Arrigo Sacchi has admitted that he was a big fan of Sergio Conceicao’s Porto team, but believes it will be harder for him to replicate it with AC Milan.
It has been a chaotic last few days at Milan to say the least, and the club will go into 2025 with a new head coach in charge. Reports emerged before the Roma game that Milan were about to sack Paulo Fonseca, and he was replaced just hours later by his compatriot.
Having left Porto at the end of last season, Conceicao has been out of work since, perhaps a surprise given he won 11 trophies in seven seasons there. We broke down what to expect from him tactically, while in the meantime he already seems to have set about changing the culture of the club.
Sacchi actually knows Conceicao having coached him for three weeks when he was at Parma, and he spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport to give his thoughts on the appointment.
You know Conceicao already…
“And I liked him a lot. It was January 2001, I arrived at Parma, the team was doing badly, Malesani had been fired. I stayed for only three games, then I had to leave because I no longer felt inside the sacred fire.
“But in those few days, on the fields of Collecchio, I met Conceiçao and I got a great impression of him. Serious, gritty, determined. Even if…”
Go ahead…
“I’ll tell you this story. I go into the dressing room, I sit the players down and I say: you are a team with notable technical qualities, but the results aren’t there. Why? Are there problems between you? Are there envies, jealousies? Tell me everything.
“In that Parma, just to be clear, there were Buffon, Thuram, Cannavaro, Almeyda, Lamouchi, Di Vaio, Conceiçao, Milosevic… People with notable charisma. They all talk a bit, each one expresses their own opinion and then Thuram yells at Conceiçao: maybe there was some rust, I don’t know exactly…
“It all ended there, though, because when we went onto the pitch, I immediately noticed that Thuram and Conceiçao were passing the ball to each other and had already forgotten everything.”
Now Conceiçao faces a complicated challenge: leading the post-Fonseca Milan…
“Not only post-Fonseca, but I would add post-Pioli and post-Maldini, who together, one on the bench and the other as a manager, won the title. The situation is really difficult for several reasons.
“The first: Conceiçao has to train players he didn’t choose and who I don’t know if they are right for his ideas of football. I hope he can adapt and make sure they follow him with maximum commitment and maximum collaboration.”
The second reason for difficulty?
“The best is always expected from Milan, the atmosphere is vibrant, it wants results, he doesn’t have time to prepare the team and so he risks going into a mess. However, I believe that, given his character, he can succeed. On one specific condition.”
Which is?
“The directors must support him in everything. I will never tire of explaining that successes start from the club, from its organisation, from its vision and from its history.
“Specifically, I think I can say that Milan made a mistake when they hired Fonseca: he came from less than exciting experiences, there was not the utmost trust in him. And the troubles, in an avalanche, arrived…”
What should AC Milan fans expect?
“They must support the coach’s work and encourage the players to give their all on the pitch. Only one person can work miracles, and right now he’s busy with much more important things, so we don’t expect the moon from Conceiçao right away. I’d be happy if he gave the team a style.”
Did you follow him when he was coaching Porto?
“Yes, and I must admit that I really liked his Porto. A well-organised team, that played team football, that moved with good synchronisation and that had courage and a spirit of sacrifice.
“This means that Sergio had managed to make himself understood by his boys and had passed on his knowledge. At Milan it will be more difficult, because he is in a new environment and has little time.”
What was Conceiçao’s Porto like?
“Tough. Pressing and fast counter-attacks. Very short and very narrow team. All the players who participated in the action, the first defenders were the attackers. In short, a modern, European football
“And in fact, if you go and look at Conceiçao’s curriculum in Europe, you will discover that he reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League twice. We are talking about a coach who won the Portuguese league three times.”
What will be his first move?
“Knowing the human material he has at his disposal. And note that I am talking about ‘human material’ and not ‘technical material’. Sergio, first of all, must understand the men he will be dealing with.
“He will have to understand whether they are reliable or not. I hope they are. And he will have to stimulate those who up to now have not performed up to expectations.”
Are you referring to Leao and Theo Hernandez?
“The first names that come to mind are those, but in the Milan group there are several players who have not performed at their best. Sergio is a man who has clear ideas and I am sure that he will explain these ideas well to everyone: it will then be up to the players to make them their own.
“Because here we have to be honest: if Conceiçao also does badly, what do we do, send him away too? It won’t always be the coaches’ fault if the results don’t come, right?”
In the meantime there is the game in Riyadh against Juventus. How do you see it going?
“We must not put too much pressure on Milan for this match. Conceiçao inherits a complicated situation and therefore it is logical to give him at least two weeks to sort out some details.
“In the meantime, let the players roll up their sleeves and start running back and forth, when attacking and when defending. This is the best way to help the coach who has just arrived.”
