Conceicao caps remarkable first week with Supercoppa success

Sergio Conceicao capped an incredible first week at AC Milan by lifting the Supercoppa Italiana, but said his players deserved all the credit.

Milan’s 3-2 triumph over city rivals Inter on Monday saw the Rossoneri claim silverware just a week after Conceicao’s appointment.

Conceicao replaced the sacked Paulo Fonseca last week, and despite suffering with illness and a high temperature, he took his place on the bench to lead Milan to a 2-1 semi-final win over Juventus on Friday.

Milan came from a goal down to beat Juventus but things looked decidedly worse in the final when they found themselves two goals down, yet Tammy Abraham’s stoppage-time strike completed a stunning turnaround in Riyadh after Theo Hernandez and Christian Pulisic had dragged the Rossoneri level.

“The team has character, it managed to win games against two great teams in the end,” Conceicao told Mediaset.

“At half-time the coach has to change certain things, that’s why they pay me.”

1 – Sérgio #Conceição is the Milan manager who has taken the fewest matches to win a trophy in the history of the Rossoneri club in all competitions since 1929/30; the previous record was Montella (in the 18th match he won the Italian Super Cup in December 2016). Hit. pic.twitter.com/2XJADGVGed

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 6, 2025

The Milan players and staff celebrated with a visibly emotional Conceicao at the final whistle but the coach – who later danced with a cigar in his mouth in the dressing room – suffered an injury and needed treatment on the bench before rejoining his team.

“Emerson Royal made a red card tackle on me,” Conceicao said with a laugh.

“I’m very happy for the players because it wasn’t easy, we had little time to work on the details that were important to me.

“The credit is all theirs because they absorbed my indications. There is still a lot of work but with humility we can do well in the Champions League and in the league.”

Reflecting on his cigar-smoking celebrations, the former Porto boss said: “At the end of the game the players immediately told me that I had to smoke a cigar; they knew that I do this ritual when I lift a title,” Conceicao told a press conference.

“It’s my 13th title as a coach; I’m happy and it has a special flavour for me.”