Blood, tears, broken TVs and medicine: Conceicao’s crazy Supercoppa triumph

AC Milan won the Supercoppa Italiana last night and it was an unforgettable final as they came from two goals down to beat city rivals Inter 3-2.

La Gazzetta dello Sport write how this morning Milan fans in the office and at school are talking about nothing else other than the derby win. After a difficult season so far, the players delivered a triumph just a few days into the tenure of new head coach Sergio Conceicao.

In his victory speech to the team, Zlatan Ibrahimovic said: “Luckily Conceiçao had a fever, otherwise who knows how many televisions he would have broken.” What happened? A plasma screen fell on the field at half-time of the match against Juventus after a slap from the head coach, who was not happy with what he saw.

Conceiçao – who is an obsessive, a bit like Antonio Conte – took the whole team to the video room on the eve of the match. No films in the bedroom, no card games, no PlayStation. From 9:30 pm for about an hour, Milan watched film of the Inter players.

There was no shortage of mistakes on the pitch and the two goals prove it, but Milan were prepared and above all mentally focused: they never gave up the game, even when the score was 0-2. There is no definitive proof yet but the impression is that a coach like that will do this team good.

Conceicao had a fever as he admitted in his press conferences (even if his eyes showed it), while Matteo Gabbia was forced to skip training before the final. Tammy Abraham and Strahinja Pavlovic above all were also struck by the flu.

A background story: the team practically ran out of supplies of medicines brought to Riyadh. Of course there would have been no problem in acquiring new ones, but the detail makes it clear how many people were sick (in the team and in the delegation) and how Milan played the two games.

Calciomercato.com add some more details on how Conceicao experienced the final. At the full-time whistle he hugged his team, he celebrated with the men on the bench and with those on the pitch, all while tears ran down his face.

In celebrating the winner by Tammy Abraham, the Portuguese even injured himself. He might have had a bit too much enthusiasm after the goal, sprinting and picking up a muscle problem in the process.

After the match, before receiving the medal, the former Porto boss was treated on the bench and showed how his ankle was bleeding, clearly having been cut by something in the chaos that ensued.

In the dressing room, a big party followed. As he had done during his time at Porto, the coach celebrated by dancing to the delight of his players who were cheering him on with a cigar in his mouth.

It is a night that will live long in the memories of the players, fans and of course Conceicao, but it must be a starting point. Scenes like this – maybe without the blood and the sickness – must become more common.