Conceiçao exoneration, management furious and ready for reversal: two possible names for replacement
Esonero Conceiçao, ora non ci sono più dubbi: dopo Fonseca tocca anche a lui – SerieAnews
One of Milan’s last chances to get back in the running in the fight for fourth place. That asterisk in the standings, the child of the postponement of the ninth day was a hope to cling to but also a chance to have a few more points in the standings with the same number of days played.
And instead it ended as badly as it could not have for Milan. A defeat suffered in a comeback, against a direct rival that put the arrow in, pulled away from the Rossoneri and thanked them as well. Now Bologna is sixth in the standings, in the middle of the Europa zone while Milan remained in eighth position, with the contours of the failing season ever sharper, ever more vivid.
In short, a disaster foretold, a situation so dramatic that it prompts deep reflection and in-depth examinations of conscience. The feeling that Sergio Conceiçao is doing worse than Paulo Fonseca is very much alive. The latter was exonerated in late December, just days before leaving for Saudi Arabia where the Super Cup was then played.
That event the former Porto won it, with two incredible comebacks in the semifinals and finals that left one imagining a turning point, the one so long-awaited by the whole environment. And instead, the numbers tell a very different story.
Fonseca e Conceiçao: il confronto
Fonseca, in his 15 matches on the Milan bench, has earned 24 points for an average of 1.60 per match: his score tells of seven wins, three draws and five defeats (Parma, Fiorentina and Napoli in the league and Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League).
Paulo Fonseca e Sergio Conceiçao: il confronto (Ansa Foto) – SerieAnews
There are 16 matches played by Sérgio Conceiçao, however, and the score is certainly no better, quite the opposite: eight wins, three draws and five defeats against Juventus, Torino and Bologna in Serie A and Dinamo Zagreb and Feyenoord in the Champions League. A total of 27 points for an average of 1.6 per match, the same as Fonseca’s.
Far from a turning point, in short. Conceiçao’s arrival, moreover, has also upset the balance of the locker room now completely split, between harsh choices adopted by the coach, stances and quarrels. Famous was the one with Calabria that pushed the full-back to leave Milan, just as Morata had done.
Esonero Conceiçao, corsa a due per la sostituzione
From a technical point of view, then, some choices are not convincing. The stubbornness for the “fab four” is becoming counterproductive, as is the desire to always and always bet on a Joao Felix who offers a fluctuating and often disappointing performance. A move that, moreover, has caged Reijnders, whose performance has declined in recent weeks because he has been placed in the midfield and in fact distorted.
Esonero Conceiçao, corsa a due per la sostituzione (Ansa Foto) – SerieAnews
Situations that are being carefully considered in the Milan household. The management is furious and considering another turnaround for the end of the season, considering how the season is compromised but not completely. If the Champions zone is eight lengths away-at the moment it seems unreachable-closing with a Coppa Italia win and by hitting Europa League qualification could be an attempt to save the season in some way.
The next few weeks will be decisive, but everything is already ready at Via Aldo Rossi. Two big names are free: Maurizio Sarri and Max Allegri. Two very welcome profiles but who have in common a reluctance to take teams on the run. They could arrive at Milanello to already lay the groundwork for next season but, in case of refusal, ready the road of the traghettatore – perhaps a former Milan player who knows the environment perfectly – and then adjourn the talk to next summer.
This article Exonerating Conceiçao, now there is no more doubt: after Fonseca it’s his turn appeared in its original version first on SerieANews.
