Paolo Fonseca gave his first official press conference as Milan coach, confirming that the club are expecting to sign a new striker. Having arrived in Milan at the weekend, the Portuguese tactician was joined by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who spoke first to the gathered press:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, senior advisor of RedBird:
“Welcome to Casa Milan and welcome to Paulo Fonseca. Today is the first day of training. We are talking about the present; a few days ago we talked about the future. We are very happy to introduce Paulo Fonseca. This is one of the movements of our strategy, of the ideas we have, because we have studied and are studying. We are not in a hurry. We have a lot of hunger and desire to start this new adventure. We are happy.”
Paulo Fonseca speaks:
“I must thank for how I have been welcomed here in these days. Then I must thank the club for the trust in me and in my work. I am very excited, motivated to do my job. I know that I am arriving at a club to win. I was just at the museum, I saw the history of Milan and I have the great ambition to be part of this history. Zlatan also showed me the space for a new trophy…”
Ibrahimovic corrects him, specifying “trophies.”
Fonseca continues: “I am ready and I can’t wait to start working.”
The journalists’ questions begin.
What moment is this for you?
“I know that the coach who arrives here does so to win. I have seen many times Baresi and other players who made the history of Milan and I am aware that it is a great responsibility and, for me, a great pride. Milan is a universal club. I know the responsibility I have in my hands, but I also know that I am here with great confidence to continue this history.”
What is the state of the squad?
“I believe a lot in the squad we have. It is not news that we need players, not many, because we have quality, but it is true that we have roles to cover to improve the team.”
The last foreign coach to win in Italy was Mourinho…
“I want to be the next one. I am different from Mourinho and I coach Milan. I have great ambition. I know the responsibility of being the coach of Milan and I want to win.”
What kind of play do you have in mind?
“Milan has in its history an offensive football and to win we must be a dominant team. I want to build a courageous, dominant, offensive, reactive team that does not let the opponents think and play. I want to win, but the quality of the game is important to me. I want the fans to be proud of us for our strong identity, this is an important point for me.”
Fonseca wears a Ukraine pin on his jacket…
“We cannot forget what is happening in Ukraine.”
What characteristics should the number 9 have?
“We need a forward. We are trying to bring the right forward, with the right characteristics. If we want to play in the last 30 meters, we need a strong forward at this moment. We know what we want, we are waiting for him soon.”
Is the gap with Inter bridgeable?
“What I can promise is to fight in every match to win and with Inter it will be no different. Inter is one of the strongest teams, but we must play with courage, without fear of anything, with a desire to win.”
What do you expect from Leao?
“He is important for Milan, he is a decisive player. I expect him to be motivated, ready to play for the team. He is young, he can learn every day and I want to work every day to make him improve in what he needs to improve.”
It is July 8 and no signings have arrived yet…
Ibrahimovic responds: “We are studying, talking, but we are not in a hurry. The market is long. I can guarantee that the signings will arrive. We are talking, we are discussing, but nothing is closed. Zirkzee is past. We have one in mind, but I won’t say the name, but there is someone we are targeting.”
Fonseca also speaks: “Haste is the enemy of perfection. We have situations because we know what we want: at the right time we will have the players.”
Do you prefer to have the defender or the number 9 first?
“I have studied the team, I do not think about making comparisons with the past. If we want to win, we must be a more balanced team. I have studied the defensive phase and we need to improve it. The defensive difficulties I believe are related to the way of defending. I intend to put an aggressive team on the field, that defends far from the goal. Then: we have good defenders, it is not an individual problem, but a collective one. However, the priority is the forward.”
Ibrahimovic adds: “To bring in new players, you still have to create space. New players will arrive, but we do not want to have 30 players. We need to think about who comes in, but also about who leaves. Everything is studied to improve the squad. To bring in new players, you have to create space. It is not American football where there are 40-50 players.”
The fans are a bit skeptical about you…
“I want to convince the fans, I want to make the fans believe that we will be an ambitious team. It is I who must convince the fans and I am sure that they will be with us at every moment. I am confident.”
How long will it take to see your hand in Milan?
“Already in the first match against Torino I expect to see my ideas on the field. Then we start today without the internationals who are important players. If we will be perfect already for the derby I think not, but already from the first league match a different team will begin to be seen.”
Scudetto?
“To win, I am here to win. I repeat: every coach who arrives at Milan is here to win. I am no different. We cannot escape from this truth.”
Who are the Milan players you know personally?
“I do not have a personal relationship with anyone, but I know them all.”
What do you think of Florenzi?
“He is a player of the squad, I count on all the players of the squad and Florenzi is one of them.”
Theo and the right-back: what is the situation of the fullbacks?
Ibrahimovic responds: “Theo is a Milan player, we are lucky that three are in the semifinals at the Euros. We know that he is very happy here, that his family is well. Now with Fonseca he will have more space to play as he likes, the game will also be built for him. It will go very well, I am not worried.”
Then Fonseca: “Theo is very important. He is very strong offensively, so maybe on the right I cannot take a player like Theo. Maybe we will play with a blocked right-back, or with one more advanced: it depends on the strategy of each match. We have different solutions.”
Do you need experienced players?
“I do not want to talk about names. We know what we want. We have lost Giroud, but if we change, we change to improve.”
Injuries, in recent years, have greatly affected the team…
“From yesterday we started talking with Milan Lab to avoid injuries. Studies show that injuries derive from many competitions, but I am confident that we will not have big problems.”
Ibra specifies: “We have improved the medical area. Between January and February we had too many injuries. We have changed a few things in the medical staff: with the coach’s staff, we think we have found the right path.”
Ibrahimovic adds: “Origi and Ballo-Touré are called up, but they will play in Milan Future because they are not part of the First Team project.”
What do you bring with you from Roma?
“I have a great passion for Italy, I had a great experience in Rome. Serie A is very special. My experience in Rome was very important for my decision to return to Italy. I know the league well, I know the other coaches well, I know the characteristics of Serie A well and I am very ready to start.”
What is your idea of the level of the Italian league?
“Serie A is very strong, it is one of the most difficult leagues in the world, with very peculiar characteristics. Italian players? We are an example at this moment with Milan Future. We are preparing the present and the future of Milan very well with Milan Future. I already know the young quality Italian players and I have no problem playing young Italians if they have courage and quality.”
How useful is Ibrahimovic to you?
“Zlatan is a reference for all of us. It is not important to say when the first contact was, but the sharing of ideas was important, what the club wants and what I can bring to the team.”
Was the defensive phase missing last year?
“For me it is not so much an individual problem, but a collective problem and it is linked to the way of defending. What I want to change is to have a more aggressive team, press a lot, a more reactive team, higher in defending: if we improve this, there can be interesting situations.”
The midfield suffered last year… Do you need a defensive midfielder?
“I don’t want to make comparisons with the past. I want to say that I have a different way of defending compared to Pioli. I know that it’s a tendency in Italy to do man-to-man, but I think that, at some point, I don’t want to say which, we could do it, but I am not a coach for man-to-man all over the field. This will change the approach of the midfielders.”
Objective for the Champions League?
“We want to go as far as possible, but we know that it’s difficult to win the Champions League. We have the ambition to win all the matches, but there’s also need for luck. But we will start with the ambition to win the Champions League.”
How did it go with Cardinale?
“We talked, the conversation was important. One of the things I liked the most is when Gerry told me: ‘Milan doesn’t want to win only today, but also tomorrow’. That’s what the club is doing: they want to win today, but there’s a clear project for the future.”
Are you satisfied with the characteristics of the center-backs for your style of play?
“We have Kalulu who can play both as a center-back and as a full-back. I’m satisfied that we have many defenders already from today, it’s important to start with the defensive phase.”
You have often created value in individuals in your teams…
“We have many qualities here. There are many solutions for different roles and all players will be important for me.”
Question for Ibrahimovic: are you disappointed by the attitude of Kia, Zirkzee’s agent?
“Disappointed never: there’s reality and there are rumors. There’s an agent who solves and an agent who creates problems. In Kia’s case, he’s neither one nor the other. The rumors that were circulating are not reality. For what we want, we have an idea. We hope it verifies as soon as possible.”
Back to Fonseca: Are you looking for a striker like Zirkzee?
“Zlatan has said everything. We haven’t closed it yet, but the player we want and his characteristics are very clear.”
Are you living at Milanello…
“For now (laughs, ed.). I don’t have my family here, I work many hours and for me it’s easier, at the moment, to stay at Milanello to spend more hours working with my staff.”
Milan is an ambitious place…
“Roma and Milan are different teams, I don’t want to talk much about the past. We all know that Roma is not an easy place, but I was very happy there. I have in my heart the moments in Roma, but that’s the past. I will always respect Milan fans, I will try to make them proud.”
Do you have a particular motto?
“Honestly no. We always create some phrases inside the locker room, but I haven’t thought about it yet… It’s a matter of feeling, I need to know well the players, the staff, to create these situations.”
At Roma you had Dzeko, at Lille you had David: how will you play?
Ibrahimovic answers: “We need to find solutions for the sales, then there’s Mr. X for the striker, the one we’re aiming for. Then there’s Jovic who is ours. Then it depends on how many strikers the coach needs. Having three strikers is possible.”
And Fonseca: “The striker we want is a player who must play without space in the last 30 meters.”
Question for Ibrahimovic: how do you take the fans’ reactions?
“I understand the passion and ambition of the fans, who expect a lot. I understand that today the ultras don’t show up, because many players are missing. But it’s all love between us and them. At Milan there’s pressure and we all know that there’s ambition to win and that we must win. Then there’s no guarantee of winning. God didn’t create the world in one day, but in seven. We are only on day one”
