He knows very well what the ending will be, namely that his path and Milan’s will separate at the end of the season. Yet, Sergio Conceição has no intention of giving up an inch—neither in terms of commitment and dedication to the Rossoneri cause nor in terms of results.
On the contrary, now that he can train the team throughout the week, he is convinced he can have a profound impact on the results. Because he will have the opportunity to prepare each match by taking advantage of four to five training sessions. In short, just like Antonio Conte was able to do at Napoli, successfully transforming the Azzurri thanks also to the hard work put in during the summer retreat.
Conceição was aware that he would be under immense pressure and have little time to “make an impact,” to bring his style of football. He knew that creating "an army of soldiers" through solidity and compactness would not be easy, but he could not say no to the Devil. He has no regrets and does not want to have any even in June, even though the club’s minimum objective, qualification for the next Champions League—will almost certainly remain a pipe dream. He aims to be remembered not only as the coach who won Milan’s 50th trophy, the Italian Super Cup lifted in Riyadh, but also as the one who secured the 51st, the Coppa Italia.
Milan from best defence to...
To experience a great finale, however, Conceição needs to return to his roots—meaning, having an ironclad defense. At Porto, he finished five of his seven seasons with the least beaten defense in the league. Since arriving at Milan, he has not had the impact he would have liked: in the last four league matches, his team has conceded two goals per game, and clean sheets have been only three. Because of this, he has often been forced to mount comebacks to secure three points. And that has not always been possible. Hence, the repeated “complaint” that “we lack balance.”
Milan's Conceicao studies Como meanwhile...
Yesterday, Conceição began analyzing matches of Fabregas’ Como, a team capable of winning in Florence and therefore very dangerous. From tomorrow at Milanello, he will look for solutions to secure Maignan’s goal, and the 4-1-4-1 formation seen at the start in Puglia may not be just a one-off experiment. Or it may evolve into new variations, always maintaining a four-man defensive line: Bondo has shown he can be useful to the cause, perhaps even in a double pivot setup (alongside him, Fofana). In this case, watch out for a return to the 4-2-3-1 with Reijnders pushed forward.
Leão deserves a separate discussion, independent of the system. Coming off the bench, he has so far scored three goals and provided just as many assists, but leaving him out from the start is never an easy choice. Because to win as many matches as possible and improve on the seventh-place position he found when he arrived at Milanello, more goals need to be scored. Sergio knows this. A week of reflection will serve him well.
