Sergio Conceicao has suggested that his players are feeling the negative atmosphere that surrounds AC Milan and it is translating into poor results.
It was yet another night to forget for Milan in a season that has yielded few positive memories. Conceicao’s side played terribly in the first half, were reduced to 10 men in the second and finally showed character to find the equaliser through Samuel Chukwueze.
However, there was late drama with a penalty awarded to Lazio deep into added time and converted in the 98th minute by Pedro, allowing them to snatch all three points. Questionable refereeing aside, it is yet another damaging result for Milan, who are now ninth in the table.
Conceicao spoke to DAZN after the full-time whistle to give his thoughts on the latest blow that the Diavolo have suffered, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
What is your mood? Can you still give something to this group?
“The moment is not easy at all, we know that. The players feel what is going on around the club. There is only one way: to work and have the maximum pride for these colours that we defend, giving our all every day to change the situation.
“There are also episodes that happen during the match, negative for us and decisive for the opponent, but I don’t want to talk about bad luck.”
Why does a team with its back to the wall have such a difficult approach?
“We always talk about the same thing. We prepared the match in a very short time, we talked about this atmosphere and it was strange: first time it’s happened to me in my career. The players feel it: I was a player and we know that when it’s like this the boots are hot.
“It’s not easy: when a dribble, a pass and the opponent scores a goal… The team showed great character when they were left with ten men, we could have even won. In the end this penalty happened.
“The players give me positive answers. One thing is between us in training, after it is entering a difficult situation that has been there since the beginning of the season. We try to work on this too, not only on a tactical and physical level.”
One thing: running backwards. When they have to go forward, some players go fast, but when they have to go backwards, they never get to that speed…
“Very important. We are working on that too. Now the game is played with the ball to try to dismantle the opponent’s defensive organisation and when you don’t have the ball you have to have the same availability: sometimes we struggle on this point.
“It’s all related: if you are strong in defensive transitions, you are also strong when you attack. I think there are players who are good technically and can make the difference on an attacking level but they have to get it into their heads that they are important for the team in defence too.
“We need to find an important balance to win games, because we have the technical qualities”
get de zerbi
This guy is finished. What he did is screaming, more screaming, and fight his players.
Pioli’s pampering style didn’t work either nor the “in the middle” approach by Fonseca. The players stopped caring a year ago and nothing has changed.
Pioli’s “pampering” style brought us 19th scudetto, a comeback to CL after a decade absent and even reached semi’s, and last season we got 2nd place. Not to mention Pioli lost his pillar like Tonali and Kessie
So clearly Pioli “pampering” style was working mostly fine and definitely better than the current we got with Fonseca and Conceicau who disrespecting players like they’re animals.
It worked until it didn’t. There was no going back from about a year ago. Pioli lost them and we’re still on the same road. Remember the last 2 months? I guess not.
Pioli was carried by Maldini and Masara. Radu’s error handed us the 19th Scudetto. The Champions league loss to Inter revealed how inferior we were to Inter.
Once the facts were told straight to the American, Maldini and Masara were sacked. It’s been downhill ever since.
Get rid of this delusional American and his lackey’s otherwise nothing will change.
Of course Red Bird fuc*Ed everything
Milan had cohesion with Massara Maldini Pioli.
When they broke that chain, also our best players stopped playing.
Why we speak about Pavlovic?
Well he wasn’t here before. That’s why he is only one who fighting.
And Theo, Tomori, Mike, Leao, Thiaw, Pulisic etc… they all becomed stars in Milan thanks to Pioli, and managers who bought them.
Yes Yes, of course. It’s always someone else’s fault or something else with you, isn’t it? Do una a favor and shut up and leave. We’ve seen about enough of you and what you brought to the table whatever that is asides from a new record of players getting red cards, a new record of substitutions at half time and a handful players that we’re doing fine with Fonseca and went to nothing since you arrived. You don’t have it, Conceicao. Your team is pathetic to watch, even worse than Fonseca’s somehow. LEAVE.
He will goes, but you need to wait 11 games…. He is not bad but this was the end game for this sesson and definitely for him
After this match I have doubt if he is right for us… Yes I know he is a winner coach, many games in CL etc… but everythink is just with Porto and this is maybe the problem… Amorin in Manchester United is also bad coach, while in sporting he was massive… Italy is 2. Best league, Portugal is 5th… I don’t blame him for all mistakes, but last 3 matchew was must win games. Torino, Bologna, Lazio are our easiest opponents last few years… He has almost every player available and still they play like the first time together… They don’t know how to attack and how to shoot on goal… Pioli is mediocre coach, but his aura in lockeroom and ability to change something was much better then those two Portugals…
It’s really not a mystery. You need stability and consistency from the top down in a big club to be successful.
Even the biggest clubs in the world can’t just spend lots of money on players and expect to win. Look at Man United, look at Chelsea, lately Juve, Milan now. Plenty of other examples.
With Elliott there was stability of leadership, continuity in execution of strategy and expectations and the results followed.
Red Bird just thought they were smarter than anyone else and that they could show Maldini and (Massara) the door if he pushed back. ‘
Well……this is called learning the hard way. And the expensive way. Napoli is showing it can be a one year comeback but not if they keep doing it this way.
What do you expect when the owner strips the club of its Italian identity; sells its best players and replaces them with rejects and aging stars; sticks a dagger into its heart by unceremoniously getting rid of one of its legendary icons; abandons its traditional red and black striped colors; continues to dither and delay in building a new stadium; and puts profit ahead of sporting success, amongst other missteps?
The chickens have come home to roost. Once the envy of the world, AC Milan has become an object of pity; an impoverished, mediocre club that can no longer compete domestically and in Europe with the big boys.
The problem isn’t Americans in general – there are many clubs owned by them in Europe which are successful — but this particular American, who is clearly out of his depth and doesn’t know what he’s doing. It’s time for him to get out and make way for an owner that has deep pockets, cultural sensitivity, football management expertise, and a genuine desire to take our once-great club to the top again.
Yes…what you are saying is the truth, we do not have a strong Italian core, then look at the way we wear rubbish,
that jersey we wore yesterday both the outfield players and the keeper was a travesty, how can such a club allow itself to wear such a ridiculous clown suit, then as you said we have too many average foreign players in the team, if you watch closely it was Fofana that put Pavlovic in a difficult situation that resulted in him committing that reckless foul…
If management are willing to sell good players that would bleed for the club we’re cooked
Milan have a weak owner with a weak vision and appointed a weak management that bought weak players with a weak budget and this weak strategy affects the players and brings weak mentality into the Locker room and with it weak results.
So it’s not just:
– strange mistakes
– bad luck
– bad refereeing
According to Conceicao.
Now we can add the atmosphere created by the fans a significant cause of our performance.
Nothing to do with you sending the same core group out with only minor tweaks to the line-up. No changes to the formation, tactics or core players for match after match played every 3 days.
Nothing to do with the same core group appearing to hate your methods but you keep picking them anyway.
And you somehow expect a different result?
You admit in the next answer that key players do not track and defend with the same speed and energy that they use in attack. E.g. Theo, Leao & Felix. And yet you continue to play them every 3 days. You continue to think Gimenez is our only CF even though he has really only given us a few fleeting good moments.
Conceicao seems to have created a mental catch 22 for himself where our situation is so bad that I cannot afford to rest/rotate anyone. So I have to keep sending out our “strongest” line-up (every 3 days). But that same line-up continues to serve up poor performances.
You have got to mix things up a bit.
This has now become a slow moving car crash.
Conceicao have another 11 players on the bench. He should try another player with another system I guess. so Milan maybe can take all over players with same energy. You can see what is Pep doing at City. They sometime with different game play their 2nd GK on the pitch or put Foden at CF. Haha.. but all the players can play with rotation. That is good for atmosphere and have the competition
You are one of view people who bring negative things to this club! And the disaster begin when you attack your player and captain on the field in front of the whole world! Your ego is a disaster to this club..ok you have 13 thropies before from 3rd class league!? And you think you are bigger then this club? f*ck off!!!
#ConceiçãoOUT
#IbrahimovićOUT
Leao and Theo need to go. Their entitled attitudes translate to everyone working less hard on the field. Bring in hard workers that run in defense like they do in offense.
Hard workers under manager like Conceicau will not change anything. Look at Pulisic and Reijnders. Both are hard workers who keeps running for offense and defense. But Conceicau turn them into crap.
Leao and Theo aren’t the problem here but it’s Conceicau.
Did you notice how Leao was demanding someone to hand him the ball in a throw-in? The ball was 2m away from him yet he started waving his hands instead of picking up the ball. That’s how entitled he is. Everyone else would have just picked the ball himself but not his majesty.
They need to have more training sessions in the dark. At least we’ll understand why they pass the ball to no one in particular
Mr. Sergio, you was too stubborn.
You must change your approaching with the team, and with this rest season, try new formation, and give the subs and youngsters chance for them to play.
Not just use Leao, Theo, Felix, Musah, Pulisic, Jimenez, and just keep role and role and role with them again.
There is Sottil, Bondo, and even Camarda, who I believe, they can give all out if you give them chance.
Please don’t like Pioli’s did before (I not said Pioli bad) he is so stubborn, so he can not optimized his subs, in his last season with us. I still remember, the ’emptiness’ of Pioli, especially when against Inter in 2nd leg CL. He just roling the same players.
Fonseca is much better for this. He knows he will lost his authority because benched Leao and Theo. But he give chance to Camarda, Okafor, and we see, especially Camarda played with high passion.
I agree. Okafor Im not a fan of, but players like Camarda should be given a chance more often. It’s the future of our club and the have the passion. Maybe it was one of the reasons the preseason went so well, because we played with a lot of youth.
Honestly we where to in a haste to push fonsesca out of the picture he knows the sub and he knows how to bench under performing players which other coaches don’t have the balls to do so and it’s affecting the result on the pitch leo or theo needs to go mostly especially theo maybe leo will be a back up player to a new winger that has the grinta and passion more and more technical then he will later be sold maigan need to have a real competitor
Conceicao is 100% correct here. Many players do not even know if they will be in the club or play after the next transfer window. They simply don’t know what they are playing for. Many expect to leave, or does the management want to sell them? WTF is going on? Players/managers are simply confused because of the incompetent and clueless American owner. Every 6 months, they are playing with new team members (who are ten times worse than the players whom they sold) along with a new system. It is just a mess with players; they are unsure of what they should be doing.
With Pioli and the previous owners, when they won the Scudetto, there was a blueprint and a proper base/backbone (Maingnan, Theo, Kjaer, Kessie, Tonali, Bennacer, Leao, Zlatan), and the team was built around them, with players like Rebic, Diaz, Tomori, Thiaw, Giroud, Alexis, etc., knowing how to play around that base/system. Yes, there were a few weak players (but that was all down to a lack of budget to buy better players or strengthen the squad). Yet Milan won the Scudetto, finished 2nd or in the top 4, and went on to play the semis of CL, beating almost all top teams in Serie A. They just had to build up on that base.
But instead, what the clowns Redbird/Cardinale have done is completely dismantle that base/backbone and started filling it with crap players that don’t even know how to play any system or have any particular skills, or are capable of playing in a proper system. They brought in a few good players like Reijnders, Fofana, Pavlovic, Walker, and Pulisic, but then completely destroyed the existing backbone.
The faster the American clowns of owners leave the club and hand it over to someone that knows/understands football (with Maldini/Massara back at the helm), this club will end up becoming a laughingstock and finish 10th or worse every season.
They can change a thousand coaches, players, etc.. but nothing will work. They don’t have a fundamental clue about building the club. Maldini was doing exactly that and wanted a budget to build a complete team, and the clown Cardinale fired him instead. What a total idiot
Hear hear!
This! The insecurities of the club and players have been hanging over their head for the whole season. Dragging contract renewals, two new coaches with different approaches, management getting tempted by sales of players. It just been a big mess
They brought a top 3 Serie A club back into the banter era in less than a year, Cardinale and Redbird are special but not in the sense they think
What do teams that stand in front of us on the chart, all have in common?
An Italian coach.
We were mocked when we said this team lacks identity with so many foreigners and no Italians. We were mocked after pointing out there were only 2 foreign coaches in last 35 years that were able win the league.
You think this club will get Ricci in the summer?Lmfao, not before and certainly not now when we’re out of CL spots. Watch him go to Inter while we’re stuck with some foregin cheap rip off from Chelsea bench, French or Belgian league. And be entertained by another grotesque, overpriced OffWhite junk called shirt.
“One thing: running backwards. When they have to go forward, some players go fast, but when they have to go backwards, they never get to that speed… ”
Noooooo, it can’t be… We have the fastest left lane in the world, now don’t we? Both ways, right? Right??? 😛
Hey Sergio…maybe our players suffer because you are such a low quality coach, you have no tactical skills, no psychology, nothing. Just screaming at players…this not means you are a coach…
The negative athmosphere surrounding Milan is due to one thing: the performance on the pitch. Nothing else.
I relayed this the last time out. Gabbia + Thiaw, that’s the best we got. Walker to the right and Theo to the left. Reijnders + Fofana in the middle (Musah does not cut it for the starting 11 in my opinion). It will be interesting to see if and what RLC and Florenzi can give. Musah of the bench, he is fast and effective against a tired team. Same goes for Chuck he is Puli’s sub easy. Could even give Puli rest if he is up to speed like yesterday. Gimenez up top. When and if we go for a 4-2-4 Jovic pairs well with him. In some instance maybe starting Tammy could be a solution. Leao starts obviously. Sottil his backup. Joao could be a solution in the midle (out left?) he is creative. Terra should be a backup option for midfield (out wide) in a 4-4-2. Jimenez solely a wideman in config with defensive support right behind him. We have got good players, some eho have to go in the summer. But they have written us off now. Our priority should be winning every last match in Serie A. Show some real pride for our colours regardless of the outcome. Forget the table. Focus should not be on the cup. Let’s see what we can do. It is not mathmat. impossible! Forza Milan! Sempre
First of all it is huge huge mistake not to run help defense, Check Jovic he was on pitch 10 minuts and was literally “speedy walking” back instead of sprinting. this is like watching some kids or local football league i do not understand how can this happen on professional club that invest millions in players, it is not acceptable you make funs happy with equal hard game just to make us feel big pain and it is not last time something like this happened in injury time. I have not seend Inter to receive goals in injury time in such manners like us or Juventus. WAKE up and figth until end.
Pioli is the only coach Milan have had with a definate style of play.
I believe if pioli had the upgrade Fonzy and Sergio have after the sales of Tonali, Kessie, Romag and Giroud he could have done much better.
But the management dismantled the team for him and put blame on him….. The players loved him and they follow him, he only lack quality players and short of reserve players.
Again. You people keep saying our lineup is an upgrade from pioli era. NO IT’S NOT.
Maybe some of the players in the scudetto year were more “limited” than the guys these days but they had something way more important: motivation. Everyone in the scudetto-winning team wanted to win and were willing to suffer for it.
“Pioli is the only coach Milan have had with a definate style of play.”
Yeah. The one and only style he had was figured out by the opponents over a year ago and since then Milan hardly won any matches. Pioli couldn’t think of anything new and had to be let go.
Pioli could not think of anything new cuz he lack the quality tools and limited reserve players.