Conceicao: ‘Milan must be hungrier, it is unjustifiable’ | OneFootball

Sergio Conceicao had harsh words following his first Milan defeat, falling 2-0 to Juventus in Turin. ‘I do not understand, the first step to win a match is to want to win it. We must be hungrier.’

The new coach had made his debut with a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over Juve in the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final in Riyadh on January 3.

However, he also suffered his first defeat on the Rossoneri bench against the Bianconeri, falling 2-0 in tonight’s Serie A match to goals from Samuel Mbangula and Tim Weah.

Unlike the previous matches characterised by fiery fightbacks, this time there was no reaction from his Milan players, who barely created any chances after going behind.

“The first half was balanced and in fact we had more scoring opportunities, but in the second half Juve were hungrier, they wanted to win more and we could’ve conceded more than two goals,” Conceicao told DAZN.

“These are things I do not understand. I am the coach, I am responsible, but the first step to win a match is to want to win it.”

Does that mean he saw a lack of desire in his own squad?

“We do not have the excuse of fatigue, it is only January. The players have everything required to recover for a game every three days. In my view, we need to keep the fridge empty at home and be hungrier.”

Conceicao has inherited an age-old Milan problem

TURIN, ITALY – JANUARY 18: Sergio Conceicao, Head Coach of AC Milan, looks on prior to the Serie A match between Juventus and AC Milan at on January 18, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

While Milan had shown sluggish starts in all their games so far under Conceicao, they had also been fairly passive under predecessor Paulo Fonseca too.

“I started coaching small clubs 13 years ago, I always had teams who weren’t that great in terms of quality, but they had incredible hunger. This is what life is like, you must have hunger and the desire to keep raising the bar, so at the end of your career, you are proud of what you’ve done,” continued Conceicao.

“What I see is not new, I had already seen it in previous Milan matches. Evidently, I have to change the attitude and mentality of the players, I am the coach, I take responsibility for this defeat because I did not do enough at half-time to avoid this drop.

“It’s unjustifiable, honestly.”

Milan were missing a lot of players this evening, including suspended Alvaro Morata and injured Christian Pulisic, but Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez disappointed today.

“We cannot always look at the most experienced players. Each of them have their own responsibility, we mustn’t put all the weight on the shoulders of Rafa, Theo or Mike. The others cannot hide away,” insisted Conceicao.

“If a player is 17-18 years old, it is the same as a 35-year-old, he has to have the same responsibility and focus. I played for many years, I know what it’s like in the locker room and that in moments of difficulty, the most mature emerge, but we still mustn’t hide away.

“This is not a squad lacking quality compared to the other big teams in Italy. It is not poor physically, not bad in terms of organisation, but the foundation has to be the desire to win every duel, because it can be decisive. That is what is lacking and I as a coach take responsibility to change this situation.”

The result means Milan are now six points adrift of Juventus in the Serie A table, albeit with a game in hand to be played against Bologna.

It is also a blow to their confidence that they could’ve gladly done without going into a crucial Champions League clash with Girona on Wednesday.