DAZN journalist describes Leao-Theo controversy from the sidelines: “It hurts Milan”

The fallout from the Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao cooling break incident is still ongoing. Whilst the club will want the noise to quieten, it shows no signs of it, especially given it was the last memory from when AC Milan last played. 

An incident like the one that occurred against Lazio never comes at an ideal time. However, with a two-week gap, fans unhappy, and nothing much else to speak of, one topic will keep repeating. So in that sense, it could not have happened at a worse time.

With reports already questioning Paulo Fonseca and his ability to take Milan forward, two stars distancing themselves from an opportunity to listen to their head coach only added fuel to the fire. A fire which Theo Hernandez quickly tried to quieten.

Nevertheless, the flame has burned on, and whilst it is no longer roaring, with no distractions, it is staying fed.

DAZN journalist Federica Zille offered her opinion about the cooling break incident when speaking to Milan News.

Theo and Leao’s cooling break: what happened on the sidelines?

“I must premise that I was on the side of Baroni’s bench and that the distances are quite wide at the Olimpico because there is the athletics track, so I was not very close to Fonseca. However, it seemed to me that the Portuguese was busy talking to his players at the time of the cooling break, which is taken as a real time-out, as we can see in volleyball where the coach gives tactical indications, and makes corrections.

“In short, it is taken as a moment of confrontation with the team. So I don’t even think Fonseca paid much attention to their absence at that time. One thing I noticed, and also said during the 90 minutes, was the reaction of Abraham, who had come in as much as the other two players a couple of minutes earlier along with Musah: he went towards Theo and Leao, urging them to come closer, and they both shook their heads.

On the justifications for this behaviour by Fonseca and Theo…

“They are explanations, both Theo’s and Fonseca’s, to try to bring the matter back inside the locker room and not in front of the cameras, which is also understandable. Of course, the scene is quite obvious and speaks for itself. Musah and Abraham had also entered a couple of minutes earlier and still went to listen to the coach.

“Both Theo and Leao went to retrieve their bottles from the other side of the field, but above all being a time-out the coach speaks to the team, he speaks to everyone. They will indeed have had the indications a few minutes earlier, but the same group cohesion and image also applies to Musah and Abraham.”

Defensive issues…

“It is quite obvious that it is not working when a team concedes two goals per game. It was the first point on Fonseca’s agenda, he said so in his presentation conference, not to come back into the league with the huge amount of goals taken last season.

“The work that I understand Fonseca is asking of his team is very much a departmental one. It’s a pressing job that has to be done by the whole team together because if he misses an exit, or a movement, everyone then goes into trouble. And the proof is that Milan took photocopy goals in Parma and Roma despite changing the interpreters.

“Earlier Davide Calabria was heavily criticised for his indecision on Man’s goal. The same thing can be said about Emerson Royal. Some mechanisms have not yet been absorbed by the team, and not by individual players, and this is the thing that makes us worry a bit more.”

The behaviour of Leao and Theo in Rome…

“I am for the sanctity of the locker room. If there is some problem with the coach, if they did not like being excluded from the first minute, it is their right to express it, but it hurts Milan if it happens in front of the cameras, if it happens during a game.

“Theo then somehow threw some water on the fire in the post-match, saying that they make up a lot of things, that he has nothing against the coach and the team, that he had simply come in too soon, but they give a bad image to the outside world. They also give a bad message to their teammates, because they detached themselves not only from Fonseca at that moment but from the group. They acted as individuals and not as a team, for the good of Milan this must not happen.

“‘They are the players with the most years in Rossoneri, with the highest value. They are two players for whom, from May onwards, Furlani, and Ibrahimovic, have gone out of their way to say: ‘These are not leaving’, along with Maignan. If an image other than that of a cohesive group comes from them, it is a problem, I repeat always for the good of the team. At that moment, they did not put Milan in front, but themselves.”

Fonseca is already in the balance if he fails with Venezia? Who could be in his place between Allegri, Tuchel and Sarri?

“You mentioned Sarri’s name. I’m thinking about how much work Sarri does on the defensive phase, and how much time he needs to build those mechanisms that then make his teams strong and beautifully fluid. How much application he asks of everyone, how much he would ask of Leao, of Theo.

“It would be a really nice experiment to put Sarri on the Milan bench but he would have no time at his disposal with the championship already started. Then this summer they always said they wanted an international profile: Lopetegui was first on the list, then he became Fonseca, so they might like Tuchel, but the problem of time is there too, it doesn’t seem like a good choice.

“You mentioned Allegri, but there the club would have to demur on both the international profile and the type of game they wanted to give their Milan. For this reason, I do not dare to say that I would exonerate Fonseca or not, I only say that the club has a matter of consistency to respect.”

Abraham on the gong, then Morata and 3 others: how do you evaluate Milan’s market?

“Juve showed in the first few days that they are ahead of Milan. It made a very important market because it spent almost 200 million. All the goals have been achieved by Juventus, unlike Milan. For example, the Diavolo on Zirkzee failed to hit the target and already had to resort to a plan B, Morata, which for me is great as a plan B.

“The problem is that perhaps they are also wondering about Morata’s deputy, having renewed Luka Jovic’s contract and then on the last day having gone for Abraham, after having announced that the incoming market was closed with Fofana.

“Well, unlike the Juventus one, it seems to me that the Rossoneri’s market planning didn’t really follow all the points on the list, let’s say, or at least had some deviations because they realised that the squad had to be sorted out in the last days of the market anyway.”

To conclude…

“For the rest, the team comes out in my opinion strengthened compared to last season. Even just seeing how Pavlovic has fitted into the defence, he is perhaps the only really positive note from this start to the season. For the rest, let’s see.

“Fofana is the right profile, he was the one they wanted, goal achieved in this case yes, but I would like to see something more than what I saw against Lazio. As for the attack, let’s wait to see Morata at 100%. Emerson Royal isn’t convincing me that much, but maybe he should be given time too. The results we are seeing on the pitch say that Milan still need to break in, while the others are already off to a strong start.”