AC Milan's head coach, Sergio Conceicao, spoke to the media in a press conference ahead of tomorrow's Serie A fixture against Lazio.
Here's what he had to say:
How do you get back up, how do you react?
"Win, win, win, win. That’s what we want. We are aware of our responsibility and the moment we’re in, we know what has happened—whether due to our own mistakes or mistakes beyond our control—the result was negative. We can’t cling to small misfortunes; that’s life. We have to work on what’s not working and deliver results; there’s no other way."
Does the team believe in it as much as you do? Conceicao replied:
"It’s my job to instill this belief and create this environment in the locker room. I truly believe in it. We won a title that we could win. People may try to downplay it, but a title is important. Then there’s still the Coppa Italia. We have these 12 games ahead of us, and we need to approach them differently in every aspect—tactically, physically, and mentally. The mentality must be at 1000% from the first to the last second of the game. 80% of the goals we concede come from something unusual, things that normally happen once in a season. These moments will pass with hard work."
He added:
"I’m here to lay bare my pride and my desire to win. I’ve been used to winning since I was a kid. In Italy, I’ve won—I won as a player and then I won as a coach. It took me 13 years to come back to Italy as a coach; it was a dream for me. Now I’m putting everything I have into this, in a historic and great club. But those were different times, when Milan aimed to win the Champions League and actually won it, with different players and a different environment. But the hunger of the fans remains the same. For them, winning is important no matter who is here."
Do the players share your mindset? Conceicao commented:
"Everyone has their own personality. Someone who doesn’t speak much or doesn’t convey this message on a personal level doesn’t necessarily lack the desire to win. Everyone here wants to win; otherwise, we’d be masochists."
Preparation for tomorrow?
"I asked the guys to work well, to understand what we do in training so we can bring it to the pitch. Those who played in Bologna focused on recovery work, and tomorrow we’ll be on the field preparing for the match against Lazio. The next game is always the most important one."
Do the players follow you?
"I know you don’t see it—it’s not your job—but I respect journalists who have honest opinions… I saw positive things in the first half against Bologna. We conceded a goal where there was a foul. We can’t dwell on that, but after the referee’s mistake, what should we have done? It’s true, we weren’t at our best. We need more lightness and mental balance. There were moments—Musah had one, we could have even made it 2-1… Then in a simple situation, the ball was out. One player had to be more attentive on the throw-in, another had to be more alert in the box—we’ve discussed it."
What’s missing to regain the spirit of Riyadh? Is everyone giving 100%?
"I need to explain this idea of 100%. My staff tells me that there are parameters: a player, for example, worked at 100% according to one metric, but that’s 100% of what he has given so far. We need to go beyond what we’re used to. There are so many pressing and sprinting situations; we can’t have a low average. In Riyadh, everything went well—just look at Musah’s goal… This is what I’m trying to explain."
On Tijjani Reijnders and Christian Pulisic’s form:
"I don’t think Tijji is experiencing a dip. He even scored in Turin. He is very involved in the buildup and gets into the box. He’s playing a bit deeper, but he has the freedom to push forward as I want him to. Everyone can give more, including myself. Tijji is doing what I ask of him, while Puli is different. On the day of the Bologna match, the doctor told me he couldn’t start. In that moment, I had to find a solution—I had to move Musah and start Joao, who wasn’t supposed to play from the beginning. I’ll be honest with you: he’s had a minor physical issue for a month, and we have to manage it. You can see it in his physical sharpness."
On Joao Felix, Conceicao said:
"He is very good between the lines, in my opinion sometimes with the desire to touch the ball many times he moves to areas where it is not needed: we need a second striker. He accepts that he has to improve something every day, he has to be more decisive: he must not be far from the goal like he is now. He has to make the difference in the last thirty meters, we are working on this with him as well as with other players."
You've already taken over mid-season before...
"These are different moments, different teams, and different environments as well. It's not easy to step in during the season. I've done it before, not only in France but also in Portugal, and things went well. Here, the environment, the country, the league, and the team are all different. I'm not saying it's better or worse, just different."
What kind of match do you expect tomorrow against Lazio?
"Human beings are full of memories—it's normal. But even if my parents were playing for Lazio tomorrow, I would still play to win. I'm grateful for the three wonderful years, but they will be opponents, just like Lazio and Inter were before. Baroni is doing quality work at Lazio; he has a journey from Serie C to Serie A with more than 400 matches. Kudos to him, he's doing a really good job."
Against Torino, you had many shots on goal, but far fewer against Bologna. How do you explain this difference?
"They were different matches. Of course, we wanted to take more shots and score more goals. We’re working on it. After Lazio, for the first time, we’ll have two clear weeks to train. Some players will work with me on things they’ve never worked on before. After Lazio, it will feel like the start of a new season."
Do you want to implement more long balls in your game?
"Maybe Leão didn't express himself well after the Bologna match... The goal came from a phase of play where we had the ball low, and Bologna was marking us man-to-man. We needed to exploit the space to create runs for other players. In other situations, we ask different things of the team. These are different moments that we work on, but it’s not like we always want to play that way. Leão was specifically referring to that particular moment in the game."
On the evolving tactical setup:
"Here, we talk about football. With the time I have, I certainly want to work on playing differently. Starting Tuesday, I will begin working on the pitch, not just on the board. I will definitely work on another system. In my past, I’ve played 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2, and 3-4-3. The players need to feel comfortable both with and without the ball. We need to define our pressing zones based on the opponents so we know when and where to press—it’s something you work on in training. I will definitely work on it, if I have the time... Just kidding! But that’s how it is for coaches, it’s normal, it’s part of the job, and I have no issues with it."
Is there a question we haven’t asked but that you would have liked to answer?
"Not about the lineup! (laughs) My frustration when things don’t go well... I can't stand losing. My anguish is the same as the fans’ anguish. Some reactions or moments at the end of matches are connected to that and to this burning desire to win."
