AC Milan Controversially Sacks Head Coach
After another draw for AC Milan, the team shocked the world by sacking head coach Paulo Fonseca on Monday. Fonseca started coaching the team in June, with a 50% win rate, only winning 12 games of the last 24. Currently, AC Milan is in eighth place in Serie A, the previous seven-time European champion in shambles in Italy. With their hometown rival Inter Milan ahead of them by 13 points, even after AC Milan won the infamous face-off known as the Milan Derby, change needed to come. The change in management came quickly, with Fonseca being swiftly replaced by Sérgio Conceição immediately after.
Although AC Milan under Fonseca seemed to do well in the UEFA Champions League, beating 15-time Champions League winner Real Madrid 3-1 in November, Fonseca’s lack of consistency with wins led to him being sacked. With a team with as much history as AC Milan, consistency in results is crucial to their success. Last season, under head manager Stefano Pioli, AC Milan placed second, right after Inter Milan, so the eighth-place spot this year is a shock to fans. Former AC Milan player and current executive Zlatan Ibrahimovic publicly apologized to Paulo Fonseca. However, Ibrahimovic added that the Supercoppa is their top priority right now, where the team must bring the trophy home, and under Fonseca, it didn’t seem definite that the team would win. With AC Milan in eighth currently and the Supercoppa semi-final against Juventus only a day away, Conceição was brought in because of his proven results and wins over the years at other teams.
Sérgio Conceição most notably managed Porto FC in Portugal from 2017 to 2024 before leaving at the end of last season. The team consistently won the league title, with their lowest placement under Conceição being third during the 2023-2024 season. Before his coaching career, the Portuguese manager played for multiple teams in Serie A, including Lazio, Parma, and Inter Milan, making him no stranger to the league. As a proven manager and someone with personal connections to the Italian league, Conceição was deemed the perfect pick for AC Milan. Also, since the Portuguese manager had been without a team since last season, he could quickly sign immediately. As Conceição settles into AC Milan, all eyes are on the Italian team to see if their new manager can push them in the right direction or if he’ll be sacked like Fonseca was.
