Sergio Conceicao has only been in charge at AC Milan for a few days, and yet he is already leaving his mark on the squad.
As Calciomercato.com write, the new Milan coach Conceicao is preparing to challenge Thiago Motta’s Juventus in the second semifinal of the Supercoppa Italiana. The Portuguese coach has a clear mission in front of him: to get Milan back to being competitive and dominant in Italy and Europe.
It is not exactly the easiest of objectives but – for both economic and sporting reasons – is one that is essential to reach by the end of the season. Conceicao is certainly not a character who is intimidated by such demands, and he has not wasted a second in getting to work.
The former Porto boss has been compared to Antonio Conte and Max Allegri because of his way of operating, and he got straight to grips with the task at hand. Minutes after landing in Italy, Conceicao headed straight to Milanello to meet the management and the team.
Not only that: his arrival at the training ground was a good reason to immediately start with a first session, canceling the day of rest initially granted. We saw running, intensity, discipline and that tough expression that is already characterising his experience with the Rossoneri.
Conceicao immediately imposed his own pace, erasing a past that – according to him – cannot and should not count. What counts now, right now, is the present to shape the future. Thus, starting from the trip to Saudi Arabia, discipline and respect immediately became the two key terms to build around.
Rather than hosting just one training session on the eve of the game like usual, Conceicao opted for a double session yesterday and there will also be one this morning too. He even demands the use of shin pads, showing that it will not exactly be done at walking pace.
He will ask for a team ready to fight on the field until the final whistle, from start to finish and without the possibility that this dogma can be in any way not respected. This is something that Fonseca accused his side of not doing, not long before he lost his job.
What playing principles can we expect? More transition than Fonseca’s idea of possession-based domination. Instead of ‘tiki taka’ the emphasis will be on being compact and aggressive, with rapid ball recovery and fast vertical play. All with only one goal: to win, at all costs.
Conceicao is a coach who does not accept defeat, and is more pragmatic and results-oriented than philosophical. Football, he declared during his presentation, is simple: there is a net to try score in, and one to keep goals out of. Nothing more, nothing less.
“He even demands the use of shin pads, showing that it will not exactly be done at walking pace”
What ? I remember when i played football we was always forced to train with shin pads at every single training session and that was from the youngest age of 5 years old so unless the players actually are in the fitness center it doesn’t really make any sense why that wouldn’t be the case for professionals as well.
Some players do not wear shin pads in matches – Calabria for one.
Really, I’ve never noticed that. It’s a rather daft approach as they do help protect your legs and professional football players at least represents a financial aspect for pro football clubs. One of the worst injuries i ever got in regard of football was caused by one of my team mates who went down to tackle a ball away from me and inadvertently hit me directly on the shin with the studs and half a year to a year after if i touched my shin it would get all warm. I can only imagine what would have happened if I had not worn any,
I’d argue they should always be mandatory at training or in matches and that should be a set demand directly from the club.
I recall strikers hating shin pads because it was bulk at the time (this was ages ago btw) and everyone else wearing them to prevent injury. I don’t know how I would train or play football without them. That first time with shin action (without pads) I still remember 😂
I personally didn’t like those you just showed down in the socks but preferred those that worked a bit like a sock in the bottom part of the shin pad. They seemed to stay better put.
IKWYDLS I don’t know how old you are but I’m 45 and back then when i played football some players also had long metal metal studs which could do really harm if unlucky, Not sure if they are allowed any longer though.
Yeah I wouldn’t want to play without any either that’s for sure.
I wonder if Dave Busst used shin pads when he got that horrific leg injury against Man Utd.
Thank god players don’t use metal studs anymore on lower divisions!! 😀
😀 so they have been banned, good for the younger generations.
I once played in a match in the middle of winter where an opponent stomped my foot a couple of times so i realized it was done by purpose so I told him to quit it but as he kept doing it I waited for the ref to be up in the other end of the field so I ran by the player and smacked my elbow directly in to his face so he went flat down and I quickly ran up in the other end so the ref didn’t realize what I had done. Almost ended up in a fight with the opponents coach and bench 😀
I don’t think I’ve ever worn them in adults trainings. But I do think that you play as you train and therefor it would be ideal to wear them and not avoid contact in trainings. So IMO… Making pros wear them is only a good thing. They pads are nothing like in 90s and you practically won’t even notice them anymore anyway.
Yeah if players is forced to play careful and withdrew from tackles in training then I actually think there is a greater risk for injuries to be honest so definitely not the best point to start from. I can imagine that there indeed has been made a great progress in the development in gears just as it also happened with shoes and balls.
I hope everyone curbs expectations for his first game in charge. Not even Copperfield can morph these players into Conceicao’s vision in a short span. I do expect the “New Coach Bump” in form, but Conceicao has his work cut out for him.