Serie A: AC Milan appoint ex-Porto boss Sergio Conceicao as new manager following Paulo Fonseca sacking
By Rhys Jones
Updated 30/12/2024 at 15:49 GMT
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Former Porto manager Sergio Conceicao has been appointed AC Milan head coach following the sacking of Paulo Fonseca. The 50-year-old joins after a brief period of unemployment after leaving the Portuguese club at the end of last season, where he won 11 trophies. Fonseca was dismissed on Monday morning following a 1-1 draw with Roma that left the seven-time European champions eighth in Serie A.
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Sergio Conceicao has been appointed as the new manager of AC Milan.
The Serie A club confirmed the Portuguese manager's arrival at San Siro on Monday, having already announced the sacking of Paulo Fonseca earlier that day.
A former player with Lazio, Inter Milan and Parma, he has signed an 18-month deal with the Italian giants.
The 50-year-old stepped down from Porto in the summer, bringing to an end a seven-year tenure that netted 11 trophies.
A statement from the club read: "AC Milan announces that Sergio Paulo Marceneiro da Conceicao has been appointed as the Head Coach of the men's First Team until 30 June 2026.
"The Club extends a warm welcome to Sergio and his staff, wishing a journey full of success and fulfillment."
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A 1-1 draw with Roma on Sunday was the final nail in the coffin for Fonseca, who saw his six-month tenure at Milan come to an end on Monday morning.
The 51-year-old, who replaced Stefano Pioli in June, confirmed his imminent departure while leaving the San Siro following the match, telling reporters from his car window: "Yes, it’s true. I’m out. That’s life. I did everything I could."
They are 14 points adrift of Atalanta and Napoli at the top of the table, but have faced better success in the Champions League, where they sit 12th with four matches won, including a notable 3-1 victory over Real Madrid.
Conceicao inherits a Milan team struggling for consistency with injuries to several key players.
Christian Pulisic, who alongside Tijjani Reijnders has scored the most Serie A goals for the club this season with five, is out with an ankle problem he picked up after recovering from a calf injury.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Rafael Leao join the American on the injury list, with Alvaro Morata and Ismael Bennacer having only just returned to fitness.
Conceicao's time at Porto brought plenty of success as he set the record for most games as manager of the club.
Under Conceicao, Porto equalled Milan's incredible record of 58 league games unbeaten, a feat that the Rossoneri achieved from May 1991 to March 1993 under Arrigo Sacchi and then Fabio Capello.
The Portuguese coach's first game in charge will be against Juventus in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia on January 3, where he will manage against his son Francisco, who is on loan from Porto to Juve.
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