Excuses, contradictions and spikiness: Conceicao’s media style deserves great scrutiny | OneFootball

Sergio Conceiçao’s communication strategy is rather curious, as he alternates between claiming he will not use excuses before using them anyway.

During interviews – especially post-match ones – Conceicao always makes sure to underline how the various difficulties he has encountered since he signed for Milan should not be used as an alibi. What he usually does then is list them, making it clear that he feels the alibis are valid.

The latest contradiction

In the list of ‘excuses-non-excuses’ listed by Conceiçao after the Napoli game on DAZN there was also a Leao who was not at his best, who on Sunday afternoon had felt a problem with his thigh. However, the coach was keen to underline how he had already prepared for the match without him anyway.

“Since I’ve been here, more or less three months, I’ve never found excuses for the lack of time to work. Today, everything went wrong. I woke up at 7:30 am, Loftus-Cheek was sick and went to the hospital for surgery,” he said.

“After that, they told me that Thiaw couldn’t play because he vomited, he had a stomach bug. Shortly after that, they told me that Leao was experiencing discomfort in his thigh. Then again, they are not excuses, we could have done much more.

“The first ball they put forward, they scored. We didn’t play the first 20 minutes as we had prepared. These things happen, I don’t want to cling to bad luck because we could have done more, but today, everything really happened.”

It is very clear that at this moment Milan are nothing without Leao going forwards, even with his weaknesses, so it is not possible to understand why Rafa often and willingly starts from the bench at present.

The excuse of ‘he doesn’t defend’ doesn’t hold up either, given that even without the Portuguese on the pitch Milan often concede goals in bunches, with a pressing phase that is almost non-existent and damaging, given how the players easily end up out of position.

Alibis: fair or exhausting?

We have spoken several times about how the former Porto man – up until a month ago – had fewer training sessions available than matches played. Since his arrival in January, Conceiçao has mostly had to prepare for a match every 3-4 days and it is right to recognise this mitigating factor.

Yet, from Milan-Lazio onwards, thanks to the (crazy) exit from the Champions League, the situation has stabilised and the ‘long working week’ has returned to Milanello. In essence, he has had several days being able to work with the squad.

It would be unfair to think that in such a short period of time Conceiçao would radically change a team that needs a lot of fixing, and the international break took 15 players away, but there are very few encouraging signs at all.

So, with the defeat in Naples, the season rests on the Coppa Italia. Nobody expects a totally transformed team tomorrow versus Inter because there is no magic wand, but from Conceiçao we expect a sensible formation.

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Even in his pre-match conference before the first leg, the Portuguese coach decided to respond in a spiky way when asked about the use (or lack thereof) of Leao in the past few games.

“Don’t ask me why he doesn’t play or doesn’t play. These are choices that we make because we see here every day, and that’s how it is, and we know things, physical management, how he arrived, how he didn’t arrive. I am the one who decides, they pay me for this.”

Journalists too are paid to ask questions about the decisions of the coach, especially when they have been as baffling as the ones that Conceicao has made at times. The lack of self-awareness shown sometimes has been as frightening as comical.

For example, when asked by SportMediaset if Leao will start the derby, he responded: “I don’t know if I’ll be alive tomorrow, so you’ll see.” Surely there was a better choice of words available than that? He does not have the credit in the bank to speak in riddles, issue demands to journalists and constantly contradict.

The paying fans expect the best men on the pitch and in their correct roles, with a pair of central defenders that are not changed every now and then and that can show a minimum of organisation in possession, and not this jumble of mistakes and individual plays that we have seen recently.

The time for alibis is long over. The season must end with dignity and respect for those who continue to cheer on the team as the away fans did in Naples, who began to sing – momentarily putting aside their protests – from the kick-off.