Paulo Fonseca was officially presented to fans and journalists at Casa Milan this morning, and he spoke about what he wants to bring as the new head coach of AC Milan.
The announcement of Fonseca as the man to replace Stefano Pioli came last month and it must be said that the Portuguese will arrive amid a mixed reaction from sections of the fan base, so Ibrahimovic looked to explain with clarity what the vision was behind it.
Rather than going for a more established name like Antonio Conte, it is clear that the management were looking for someone to continue the project already in place, instead of opting for someone more demanding or with a totally different philosophy.
Fonseca spoke alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Casa Milan in what was his official presentation press conference, and his comments were relayed by MilanNews.
“Good morning everyone. I have to thank how I have been welcomed in these days. I want to thank the club for the trust in me and in my work. I am very motivated, excited, confident of doing a great job here,” he said.
“I know that I am arriving at a club that wants to win, I have been to the beautiful Museum and I have seen the history of Milan and I must say that I have a great ambition to be part of this history. Zlatan also showed me the space for new trophies. I want to be part of this history. I am ready to start. I can’t wait to start.”
What feelings do you have today?
“I am here with great ambition. I know that the coaches who come here, come to win. I have watched Baresi many times and many other players who have made the history of Milan. I am aware that it is a great responsibility but also a great pride. Milan are a universal club. I know the responsibility that I have in my hands but I have great confidence in making Milan win.”
At what point is the squad in its construction? Can this Milan aspire to the Scudetto?
“I must say that I am here also because I believe a lot in the players we have and in the squad. I think that it is not news that we need players, not many, but it is true that we have some positions that we need to improve.”
Is this the highlight of your career so far? The last foreigner to win Serie A was Mourinho…
“I want to be the new foreigner who wins in Italy. I want to win here in Milan. I have great ambition. I know the responsibility and I want to win… I want to win.”
How will Milan play under you? What are the key ideas?
“I think that Milan is a club with a history of having attacking football. To win we must be a dominant team: this is what I want to build here. A courageous, dominant, attacking, reactive team, a team that does not let other teams think and play.
“But first of all I want to win. The quality of the game is important to me. I want to build a team that leaves the fans proud, with a strong identity.”
Regarding the attack, what characteristics should the No.9 have?
“We all know that we need one. Together we are trying to bring here the striker with the right characteristics. If we are a team that plays in the last 30 metres, we must have a strong striker. We know who the player is that we want and we expect him here soon.”
Can the gap with Inter be bridged?
“I can promise that we will fight in every game to win. It will not be different with Inter. We know that we have a strong team and that Inter are one of the strongest teams. But we must play with courage and without fear of anything. Always with the ambition to win.”
What do you expect from Leao?
“Leao is an important player for Milan, he is decisive. I expect a motivated player, ready to play for the team. I think he is young and has the opportunity to learn every day: I want to work to make him learn things that I think he can learn, always to help the team.”
As of July 8th, still no signings. When will the purchases arrive? What stage are we at with the striker? What happened with Zirkzee?
“We have a phrase in Portuguese that goes ‘haste is the enemy of perfection’. We have a punctual situation and as Zlatan said we know what we want. At the right time we will bring in players.”
More fundamental, the arrival of a defender or the number 9? How do you improve defensive performance?
“I studied the team and I don’t want to make comparisons with the past. I have to look at what I have to learn. One of the things we have to improve to win is to be a more balanced team. I studied the defensive issue, we have to improve. This is related to the way we defend.
“What I can say is that we want a more aggressive team that defends further from our goal. I will work to improve this phase. We have good defenders and I don’t think it’s an individual problem, we have to improve collectively. The priority is a striker at the moment.”
You arrive amid fan skepticism, what do you feel like telling them?
“I have a great desire to get going and to be able to convince the fans. I want to make the fans believe that we will be an ambitious team that will play to win. I know the responsibility I have and I am the one who must convince the fans. I am sure that they will be with us at all times. All together we will be very strong.”
How long will it take to see your influence?
“I think that in the first match against Torino I expect to see my ideas on the pitch. This is a process that needs time. We start today but without important players – they will arrive later and I don’t think we will be perfect on the first day of the season but we will be able to start seeing a different team.”
Milan finished second last season, what does the word ‘Scudetto’ mean to you?
“To win. As I said the coach who comes here, does it to win. I’m here for this, it’s the truth and we can’t escape from this truth.”
Who are the players you know personally?
“I’ve played against many players. I don’t have a personal relationship with anyone but I know them all.”
What do you think about Florenzi?
“A team player and at this moment I count on everyone who is in the squad. Florenzi is one of them,”
On full-backs: how do you see the current situation? Have you heard from Theo and what’s his future?
“Theo is a very important player for us. I think I play with different structures. I have to understand the characteristics of the players we have. If there is a very strong Theo offensively, on the right I can’t have someone like him.
“Maybe we can play with a more defensive full-back or with a more attacking one, it depends on the strategy for each match. We have solutions for the different structures we want, it’s positive.”
Do you need experienced players? Do you like Morata?
“I don’t want to talk about names. We know what we want. We lost Giroud, but if we change, we change to improve.”
What will you do about the injury problems?
“I don’t know in depth the reasons for having had these injuries. Since yesterday we started talking with Milan Lab and we are all talking together to not have them anymore. Injuries are more with so many competitions and so many matches: but I am confident that we won’t have big problems.”
What do you take away from your experience at Roma? Has it matured you?
“I have a great passion for Italy. I had a great experience at Roma, it was very important in making this decision to return to Italy. They are different contexts. I know the league well, the other coaches, the characteristics of Serie A. I am very ready.”
What is your opinion on the level of Serie A? How will you interact with Milan Futuro?
“The league here is very strong. I think Serie A is one of the most difficult league in the world, with its own characteristics. At the moment I know there is a concern about having more Italian players. We are an example at the moment with Milan Futuro.
“I think we are preparing the present and the future of the club very well. I have watched and I know the young quality players that we have. I have no problem with playing young Italian players if they have courage and quality.”
When were the first contacts with Milan? How important is it to have Ibra as a reference?
“Zlatan is very important, a reference for all of us. It is not important when we started talking, but the communion of ideas was important: what the club wants is what I can bring to the team. I think we are all confident for the future and the present of Milan.”
How do you want to intervene in the defensive phase?
“It’s not so much an individual problem but a departmental and collective one. I think it’s linked to the way we defend. I want to change with a more aggressive team, press the other teams, more reactive when we lose the ball and higher in defending.
“If we improve this, then there are departmental or specific situations. But we have to find a way that leaves the team safe in the defensive moment. This balance is important to find in order not to concede too many goals.”
Will you play with two-man or three-man midfield? Do you need a defensive midfielder?
“I don’t want to make comparisons. I have a different way of defending compared to what Milan had in previous years. That’s why I know that I have a tendency, more here in Italy, to go man to man: I think that at some point we can do it but I’m not a coach who does it all over the pitch. The midfielders’ approaches will change.”
What is the objective for the Champions League?
“We want to go as far as possible. We know how difficult it is. We have the ambition to win all the games. We will also need luck. But in all the games we will have the ambition to win.”
Is the second star a pressure or a stimulus?
“It’s a motivation, a motivation”
Have you spoken with Cardinale?
“We talked. This conversation was also important. One of the things I liked the most is that Gerry told me: ‘Milan wants to win not only today but tomorrow’. This is what the club is doing: it prepares to win today but has a clear plan for the future. Then we are always in contact, normally.”
Are you satisfied with the characteristics of the central defenders? Do you see Kalulu as a full-back or central defender?
“Kalulu plays in both positions. I am satisfied with having almost all the defenders to start the work. Normally I start with the defensive phase, only Theo is missing. It is positive to have this possibility of having Kalulu with different roles: he is not very attacking but it will depend on the structure of the game. I am satisfied with this possibility of playing in different roles.”
Which players can be developed? Okafor for example?
“We have many qualities here. We have different solutions for different positions. All the players will be important. One of the most important things for me is to see the players who work with me learn and grow. If we improve the players, the team will be better. I have this concern to make progress.”
Zirkzee is the past. Is the striker you expect similar in terms of characteristics?
“I think Zlatan said it all. I don’t really like naming names. For us, the player we want is very clear.”
Is it true you are with Milanello?
“I live there only for now (laughs). For me it’s very simple: I can work a lot. We don’t have much time available. My family isn’t here now and I normally work many hours: for me it’s easier to stay there and with the staff we can stay longer to work. At this moment it’s more practical to live in Milanello”
What do you feel like saying to the Rossoneri fans? What can you bring to Milan that you didn’t bring to Roma?
“They are different teams. I don’t want to talk too much about the past. What I want to say is that we know that Rome is not an easy place but I was very happy there. I carry that moment in my heart but now it is in the past. I tell the fans that I will always respect them and that there is the will to build an honest team that will make them proud.”
Do you have a particular slogan?
“Within the team we always create some phrase or word, but I have to think about it… it’s a feeling thing, I have to know the players and the staff well.”
Do you prefer a centre-forward with size like Dzeko or more mobile like Jonathan David?
“You are trying to understand the striker we want (laughs). It depends on the players we have, it depends on the system. In Lille we also played without strikers.
“In different areas of the pitch we can play with different structures. What we know is that we want to play in the last 30 metres and the striker we want must play without space in the last thirty metres.”
How many times he said that the defensive problems Milan had were not individual but collective.
“I studied the defensive issue, we have to improve. This is related to the way we defend.”
“I have a different way of defending compared to what Milan had in previous years.”
“to go man to man: I think that at some point we can do it but I’m not a coach who does it all over the pitch. The midfielders’ approaches will change.”
Thank God , no more of that idiotic Pioli’s 1v1 all over the pitch “defending.”
But he also said he wants higher defending. Hoping that doesn’t mean the defensive line. Anyways intriguing to say the least how he improves the defence but yes collective defending is needed.
Ibra said we have clear idea what striker we want 😃 After chasing Zirkzee for 8 months obv the idea was other and it was just a hoax to make fans think we can invest big 🫢 And the way I see it Milan won’t invest big for a striker and hope Camarda in 3-4 years to explode which is like 50-50 situation. And he said we have no rush to buy new players because first we need to make the space for them – like what space my brotha?!
There’s nothing wrong with having two different profiles and knowing exactly what you want. This Milan team is dynamic, and in order to win, you need different profiles that excel at different things.
Look at Man City – their backup striker is Alvarez, who is completely different from Haaland.
Plus, I think Okafor has the same profile as Zirzkee. But Memphis Depay would honestly be great for the final 20 minutes and in domestic cup matches or against weaker sides.
It wasn’t a hoax and there’s €50 million for a striker. The problem is the profile of the strikers we chased.
“Strong stricker” – it smels like Morata or Lukaku 😂
I hope he means morata 😅
“If there is a very strong Theo offensively, on the right I can’t have someone like him.”
I’m glad to hear him say this. Far too much talk about having another Theo on the right.
Anyone who knows football knows thats not going to work.
That is why Kalulu is perfect, plus we can use Jimenez when we need more offense and are throwing caution to the wind.
He speaks well and his ideas are sound, I hope he can gain the confidence of the players, so those ideas are implemented.
I also hope the ownership gives him the players we need to raise the quality of the squad and not a bunch of mediocre place holders like Morata and E.Royale
For E.Royal I agree but I don’t think Morata with his goal tally in the last 8 seasons can be considered mediocre.
He is still the starts for his Nation and when it comes to replacing Giroud , it’s hard to find to find a better replacement when factoring in experience, leadership, proven goalscoring etc.
Fonseca said he is looking for a player who plays well in the last 30mts without space …that must mean Morata or Dovbyk .
Unless we are looking at attacking right sided fullbacks because there’s an assumption that we won’t have one on the left….
The last foreigner to wint Serie A was Mourinho. A Portoguese. He had no Italian in that treble winning starting line.
Fonseca is Portoguese and as things stand, he too will have 0 Italians in his starting line.
Now be hyped about it.
N🧊.
So what exactly would you prefer? Milan to win or to have multiple Italians starting? Did you see the disgraceful showing in the Euros? If you want to win, look abroad.
We’re still comparing Euros performance to club?🤦♂️
Exactly. Many players in that crap team at the Euros spanked us in the derby many times over. Club and intl competition are two different things
What a stupid reply. Inter has multiple foreign stars. Barella is the only Italian on that side who is even close to world-class, and he isn’t.
Once again, it seems you would rather have Italians than win, which is asinine.
You’re replying to the wrong person dude. I dont care if our team has 10 Italians or 2 but I do care about the team winning and finding the best players. I was addressing your point that Italy being bad in the Euros somehow equates to club form. It doesn’t. As evidenced by many Inter players in the Italy team (Bastoni, darmian, DiMarco, Barella, Frattesi) which did badly but spanked us many times in the league. Club form =|= country form
Do you mean Materazzi was not in the treble winning starting line up, you most be joking, please share your line up, however we need good additional players not based on there nationality, if we can raise the next generation of Italians in our Milan Futuro, we will see about that in 3/4 years, bt the amount this Italian clubs been calling Italian players is ridiculous, just look at the Italian squad in this current euros, I only admire Calafiori nd Boungirno who is nt a stater bt yet non of them is worth the price on them
Foncesca please sign two attacking midfield that’s where we are lacking seriously please is important
I think he sees Reijnders as the attacking midfielder. Pulisic. Zeoli.
Lol when they asked him if this team can win the scudetto he avoided the question and low key started speaking about how the club need new players. So in other words no. But he can’t say it directly cause this management likes to lie to the fans that they aspire to win seria A. In reality the aim is top 4 again. Fonseca does have some more clear ideas than Pioli tho.
Good idea new coach
What he said about the striker’s profile, “striker we want must play without space in the last thirty meters”, shows that he does not need Zirkzee. This profile would have suited Giroud…:) (Remember we beat PSG with his header over Skriniar) But most power forward Lukaku fits here. We can forget about Zirkzee. Fonseca has spoken well so far, I like the launch.
Good, strong, convincing words. Now act.
“I have watched Baresi many times and many other players who have made the history of Milan. I am aware that it is a great responsibility but also a great pride. ”
Almost slipped up and said Maldini for a sec there 😂😂😂😂
Well done 👌
Milan would definitely win hands down the world cup for clubs with the most empty talk, bullshi…, lack of planning and foresight, arrogance, lack of ambition, no interest in new investment, dumb management, lack of experience …… what else? Do i need to add more?