Zlatan Ibrahimovic stepped in for Sergio Conceicao at yesterday’s press conference, as the Portuguese coach was absent due to mourning the passing of Pinto da Costa, former Porto president.
The Swedish executive spoke about Milan’s performances under Conceicao, roughly a month and a half after his arrival at Milanello.
His message was crystal clear:
"We are very confident, we strongly believe in what we are doing. Maximum trust in Conceicao."
Strong words.
Keeping Pace with Napoli?
When discussing Conceicao’s tenure so far, Ibrahimovic highlighted an interesting statistic regarding the Serie A standings since the former Porto coach took charge of Milan following Paulo Fonseca’s departure:
"Since Conceicao arrived, he has earned 14 points, while Napoli has picked up 15. Almost like Napoli, who are first in the standings."
A factually correct statement, but one that actually reveals even more. Napoli has collected 15 points in total, while Milan has 14—exactly the same as Inter and Roma. Both those teams play today and could extend their lead to +3 in this particular ranking, but Milan still has a game in hand against Bologna. The Rossoneri’s tally so far consists of 4 wins, 2 draws, and 1 defeat.
Milan's confidence:
This statistic may not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it does indicate that, despite the challenges and limited time, Conceicao’s methods are having an effect. Milan’s objective is clear: securing fourth place. To achieve this, the team must maintain—or even improve—its current form until the end of the season.
That is the only thing on their minds at Milanello. At season’s end, based on the final outcome, decisions about the future will be made.
For this reason, Ibrahimovic reaffirmed his complete trust in the coach last night, even using the first-person plural, as if to emphasize that this project and its goals involve the entire club at every level—as it should be. As always, the pitch will be the ultimate judge, as relayed via Milannews.it.
