Sergio Conceicao responded to a question about his potential resignation, as well as whether he will remain at AC Milan beyond the summer.
Milan suffered their third defeat in a row against Lazio last night and sunk to ninth place in the Serie A table, marking a new low point in a difficult season. The hopes of a Champions League spot have disintegrated, and now there is a risk of having no European football at all.
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The Rossoneri were poor in the first half and deservedly trailed, but in the second half they got back to 1-1 despite being a man down due to the questionable red card sown to Strahinja Pavlovic. They would have perhaps deserved a draw, yet instead lost to a penalty given via VAR in the 98th minute.
Conceicao spoke in the press conference room at San Siro after the defeat against Lazio after he had spoken to DAZN, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
Yet another strange match…
“It’s not easy. There are many moments that happen, which are then decisive for the match. The environment was not easy for the players and it was clear.
“It’s not that the players didn’t want to win, because it was clear in the second half; even when we were numerically inferior we tried to win the match, with one player less and two days less rest than Lazio.
“We are the Italian team with the most matches, we have to take this into account too. Losing like this is not easy. We have to put our pride out, work, to the maximum, from all points of view.
“We have to find a balance, compactness in the team, so that in moments like this we don’t concede goals and that we do them in the last 30 metres.
“We could have made it 2-1 before the penalty, if the freshness had been different. The attitude and the desire to win were there and this leaves me satisfied.”
Have you thought about stepping down?
“What touches me the most are the players, seeing their faces, the disappointment, with great frustration. I am with them. I am here to defend my players and my dressing room.
“If I have to work two or three hours more, I will. We are in a negative phase in terms of results and episodes. Let’s continue to work hard.”
Would the players do the same for you?
“Yes, it’s clear. If I didn’t feel it, I would say so.”
Would you continue the project next year?
“I have so many things, I have to think about Lecce, I don’t think about who knows what. I live day by day. The most important thing is Milan, it’s not Conceicao whether he stays or not.
“I feel sorry for the fans, because I’m used to winning. This thing hurts me. I’m really hurt by these results. I don’t feel good at all right now. And what I do in these moments is work, even more.”
Saaaaaaad for the mess Cardinale- ibrahimovic – Moncada and scaroni thrust you into
Honestly I have been a fan as long as I can remember since I was 8…that’s like 2008( in a match between Milan and Dortmund) I saw maldini with the zeal and zest of a man who has winning in his DNA….ever since then, I had been a passionate fan who experienced both the peak of Milan playing extraordinary football (2003-2007) and the retrogression from 2012- banter era).
If there is one thing I learnt the heart ( vision of a owner) influence the direction of the club… When berlusconi was at the peak of power Milan could buy any player, however, because of his footballing & wining desire, he put Galliani, braida and Ancellotti as director and managers respectively! It was when scandal and his political ambition wane, he losses interest and despite that got allegri who still won…this illustration can also be said of Elliot…
But look at the yongli( banter era), who put rubbish directors ( I forgot their name) who bought rubbish players upon players, piatek, constant, muntari, etcetera, the result was 7 long absence from champions league….now the same path is what Cardinale is towing- he had in his own vanity and false sense of self appointed ignorant and idiotic managers in zlatan ibrahimovic, Moncada…choosing and buying nonsensical players…
He’s part of the problem with his crappy strats, lineup, and sub. Plus his agression towards his own players is just beyond stupidity. Playing Musah as RW? Playing Jimenez as RB? Keeps starting Felix despite his bad performance? Overall he’s worst than Fonseca and Fonseca wasn’t even good.
I don’t know who the heck choose this guy to replace Fonseca but they along with Conceicau needs to get out from Milan at the end of this season. Period.
Absolutely 🤗
I have never seen Milan play this bad in over 40years, even the banter era wasn’t as bad as this, the management might be crap but the team has no identity or style of play, that’s on the Coach. Let’s see good football, identity, style, tactically I see nothing
He’s wrong for trying to take on a big club mid season and the management’s wrong for hiring a louder Fonseca. Said it at the time….who signs a deal knowing they can terminate in 6 month? Top coaches don’t do that. Plus he was the type of coach that clearly needs a preseason for the team level of players we have and the pressure of the club. He’s not a coach that adapts to his players but imposes a structure on to the team(one which they’ve clearly rejected).
And management so cheap they only wanted whoever was available on the cheap aka 6 months. It’s why Sarri refused that type of deal. Which top coach would take that deal? Pay up or shut up. What they needed to do was hire someone who could stabilize the team and is different from the predecessor. A known enough quantity that works well with players.
Despite all of this I don’t think it’s Sarge’s fault for the overall predicament. He is culpable for the results and I do think they need to relieve him if we want to carry an ounce of dignity in the standings. But his hiring is the problem to begin with.
The issue with management is that they want two things that oppose each other simultaneously. By that I mean, they want these high value, high stock players in the team to improve the value of the team and for the business side of things to function well. On the sporting side, if Conceicao really were to take the reigns, many of these players will have to go and management doesn’t want to do that. It’s bad for business. These two things oppose each other. It’s either we get these functional players with less flair ….ie suited to the coaches we recently hired OR we keep the star power/revenue generators and hire a people pleaser.
As I said before, pick a lane and run it
I gotta say I’m a little perplexed by Conceicao. Everything I’ve heard over the summer about this guy got me hyped, the one game I’ve seen him coach prior, his team was compact, organized and aggressive and he completely out coached Pioli.
I had read articles about how he adapts his formation and tactics to his players. Switching between a 442 and 4231. I don’t think Conceicao has had much time to go over tactics but I find it strange he seemed to completely scrap Fonseca’s style, as I thought Fonseca was fired for his relationship with the players. Fonseca was correct to assess that this team moves the ball too slow (often missing wide open switches), they don’t move without the ball to open passing lanes either.
I’m disappointed in the coach for abandoning these principles, because for better or worse the team is better set up for a 4231/433 that plays with the ball. As much as the fans hated Fonseca he had a vision that he was realizing even if it meant some of the dead weight was unhappy, I thought Conceicao would be able to carry that vision forward while winning over the locker room. The majority of his former players seem to love him for gods sake.
The periods yesterday were Milan looked the best they were playing Fonseca ball, and this is the template Conceicao has to get his team to return to. Play with the ball, move without it, quick passes (but stop the stupid flicks) and switch the field when things get crowded.
Hopefully the coach can find these solutions and finish the year strong. Over the summer it’s time to break down the squad and start a new cycle. Ultimately I put this disaster at the players feet as they’ve been the one consistent through these 3 coaches.
Well said!
Don’t think we have players for 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 given injuries and players understanding. For example, we don’t have a rb for last 3 games, so switching to 3-4-2-1 . Then selecting tiji and Félix same time wrong move. You got to know your players, try things based on your strengths