Moncada talks about the purchase of Fofana: “I followed him since training at Strasbourg”

Geoffrey Moncadawho arrived at Milan in 2019 from Monaco as Chief Scout, has held the role of Technical Director of the Club since the summer of 2023, working closely with the CEO Giorgio Furlani, the RedBird Senior Advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the coach of the Prima Squad. The French manager gave an interview to MilanNews.itwhere he spoke about his role, the working methodology used at Milan, the process that leads to buying a player and all the new areas that his role as DT touches. The Rossoneri world of Geoffrey Moncada, between pitch and data.

Also take into consideration how they train?
“Yes. For example, years ago I went to Strasbourg to see Youssouf Fofana live, because training was open. Today, however, it is very difficult to enter a sports center. It’s good to watch training, but it also depends on what type of training you go to watch. If we go after a match (with the team just unwinding, ed.) it doesn’t help you.”

And what did you notice about Fofana that struck you?
“I had seen a young man who had so much confidence, who worked so hard in training. Then his relationship with the fans was also interesting, he is a boy who is always smiling and open. I liked it, it was his first year in Strasbourg in Ligue 1: he was an immediate starter, he didn’t first go through the youth sector. It was interesting to see how he trains.”

So when did Fofana’s name appear for the first time in your databases?
“I arrived in January 2019 in Milan, I had already seen Fofana when I was at Monaco, he played in the second team of Strasbourg. I took my database to Milan and we tracked it. He started playing a lot of games in Ligue 1: it’s starting to be difficult there because German and English clubs have also arrived. However, we followed him to Monaco.”

Read TMW’s full interview with Moncada here!