Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s first press conference as a non-player at AC Milan will take place today, and clues are expected regarding the vision for the future.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, that in itself is not trivial because Ibrahimovic has never been at the centre of a press conference as a Milan executive. He participated in a public interview in London, at a Financial Times event, but it’s not the same.
His presence on the Milanello stage comes directly from Gerry Cardinale, who wanted him as an advisor to RedBird Capital for Milan and asked him to speak at such an important moment. Ibrahimovic announcing Fonseca basically sends a message.
The choice, of course, was not Ibra’s. Fonseca has been in Milan’s mind for months and the decision can be traced directly to the highest level of Casa Milan, to the CEO Giorgio Furlani, and the Furlani-Moncada-Ibrahimovic working group will be the key to the mercato in the coming weeks.
Fonseca will use with the same formations as Pioli, the 4-2-3-1 and the 4-3-3, but the numbers are a mask that hide the reality. The new Milan will actually be very different from the previous one, because Fonseca tends to be chameleonic, making changes where he sees fit.
The new Milan will use transitions much less than the previous one, even if with Theo Hernandez and Rafa Leao recovering the ball and countering quickly is always a good idea. The team will keep the ball much more, with Fonseca favouring high possession to control the game and the pace.
It is logical to expect a team that moves less in bursts, that creates a bit less and concedes less, that alternates high aggression and medium-low blocks, that is less extreme in one-on-one situations across the pitch.
A lot, obviously, will depend on the key players: Theo and Leao if they stay, Pulisic obviously, Reijnders who is right to expect a step up compared to his first season, however positive it was. Any new players that arrive will sign with Fonseca’s vision in mind.
However, defensive attention remains the first commandment. Fonseca with Lille cut the goals conceded by 10 from 2022-23 to last season, going from 44 to 34 in 38 games, and at Milan he plans to do the same.
