BOLOGNA, ITALY – FEBRUARY 27: Sergio Conceicao, Head Coach of AC Milan, looks on prior to the Serie A match between Bologna and AC Milan at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on February 27, 2025 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Former Milan head coach Sergio Conceicao says that he feels he was not adequately supported by the Rossoneri senior management during his short-live spell in the San Siro hotseat last season, and has pointed to ‘club-wide instability’ that hindered his side’s performances: ‘That’s why I take pride in what we did’.
Conceicao was appointed as the successor to Paulo Fonseca as head coach of Milan on December 30, 2024. The latter was dismissed with the team sitting in eight places in the Serie A table and at serious risk of missing out on the European spots.
Conceicao’s tenure got off to the best possible of starts: Defeating Juventus 2-1 and then Inter 3-2 in his first two matches in charge on his way to winning the Supercoppa Italiana trophy.
“I remember those days, intense work with video analysis and motivational talks to get into the players’ heads. We beat my son Cisco’s Juventus, and then Inter in a comeback, I cried,” Conceicao said in a recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Portuguese told La Gazzetta why he decided to smoke a cigar in the dressing room after defeating Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana final, a moment which has since gone viral across various social media platforms.
“It was a promise,” he said. “The players had seen videos and asked me to smoke one if we won. I’d done it 11 times with Porto after winning trophies, more than any other coach. So, I did it again.”
Conceicao, now in charge of Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League, was asked for his predictions ahead of Monday night’s Supercoppa Italiana final between Napoli and Bologna.
“There’s no favouritism from me, and I don’t even want to talk about specific players, because then they’ll write that we’re interested in signing them,” he laughed. “I’ll watch the game, Bologna and Napoli are both great to watch.
“The battle between Conte and Italiano will be an advert for Italian football. Antonio is obsessive, like me, and a lot of the time, obsession beats talent. Vincenzo on the other hand, plays great football, so much so that we lost the Coppa Italia final against him last year, that was a big regret.”
Conceicao on Milan tenure: ‘Management didn’t support me’
Though his Milan tenure got off to a great start, Conceicao was eventually dismissed at the end of the 2024-25 season after an eight-place finish, which was not enough for the team to qualify for any European competition.
Despite their finish in the league table, Conceicao describes his time in charge as being: “Positive.”
He explained: “From 2016 until now, only two coaches have won trophies with the Rossoneri: Pioli with the Scudetto, and me. If we add up the points from my time there, we were at Europa League pace, fifth place.
“The results were there, I think about the two derbies that we won and the victory against Roma. I’m sorry about the Coppa Italia final, but there were some things that I didn’t like.”
When asked to expand, Conceicao said: “There was instability club-wide, the atmosphere around the team was not good. That’s why I take pride in what we did.
“Also, the management didn’t support me. I’ll give you an example: After winning the Supercoppa, we then played against Cagliari. Even then, rumours were already circulating that the club was following other coaches. I was focussed on working hard and winning. I didn’t have the time to fix things on every level.”
And when asked whether he would have stayed at Milan under different circumstances, Conceicao said: “Yes, with some changes.”
Does Conceicao feel that the Milan players let him down, or even betrayed him?
“Never, the opposite, they were with me,” Conceicao replied. “Theo (Hernandez) also said it in a previous interview: After Feyenoord, when people said that he had got sent off on purpose, I defended him. A lot of them wrote to me after I left.
“I demand rigor, intensity, but also relaxation when it is time to relax. If somebody turns up late, or an extra kilo overweight or something like that, I can’t stand it. For me, at the end of the day, all players are the same.”
