AC Milan coach Paulo Fonseca addressed the media ahead of the team’s Serie A match against Genoa, which coincides with the club’s 125th anniversary celebration. Here are the key points from his press conference:
Fonseca emphasized the importance of living up to Milan’s history, especially on such a significant occasion. He revealed that he had already spoken to the team and individual players about their recent performance: “After the Red Star match, it would have been easy to talk only about the victory. For me, it wasn’t like that. I’ve already told the team what I think and I’ve spoken with the players I wanted to speak with.”
When asked about specific players like Theo Hernandez and Calabria, Fonseca stated he had spoken to them privately. He stressed the importance of resolving issues internally: “We are a family and we must solve problems internally, which we have done. Tomorrow, the team I believe is best to win the match will play.” He also noted, “I don’t talk here about names, but I’ve looked players in the eye and told them what I think.”
Fonseca highlighted the importance of the Milan Futuro project in developing young talent: “The Milan Futuro project is important to have many youth sector products in the first team; we work on it every day. Tomorrow we will see someone on the field.” He added that managing young players like Camarda requires balance: “We need to let him grow with equilibrium. Sometimes the pressure on players like him is not positive.”
The coach clarified that recent issues were more about attitude than tactics: “I’ve never talked about technical or tactical issues because the problem is not that but attitude. Clearly, this then influences the rest, but there are no defensive problems because Red Star didn’t create practically anything.” He continued, “I think we have already worked on important things; maybe sometimes not with the results we aimed for, but there have been improvements.”
Fonseca addressed questions about team captaincy, particularly regarding Theo Hernandez: “When I arrived here, Milan already had three captains: Calabria, Theo, Leao. Imagine if I change the captain: you would kill me! I have confidence in our captains. Whether I agree or not is another matter, but I have respected the hierarchy and will continue to do so until I feel I can no longer do so.”
Despite recent challenges, Fonseca remains optimistic about the team’s prospects: “I think it’s more difficult now, certainly. But deep down I still believe in it. What more can I say? Champions League placement a disappointment? I’m thinking about tomorrow’s game; I can’t go too far ahead.”
In conclusion, Fonseca emphasized the need for consistency and a strong mentality: “What we need is to be consistent. When will we be consistent? We’d need to be magicians to know—maybe tomorrow, maybe later. What I want is to have a more consistent team, and it’s a matter of attitude. We can make technical and tactical mistakes, but I really struggle to understand this mental inconsistency. Is it solvable? Yes, I’m sure of it. Things are achieved with experience.”
He also reflected on his own experiences: “Yes, something similar has happened in my career before. It’s normal; it’s up to us to do what we believe is right to resolve the situation.”
