GdS: The one word Fonseca wanted every Milan player to see before win vs. Inter

AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca made the decision to change something in the dressing room in the hopes it would inspire his players, and Sunday’s derby win suggested that it did.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, Fonseca and his staff instructed the club to put the word ‘courage’ above the individual seats of all 25 players called up for the derby, but in their native languages.

On Sunday, Inter were playing at ‘home’ and – as agreed between the two clubs – Simone Inzaghi’s team kept both their own locker room and the one that Milan usually uses when they play home matches at San Siro.

Fonseca’s men prepared in the ‘big room’ reserved for away teams that the Portuguese asked to personalise: each player’s spot was marked with their shirt number, the Milan crest and the word ‘courage’ written in the language spoken by the player in question.

A curiosity: courage is written the same in English and French, but the Dutch, Serbian, German and Portuguese versions was present. The message was clear: everyone should go out onto the pitch without fear of the Italian champions.

It is just one of a number of things intended to galvanise team spirit, including the over 90-minute chat that the coach had with the players on Wednesday about the season so far and the barbecue at Milanello on Friday.

Then there was the final party. The team were on the field to receive the chants of the Curva Sud and when they returned to the dressing room they found the physiotherapists, members of the coaching staff, the warehouse workers and the managers who welcomed them with huge and applause. The finale included dinner and music in a well-known venue in the city.

Tags AC Milan Paulo Fonseca

13 Comments

  1. My respect for Fonseca went up exponentially. These initiatives are great and it seems like he was successful in shaking up the team and promoting unity and fighting spirit.

  2. Before the derby every one criticized fonseca and management for hiring him. The win against inter has changed their mind, let’s see in the mid season where milan stand in the table. Above inter or below it. Will the critics and insult are coming back or not..

  3. the truth is critics work so as encouraging words. A club big as milan need series of consistent win to remain unified. which we weren’t giving.

    The coach knows the situation he was walking into before he left lille.

    i like him more bcos he has proved that he his Aware. he notice what is wrong and he his a master tactician and handling pressure like this. i mean you can’t forge diamonds with silver heat. we will keep drilling him good or bad till we win it all.

    Forza milan Forza Fonseca

    1. Look at the picture. It says Coraggio right there. Actually it’s the word on top of all the others.

      It’s incredible how people pick on the stupidest things to criticize the management. I’m not a fan of this management but this is ridiculous.

      I think this management needs to be commended for implementing Milan Futuro and for pushing for a new stadium. These are lasting legacies.

      But it is to be criticized for lacking a sporting director, for giving too much power to the clown known as Ibrahimovic, and for taking too long and lowballing too much when negotiating with other clubs for new signings.

      But not writing the word Coraggio (which is not true; the word is there) is not one of the reasons to criticize them.

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