class="">AC Milan have appointed Sergio Conceicao to become their new manager, the Serie A side said on Monday, after the Italian club parted ways with Paulo Fonseca.
class="">The Portuguese coach has signed a deal until June 30, 2026, the club said in a statement.
class="">Milan sacked Fonseca earlier on Monday after only six months in the job after an inconsistent run of form left the club eighth in the Italian top flight.
class="">Milan, who drew 1-1 at home against struggling AS Roma on Sunday, have won only two of their last seven league games.
class="">The 19-time Italian champions sit eight points off the top four with a game in hand, and 14 points behind leaders Atalanta.
class="">"AC Milan announces that Paulo Fonseca has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the men's first team," Milan said in a statement.
class="">Conceicao, 50, had been without a team since leaving Portuguese giants Porto in June despite signing a four-year contract extension only two months before.
class="">In his seven-year tenure he became the club's most successful coach, guiding them to three championships, four Portuguese Cups, a League Cup, and three Super Cups.
class="">Conceicao, who was a winger at Porto, Lazio and Inter Milan during his playing days, started his managerial career as an assistant at Belgian top-flight side Standard Liege in 2010.
class="">He then managed Portugal's Olhanense and Academica before taking charge of Braga in 2014, followed by stints at Vitoria Guimaraes and Ligue 1 club Nantes before signing with Porto in 2017.
TOUGH RUN
class="">Fonseca was appointed in June to replace Italian Stefano Pioli, who had helped Milan to a single league title in 2022 during his five-year tenure, finishing second and 19 points off champions Inter Milan in his last season.
class="">Expectations were therefore going to be high from the start for former Roma coach Fonseca, who arrived after two seasons at French Ligue 1 side Lille.
class="">But Milan got off to a slow start under the 51-year-old Portuguese, drawing 2-2 against Torino and Lazio either side of a 2-1 loss at promoted Parma.
class="">Fonseca led Milan to their first win of the season mid-September, a 4-0 home victory over Venezia, before beating rivals Inter 2-1.
class="">After a similarly poor start to their Champions League campaign, where they suffered back-to-back defeats by Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, they embarked on a four-game winning streak, beating champions Real Madrid along the way.
class="">However, Milan have won only seven of their 17 league matches this season.
class="">Fonseca previously won the Portuguese Super Cup with Porto in 2013, the Portuguese Cup with Braga in 2015-16, as well as three consecutive Ukrainian Premier League titles with Shakhtar Donetsk between 2017 and 2019.