TMW: Cardinale made decision to sack Fonseca and hire Conceicao – the background

The decision to sack Paulo Fonseca came from the very top of the AC Milan chain of command, it has been claimed, with Gerry Cardinale making the call.

This morning, Milan officially announced that they have sacked Fonseca as the head coach following the 1-1 draw with Roma. The build-up to the game had been dominated by rumours suggesting he would be replaced regardless of the result, and they ended up being true.

The speculation from numerous sources also stated that Sergio Conceicao would be named as his successor, and that too looks to be accurate given that the Portuguese is expected at the training complex this afternoon.

According to Marco Conterio of TMW, it was Cardinale himself who decided that a change in head coach was needed, and more specifically that Concecao the main to lead the team forward after Fonseca.

The owner of Milan ‘did not go to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ regarding the choice and rather intervened directly himself. However, the journalist does not mention if the Swede agreed or disagreed with the decision.

Fonseca leaves Milan after just 200 days and 24 games in charge, with 12 being wins plus six draws and six defeats. Conceicao meanwhile is likely to take charge of the Supercoppa Italiana in Saudi Arabia.