Yahoo Sports GdS: Leao ‘at his best’ – how the ‘Conceicao method’ provided an instant spark
Rafael Leao was the decisive man for AC Milan again on Tuesday night, surfing through on goal and scoring the winner with a smile on his face.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, the early signs under Sergio Conceicao are good and it started with the Supercoppa Italiana final against Inter, when Leao came off the bench and sparked a comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2, providing an assist for the 93rd-minute winner.
Leao spoke after the Como game about the spark lit by the coach, the energy, the mentality, what wasn’t there before and is there today: “Conceiçao brought us what was missing: perhaps before they didn’t all put themselves on the pitch the energies.
“We are very happy with what the coach is giving. Sometimes when someone doesn’t play well but puts in the determination until the end, the result still comes. And now we want to take back the Champions League zone. We will go to Juventus to win.”
Back to his best
Leao now resembles a leader at the service of the group. It was Conceiçao who made him a driving force: two days ago the winger was not only the man of the match and the champion capable of scoring with the lob, he was also an added defender.
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The former Lille man ran back to support his team-mates in transition during the most delicate phases of the match. The merits of another compatriot – Paulo Fonseca – must also be recognised after some difficulties.
The start of the story was tough, with Theo Hernandez and Leao punished by being benched against Lazio and then protagonists of the cooling-break saga. Some believed the physical distance from the coach also reflected the personal distance.
For Rafa the most testing period was yet to come: between the end of October and November he started three consecutive games on the bench in the league. However, the Fonseca ‘cure’ worked: Rafa had emerged reinvigorated, more involved in team play and more incisive.
The Conceicao method
The new coach did the rest. Conceicao is just as demanding of Leao in terms of commitment and sacrifice, but he was also the first player that the coach embraced after Tuesday’s win. In the media too the ex-Porto boss has made his thoughts clear.
“Leao is a phenomenon, I’ve known him for a long time. He just has to learn two or three ‘little things’ and for me he can be the best in the world. It has everything and I’m not saying that to be nice. He has a lot of quality and if he puts it to the service of the team he can truly become the strongest,” he said.
Among Rafa’s best plays there are not only goals: there is the foul earned on the edge of the area which allowed Theo to halve the deficit against Inter in Riyadh. Then there was the ball to Hernandez down the left led to Pulisic’s equaliser.
He has four goals and four assists in Serie A, two goals in the Champions League against Slovan Bratislava and Red Star, in addition to the pass for Reijnders’ goal against Real Madrid and a goal against Sassuolo in the Coppa Italia.
There are numbers that Conceiçao wants to further grow. After the hugs with Stefano Pioli and the ups and downs with Fonseca, here is a coach who has chosen a different approach. So far Leao brought Conceiçao an assist, a goal, a cup and three points. It can only be the beginning.
