Conceicao makes first big call as coach

One of the things that many AC Milan fans were wondering with the change in head coach was who will wear the armband, and the first answer has arrived.

Sergio Conceicao has not had much time to work with the team having only been announced as the new coach on December 29, but in his pre-match press conference he made it clear that he does not see that as an excuse.

One of the issues that has been spoken about is resolving who will be the captain. Davide Calabria is the official club captain but no longer has a guaranteed starting spot, so Theo Hernandez has regularly filled in as the vice.

Paulo Fonseca decided to take a more democratic approach, even giving the armband to Rafael Leao at one point, but now he is no longer in charge it has once again given everyone a clean slate.

The choice has fallen on Mike Maignan for the Juventus game. As one of the leaders of the dressing room, the goalkeeper will no doubt feel a sense of responsibility to ensure that the transition into a new era is as seamless as possible.

“We are here to act and react, we have to do better. I know my team-mates and we will try to do our best. The fans don’t like the results, but neither do we: we have a lot of ambitions,” the Frenchman said in his pre-match comments.