Shameful treatment of Fonseca confirms Milan lost their way | OneFootball

Their treatment of Paulo Fonseca confirmed Milan management are unworthy of a club with this great history, says Susy Campanale.

It might just be because it’s the Christmas holidays, but the Milan directors seem to be actively auditioning for the role of Scrooge. Their treatment of Paulo Fonseca, who for all his faults as a coach is recognised by everyone as a genuinely good man, has been nothing short of shameful.

Briefing multiple news sources even before the game with Roma kicked off that he would be replaced by Sergio Conceicao, then sending him out to the press conference without informing him of the dismissal that had already been decided, was the kind of classless move that is simply unworthy of AC Milan. It’s beneath even the lowest level amateur league club.

This is sadly no longer out of character or unusual for the current Rossoneri owners, so after sacking club legend Paolo Maldini, it is clear this is just their approach to running a football team. It has been said that Milan and Roma represent a very American style of management in sport, one that is anathema to the Italian approach.

We are accustomed to the ‘padre padrone’ President who is a vocal and constant presence in the stands and media, making clear he runs the show and makes the decisions. The American patrons are entirely silent, even when regularly spotted in the stands like the Friedkin family or Milan’s Gerry Cardinale. There is no clue as to their next move, snap changes come out of nowhere, leaving fans and press scrambling to figure out what caused the sudden turnaround.

It was clear to everyone that the stories about Sergio Conceicao being lined up were not dictated by the Milan results or performances, because they arrived fully formed, as a fait accompli even before setting foot on the pitch against Roma. This is why the assumption was a blow-out argument with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as it would at least make some modicum of sense to change coach just days before the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final against Juventus.

Fan fury will only grow at Milan now

Davide Calabria and team mates of AC Milan applaud the fans following the Serie A match between AC Milan and Juventus at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on November 23, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

This horrid treatment of Fonseca is only going to exacerbate the existing tension between club and fans, which is already at breaking point anyway, as the ultras spent half the Roma game loudly chanting for Cardinale to sell up and leave. The Milan directors have effectively taken the side of their misfiring star players like Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao, who had been bravely dropped by Fonseca for having a poor attitude. The coach had shown guts to bring through Alex Jimenez, Mattia Liberali and Francesco Camarda from the Milan Futuro youth team and the left-back in particular has been hugely impressive, providing the kind of work-rate that we will simply never get from the ‘mercurial’ – a word that can be used as both insult and compliment – Rafa and Theo.

By sacking Fonseca in this way, the club has handed the keys to the players who simply do not have leadership qualities. They have got to stop dreaming of a world where Theo Hernandez or Rafael Leao inspire their teammates to fight or even help out in defence. Someone else is going to have to do the hard graft for them.

What we have right now is a club without a voice, a coach without trust (because a contract to 2026 with an option to end it in June is no better than a caretaker) and players without responsibility. Much like Roma, Milan are a directionless void totally cut off from their roots. If this is the American way of running a football team, we prefer the Italian approach.