MILAN — AC Milan officially announced the appointment of Sérgio Conceição as the new head coach on Monday, shortly after parting ways with his fellow Portuguese coach, Paulo Fonseca.
Conceição, now 50, has signed an 18-month contract with the Serie A club.
A former player in Serie A, he had notable stints with teams like Lazio, Parma, and Inter Milan before transitioning to coaching. Most recently, Conceição had been at the helm of Porto for six seasons until his departure in June.
His initial challenge with AC Milan will be a match against Juventus in the semifinals of the Italian Super Cup, scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia this Friday.
Milan welcomed Conceição and his coaching staff, expressing their hopes for a successful and fulfilling tenure.
Upon arriving at Milan’s Linate airport on Monday afternoon, Conceição headed directly to the training ground to engage with the team and coaching staff.
Fonseca’s departure was confirmed on Monday morning, following his notification after a 1-1 draw against Roma at home the previous evening.
When approached by reporters as he left San Siro, Fonseca acknowledged, “Yes, it’s true. I’m out. That’s life… I did everything I could.”
Having joined the club in June, Fonseca’s tenure yielded only 12 victories out of 24 matches across various competitions. His final act as coach was to receive a red card for dissent during the first half of the match against Roma.
Currently, Milan is sitting in eighth place in Serie A, trailing leaders Atalanta and Napoli by a significant 14 points. This performance starkly contrasts with last season’s second-place finish under Stefano Pioli, who departed after nearly five years at the club, culminating in a Serie A title in 2022.
Despite the lackluster league performance, Milan has seen a recent upswing in their Champions League endeavors, achieving four consecutive victories, including a commendable 3-1 win against Real Madrid. The team stands at 12th place, aiming for qualification to the knockout playoff round.
Fonseca faced mounting pressure early in the season due to a poor start, securing only one win in his first five matches, though this pressure seemed to ease after a notable derby victory against Inter.
However, discontent among fans was palpable during and before the match against Roma, with chants aimed primarily at the club’s American ownership, encouraging RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale to consider selling the club.
Milan expressed their gratitude towards Fonseca for his professional contributions and wished him well in his future endeavors in a brief statement.
On Monday, Fonseca made a visit to the training ground to bid farewell to the players and staff.
