After a generally successful time, the Milan management team finally parted company with coach Stefano Pioli – and now, as expected, installed Paulo Fonseca. The Portuguese comes from France, knows the Italian league, but has yet to achieve great success
In the end, the runner-up finish behind the unassailable and simply too strong, too consistent city rivals Inter Milan was not enough – also because the team’s performance at the back, including a Europa League exit in the quarter-finals against league rivals AS Roma, was at times lacklustre. Stefano Pioli, coach of the 2021/22 champions, had to vacate his position at Milan after five seasons.
Pioli’s 239 games on the AC touchline, including his good average of 1.89 points, are therefore history. A story that the once glorious club, which slipped into mediocrity a few years ago and was lifted back into the Serie A top flight by Pioli, now wants to continue successfully with a new man. His name: Paulo Fonseca
Three-year contract with the Rossoneri
As had been expected for some time, the 51-year-old Portuguese has now signed a three-year contract with the Rossoneri. Serie A is nothing new for Fonseca, who spent the last two years at OSC Lille – the former center-back had already worked in the league between 2019 and 2021. At the AS Roma. However, there was no resounding success in the capital. The separation followed at the end of the 2020/21 season, where the Giallorossi only finished seventh
Inter in their sights
Now his second attempt on the boot, where expectations will be even higher than in Rome. Nothing less than an attack on arch-rivals Inter is likely to be expected by Milan bosses and fans.
“It was a well-considered and thought-out decision,” said senior advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Thursday: “We want Milan to play dominant soccer. We have studied how he trains, how he prepares the games. After five years, we needed something new. Fonseca is the right man, we believe in him.”
If Fonseca is ultimately successful and even wins a title, it would quickly become the most successful stage of his career to date. After all, apart from the Portuguese Cup with Sporting Braga in 2016, he has only celebrated major successes in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk to date – three consecutive doubles between 2017 and 2019 to be precise. He recently reached the Champions League qualifiers with Lille.