“Competitive Focus Is Key”

Written By Onyeka Daniel

The results are starting to come in for Italian giants, AC Milan as they’ve now won their last two games in all competition and for their manager, Sergio Conceicao, he is pleased with the levels of concentration he saw from his Milan side to claim a 2-0 win away against Venezia today.

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He also spoke about the team’s remaining goals for 2024-25 season and his personal future after the full-time whistle. Goals from Christian Pulisic and Santiago Gimenez gave the Rossoneri a 2-0 win in one of Sunday’s early Serie A kick-offs. “After the derby, it wasn’t easy to have the level of concentration that we’ve lacked in recent months. Competitive focus is key,” Conceicao explained to DAZN after full-time at the Pierluigi Penzo stadium in Venice.

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“It’s not easy to come here, they’re a team that presses a lot and has a lot of qualities. They play directly and have fast players up front. Even with the post-derby atmosphere, we still had the desire to get the three points. It’s special playing here, with the boats, it’s only the palm trees that are missing. It was essential to win today to give us solidity after the victory in the cup semi-final. That was really important to us.”

Despite their win today, Milan still sit in ninth place in the Serie A table. They are likely to miss out on Champions League qualification, but still have the possibility of qualifying for the Europa League via the Coppa Italia. Putting a positive spin on things, Milan midfielder Youssouf Fofana pointed out that the Rossoneri are the only team in Italy capable of winning two domestic titles this season.

Conceicao did not see the picture in the same way as Fofana though, explaining: “We are at Milan and there is nothing more important than the top four places. The objectives are clear here. It’s important to paint a different image to the one that has been painted in recent months. We’re finding the balance we’ve always spoken about, which is important on a technical level.”

Conceicao also spoke about the form of Januaury signing Gimenez, who scored his first goal since February off the bench in Venezia: “He’s aware that he’s not been at his best. He told me immediately after the game that the match hadn’t gone well, but the goal was important. That’s important, to put things into a positive and not a negative. “We have faith in him, and everybody else.”

Then, responding to questions about his own future, the Milan coach added: “Conceicao is not what’s important right now, Milan is. I work a lot of hours every day along with my staff. We are working hard. He joked: “In a month or so, I will say what I want. It may be that I have other ideas, like going on holiday in the Algarve in Portugal, for 10 years … I don’t know.”

Meanwhile, club executive, Geoffrey Moncada has confirmed that the Diavoli are looking for a new sporting director and insists they are happy with Conceiçao, although the club is not satisfied with results in Serie A. The Rossoneri sit ninth in the Serie A table, but have finished the season unbeaten against city rivals Inter and qualified for the Coppa Italia Final.

“We are not satisfied with the table in Serie A. We want to do more. It’s important to win trophies, and it would be important to win two,” Moncada told DAZN before kick-off. “We want to win the Coppa Italia. It’s the only chance to reach Europe, but we want to do more.” The former Porto manager has been under pressure since the very start of his tenure, but could he remain at the club until the end of his contract in 2026?

“We are very happy. He’s worked hard in three months, bringing an important methodology to Milanello, and we work well together,” said Moncada. The Rossoneri are also looking for a new sporting director, but the latest updates from Italy suggest they won’t appoint a new executive before the second half of May. “We always talk about scoring goals, but performances are also important. We got many games wrong, and we can do more.”

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“We have a structure, we have Milan, and people work hard,” said Moncada.“We think about hiring a sporting director to develop the club and take it to the next level, but our current structure is already important.”How about Luka Jovic? His contract expires in June, but Milan have an option to extend to 2026.“He and the coach have worked well to reach this level. We are happy,” concluded Moncada. “We have it all under control in terms of his contract. It’s not a renewal, but it’s an option, and we hope he can do well in the coming games.” He said.

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