OFFICIAL: AC Milan announce Sergio Conceicao as new head coach

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AC Milan have officially announced Sergio Conceicao as their new head coach.

Just hours after officially sacking 51 year-old Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca, AC Milan have already announced that his replacement will be Sergio Conceicao, a 50 year-old Portuguese coach.

Conceicao has signed on a six month deal running until the end of the season, with a short-term brief including to ensure Milan qualify for next season's Champions League.

Conceicao had been linked with the Milan job in the summer, but Gerry Cardinale's regime preferred to go with Fonseca.

READ MORE: OFFICIAL: AC Milan sack Paulo Fonseca

Both men were free agents at the time, having left Porto and Lille respectively at the ends of their contracts.

Conceicao was linked with a number of jobs since leaving Porto but nevertheless remained a free agent until now, when he has finally landed the Milan job after Fonseca flamed out in just six months.

Paulo Fonseca had some great results (e.g. defeating both Inter and Real Madrid) but his brusque demeanour led to fallouts with star players and fans never really warmed to him nor his style of play.

Now Conceicao will have to repair things with the squad and try to lift Milan out of 8th place. They are eight points off Lazio in 4th.

"Conceicao has what it takes" - Don Fabio's seal of approval

The lack of a race to appoint Conceicao was strange given how successful he was during his 7 years in charge at Porto.

He even came with the approval of AC Milan managerial legend Fabio Capello.

Speaking in May 2024 when Conceicao was first being considered for the role, Don Fabio said: “He’s a coach capable of working with both important players and prospective players: he brings out the best in everyone."

"Conceicao has what it takes," he added.

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Conceicao took charge of Porto in June 2017, marking a return to the club he played for 89 times across two spells.

He was an instant success, winning the Primeira Liga in his debut season, and two more titles followed in 2020 and 2022. Porto missed out on a fourth title under Conceicao by just two points in 2023 before being obliterated by Ruben Amorim's Sporting CP in 2024.

Conceicao also won the Taca de Portugal four times, including at the end of 2024 right before he left the club.

All in all, Conceicao took charge of Porto for 379 games, winning a remarkable 274 of them for a win percentage of 72.30%.

Porto's goal difference during his time in charge was a staggering +498 (they scored 812 goals and conceded just 314).