Sergio Conceicao has been on AC Milan’s managerial shortlist for quite some time and following the election at Porto, he has become a strong candidate. Per a report, next week could be decisive for his future.
Today’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (see featured image) dedicated a page to the Portuguese manager and Milan’s interest, confirming that the latter is indeed concrete. Furthermore, it appears Conceicao now is willing to leave Porto as well.
The sliding doors moments bringing us here
As the pink newspaper begins, the likes of Wendell, Wanderson Galen, André Villas-Boas and Jorge Mendes could be decisive in bringing Conceicao to Milan. Wendell and Galeno are the two Porto players who, in the Champions League round of 16, missed the decisive penalties against Arsenal.
Had Porto eliminated the Gunners, then several Premier League teams would have been knocking on Conceicao’s door. Villas-Boas, meanwhile, won the recent presidential election at Porto and thus ended the long reign of Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa.
Conceicao signed the contract renewal with Pinto da Costa and he’s no longer sure of staying, with a clause enabling him to leave by mutual consent. Finally, Jorge Mendes is the manager’s agent and he’s already on the case.
Milan’s interest confirmed
In the last few hours, in fact, Mendes has called Milan to propose Conceicao, pushing for the move. The Rossoneri already considered the latter an option, given his success with Porto, and the interest has only been fueled by the Villas-Boas win at Porto.
Next week is expected to be decisive, with a meeting scheduled between Conceicao and Villas-Boas to understand how they can move forward. The feeling right now, based on what is being reported in Portugal, is that a farewell is more likely than a stay.
Conceicao is very attached to Porto, with whom he also played on two occasions as a footballer, but he feels tired and has felt a lot of pressure in the last period. Furthermore, the derby – as a former Inter player – wouldn’t be a problem for the manager as there is only one team he would be against joining in Italy: Roma (after his time at Lazio).
Other candidates in the running
Milan aren’t expected to rush their decision and a few more candidates are being evaluated as we speak. The official announcement will arrive at the end of the season, as they want a worthy farewell with Stefano Pioli, but the next 10-15 days should be decisive.
In addition to Conceicao, the likes of Paulo Fonseca, Roberto De Zerbi, Mark van Bommel and Roberto Martinez are on the wish list. In short, there is still some work to do for the Rossoneri and it remains to be seen what the outcome will be.
I think why Villas Boas would push him out should warrant a close look.
He is quite competent after all, Villas-Boas himself even did a lot better with Porto (obviously different time but not completely distant history)
Bit of an underdiscussed red flag.
What is his achievement?
You have it written all over this blog.
he has won three Primeira Liga titles, three editions of the Taça de Portugal, one Taça da Liga and three Supercups.
His team is also solid defensively and offensively. He’s definitely a better candidate than Lopetegui, Motta and De Zerbi.
In 7 years though.
at this point id rather just keep pioli if this is what we bring him he has the same characters as mourinho and will just leave behind even more chaos
I don’t think this is the best option for our bench, but also I don’t want Milan to become Mendes’ b|tch.