AC Milan boss Paulo Fonseca has provided some key insights having finally been officially unveiled as our new coach.
The 51-year-old Portuguese tactician succeeds Stefano Pioli off the back of an underwhelming campaign, and with much work needed on the squad that he inherited, particularly after some key exits.
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Speculation was rife for some time over his appointment, and Milan finally officially unveiled him on Monday as we got our pre-season schedule underway, and he will no doubt have been itching to get to work with his new squad.
That said, even Fonseca himself admitted at his press conference this week that reinforcements are needed to address key weaknesses in the group to ensure we are more competitive than last year, while he also gave an indication as to what we can expect from his team.
While results weren’t good enough last season in terms of consistency and challenging for major honours, Milan’s style of play became increasingly frustrating too, as we struggled to show quality in attack while becoming porous at the back.
A change was needed this summer to start afresh and rejuvenate the squad and club, and so there has been real intrigue over what style of football and identity we can expect from Fonseca in his new role. The judgement will come when we see it on the pitch, but the Milan boss gave an indication of what he’ll try to implement as he outlined key areas that need to improve.
“I’m here because I believe in the players we have here, but we also need a few new additions,” he told the media, as per the club’s official site. “I’ve studied what the team did last season, and we need to be more balanced and aggressive. I’ll work on these aspects. Defensively, there needs to be a collective improvement: the fact the team conceded a lot of goals wasn’t an individual problem, but we need to change our attitude with the aim of becoming more responsive and determined.
“We have a lot of quality but need to improve the team in certain areas of the pitch. We need a striker with the right characteristics. If we want to play in the final 30 metres, we need to be strong in that area of the field. We know the kind of player we want, and we want to get them on board soon. Haste is the enemy of perfection, and, as Zlatan pointed out, we know who and what we want, and it’ll happen for us at the right time.
“I can promise the fans that we’ll fight to win every match. We need to play with courage, without fear and with the ambition to win, and this will also be the case against Inter. I have plenty of desire to start and convince our supporters, who I’m sure will be by our side at every moment. Together, we’ll be stronger.
“Milan is a club with a history of having offensive football. To win we must be a dominant team, this is what I want to build. A courageous, offensive and reactive team that doesn’t let other teams think and play. First of all though, I want to win.”
Meanwhile, Fonseca also went on to discuss individual players, some of whom have been crucial for us in recent years and have been linked with a potential exit this summer.
However, it sounds as though the Milan boss will continue to rely on them and evolve how we play to suit their characteristics, while also leaning on some of the experienced players rather than replace them, and complement that with utilising the Milan Futuro strategy to find a balance with the top prospects at the club.
“Leão is an important and decisive player,” he added. “I expect to see him motivated and ready. He’s young and can still make big strides forward, and I want to help him take a further step.
“I’ll be counting on all the players in the squad, including Florenzi. Theo Hernández is a vital player for us, and we can use various systems to make the most of the abilities of our players. Kalulu can play in the centre or at full-back; he gives us that added option. I’m happy that I’ll have almost all of our defenders available from day one, and everyone will be important. Milano Futuro is a step in the right direction. I’ve been able to watch several young players and won’t be afraid to play them if they have quality.”
Milan have a busy summer coming up before we start the new Serie A season next month, and having now started work at Milanello, it promises to be a fascinating and intriguing watch to determine not only what brand of football we’ll see from this new-look Milan, but also how successful we might be capable of being with it.