The long-awaited announcement of Paulo Fonseca as the club’s new head coach arrived yesterday, and a report has outlined how AC Milan might play under him.
As Corriere dello Sport (via PianetaMilan) recalls this morning, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the man who broke the news on stage during the press conference held at Milanello yesterday, and he outlined some of the reasoning behind the decision.
“For us he is a top coach otherwise he wouldn’t be the Milan coach. Something new arrives, with a different kick than before. A dominant, attacking football arrives, with the balance of defending which is important,” he said.
“It will be another energy, another face on the bench, the other is bald and he has more hair (laughs). Both of them are always classy.”
How will Fonseca’s Milan play? The paper believes that Milan will mostly use a 4-3-3 system under the Portuguese, which can change to a 4-2-3-1 in the right situation, two formations that are very familiar to the squad already.
Fonseca was also chosen so as not to tactically disturb the squad, whereas hiring someone like Antonio Conte would have required an overhaul given he plays with a three-man defence.
Fonseca would move Ruben Loftus-Cheek back into a mezzala role alongside Tijjani Reijnders and Ismaël Bennacer would sit a bit deeper, while waiting for the mercato to give the new coach a midfielder with more defensive characteristics.
In attack, Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leão will play closer to the striker, which could well be Joshua Zirkzee while waiting to see how negotiations develop on that particular front.
However, Fonseca’s first mission as Milan coach will be to give balance to the team after a season with 49 goals conceded in the league, and 69 across all competitions. Again, help from the directors might well be needed.