Fonseca vs Leao, a tug of war with an obvious outcome | Primapagina

Fonseca vs Leao, a tug of war with an obvious outcome | Primapagina
We have reached the day of reckoning, there is no escape from here. Paulo Fonseca is very free to define it as an exclusively technical choice – which would presuppose the fact that his satisfaction with the player is very low – and to avoid saying the word “chance” in any way. But ultimately the excesses of sincerity in his analyzes of the match and of a moment are now an unmistakable trademark of the Portuguese coach. That no later than a couple of days ago, talking about the exclusion of <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/ac-milan-with-a-goal-from-saelemaekers-in-extra-time-defeat-genoa-from-vanheusden/" title="AC Milan, with a goal from Saelemaekers in extra time, defeat Genoa from Vanheusden”>Rafael Leao from the starting line-up against Napoli, he let slip these words: “I manage things with the players in a different way. There is no conflict between us, it’s just the coach’s option. We try to motivate the players in different ways, then it’s up to the players to show the right level of dedication: I don’t have to beg them“.
The very probable third consecutive exclusion of the striker born in 1999 from the starting eleven, even if it were to take place in a match of less charm than the prohibitive away match against Real Madrid next Tuesday, is another step of a full-blown crisis between two personalities who evidently struggle to come into contact and gain confidence. Either Fonseca or Leao, or Paulo or Rafa. The coach asks for things that today – perhaps never – the player is able to give him, in terms of intensity and competitiveness; at the same time the Rossoneri number 10 indirectly reproaches his coach for the lack of a game context that helps him express himself at his best and which, consequently, contributes to reviving Milan from the difficult situation in which they have found themselves. Five defeats out of 12 official matches, 3 in a championship which sees Napoli running away at +11 (albeit with one match more), and one in the Champions League which could soon be followed by another, as predicted, further complicating the chase to a placement that is at least worth participation in the playoffs for the round of 16.
The faults belong to everyone and no one, therefore they become everyone’s. The problems are multiple at Milan and would require the intervention of a superior entity, but we have now understood that in this daily “war” the coach is condemned, by definition, to remain alone. And Fonseca alone is trying to get out of it, trying not only to impose footballing concepts diametrically opposed to those of his predecessor Pioli, but also to impose a democracy in the locker room which in this sport and particularly at high levels is a mere utopia. The best ones, those who, by trivializing, make you win matches are destined to have special treatment. It is physiological that for them the rules apply up to a certain point. It may not be ethically correct, but in the changing rooms you don’t impose yourself with good manners and healthy principles. Translated, in simple words: to at least get back on the waterline, Milan needs the best Leao (but also the best Theo Hernandez, the best Maignan, the best Reijnders and the best Morata) to change course.
Paulo Fonseca is a man of the world and is perfectly aware that, without a change in the next three games against Monza, Real Madrid and Cagliari, his bench would once again wobble dangerouslyeven more than in the previous stops of the championship and that a further jolt could make him fall to the ground and leave him stranded. Why Milan cannot afford, also for economic reasons, to lose too much ground from the Champions League zone, the minimum objective declared by the club. And doing so, while also devaluing an important portion of the squad’s technical assets, would have a different weight in the management’s assessments. Which, as always happens, would be seen in the situation of making a choice necessary for the collective good. Demonstrate with facts that you believe in the project entrusted to Fonseca – contract expiring in 2027 – and prepare for Leao’s sacrifice, perhaps already in January to best monetize his transfer, or find a new coach who knows how to recover the best version of the attacker and save a season that is taking a very disturbing turn?
There are plenty of similar cases in the history of football and they are rarely resolved in favor of the coach on duty. There are isolated and famous cases such as the challenge between Roberto Baggio and Marcello Lippi at Juventus, resolved by the promotion of Del Piero in place of Codino, or that between Hector Cuper and Ronaldo the Phenomenon. But the precedents, in most cases, speak in favor of the players because it is with them that in the end the games are won and the trophies are won. This Milan is also no exception and, despite the many other difficult situations, cannot imagine coming out of it without one of their best players. Fonseca knows this very well and has probably decided to consciously follow a dead-end road, with the aim of affirming his values ​​and ideas. Regardless of how it ends and the (obvious) outcome of this tug-of-war with Leao. A tug of war in which the winner appears increasingly clear.
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