Zlatan Ibrahimovic faced the media at Sergio Conceicao’s unveiling press conference, speaking about the decision to sack Paulo Fonseca and hire him.
To describe the last 48 hours at Milan as dramatic would be an understatement, given that they went into the final game of 2024 against Roma with one head coach and are ending the year with another.
The call was made to relieve Fonseca of his duties after the game against the Giallorossi but the reports had been circulating in the build-up to kick-off, leading to a strange atmosphere surrounding the game.
The Portuguese was replaced very quickly by his compatriot, who flew into Italy yesterday morning and took his first training session at Milanello in the afternoon.
Ibrahimovic spoke at the unveiling of Conceicao and he had to answer some predictably tough questions from journalists, with his comments relayed by MilanNews. He began with an introductory speech.
“Welcome everyone. Before starting I want to thank Paulo Fonseca for what he has done, for the professional he is, for the time he has been here: maximum respect for him,” he began.
“The reasons for the dismissal: he has not managed to have continuity with the results and when you are Milan the results are fundamental. We took the decision to dismiss him after the match and we made a mistake in sending him to the conference: I apologise to Paulo and the fans.
“We understand the fans and we have respect, we are the first not to be satisfied and we will not be until we reach our objectives. The Supercoppa is one of our objectives.
“The responsibility is not only the coach’s but is shared with everyone, we have to take it. For better or for worse, Milan is always prepared for the next step, there are no decisions dictated by panic.
“The time has come to introduce the new coach, Sergio Conceicao. Reasons for the choice: a very direct person, he brings character, he is a winner. He has had experience of coming in mid-season and has done very well.
“He has achieved great results at Porto. Yesterday he arrived and immediately wanted the team on the pitch to work. Our job is to put him in a position to do the best possible. We welcome him.”
Did anyone ask Ibra why they didn’t just hire Sergio in the first place?
Exactly. “For better or for worse, Milan is always prepared for the next step, there are no decisions dictated by panic.” The club is run by amateur clowns and Ibrahimovic is possibly the biggest one.
Fonseca it’s not his choice. But the management. At the end result it’s fundamental…
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Conceicaco getting hired is 100% proof that us fans know better than these guys on how to run the club and it shouldn’t be that way.
What an incredibly dumb statement. I assure you that you don’t know more than anyone. If you ask 10 fans you will get ten different answers on who should be coach. Same with signings. Everyone thinks they know more than the people who have been in professional football their entire lives. You don’t. It’s like thinking you know more than doctors because you watch Dr. House on television. That’s why you do what you do and they do what they do.
Well said!
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Ha, yeah for every time fans are right there’s a time they are hilariously wrong. Not to mention that we only know what the media tells us and sports journalism literally has no ethics more than half what’s published by “credible sources” is just ppl making shit stuff up.
Picking a coach is like picking a player, there are so many variables that determine success every decision is a coin toss. That’s where the skill is, identifying the variables that might block success and mitigate them. We can critique and criticize these guys all day some of it fair most of it we don’t know enough to have an informed opinion on.
“We took the decision to dismiss him after the match and we made a mistake in sending him to the conference”
Ummm they think we’re st.upid or something? You dismissed him after the match but so many outlets knew before the match that Conceicao was going to be the new coach…. that doesn’t add up. Bro was already inbound into Milan prior to the match. I doubt any result would change the outcome, talking bout decisions are not made in panic. We’ll miss the UCL money and it’s surely panic mode.
This was basically damage control and a reaction to poor class shown when everyone else knew he was fired but put him in the presser…and once again fans show their angst. They knew what they did, they just didn’t care so stop lying.
At least Ibra realizes he has a little bit more class than the rest of management by actually apologizing. Hopefully this starts to open up his eyes
Calling them “management” is a stretch at this point. Even they don’t think of themselves as people who manage a football club. One is an accountant and the other one is a scout. The fact that the camera shows them more often doesn’t really make them “managers”.
How about him apologizing the club AND leaving? He needs to leave. If Maldini did not get a second chance to fix his error (i.e. bringing in CDK), neither should this narcissist.
The fact they put that clause in Fonzy’s contract is a proof he was their last resort and they have no clue what they’re doing whatsoever.
I believe Fonzy was never Ibra’s choice but since Ibra decided to be Gerry’s little lap pooch, he’s the one taking responsibility and the blame for Gerry’s actions. I feel sorry for you RedBird sell out.
Milan are doomed this season. No coach can change that with the team Ibra “built” in the summer. lol
This was embarrassing and unprofessional. Fonseca deserved much better than this. This is what happens when you let the fans pressure you into decisions.
Now the players are on their 3rd coach in less than a year. New strategy and tactics to learn. How long are we going to give this guy, a couple months? As if it doesn’t take time for a new coach and players to get on the same page.
Gotta love these so called fans. They said Fonseca was a yes man, a clown, he should be fired, which is something we heard for the last 2 months, now he’s gone, they still complain because of the manner in which he left! I’m so glad the club don’t give a crap about fans like these.
Yep
Gotta love these fans who don’t see any problems in his running of this club, taking a Scudetto winning team, dismantle it, sacking the architects of the Scudetto winning team and replacing them with bunch of tricycle riding circus chimps.
It’s fans like you two Gerry counts on the most. Fans who are easily bought for cheap, fast and soulless entertainment on demand. I bet he gives a lot of cráp about fans like you. As long as you buy his overpriced merch.
If only anything you said was actually true Ted. If you had a brain you might be dangerous. The Scudetto winning side was already dismantled. The team was getting worse because the Great Infallible Maldini let all of our best players leave for free and leaving the club with not enough money to properly replace them. The club finished 5th in points after Kessie left.
Pioli was part of the Scudetto winning side, should he have been kept on????
We finished 2nd last season , an improvement on the prior season. This season was a difficult start, not that unusual with a new coach who had almost no time to work with the players in the offseason because of the euros. Still impressive victories over Inter and Real Madrid, and sitting in very good position to go through in the Champions League. We’ll never know how the season would have finished because ownership is too afraid of the idiot fans like yourself. They should’ve had the courage to stick with their guy.
Ah yes K, you deserve a sit with those two at Gerry’s a*s kissing table too. Luckily for his cheapskate a*s he won’t have to spend on you lot so much anymore. You started in many but now you are few left. Short offseason for Fonzy? He wasn’t the only coach on this globe with this situation. Try harder. You call us idiots but you would want to finish this season with Fonzy. Lmao, grab a mirror.
Oh and last but not least, Maldini and Pioli still managed to get that scarce team to CL semis and qualify for next season’s CL. Unlike these clowns now who wasted 200 millions to sit in 8th spot. Maybe we understood wrong when they said they want to bring Milan back. But they didn’t mention it was the banter era they’re referring to.
You love to call ppl for revisionist history yet claim we were 5th in points two years ago. No, we were 4th in points, that’s how we got the UCL spot. Juve cheated and they were docked points, rightfully so. You only say things to fit your narrative, accuse others of revisionist history but do it yourself.
You love to talk about how we “improved” to 2nd place last year but when people used to point out we did worse in the UCL, u know the other competitions we’re in, you completely ingore it. Fast forward to this year and lo and behold we beat Real and sitting ‘decently’ for now in the UCL the mighty K once more comes out and all of a sudden knows what the UCL is. We’re suddenly doing well again there, aren’t we. But you ignored that we got dumped out of it last year….thereby, by fact and your own logic, last year was worse than the year before. So in total, declined in one competition, improved in another….far from a clear cut improvement overall you claim it is and by your own logic too.
Speaking of clear cut or the lack thereof, we had one of the worst defensive performances ever in our history last year, but you’ll ignore that too. So yippee we scored more conceded waaaaaaay more. I won’t go into why, it’s useless having a debate of substance with you. We turned a loss into a victory and drew two more times….that’s the improvement you rave about.
And by your own logic and fact, since you keep hollering about 2nd is better, this year we’re worse than last year and two years ago because we’re 8th in the standings, far far from 2nd/3rd at this point last year and even in previous years. But lemme guess it wouldn’t fit your narrative.
You go around this site talking about let the professionals do their job and regular fans don’t know any better than the professionals yet here you wanted them to stick with Fonseca. Sports really is the one profession where people like K thinks they know more than the professionals, hmmm 🤔 where have I heard that before LMAO 😂. A month or so ago you talk about not being a third way into the season to make judgements, that we’ll get to 4th easily. we’re almost a halfway now and we’re worst off than when you wrote that tripe when everyone else with two eyes and basic football understanding knew the trajectory we were going….down. So the PROFESSIONALS also agreed with us and thought it was wiser to hire a new coach, stem the bleeding in order to improve the standings. Not my words, your words.
Your whole logic is feeble at best and contradictory on many occasions.
I’m sorry but just because he needs to be sacked doesn’t mean do it anyhow. I barely criticise the management but what’s wrong with asking them to act with class?
His story has holes. If they decided to fire Fonseca after Roma, then how is it that Conceicao was already all sorted out and hired 4 hours later?
Just come out clean, man. “We had a year to find a replacement for the bench and though we knew what we were doing, but it’s clear that the fans knew our job better than us…”
No one wanted Fonseca, no one wanted Lopetegui, many were calling for Conceicao, and guess what, the fans ended up being right.
So much incompetence. I doubt anyone will take what ibra has to say seriously anymore because he has lost a lot of credibility through his actions.
Dude are you ok? You never seem happy, just “everything and everyone is the worst” comes from you. Constantly pessimistic and yet still reaching out. Do you need a huge?
More revisionist B.S. Really? All the fans wanted Conceicao? Ok. I remember the fans calling for Conti. I remember a whole bunch that wanted Motta. How’s he doing at Juve? Drawing every game. Sports is the only profession where everyone thinks they know more than the professionals. You want to give legal advice because you watch Law and Order or Judge Judy? You gonna operate on somebody because you watch Dr. House on TV?
Get real buddy. You couldn’t run a team of 12 year olds.
You buddy must be amerrican without any knowledge of football…
@K You guys love to twist peoples words or just fail to understand the point on purpose and it’s so annoying. During the summer most fans on this site either wanted Conte, Conceicao or Motta iirc (throw in a bit of Sarri there too). I didn’t see people jump for joy when Fonsy got appointed, I dunno maybe you did.
And it’s funny to see you being condescending to Motta’s Juve when they’re literally ahead of us in the standings and since you love facts so much, by fact.. they’re better than us. You’d prefer us to stay here languishing in 8th with that coach you love so much for god knows what reason. Maybe it’s a non-Maldini appointment so you have to follow through on ego. The new management team can’t get anything wrong, correct? Well they did and they themselves admitted it. Nothing wrong in that.
“Sports is the only profession where everyone thinks they know more than the professionals.” And yet here you are spewing nonsense as if you know better than the professionals themselves. Well guess what.. the professionals said they made the wrong choice of coach and so THEY, THE PROFESSIONALS needed to change course in order for our results to be better…..but nah you want them to stick with their guy….have courage to stick it out? What ? You know better than the professionals now? The same thing you go around accusing people of (this is an opinion site btw). What a load of hot air you are. Always contradicting your own arguments. You have this know it all, ‘Mr right’ attitude and I’ve never seen someone be so wrong and strong in my life.
All I just want is a better Milan, hopefully next year would spark a great Milan I once knew 2006 till date. Forza Milan
A lot of mentally unstable folks in this forum. Like babies. Before sacking, Fonseca BAD sack him!!!!! After sacking, management BAD sack them!!!! Control your feelings and untwist those panties! LOL