Fonseca was sacked and replaced as AC Milan coach by Conceicao on Monday.
“Paulo Fonseca leaves, Sergio Conceiçao arrives. ‘It’s life’, said the outgoing Milan coach as he left San Siro for the last time. Anyone who has been a coach knows how it works: you’re always the first to pay when things don’t go well. And at Milan, eighth in Serie A, it seems superfluous to underline this,” Capello wrote for La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“But how much blame does Fonseca have? Tactically, his team struggled to find a balance on the pitch, a bit like what happened with Pioli for a good part of last season. But I believe that his dismissal came about for another reason, in addition to the results obviously below expectations: the lack of rapport with the most important players.
“Fonseca tried to be tough, to make strong decisions, when he saw that some of his players had the wrong attitudes. Because, it must be said, we have seen at Milan in recent months moments of absolute inattention, with goals conceded that were unacceptable for a great team.
“In addition, episodes such as the ‘cooling break’ when Hernandez and Leao were separated against Lazio or the dance about who should take the penalties against Fiorentina, were symptomatic of the mood within the team.
“At the end of the day, the coach was unable to correct what was wrong. And from the outside it seems clear to me that the leaders of the dressing room were not at his side in the management and choices. In fact, I think they rejected him.
“Fonseca’s relationship with the management should then be investigated, starting with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. From certain words of Ibra, I noticed a certain detachment between the two.
“After all, I remember when even before the debut against Torino the Swede showed up at a press conference declaring that ‘the coach is the coach, the club does the rest and the market closes when I say so’. As if to underline the non-centrality of the coach in the planning of the squad.
“Well, it doesn’t seem like the right basis to start a good season together. And in fact, Fonseca today pays for everyone, leaving the bench to Conceiçao. A coach who has a reputation for being tough, but who also knows how to be very pragmatic.
“At Porto he generally did well and I especially liked it when he faced Italian teams in the Champions League, despite the fact that they sold someone to him practically every year. Here he will first have to get to know the players and find the key to getting into their heads, before even deciding how to play tactically.
“This is essential for all coaches and even more so for those who take over during the season. But the change on the bench takes away alibis from the players themselves: the fans have had enough and the club with this move tells the players that from now on, bad attitudes will no longer be accepted. In this, Conceiçao starts with an advantage over Fonseca."