a centre forward, a defensive midfielder will be needed to provide the filter that has been lacking this season,” Capello said.
“Fonseca will obviously have to do his bit: repairing the defence, Milan’s real sore point, finding a new balance, bringing [Rafael] Leao up to the level of a champion are the challenges within the challenge that await him. Those in charge at Milan have bet on Fonseca, taking a great responsibility towards the fans, now they will have to support him, protect him. Starting with Ibra. Zlatan has been silent for a long time, the time has come to make himself heard.”
Fonseca has not yet been announced as the new Milan coach but that is likely to happen once the team returns from Australia, where they are playing a friendly against AS Roma.