GdS: Milan ‘stand with Sergio’ – Calabria and Theo move ‘further away’ after Parma events | OneFootball

What we have learned from Sergio Conceicao’s tenure is that he will not let anyone stand in the way of creating his vision of how AC Milan should be, no matter how senior they are.

This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes about what Sunday’s win over Parma could mean for Theo Hernandez and Davide Calabria, two of the longest-standing members of the current squad.

Starting with tomorrow, Calabria will not be there. Milan will return to the pitch against Dinamo Zagreb in the final game of the first phase of the Champions League, with a win needed to secure a top eight spot.

Why won’t the (official) club captain be there? He was booked for protesting against Girona resulting in a one-match ban. That was after he came on to replace the injured Emerson, and he has left Conceicao in difficulty.

The coach does not have Calabria, the injured Emerson nor the new signing Kyle Walker (not in the squad list). Filippo Terracciano is the favourite over Fikayo Tomori to start at right-back.

A ‘misunderstanding’

Everyone saw the incident after the full-time whistle on Sunday, as Conceicao ran after Calabria and the pair had to be separated by the coaching staff and the players.

The reasons for it are as follows: after the substitution, with Milan drawing 1-1, Calabria was angry (a good sign for the club), kicking a bottle with then rebounded and ended up hitting the coach’s leg.

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Conceiçao is a coach with temperament: he was absorbed in the game and pretended nothing had happened. But he has a good memory: once the game was over, he went to ask the captain about his attitude. Calabria responded in a way he did not like.

His teammates and staff members calmed things down, and then in the dressing room things were squashed for good, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped to do and confirmed yesterday during the unveiling of Kyle Walker as a new signing.

“It was a situation with great adrenaline. Two winners who did what they did. I have often experienced moments like that: as Fabio Capello taught me, these are things that can be good for the team,” he said.

“Conceiçao works with great emotion, as does Calabria. It’s all already resolved: it happens when everyone wants to win. That’s why I repeat that certain things are better for them to happen than not, they show that the coach and players care.

“At Milan, there’s the pressure to always get a result: against Parma, it wasn’t quality that won, but attitude, just like in the Supercoppa. With this spirit, what happened between Calabria and the coach can happen.

“From the outside it may seem more than it is, for us it is a normal thing. On an image level I understand that it was not the best: when we find continuity of results we will also have greater serenity.”

Consequences

The club have decided not to fine anyone, despite the actions on the field which many – including Fabio Capello – believe to have been not worthy of a club like Milan.

Calabria’s contract expires in June though and it is impossible to think of that, plus Conceiçao’s own future at the club which could instead be extended if the team are able to secure a top four/five spot in the league.

What about Theo Hernandez? While Rafael Leao came off at half-time due to feeling discomfort, for the left-back it was a pure coaching decision. Theo was guilty – as has happened too often lately – for the opponent’s goal.

It was not the only blunder: he created danger at the back but not up front, as his role as a full-back would require him to do. Leao is the future of the Rossoneri, the same cannot be said for Theo though.

His contract expires in the summer of 2026 and to sign the renewal he is asking for a substantial pay rise. At present this is not in line with his performances, which is the reason why the club has cooled the negotiations with his agents. To heat it up again, Theo knows what to do.