How Paulo Fonseca got his groove back at AC Milan
Paulo Fonseca arrived in Lyon after a negative experience at AC Milan, one that was not entirely his fault, but rather the fault of a nonexistent club, one of the worst in AC Milan’s history, and of a number of players who had never been with him from the start. Despite having proven himself a very capable and well-prepared coach at Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Roma, and Lille, he has nevertheless been producing his greatest achievement since arriving in Lyon.
Recent History of Lyon
The Portuguese coach signed with Lyon on January 31, 2025, with the Gones in seventh place in the league and already in jeopardy for a Champions League spot. He nevertheless managed to lead OL to the Europa League, where they were eliminated in a crazy match that went into extra time at Old Trafford. At the end of the season, however, shocking news arrived for Lyon fans around the world: relegation to Ligue 2 due to former president John Textor’s €500 million debt.
Having resigned following these latest events, Olympique Lyonnais was replaced by Michele Kang, a businesswoman appointed on an interim basis. With a bold and ambitious plan, Kang convinced the French Federation to remain in Ligue 1: this alone was a critical moment for Paulo Fonseca and his team, even though it was June.
It didn’t end there, because given the circumstances, Lyon had to dismantle their squad, letting go of a handful of starters, including starting goalkeeper Lucas Perri, who was lost on a free transfer to Leeds, Jordan Veretout sold for €500,000 to Al-Arabi, Nemanja Matić sold to Sassuolo, Rayan Cherki, who went to Manchester City for €35 million, George Mikautadze, who left in the final days of the transfer window for €25 million to Villarreal, Thiago Almada to Atlético Madrid, and Alexandre Lacazette to Neom SC.
All ofLyon’s key players were replaced by Afonso Moreira, born in 2005, from Sporting CP for €2 million, Tyler Morton from Liverpool for €20 million, Pavel Šulc from Viktoria Plzeň for €7.5 million, Rachid Ghezzal from Rizespor, and Karabec, who is on loan from Sparta Prague. In January, after the excellent job Paulo Fonseca was doing without even one of the key players injured, Malick Fofana, the management helped him by loaning Endrick for six months, along with Noah Nartey from Brøndby and Roman Yaremchuk on loan from Olympiakos.
This is not to mention one of the most shameful decisions in recent football history, when he was unable to be near his players in the locker room for six months and off the bench for nine months after a clash with referee Benoît Millot. It was certainly not nice and uneducated, but it was one of the many incidents we see every weekend on the football pitch.
Malick Fofana: Lyon’s Belgian Wonderkid Primed for a Big Move
While others have been sanctioned with two or three-match suspensions, this one received a nine-month ban. And as much as the entire football world holds Luis Enrique in high regard, as he has been watching some matches from above lately, we all know how important it is for a coach, especially the most passionate ones, to be on the bench close to the team and staff.
Recent Results
A few days ago, while he was on a French radio show discussing OL, the expert guest in the studio was asked a question: Is Paulo Fonseca the greatest coach in OL’s history? For me, just asking that question, in front of a coach who has endured all this in a year and a half, including a nine-month suspension from the bench, means you’re producing a masterpiece, especially considering that PSG has matched recent history in recent years, but we’re talking about one of the biggest clubs in France and with a great European history, alongside Marseille.
In Italy, there’s always a debate about the advantages of not having the cups in the middle of the week and being able to focus on just one competition (obviously provided you don’t have such a deep squad as, for example, PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, etc.), but OL hasn’t suffered in the slightest in the double competition, so much so that they finished first in the Europa League supergroup, meanwhile laying the foundations for a run of 12 consecutive victories in all competitions.
OL is now 6 points behind PSG and 7 behind Lens, whilst they will also face off against Lens in the Coupe de France quarterfinal, but the primary objective for the entire Lyon team is to return to the Champions League, and if there’s one man who has proven they can do it, it’s Paulo Fonseca.
Analyzing Lyon’s Tactics
Fonseca’s predominant system is the 4-2-3-1, which he’s used throughout his career, from Shakhtar Donetsk to Roma, and also at Lille and Milan. However, in Rome, he particularly switched to a three-man defense at a crucial moment, something he did again yesterday against Nice given the absences of Endrick, who was suspended, Ernest Nuamah and Malick Fofana injured, and Diego Moreira also out injured. He tends to build from the back and relies heavily on possession.
At a press conference in Milan after a match against Lazio and a well-played first half, the question was asked why the first half was played so well without risks, and the answer is emblematic of Paulo Fonseca’s style of football: “Because we had the ball, and when we have the ball, we don’t have to defend.” In build-up play, he tends to push the full-backs up, playing with the two central defenders and two midfielders to form a sort of square with the wingers high up and the full-backs sharing the width.
When the winger moves inside, the full-back moves out wide, and vice versa. Off the ball, Fonseca’s mantra is quick ball recovery with high pressing. He was recently asked a question about his defensive work, and his response was, “Everyone must defend and press; we can’t afford to have players who don’t defend.” This is Paulo Fonseca, and perhaps, as you’ve understood, I’m biased because I admire him as a coach, but above all as a man, and I hope for him every success. Such talented coaches and such humble people deserve, with all due respect and goodwill to a glorious club like OL, bigger stages like the Premier League and Champions League.
By: Matteo Zamprioli / @calcioconl57842
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Baptiste Fernandez / Icon Sport