“Fonseca on the edge? In football, being a coach is now the most difficult job. The start wasn’t good, but there’s a new coach and when you change you always have a disadvantage compared to those who have a proven technical guide. Even if Thiago Motta then goes to Juve and starts off well”. This is what Massimo Oddo told TuttoMercatoWeb.com about the rumours that Paulo Fonseca is already shaky on the Milan bench.
Fonseca is already wobbling.
“It’s the norm now. In Italy we are too tied to results. A coach should be judged more on the pitch and in the midweek work and on what’s around. Football is always an unknown and anything can happen. But a coach should be fired during the week and not after a game. What’s the point of giving an ultimatum? If he wins a game he comes back into fashion, loses and you question him again? Either you believe it or you don’t.”
Lazio has restarted with a new technical guide. Baroni.
“Baroni has done incredible things in the last three years. A coach doesn’t have a magic wand, though. He has to make himself understood… Lazio has changed a lot and taken players from smaller teams and they have to settle in. The same thing applies to Milan.”
Serie B: how do you rate this start?
“The history of the B championship tells us that the newly promoted teams often do very well. There is always one that has amazing championships. When you have a coach who knows the group you start with a big advantage. If we look at all the great results, they were achieved by coaches who had continuity. I think of Grosso at Frosinone, Pecchia at Parma and Vanoli at Venice. Last year sixty benches were sacked, what are we talking about? The newly promoted teams always do well. Then there are the strongest: Cremonese, Sassuolo and Palermo who have not yet got into gear. However, a team can be as strong as you want. When I went to Crotone it was a crazy team but it didn’t win a match, then there are many situations. Those who win championships do so because they have good players but everything works off the pitch too”
And you, mister? You seemed to be one step away from returning to the bench…
“Last year I made the choice to return a few days before the end rather than stay on the couch because I knew the Padua environment and I knew it was a great team. But fate wanted us to meet Vicenza. Then there was no continuity and I don’t know why. This year there was something going on but it wasn’t the right situation: I came out of it with broken bones and to start again I need a situation where I can work calmly. I’m waiting for my moment”.