It has been a tough start to the season and the AC Milan adventure for Paulo Fonseca, claiming just one point from the first two games. After the game, the manager admitted that there seems to be a very serious issue in the team.
Milan put in yet another sluggish performance on Saturday evening as Parma took control of the game from the first minute. Not just in terms of possession, as they even found the back of the net with less than two minutes on the clock.
In the end, the Rossoneri were punished for their many mistakes and in his post-match interview with DAZN (via MilanNews), Fonseca shared his thoughts on what went wrong. He admitted that there seems to be an attitude problem among the players.
In the first half, you were out of time when pressed…
“It’s difficult to explain. It doesn’t start with Musah, it starts further up the pitch. In general, we did very poorly defensively, it’s impossible to win when you defend like that. We didn’t defend as a team, but also individually we got the duels wrong. We were always late in pressing, always leaving space, wrong preventive marking. So many things went wrong defensively, it’s impossible to win a match like that when you make so many mistakes and allow a team like Parma to create so many situations.”
The difficulties of the attack in pressing…
“I have to say that I am always the main responsible for what happens with the team, I take responsibility. However, it seems clear to me that there is a collective problem of defensive attitude and aggression. You might just look at the defenders, but the defenders suffer a lot because of the ease with which the others play.”
Is it a problem of attitude? Characteristics? Getting the players used to it again?
“Everything, I think it’s everything. This team has a general problem. Against Torino, we didn’t press too high and we had problems. Today we tried to have our players press higher and we had problems. When the others get out of the pressure it’s difficult to stay compact and recover position. When we recover position we are a passive team. There are many things, for me it’s a problem of attitude, energy and a lack of desire to defend as a team.”
Did you expect to have all these problems after that pre-season?
“No. The truth is that we had a good pre-season but we are here now, in our reality. It is always easier to play against big teams, you are more motivated. We arrive here in our reality and we have had a change that is difficult to understand. During the week, when we prepare our strategies, the team does well. The match arrives and we start like this, it is difficult to explain.”
Milan will take on Lazio next away from home and although few would have predicted it a few weeks ago, this is now a must-win game for the Rossoneri. Anything else would put the team in a very tough position moving forward.
U we be sack very soon coach
💯
Cardinale will be sacked?
So, they removed Pioli one year before end of contract, still they need to pay him, to bring new coach and new player and pay him also.
Why didn’t wait one last year with Pioli when you also decide to make team stronger?
Obviously, coach is not big problem with Ac Milan but something inside. Core is damaged.
Also sack who ever hired this POS can’t call him a coach
Go away and take the worst management team of all time with you Furlani Moncada Ibra F…off
I’d prefer that Italian Ac Milan just go extinct over being managed by Cardinale and Curly Larry and Moe
King ibra said: “we are ready for second star”.
Great fonseca: “we can qualify for conference league next season”
Thank you for pre seson,but please go Fonseca.
You dont bring energy at club and players not respect you,so best thing is left Milan.
He should just admit his mistake. How will he allow RLC to play full 90’? I guess Pioli will be missed
If Rafael Leao is not bench or not called up for 2 or 3 games the rest player will be serious because that make the difficult most for other players he does supply the defense and he lose the ball offen which show negative sign to other players too
Leao with all his talent is a mystery ! How many more times does he need to overlook Pulisic wide open across the box and inevitably he takes a very low percentage shot >>>>>> am i missing something ?
Regarding front three pressing and retreating , only one is consistent ….. Pulisic
I look at GIAMPAOLO and they don’t respect him. They are uncomfortable
I agree with what Fonseca says, now Who’s to blame is a separate entity.
The best three defenders as Man City are the front three….this is what Fonseca is alluding too. Just as Gullit, Van Basten defended from the front under Sacchi, so do the forward players for Klopp and Pep. We made it easy for Parma today, they just had to counter attack.
Leao needs to step up, he won’t play for any top manager with his current work ethic.
Give me a cattleprod and a day with the coach and players and I’ll make them give their utmost in future games regardless of the opposition 😛
Kidding aside even if it has been a disastrous start I’ll wait with my final judgement to we at least have played some more games but clearly nobody can be satisfied with what we have seen in the first 2 matches.
If we doesn’t start to play better and win then I can absolutely see him getting sacked but I tend to believe that the management will do what it can do to avoid having to pay a heavy severance package to Fonseca so I can see them giving him some leash for now.
I also agree that its puzzling why he didn’t sub off RLC and for that matter didn’t use all of his 5 substitute option.
Shame on him and the players with the exception of Pavlovic.
Sacking Fonseca will just validate all the anti Redbird sentiment that this club is not being run on footballing principles, and I don’t think they’ll do that, and like you say, they’ll be paying him and Pioli.
Again as you say, it’s only fair to reserve judgement, but we should have lost both games really.
Despite the chortling of the pro Redbird crowd, how many of this summers transfers are a real upgrade? Or fulfill a problem that we had? For me Pavlovic is the one so far. Santiago Giminez may go to Nottingham Forest for 21m….surely they was a worthwhile gamble
You are probably right and didn’t really think about their image but that could also be a part of the equation.
Yeah and with a margin, we did also miss some pretty open chances in both matches though.
To be fair I’m probably in between the two fan sections even though they has made some decisions that made me furious like Maldinis sacking and the Tonali sale. When that is said in hindsight the Tonali sale makes some sense considering his lengthy ban and how costly it would have been considering the investments made for that money.
agree the only transfer that has had me truly excited was the Pavlovic deal which I’m very happy about for us to acquire. Morata is a good player just never was a fan of him but I would argue a fairly great deal for the money spend. Emerson not really anything special to write home about but maybe he will turn out better down the road. Fofana could be great for us but time will tell. For how we want to play I can see all transfers being useful but nothing extraordinary I’d rate the Mercato 6.5/10 for now.
If Gimenez is available for such amount then we really should get him.
I’m all for spending frugally and ensuring the clubs financial security but I do think there’s a big area between Chelsea level spending and where Redbird pitch it. The coach was the big one anyway. I’m not anti Fonseca, but the next logical step was a level up in terms of coach
Same here and even though Chelsea has commercial and tv right money that isn’t comparable to ours there is still a point there and we was also told before the season started that they would make a great investment on a striker which really hasn’t happened as of yet.
Yeah I agree and even though hiring him wasn’t something I would have done I will nevertheless support him for now. When that is said I was relieved that we didn’t end up with someone like Mourinho or Conte but we could still have aspired for someone of a higher class than Fonseca.
He kept RLC on because Pulisic was beat. He made several ong runs to cover on defensive including one where Calabia was nowhere in sight to make an open player take a difficult shot. Probably saved a goal.
We still had 1 unused substitute at the end of the game so clearly he could have made the chat choice as well.
😀 ….made that choice as well.
Exactly , and if others would track back he might be their in the end to make the difference for the tying goal.
Gianpaolo vibes…
Yes of course sacchi is a rassist and Italians Are stupid! I love morata but the Saison could become a real Disaster! 1994 you Are in the hearts of the Supporters!
Respekt to my friend Martin and his funky Nation denmark!
😀 Thanks and right on.
He already talked about our problem in defence from the very first presscon yet he seemed to still not getting any clue to this day. More fun times ahead.
He does realize it’s HIS job to organize the defense, right?
I admit, one thing he really excels is in organizing his hair.
😂😂
Zorro fonseca is a great employee. He follow the good example of big boss cardinale with slick hair.
He also obediently follow what big boss cardinale said: “winning is boring”
OK, so like Mourinho, another head coach who blames the players? So, Fonseca, you don’t notice how poorly RLC was doing and you allow him to play all 90 minutes? Musah says he didn’t know if he should press or stay behind – it was up to you, coach, to instruct him.
The coach is not wrong, he is the great zorro fonseca. It is attitude of player is wrong.
Leao: “you can be lazy also you can be a star”
The problem is with the players and not the coach, there is no willingness they’re like spoiled brats, just go out do their job no problem how I play at the end the paycheque is there no extra effort needed. They shouldn’t have invented the Milan Futuro at all, the young ones would have done s better job for sure, Camarda, Zeroli, Liberal, Bartesaghi and so on. Its like the Sacchi era it wasn’t the coach it was the players who made him look good because there was that desire to win. As I always say MONEY ruins everything in this world including sports, irs what I have left in the pocket what counts not the integrity and good feeling that I have succeeded with sheer sacrifice and determination.
At least he’s honest and say the players are lacking the right attitude. Just look at Theo & co. in both goals. They could care less if Parma scored or not. Let’s see if Fonseca has the balls to demand better attitude from the “stars”.
At the end of the day, Theo has no challenger for his position, so he will perform when he feels like it
No, Theo plays better deeper with the game in front of him.
A managers job is to use players to get the best out of them
The easiest thing to do is to blame the coach. He deserves some of the blame, but if your best players give the effort that Theo and Leao gave today, no coach and no team can bear with it.
Theo Hernández needs to be fined for his effort today. Lazy on the 1st goal and nowhere to be found on the 2nd.
Leao had a great assist for Parma today. At the time when Milan had the momentum, he made sure it was turned in Parma’s favor by gifting them the ball.
Those 2, alongside Calabria and RLC needs to be benched until they stop being lazy and decide to give 100% effort on the pitch.
Both Theo and Leao were involved in all 3 goals today
Of course it’s coach to blame. It’s the coach who’s the boss and if they’re not following his instructions then he’s failing and players don’t seem to respect him. Theo’s lazy dragging down that flank was a clear sign of “I don’t really give a f*ck” and a clear disrespect. The rest were just clueless. Musah himself said he didn’t know when to press or track back. It’s on coach to make it clear to him.
I won’t pass my overall judgement cause it’s only second game but I at least expected improvements from the first game. Instead it was even worse. 4 goals in first 2 matches. Only Montella had it worse (6 goals in 2 matches) in last 10 seasons.
They don’t respect the coach?
By giving the effort they gave today they don’t respect their teammates, they don’t respect the club, they don’t respect the fans. And for that they need to face consequences.
You are too focused on blaming the coach and musah. It’s one thing to be confused in a new system under a new coach, as was the case with musah, it’s totally another to be lazy on the pitch, and give less than half ass effort.
Musah was bad but it wasn’t for lack of effort.
Theo is in contract negotiations. Efforts like this need to reflect on his new salary.
Neither Theo nor Leao have the resume to not respect a coach. Also, it’s not like they were coached by Ancelotti, Capello or Pep until yesterday, and now can’t respect Fonseca. Over the last 2 years, for most part they gave the same effort under Pioli too.
They were amongst the worst Milan players vs Torino as well.
Fonseca needs to bench both of them.
On top of all that, Theo is also the vice captain on the team.
He is supposed to be an example and a leader for the rest of the group.
Having a bad game is forgivable, and happens to the best of the best, but giving zero effort, by a player with his status in the hierarchy of the club and locker room, is unacceptable, regardless if he respect or doesn’t respect the coach, as you claim after 2 games.
I wrote his attitude was clear disrespect from him. I meant overall I didn’t wrote disrespect towards Fonseca only. But overall it is coaches fault if the team doesn’t follow his instructions and that just shows he doesn’t have the respect and authority he should have as their boss. I don’t point fingers on my employees if my department doesn’t perform. It’s my responsibility to make them perform.
And it’s absolutely Fonseca’s responsibility to make Milan divas perform. 💯
The difference between you and your department, and Fonseca and the players are that you make more money than your employees, and can get them fired. Fonseca, and most coaches, make less money than the top players on a team. A star player usually holds more power than a coach. And it’s hard to make them follow instructions if they aren’t willing. It’s a lot easier to replace a coach than get rid of your top players.
Regardless. Theo’s effort was inexcusable.
Will see what Fonseca will do to send them a message.
At least, the least a (decent) coach could do is to sub off those best yet lack of attitude players. To make his point / statement.
To me the effort by Theo was absolutely egregious and insulting. The way he tracks back with no heart and kicks his leg out like he’s Leao or something. Absolutely criminal in my mind. No discipline at all.
After 5 years with pioli how do you expect to change this team so soon? We need to give fonseca time. He made all the changes we asked for in this lineup and it still wasn’t good. The late additions and late start for players training has effected us large. But it’s clear as day they still play with the pioli mentality but much worse. They don’t even look fit
Fonseca doesn’t change sh*t when he still used the same formation and lineup like Pioli.
Biggest mistake today was to play with Musah and Loftus these two need to be sold! They dont fit for this game we like to make, better you put Liberali as 10 and give him a chance to grow and put Camarda as a bench player and give him minutes and when somebody says they are too young just think of the players of PSG 16 years old but in the first team, Barca, City and Madrid, Dortmund or Leverkusen! Thats the new reality and thats how you put them on and not wait for the next 5 years to put a talent in, what about Zeroli would be 100% better then mussah.
RLC is shit.. just running around the field no single impact. He should be sold for Samarzdic. Tomori and Pavlovic need to communicate better. Well good defensive work by both we could have been 3 goals down in first half.
This is not what Fonseca promised us… no compactness no communication no confidence no precision no aggression.
Parma was so good with the long ball on counter beating Milan CD and right back.
Fonseca should have brought in Saleameaker for RLC and play Pulisic behind the striker at second half. After u level the score u dont play for draw. And Leao have two scoring chances but shot our wide. That boy really need to step up his game.
Overall I give it for Parma they have the courage and good game plan, they play with their heart and spirit.
This is not our Milan… and I dont trust Fonseca tactics…
I roar for Conceicao when Conte was out of the book but I am not the management nor club owner.
100% I agree with mr. Fonseca. In our team we have to many lazy primadona’s, self-sufficient delusionally “stars” in their mind. This situation become worse and worse because we don’t have a real owner who can step in and make order. An owner who can enter in the locker room and talk seriously and severe with players and back the trainer. Who don’t play with the team and don’t give everything is free to leave. Lack of discipline , will and professionalism at our players, many of them.
I totally agree with Fonseca, the players don’t play and defend as a team but individually which is our bigger problem. If you recall when Morata came into our previous match, he changed the game tempo which is what we need. Leao is fast but weak when it comes to marking when he needs to which is a problem. Our coach is not our problem but our style of play is our problem. I wish the team and coach would read our comments to learn.
Maignan
Jimenez gabbia pavlo bartesaghi
Zeroli terraciano foffana
Liberalli koopmeiners
Camarda
Sell : theo, Leao, rlc
Buy : koopmeiners
When we gonna see that fast modern football redbrid been talking about since takeover?
Because all we had since their takeover is banter football with an exception twice a season.
Make friendly game Milan against Futuro and you will have answers. you dont have bolls for put kids play like doing great coaches
The only player in Milan that have fighting spirit and bless 🔴⚫ is Adli
Bleed
Still a long way to go. Players have to adapt and adjust to a new tactics, and, the coach has to improve, too. We can’t keep blaming each other. That is a recipe for disaster. I wanted a win, but, not too disappointed. It’s a new team.
Fonseca = no energy, no ideas…yet.
Only two match in the league and he already blame his players? Welp this is a disaster 🤦♂️
You b*tches can mock and hate Pioli all you want. But when Milan got bad results, in presscon Pioli always protect his players by saying the boys did a decent / good job and let all the criticsm pointed at him. Pioli wants his players to keep their mental at best and ready for the next match.
Oh man, this season will be really sucks for Milan. Good job for Cardinale and the d*mbass management who hired a mediocre manager who doesn’t have any clue how Serie-A works. Fonseca thinks Serie-A is the same with Ukraine or France league lol.
Exactly. Like Mourinho; blaming the players. Pioli had more class and the players loved him.
I get what fonseca is saying and he is not totally wrong. However, lack of quality and many player of the same position certainly don’t help. Most of the fans here have been screamimg for a proper dm and am. Too many foreign players that don’t feel the weight of our shirt. Afterall, the real culprits are amatours like fulhani, ibra etc. Cardinale has spemt the money he hasn’t been as cheap as most of us though he would be. However, his menagment are unable to build a team with those funds.
Theo dont have competitor for his position . Same thing every season. He can play whatever he want ,good or bad but still no effect for him because he will still starting. Why take 20m euro for emerson in RB not buy player for LB and you can keep kalulu as RB . If cannot win in 5 serie A match better change coach with sarri
Trainer is niet goed , liever Anceloti
Sack this clown before inter put 5 goals to us
The coach has to shoulder this debacle start of the season. If he is going to learn coaching AC Milan as he goes then might as well employ the local barber. I thought he was selected because he has great coaching qualities that will be instant success. This is not the case and another frustrating season is looming. Hope Fonseca will prove me wrong !!!
At least Fonseca knows were the main defensive issue lays. – Not defending as a team. Whenever our pressing is beaten or we lose the ball in midfield/defense, you’ve to have everyone quickly dropping deep, not just the defenders and midfielders. Everyone attacks occupying the opponent’s half and everyone defends box area. You always move as a compact unit. It’s require sacrifice and discipline which some of the Milan players lack. I’m still with the belief that even a super defensive minded midfielder and a pair of great CBs alone won’t entirely solve our defensive issues. Thiaw and Calabria can be bad but the team’s general lack of defensive discipline is why we’re non stop licking goals imo.
Pioli is still under contract. If we’re winless after 5 games, he’ll probably be called back!
I don’t think Fonseca is bad. As I said before this team needs a coach that can discipline the team who’s not afraid of being harsh something Pioli lacks and i don’t think Fonseca has it. Conceição has that mentality. The way a team plays reflects the manager personality. I hope I’m wrong but if I can always feel like him being sack if performance is shaky and we lose against Inter in the derby. Conceição would take over. We need a coach that has mentality putting the players in tough training sessions.
Didn’t sub useless RLC, and late for sub Oka4. Dont expect too much from him
Milan DNA is twin strike force. 4231 just doesn’t suit Milan anymore especially when the 2 defensive midfielders are not up to the task. Strike force is totally marked out with 1 man heading the attack. Get back to 4312
Maybe if Fonseca was in Lille, it will no problem.
But, this is Milan. I think if after 5 games, he can not gives win, Fonseca will get fired.
And management will make Bonera as first team coach. Because Cardinale is running Milan like Baseball club.
Well, dreaming Milan become European Champion again, is still far. But at least Milan can superior from Inter, that’s enough for fans like me
Well, we still have time to do something in terms of calciomercato. Now it’s the for this board to take some risks, open the fvckin wallet and reinforce the side. We really need a good DM and for chrissake a really decisive striker.
I only saw Reijnders on the pitch playing against 11 Parma players
I’ve read some sensible takes and frankly a lot of outlandish ones. Criticism is frankly justified but as is patience.
Patience with a new coach trying new principles with players he hasn’t worked with before. Should he have done his homework of what worked and didn’t work under Pioli? I hope so.
But this thing will take a while to get together and start humming. We aren’t talking Pioli experimenting in his fifth year at Milan with the same core of players. We’re talking a new coach with new ideas.
It’s like when you have a new girl and she spends the first night at your place. You ain’t gonna go wild and kinky. You’re gonna feel her out see what she San and can not handle before you hit harmony. (Sorry that’s the first analogy that popped in my head).
If we’re still worrying about the same problems two months in then hard decisions will need to be made. Until then it would make sense to keep expectations at a reasonable level.
If we’re out of the Scudetto race in two months then management deserve most of the criticism for the managerial appointment that frankly no one was on board with. But for now, Fonsy needs benefit of the doubt.
Let’s see what he can and can not do with this group.
Well said. Patience is key. Afterall, what else is there to do for everyone. Gotta say though, not a lot of quality in that midfield. Time will tell if fofana and possibly kone will adduch needed quality in that department.
I somewhat agree with you, I think the coach must be given more time to properly assess what he is doing, and a big part of the blame for yesterday’s loss should be put on Leao, Theo and such.
It’s however frustrating to see us like that and for me it begs 2 questions:
1- Did Fonseca even do his homework ? What I saw yesterday is a repeat of many last seasons games. I feel like Fonseca is wasting time trying to expriment stuff that was already proven to be ineffective (like RLC as a 10).
2- What was the point of the preseason ? Most players that played during preseason aren’t even playing and we’re seeing nothing of what was displayed during preseason.
In any case Milan MUST win the next game, otherwise forget scudetto, even top 4 might be out of reach. Also, Fonseca has to show he is the boss, Leao and Theo must be benched during the next game, their attitude is simply unforgiveable.
lega calcio should make a policy where every serie A team must have at least 2 academy players in their starting lineup. remember Germany has destroyed their football in 2002?? they made a revolutionary policy like this, and the rest is history.
2 DM, at least one of they have to skiillfull like pirlo. He can drive and distribute the ball from the middle. Milan already have player like this on Adli but he have no partner like kessie, gattuso or even ambrosini. At least musah should try on this position.
This is management fault. The great fonseca want tammy abraham, but management did not give it.
Like last year, pioli want thuram, but wise management milan give jovic.
Just my 2 cents…
RLC & Musah were totally useless. Contributed nothing but easy ball losses. Misplaced passes and turnovers. Yet RLC played full match? How the F???!!!
Emerson is not an upgrade over Calabria. Sure, the captain was awful but Emerson was even worse.
They say Leao should be more of a leader. At least his example has influenced Theo who no longer gives a flying f*** whether we concede or not. Leao isn’t defending so he doesn’t need to either – apparently.
Reijnders did somewhat OK in the offense but he can’t defend even if his life was depending on it. Perhaps Fofana (who played well) helps him with that.
Pavlovic is a monster. In a positive way. He was everywhere. Blocking, sliding, attacking, intercepting in the midfield. Awesome display. If only his attitude was more contagious so the others would learn something…
I’m not bashing Fonseca yet as he hasn’t had the time needed. Musah didn’t know what to do? It’s the first time ever I hear any player say that so I’d say it shows more of his footballing-IQ than Fonseca’s leading. We all know Musah cannot play but “he’s got potential”, right? 😀 😀 I won’t blame Fonseca for Musah’s dumbness.
But I will blame Fonseca for letting one of the worst players on the pitch play full 90 minutes. Inexcusable. RLC should have been taken off instead of Pulisic. RLC did nothing.
Oh, and Jovic & Okafor aren’t starter material in the #9 spot. But we already knew that.
Well said
Some nice point made.
It will be a shame if the club starts panicking now. It is clear they needed time, even though it is hard to lose. Parma played very well, and Sacchi warned that they weren’t a pushover. We on the other hand entered Pioli mode in the 1st 20mins or so.
The cb did very well. The weak point is the flanks. Calabria problem is speed, Theo unfocused, and Royal is like a downgrade.
The midfield was shaky defensively.
Good point, RLC should have been taken off instead.
We can insult Leao all we like, but he’s improving. He had a positive game.
We definitely missed a striker.
For the next game:
– Leao and Theo must be benched. Maybe that will teach them a lesson ? Also Fonseca has to assert his dominance
– Don’t start RLC as a 10, or better, don’t start RLC at all. Also don’t start Musah
– Perhaps consider a 3 men midfield with Bennacer, Reijnders and Fofana, forget about the double-pivot and attacking midfielder stuff, we don’t have those.
– If necessary, forget about this cute high block, possession stuff and park the bus.
Is Leao fit ? Does he have endurance issues ?
It’s easier to blame to coach when a team loses a match. However, the nonchalant attitude shown by some players yesterday was unacceptable, and I will keep saying it, Theo and Leao together are one of the problems we have at Milan. These play well only when they deemed fit. They can be uninterested during a match which has hurt us severally. Until Milan sell these two players, this attitude exhibited yesterday will happen again, or the coach will have to take a drastic decision to bench any of them.
what ac milan need is to sell musah buy cardoso and another dm and we shouldnt have bought emerson like seriously we wanted an upgrade from calabria but emerson isnt was complety out of posision in the 2nd goal could barerly make eazy passes leao was awful rlc isnt a 10 pavlovic is good calabria had a awful game pulsic was ok theo didnt even give a $hit musah is horrible he got good work rate and a good sense of humour but is useless on the pitch i really like okafor but he had a horrible game aswell