epa11804138 AC Milan’s head coach Sergio Conceicao gestures during the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final match between Juventus FC and AC Milan on January 3, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. EPA-EFE/STR

Sergio Conceicao admits he was “angry” with Milan at half-time ahead of their Supercoppa Italiana comeback against Juventus. “I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win.”

It was the perfect debut for the new boss, who was only appointed on Monday following the surprise sacking of Paulo Fonseca and was suffering from flu symptoms which led to a high fever.

Kenan Yildiz had opened the scoring for Juventus in Riyadh and there seemed to be little real chance for the Rossoneri until Christian Pulisic was brought down by Manuel Locatelli and scored the resulting penalty.

Just four minutes later, Yunus Musah’s cross was deflected in by Federico Gatti and the game turned completely around for a 2-1 win. After the final whistle, the Rossoneri players gathered in a circle to celebrate.

“Football is passion and excitement, these are wonderful moments,” Conceicao told Sport Mediaset.

“They deserved this win for the performance in the second half, while in the first I saw the same type of Milan as a few weeks ago, with questionable players in defense, too tired to move the ball and the wrong timing when pressing.” .

“At half-time we changed a few things, looked each other in the eye and the players had to realize what they had to do to win the game. They had to do what we had prepared. Then it will be my responsibility if we lose 0-2 or 0-3. That’s why they were really brave in the second half and it was completely different to the first.

“I’m happy, but we haven’t done anything yet, we’re in the final and we have to prepare for the game against Inter.”

Rafael Leao was out injured and replaced by Alex Jimenez, but will the Portugal international be able to play in Monday’s Supercoppa Italiana final against Inter?

“We’ll see, I don’t think he’ll train fully with the other players tomorrow, but maybe the day after tomorrow.”

In a strange twist of fate, Sergio Conceicao’s son Francisco was originally in Juventus’ starting line-up, but had to withdraw from the warm-up session due to muscle problems. They met with a warm hug after the final whistle.

“I was happier because we won, he was sad because they lost, but that’s life in football!”

Sergio Conceicao unleashed his anger on Milan during the half-time break

Perhaps the turning point in the game was when Juventus substituted Dusan Vlahovic for Nico Gonzalez, while Milan substituted Tammy Abraham and dropped Alvaro Morata deeper.

“We did that in the second half and clearly we can do more. Morata can drop deeper, while our wingers Jimenez and Pulisic didn’t do what I wanted in the first half, so we were practically non-existent in attack,” Conceicao added.

“I played with a 4-4-2 for many years, we prepared something different than in the first half, but we can have two strikers together in the future.”

Check out Football Italia’s player ratings for Juventus 1-2 Milan

This already feels like a very different approach to the father-son man-management of Stefano Pioli, who was in the stands tonight, but also to the gentle diplomacy of Fonseca.

“During those five minutes in the locker room, I definitely did not give kisses and hugs to the team. In fact, I got pretty angry because they didn’t do what I asked or what I prepared. I see a group of humble players who sometimes lack the determination to move forward, but that can come with time,” Conceicao admitted.

“Players need a kind word, but sometimes they also need a harsh word. To be honest, I’m not the nicest coach who likes to hug and reassure my players. I tend to get angrier more than anything else.

“It’s important for this team to work hard, have a lot of positive energy and achieve their goal together because they have the quality.” I’m happy that the group has accepted my message and accepted that I’m not a coach “I’m the one who smiles so much because I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win.”

This feels like a very different approach to the father-son man-management of Stefano Pioli, who was in the stands tonight.

Conceicao’s Milan will now face Inter for the Supercoppa Italiana trophy at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Monday evening.