No handshake: Sérgio Conceição in heated clash with Inzaghi | OneFootball

A new controversy has erupted in Saudi Arabia with Sérgio Conceição at the center of attention. The Portuguese coach directly pointed at Simone Inzaghi, Al Hilal’s manager, after Al Ittihad’s defeat (0-2) on Friday, for not greeting him, suggesting that their recent history in Italy might be the reason.

When asked by Saudi journalists about the “lack of a handshake” with Inzaghi, Sérgio Conceição replied: “Nothing happened between us. Maybe it’s related to our recent games, when I won at AC Milan. In the future, we’ll meet again and maybe things will change.”

In practice, the former FC Porto coach was referring to recent clashes with the Italian rival, highlighting the victory in the Italian Super Cup against Inzaghi’s Inter as a key episode.

In January, Sérgio Conceição took charge of AC Milan, succeeding Paulo Fonseca, and immediately faced a tough test against Inter in a decisive match for a trophy: in a final played in Saudi Arabia, AC Milan won 3-2 with the winning goal coming in stoppage time.

This debut was auspicious for Conceição, who remained unbeaten in matches against Inzaghi while at Milan. Three more encounters followed between Inter and AC Milan, with two draws and a convincing win for Rafael Leão’s team, which secured a place in the Coppa Italia final—a final that Milan would go on to lose to Bologna.

Previously, when Conceição was coaching FC Porto, he had faced Inzaghi twice, with one draw and one win for the Italian coach.

The overall record between the two is now balanced: Sérgio Conceição has two wins, as does Simone Inzaghi, and there have been three draws.

Friday’s match ended Inzaghi’s winless streak against Conceição and intensified a new rivalry that promises to stir up Saudi football. An own goal by Doumbia and a goal by Marcos Leonardo, a former Benfica player, decided the match at King Abdullah Sports City and confirmed Sérgio Conceição’s first defeat in charge of Al Ittihad.

After debuting with a draw in the league against Al-Fayha (1-1) and beating Al-Shorta Baghdad (4-1) in the Asian Champions League, the 50-year-old Portuguese coach has now experienced the feeling of defeat.

“I do not accept that the players lost confidence after 60 minutes. They must recover their competitive spirit and we need to sacrifice everything we have to perform remarkably in matches,” said Sérgio Conceição.

Al Ittihad will play again on Tuesday, away to Al Nassr, led by Jorge Jesus, Cristiano Ronaldo, and João Félix.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.