Yahoo Sports Conceicao accuses Milan players of lacking hunger and blasts excuse of tiredness
AC Milan head coach Sergio Conceicao could not hide his disappointment after suffering his first defeat since taking over, and against Juventus.
Juventus came into the game looking for revenge after the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final defeat a couple of weeks ago, and they deservedly got it after a dominant performance at the Allianz Stadium.
After a scoreless first half where both teams missed big chances, it was just a matter of time until the home side took the lead, and it came when Samuel Mbangula’s shot deflected in off the bar after touches from Emerson Royal and Mike Maignan.
Not too long after that they struck again through the substitute Tim Weah. He dribbled in isolation with Fikayo Tomori, cutting inside and firing under Maignan to double the advantage, which was all they needed.
Conceicao spoke to DAZN after the full-time whistle to share his thoughts on what was not the side he or his team wanted, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
Is it a matter of having few spare parts in certain areas? The reaction in the second half never game this time…
“In the first half it was a balanced game, we had more chances. Then in the second half Juve had more desire to win, more hunger. We could have conceded another goal at the start of the second half because we want to play out of the area with the opponent pressing.
“These are things I don’t understand. But I’m the one responsible, the coach. The first step to winning a game is wanting to win.”
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So Milan didn’t want to win?
“That’s what I say. But what tiredness, what fuel, come on. The players have everything they need to recover from previous matches, we need to have an empty fridge at home to be hungrier.”
How concerned or stimulated are you by the characteristic of this team that has difficulty in putting that little bit extra into it?
“That’s exactly it. I had small teams when I started coaching 13 years ago, I had teams that weren’t that great on a technical level but had incredible hunger and desire. That’s how life is, we need to have goals to grow.
“Once we get to Milan we need to want even more because we need to continue the success, hunger, desire with personal goals to get to the end of our career and be proud of what we’ve done. What I see isn’t new, I felt it before because I followed practically all of Milan’s matches.
“I’m the one who has to change the players’ attitude and mentality. I’m the one responsible, I’m the coach and I take responsibility for this defeat because I wasn’t good at half-time and then this drop in level in the second half.
“OK, if we miss a goal and the opponent was good, that’s fine. But when we’re missing other things for me it’s difficult, it’s me as a coach who has to change the situation.”
In difficult moments, with so many absences, aren’t the most representative players the ones who have to give something more like Theo and Leao?
“Yes, but in my opinion we can’t always rely on the more experienced players. The others have their responsibilities, it’s not like we can put all the weight on the shoulders of Theo, Leao and Mike, it’s not right.
“There are also the others and they can’t hide. It’s football and it’s life. I played for 25 years and I know how it is, that in these difficult moments those who have more experience and more maturity emerge. But no one should hide. We have to look each other in the eye and see how we can do more, me first, and how to change this situation.
“It’s not a situation that we are a team that is technically not at the level of the other big teams in Italy, or that on a physical level we can’t get to an important moment with everyone at the top, on an organisational level it’s not that we can’t get to high levels.
“Then there’s another part that for me is the most important thing. If you don’t have the foundation, the desire, the hunger, the desire to win the match and every duel, as if every duel were decisive: this is what’s missing here. And as a coach I take this responsibility to change this situation.”
