The fall-out after AC Milan’s draw against Lazio last night continues, specifically related to the Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao cooling break ‘saga’ that has developed.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Theo and Leao will not be fined by Milan for what happened shortly after the winger scored the equaliser, when the left-sided duo stayed on the far side of the field rather than joining Paulo Fonseca and their team-mates for a discussion during the cooling break.
The international break comes at the right time for Milan as a whole. It should serve to cool things down and perhaps bring back some calm, because if there had been the match with Venezia on the horizon – or worse, the derby with Inter – the week would have been very tense.
Theo and Leao have obviously been called up by their national teams. France will play in Paris and Lyon against Italy and Belgium, while Portugal will play in Lisbon against Croatia and Scotland. No travel, only Nations League games at home.
The pair will take a break, tell their team-mates what is happening at Milan and will return to Milanello in two weeks. Fonseca will have to decide whether to send them onto the pitch from the start against Venezia and obviously it is impossible to say now who will play. Logic says that they will be there.
The scene was something never seen before: two teams around the coaches, two players who chose to stay on the other side of the pitch. The problem exists and will have to be managed during this break and after, in the week that will feature Milan-Liverpool in the Champions League and the derby versus Inter.
It is also important to consider that everything was seen live by Gerry Cardinale in Rome. The founder of RedBird was in the stands at the Stadio Olimpico yesterday. He did not meet the team but the CEO Giorgio Furlani told the players before the match that Cardinale would be in the stands to support them.
The balance between Fonseca and the two stars needs to be recalibrated. He spoke with Theo during the week but another conversation comes to mind, the one from the summer between the coach and Leao.
Before the European Championship, Fonseca went to Portugal’s training camp in Lisbon to speak directly with Rafa, and he didn’t do it with other players. This is also why yesterday’s episode, after the first exclusion, is very striking.