Decisive days await for both AC Milan and Napoli will announce the appointments of their new head coaches Paulo Fonseca and Antonio Conte, a report claims.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes how Fonseca has dropped off the radar a bit. The world is talking about something else: the Rossoneri fans are moved by Carlo Ancelotti’s achievements, the mercato has officially begun and is dominating the newspaper columns, but Milan are working.
Fonseca is the coach chosen by Milan and, even if no one officially confirms it, there are no longer any doubts about this. The contract worth €2.5m net per season for the next two seasons – with an option for a third year – is ready and waiting to be signed.
At this stage, Fonseca remains a coach more appreciated by colleagues and by players than by the average fan and Milan, in this, took a risk. The management know that the critics will be more attentive than usual, so starting well has huge importance.
The week will be used to define the details of Fonseca’s new adventure but the actual official announcement will probably be in 7-10 days. Milan plan to organise a presentation press conference to follow, to officially open the new chapter and not postpone everything until July.
The Portuguese will have about 20 days to get to know the squad at Milanello, then the American tour will begin. It will be a delicate period because Pioli was criticised for the choice to spend 10 days in California when the tsunami of injuries came last season.
A detail that hasn’t been talked about much: when selecting the coach, Milan gave a lot of consideration to the working group that he will bring with him, i.e. the athletic trainer and the level of the assistants. It starts with his assistant Paulo Ferreira, of Chelsea fame.
A week ago Fonseca chose to go to Portugal to be with his family and move on after the bitter ending with Lille, who threw away a winning position in the final round of the Ligue 1 season which means they must go through the qualification phase.
However, the contacts with Milan are continuous: first there was talk of a contract, then the club and coach started to think about the transfer window. Giorgio Furlani was in London two days ago for the Champions League final and there too he worked on the future.
According to Milan’s plans, they will not go on a crazy spending spree but they will invest, starting with a striker. In his career, Fonseca has often had centre-forwards who scored over 15 goals in the league, showing they are an integral part.
The idea is to sign a right-back, a central defender and a defensive midfielder, useful for his possession-based style, which is usually a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 system, in which he alternates pressing and defence of the goal.
