Arrigo Sacchi has once again expressed his opinion regarding Paulo Fonseca, claiming that he is not the profile that he would have gone for if he were in charge at AC Milan.
It is now no longer a secret that Fonseca is very much in the frame to succeed Stefano Pioli and become the new Milan manager, with the Portuguese coach free to do so given his contract with Lille is about to expire.
Fabrizio Romano posted on his X account that Fonseca is expected to sign a two-year deal with the Rossoneri, and his salary will be €2.5m net per season. Additionally, Milan will have the option of another year on his contract, and this would come with a pay increase.
Sacchi has previously expressed discontent at the idea of Fonseca arriving to take over from Pioli and now he has done so again during an interview with Libero (via PianetaMilan).
“I’ve lost sight of Fonseca a bit in recent years, so I prefer not to go into specifics because I don’t know him that well. Let’s hope that at Milan he turns out to be a strategist, even if he seems more like a tactician. He certainly isn’t a name that I would have thought of,” he began.
“Who is? De Zerbi. A boy who has always done well wherever he has been. He would have been the ideal coach for Milan. Roberto is one of the best coaches around: I have known him for many years.
“I’ll tell you one thing: I respected him so much that five years ago I helped him go to Sassuolo, mentioning him to Carnevali.”
Sacchi continues to outpace the Milan board. He is correct and it is too bad that he is not in charge.
Sacchi has lost touch with reality, Fonseca is a bigger and better Coach than De Zerbi, Fonseca is experienced, if you watch De Zerbi’s teams, on the surface they play well, but if you look closer, certain flaws and limitations can be clearly seen, Italian coaches, pundits and journalists tend to be to sentimental, for Arrigo to even mention some weeks ago that Pioli should stay, then you know he is way off the mark, Pioli is finished, timid and short of ideas and courage .
I wish you are right but seriously now, do you really believe you know better that Sacchi (and Guardiola, Klopp,…) – especially when it comes to coach assessment?
We will all wish Fonseca will do great but let’s be honest here, choosing him over De Zerbi feels like a monumental mistake. Time will tell but it’s very hard to sugarcoat this choice.
What has De Zerbi won?
The respect of the best coaches in the world – to begin with.
The answer is too easy but let’s say it once again: 1. He never coached a team which could compete for trophies. 2. Winning trophies by itself is arguably not the right metric for multiple reasons. Almost all our (super) successful coaches hadn’t have won anything before coming to our team. It’s the type of football, your ideas and your skills that matters.
By those metrics you should be excited for Fonseca. By all metrics his teams play dynamic and exciting football. He doesn’t have one specific way to play either and is a proponent of adapting to teams and situations. De Zerbi’s Brighton managed only 4 league wins in 2024 and he put himself on bad terms with ownership by not being intelligent and diplomatic with his words. Who is scrambling for his signature right now?
@Flossonero did you watch Lille games? Or are you convinced that Fonseca plays the most beautiful game in Ligue 1 because a very objective Lille beat writer said that? I think local rivals from Lens, Brest, Monaco, Lyon under Pierre Sage and a few other teams can compete for that unofficial and very subjective belt. Also, what’s the point of playing a beautiful football if you can’t win important games? He lost every top game at the end of the season, also ended the season with a draw at home, losing the 3rd place to Brest. Are the expectations so low among Milan fans that we’re celebrating the hiring of a coach who won mostly in Ukraine? What did he do with Roma?
It is very obvious that the management wanted a coach who will have no say about the mercato, who is not paid much and who can be another scapegoat when time will come. We are competing for top 4, remember that.
Do we a has 9 trophies to De Zerbi’s one but ok.
Fonseca*
Where are the Titels? In Ukraine
Sacchi has forgotten more about football then you will know in your lifetime. Please, stop.
Either people like it or not , Fonseca is a bigger and better Coach than De Zerbi, he is more experienced and is a winner, what has De Zerbi won, De Zerbi and Giampaolo are the same, they are provincial Coaches, with provincial mentality, how many times has Sacchi got things wrong, many times indeed, I have said it, and I will say it again,Italian pundits and former Coaches are not objective some times when analysing things, they tend to be sentimental and biased towards Italian Coaches.
This is very true. They are indeed biased and Sacchi has said absolutely mad things. By all measures Fonseca is a better manager than De Zerbi. People just don’t like Fonseca for some reason. He has won but not the right trophies in the right leagues for their liking. They prefer Motta or De Zerbi with empty cabinets.
God bless you, out of all the coaches mentioned, and were genuine targets of Milan, Conceico and Van Bommel and the chosen Fonseca were the only people who would have improved upon our football, Conte is usually hot and huff and puff for the first season, or at most the second, after that he begins to moan and groan, divide the team and clash with the management, their is a reason why neither Juve, Milan, Barca or Bayern did to take him, he has too many tantrums, and his view of the game is dated, and he is a flop in Europe.
According to some fans Milan are not ambitious even though Fonseca comes with more trophies than any first time Milan manager before him. Weird.
I don’t blame the club for choosing Fonseca, firstly he is affordable. He is a winner, and is experienced, he knows our league, and he enhances young players, and has the courage to play them, unlike Pioli who stifles there progress, just look at what he did to CDK, look at how he began to bench Joviv, despite the fact he was scoring more, and in better form than Giroud
“Firstly he is affordable”. How is that a quality in a coach?
We have an article everyday explaining how we are now sustainable and having a huge boost in revenues but fans still act like the financial police is going to raid the club if we spend a little bit. The police did raid Casa Milan for other reasons.
Fonseca is Not a Coach . He is a propangadist of Ukraine! His Titels in Ukraine Show nothing! De zerbi would habe the Same Titels there!
Affordability is an important criteria in getting a Coach, firstly if he does not perform, sacking him won’t be costly, secondly he will be able to use the players the club get him, not make unreasonable demands every season, which are frankly not sustainable .
It is funny that some people still can’t understand why a lot of Milan fans are against hiring Fonseca.
Let me make simple and clear, Piloi was sacked after finishing in the second place and getting eliminated from CL from two semi finalists. The management should have planned such an essential decision but these clowns can’t think further than the tip of their noses.
I don’t want to hear how Fonseca is the best available candidate, if there are no better candidates than Pioli then FUDGING keep Pioli till you find one, don’t just replace him with a dude who is so good at failing to qualify to CL
You are so right.!!.. Unfortunately, This is one of the worst management I’m MILAN’S history…