Yahoo Sports Conceicao: ‘Milan had worst first half of my 13 years as coach’
Sergio Conceicao claims the first half against Cagliari was ‘probably the worst in my 13 years as coach,’ warning he is ‘angry’ at Milan’s 1-1 draw. ‘Football is simple.’
The coach had the ideal start to his Rossoneri experience after replacing Paulo Fonseca on December 30, winning both games in charge against Juventus and Inter to lift the Supercoppa Italiana in Riyadh.
However, the old problems reared their ugly head again in Serie A with this disappointing 1-1 draw against relegation battlers Cagliari.
“I expected much, much more in every area. Considering the quality of the squad at my disposal, the first half was probably the worst I’ve had in my 13 years as coach, to be honest,” Conceicao told Sky Sport Italia.
“We lacked vivacity, the tempo was too slow, Cagliari had everyone in the final third to defend their goal, that is their strategy, but we should’ve done what we prepared to find those spaces. We were not smart enough to do that.
“The second half was better, we had 25 shots on goal, Cagliari started time-wasting, I realise this is the strategy in Italy, that’s not a problem, but the referee has to give more than five minutes of added time.
“This is not an excuse, nor is the fatigue from the Supercoppa, we should’ve done more, but these are still factors I cannot ignore.”
Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Milan 1-1 Cagliari
Alvaro Morata had opened the scoring when meeting the rebound from Christian Pulisic’s effort off the woodwork, but within four minutes the Sardinians had equalised when Mike Maignan let a Nadir Zortea counter-attack squirm through his grasp.
They had numerous opportunities, but failed to finish them off, largely thanks to the heroics of new Cagliari goalkeeper Elia Caprile.
Conceicao inherited Milan problems
Milan were also held 3-3 by Cagliari in November, so considering the fightback in the Supercoppa, is this an issue of focus in the big games that is lacking here?
“It’s a bit of everything. It’s mentality, physique, a lot of work we need to do in order to improve, because there were spells in that game I did not like at all. A draw is dropping two points. I am angry because we didn’t do what we had prepared, so we need to do a lot of work.
“We didn’t have enough width or movement. Rafael Leao against two or three, he needs support and different movement from those to provide him with options. The same goes for Pulisic on the other side and the full-backs.”
Milan have two games in hand, but the fact remains they have only won seven Serie A matches this season, drawn seven and lost four.
Among the biggest problems this season is the inability to finish off the attacking moves. Are the forwards too generous compared to some of the ‘greedy’ centre-forwards that Conceicao was teammates with in his Serie A career?
“The strikers are altruistic and that is a good thing, I like that. There are times when they need to keep it simple, it feels like they always want the magic touch, the difficult move. Football is a simple sport, sometimes we try to make it too difficult and that’s not right. Football is simple.”
There were reports this week that Conceicao introduced new rules at the Milanello training ground, including strict routines and keeping the squad in a hotel the night before a match.
“This is how I have done things for many years. These are simple things, being involved on a daily basis to improve. If I was hired mid-season, it means something needed to be improved. If we are rigorous off the field with timing and organisation, then we can be more rigorous and organised on the pitch too,” concluded Conceicao.
