Fonseca: ‘Nobody wants Milan to win more than me’

Paulo Fonseca claims that ‘nobody’ wants Milan to win more than he and his players do, but feels that a disrupted pre-season may provide part of the reason for his side’s rocky start to the 2024-25 Serie A season.

The Rossoneri coach spoke to DAZN before kick-off in Milan-Venezia.

Fonseca: ‘Nobody wants Milan to win more than me and the players’

Milan are still without a win in the league this season, but have an opportunity to pick up three points at home against newly-promoted Venezia on Saturday evening. The players and coaches were welcomed into the stadium by thousands of fans who lined the streets to show their support.

“It’s really important to feel the supporters’ passion,” Fonseca told DAZN.

“It’s great that 70,000 of them are here even after the first few results. We have to repay them with a victory and a good game, especially for the fans who deserve it.”

Fonseca went on to explain what he wants to see from his team moving forwards, and also provided a brief explanation for his team’s lack of a win so far this campaign.

“We want to be a team with a strong identity. The pre-season was different, players who were there from day one started well. After that, some of the others came back and some needed two or three weeks to get ready”

“You don’t get time in football, though, and we need results. Nobody wants this team to win more than me and the team.

Fonseca also spoke on his decision to field Tijjani Reijnders in a slightly more advanced role this evening.

“We’ll see. I think we can have both at times. The structures are different in different areas of the pitch. There will be moments when Loftus and Reijnders are close together, others when he will be a bit more advanced.

The coach is also pleased to welcome Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao back into his starting line-up.

“They have worked really hard, they are motivated and important players for our team. I expected them to be themselves.