Milan

Atalanta are unbeaten in the league since a 3-2 defeat to Como in late September, and are second behind Napoli. They have earned more than 30 points after 14 games played in Serie A for the first time in their history.

The reigning Europa League champions have plundered a league-high 36 goals, while Opta's supercomputer hands them a 28.2% chance of going on to win the title.

Milan, meanwhile, beat Empoli 3-0 last week before hammering Sassuolo 6-1 in the Coppa Italia, meaning they go into the clash on top form.

"It's never a good time to face Atalanta," said Fonseca.

"We are in a good moment, we are growing and we are confident. However, facing Atalanta is always difficult.

"They have won their last eight games, scoring 26 goals and conceding only four. It will be a very difficult match, but we are ready to play it with confidence.

"I think we have prepared the match well. It will be tactical.

"It's very easy to understand how Atalanta play. But it is difficult to counter them, because they do it very well, offensively and defensively."

Milan are seventh, 10 points adrift of leaders Napoli, but Fonseca thinks they are heading in the right direction.

"I think a lot of this comes from how the team defends, because that brings stability and confidence to everyone," Fonseca said.

"The team is doing well defensively and that brings confidence to attack.

"It will be a good test for us, because Atalanta are really strong offensively, they create a lot. It will be a good test to see how we defend and also how we attack," Fonseca added.

Fonseca went up against Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini four times in Serie A during his time at Roma, losing three of those encounters and drawing the other.

"I have no special desire to beat Gasperini," Fonseca said.

"I am the first to say that he is unique. We must recognise the work he is doing. I have great admiration for him. I want to win tomorrow like against anyone."

The Rossoneri finished the season with six wins in a row, and no defeat in 16, culminating in a 3-0 victory over Sassuolo on Sunday.

After falling just short in Stefano Pioli's first campaign at the helm when finishing second, Milan can finally celebrate a first Scudetto since 2010-11.

While it may only have been a little over a decade since Milan last reigned, a lot has changed both in a sporting and non-sporting sense.

Here, Stats Perform looks at how the world looked around the time of the club's most recent triumph in 2011.

First of many for Djokovic, McIlroy makes his mark

Novak Djokovic is favourite to win Wimbledon for a seventh time next month, though he was yet to claim his first crown at SW19 when Milan last lifted the Scudetto.

The Serbian went on to add the US Open to the Australian Open he also won that year, overtaking Rafael Nadal to become world number one in the process.

Tiger Woods was the highest-earning sportsman that year – some things never change – yet it was Rory McIlroy's name on everyone's lips after taking the world of golf by storm.

McIlroy carded a 69 in the final round to break the US Open scoring record with a 268 as he became the youngest winner of the tournament since Bobby Jones in 1923.

A number of major sporting events took place that year, with New Zealand beating France in the Rugby World Cup final and Japan triumphing in the women's football equivalent.

India saw off Sri Lanka to celebrate Cricket World Cup success on home soil, meanwhile, and Netherlands beat Cuba in the Baseball World Cup.

Deposed leaders fall

In the world of politics, hundreds were killed and thousands more injured during violent clashes in Egypt to protest against government corruption and poverty.

Fidel Castro resigned as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba after serving in the party for 45 years. He died in 2016 at the age of 90.

A 10-year search for Osama bin Laden came to an end when the al-Qaeda founder was killed by special forces in Pakistan.

Deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed during the civil war, leading to widespread ramifications.

A year of world-shifting events culminated in the United States withdrawing its last troops from Iraq, eight years after the war had begun.

Winter is (almost) coming

Television has come a long way over the past decade, not least in terms of the countless streaming services and wide array of boxsets to appease anyone and everyone.

Back when Massimo Ambrosini lifted the Scudetto in 2011, arguably the most popular series of all time, Game of Thrones, was still midway through airing its first season.

Suits, Homeland and The Killing also premiered that year, while over in Italy, 48-year-old painter Fabrizio Vendramin (us neither) won the second season of Italia's Got Talent.

Beyond painters, erm, painting to an audience of millions, the big TV talking point that year was Charlie Sheen being fired from Two and a Half Men for "self-destructive conduct".

Relight My Fire

The importance of certain technology, not least smartphones, has only grown in the past 11 years.

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, played a huge part in that up until his untimely death at the age of 56 in October 2011 after battling pancreatic cancer.

One of the standout product launches of the year was Amazon's Kindle Fire, which undoubtedly helped chairman Jeff Bezos on his way to becoming the world's richest man.

Whether Milan's current crop can stand the test of time, unlike the Kindle, remains to be seen.

The 26-year-old midfielder is the Serie A leaders' first signing of the January transfer window and will reportedly cost an additional €9.5million to sign permanently at the end of the campaign.

Meite makes the switch to San Siro with two and a half years of Serie A experience behind him, having arrived at Torino from Monaco in July 2018.

He made 82 league appearances for Torino, including 11 starts this season.

Milan announced the loan capture on their official website on Friday, with Meite to wear the number 18 jersey.

The former France-Under 20 international has also previously represented Auxerre, Lille and Bordeaux.

The defender, a key member of the club's Serie A title-winning squad last term while on loan from Roma and a Euro 2020 champion with the Azzurri, suffered the injury during their 0-0 draw with Sassuolo last month.

Now, he has undergone an operation in Finland that will keep him out at the very least until the start of the new year, in a major blow to Stefano Pioli's side.

"Milan can confirm Alessandro Florenzi suffered a severe injury to the biceps femoris of his left hamstring, which required surgery," read a club statement.

"The surgery was successful and Alessandro will return to Italy tomorrow to begin the rehabilitation process. He is estimated to make a full recovery in five months."

Florenzi signed a permanent deal with Milan ahead of the new campaign, and had made two appearances so far this term before his injury.

Ibrahimovic has transformed Milan since arriving on a free transfer in January, though the evergreen 38-year-old is out of contract at the end of the 2019-20 season.

The former Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona striker scored two goals in Wednesday's 4-1 Serie A rout of Sampdoria, taking his tally to 10 in 2020.

Asked about Ibrahimovic's future prior to the midweek clash, Massara told Sky Sport Italia: "We are talking to Mino Raiola and trying to do it behind the scenes, even if it's difficult to keep anything from the media nowadays.

"There are issues that we will evaluate together, including Ibra's spirit and desire to continue this wonderful adventure, which has been so positive in the second half of the season.

"We are all happy, first and foremost Ibra, that he's been able to prove his value to Milan all over again."

Ibrahimovic and Milan goalkeeper Donnarumma are both represented by outspoken agent Mino Raiola.

Donnarumma, who made his debut as a 16-year-old in 2015-16, is contracted to the Rossoneri until 2021.

The Italy international – previously linked to the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Real Madrid and United – is reportedly ready to extend his San Siro stay.

On Donnarumma, who saved a penalty against Sampdoria, Massara said: "That is a different situation, but we are eager and confident that we can resolve both of them positively. Donnarumma has a contract and we'd like a longer one to create a stronger future together.

"Ibra, on the other hand, is out of contract this summer and so these are very different discussions."

Milan start their cup campaign against a Sassuolo team who are in good form after being relegated from Serie A last term, ending 11 consecutive seasons in the top flight.

"For me they are not a Serie B team, they have a lot of players who are on a Serie A level," Fonseca said in an interview for Milan TV on Monday.

"There is not only [striker Domenico] Berardi, who has shone in Serie A. They beat Lecce 2-0 in the previous round, who are a Serie A side. They're top of the table, they're a strong team.

"We've analysed them well. I told the players to expect a difficult match against a team that, for me, should be in Serie A."

Sassuolo, who are three points clear of second-placed Pisa after 15 matches in Serie B, have only lost at home to Cremonese this season and have gone unbeaten in 11 games since.

Milan, meanwhile, sit seventh in Serie A, 10 points off leaders Napoli with a game in hand.

Paulo Fonseca on...

Bove
Sassuolo
Team selection #MilanSassuolo #CoppaItaliaFrecciarossa #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/WQ2UK8lBLE

— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 2, 2024

"Milan haven't won the cup in a while. We need to have a clear ambition in this competition," Fonseca said.

"But we don't look too far ahead. If we are to have aspirations of making it to the final, which must be our goal, we have to win tomorrow."

Five-times Coppa Italia winners Milan last lifted the trophy more than 20 years ago in 2003.

The Portuguese coach said there will be changes to the starting lineup for the game after Milan's 3-0 home win over Empoli in Serie A on Saturday, and ahead of their next league fixture at second-placed Atalanta on Friday.

"We played two days ago. If we don't manage the team and the players well we could have physical problems, and we don't want that," he said.

"I have faith in all the players. But obviously, there will be some changes but always with the aim of winning the match."

Some of the changes are due to health issues.

"Mike Maignan will not be there due to dental surgery. Theo [Hernandez] will also not be there due to a foot issue. The others are all ready to play," Fonseca added.

Reports suggest Rangnick is to be offered a unique role with the Rossoneri where he will combine the jobs of head coach and sporting director.

Such a restructure would leave no place for technical director Maldini or head coach Stefano Pioli, while Zvonimir Boban was sacked as chief football officer earlier this year as part of CEO Ivan Gazidis' shake-up of the hierarchy.

Last week, Rangnick – the former Stuttgart, Schalke and Leipzig boss who is now head of sport and development for Red Bull, the group which owns Leipzig – said he would need "a certain influence" to move to Milan and confirmed talks had taken place with the Serie A club prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

Maldini has taken a dim view of Rangnick's comments and delivered an extraordinary blast in an interview with Italian news agency ANSA.

"Having never talked to Rangnick, I don't understand on what basis his statements are based, also because I have never been told anything by the owner," he said.

"Some considerations in my opinion, however, must be made. The German coach in fact, speaking of a role with full managerial powers both in the sporting and technical areas, invades areas where professionals work with regular contracts.

"So, I would have some advice for him, before learning Italian he should review the general concepts of respect, as there are colleagues who, despite the many difficulties of the moment, are trying to finish the season in a very professional way, putting the good of Milan to their professional pride."

The 25-year-old joined Milan from Empoli in July 2019 and has made 129 appearances for the club.

He has featured in all 24 of the Rossoneri's matches this season – one of only two ever-presents along with Pierre Kalulu.

Bennacer's contract had been due to expire at the end of next season, but Milan technical director Paolo Maldini confirmed this week a new deal was close to being finalised.

Milan announced on their official website on Thursday that the Algeria international is now under contract for another four and a half years.

Stefano Pioli's side, who are seven points adrift of leaders Napoli, are also hopeful of tying down Rafael Leao amid reported interest from a host of top clubs.

Fonseca had stern words for his players following their win over Red Star Belgrade in midweek, with his side needing a late winner from Tammy Abraham to seal the victory.

Milan captain Davide Calabria was one of those players criticised, with the Italy international responding to comments made about his performance on social media. 

The result moved them up to 12th in the 36-team standings and a point away from the top eight, which would mean automatic qualification to the knockout stages. 

But their attention this week returns to domestic action, with Genoa the visitors to the San Siro, as Fonseca hopes to mark Milan's 125th anniversary with a win.

"For me, it would have been easy to just talk about the victory over Red Star, but tomorrow Milan is 125 years old, and we have to live up to that history," Fonseca said. 

"And for me, after Wednesday, it wasn't like that. With Wednesday's attitude, we couldn't live up to a club that has made football history.

"I spoke to the team, I spoke to the players I wanted to speak to, and we are ready for tomorrow."

Asked why he had publicly criticised his team in midweek, Fonseca said: "First, because I always tell the truth, it's difficult for me to hide what I feel after the game.

"Secondly, these are important messages to get across. You are not inside, you don't know everything, but I had the need to speak publicly."

Milan find themselves seventh in Serie A heading into this weekend's clash, 13 points behind leaders Atalanta, but do have the luxury of a game in hand. 

But Fonseca was quick to temper expectations of challenging for a 20th Scudetto, suggesting that the gap to the summit was already too big. 

"As always, I want to be honest. I think it is more difficult now, but inside I still believe. What more can I say? It's not that it's easy, but I keep believing," Fonseca said. 

Despite Milan's struggles, Fonseca said their problems could be solved, saying: "I have already seen the Milan I wanted. I'm not a magician.

"It's always a rollercoaster: maybe tomorrow we see it, maybe later we don't. I would like to have a more constant team, especially in attitude.

"Then you can make mistakes technically or tactically, but it's difficult for me to understand this mental inconsistency of the team. It can be solved." 

The match, scheduled to take place at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on Saturday, was postponed 24 hours before kick-off after heavy rain and flooding in the region.

After failing to win their first three league matches, Milan have since taken 12 points from their next five games, propelling them up the standings after a difficult start. 

But with the Rossoneri not in action over the weekend, they dropped to eighth in the Serie A table ahead of facing leaders Napoli on Tuesday.

"It was tricky to manage this moment. On the eve of the game, we trained without knowing whether we’d play or not the following day," Fonseca said. 

"We wanted to play, and I think we’ve been affected by not playing in this match."

Napoli come into the game on the back of a 1-0 triumph over Lecce, with Giovanni Di Lorenzo's 73rd minute strike sealing a seventh win of the campaign. 

Antonio Conte's side are now unbeaten in their last eight league games, their best run since a run of eight straight wins in February 2023 under Luciano Spalletti.

They have also kept five clean sheets in their last six games, as many as in their previous 34 Serie A matches. 

"As the table shows, Napoli are a strong team at a good moment. They are the table leaders and will be motivated to face us," Fonseca said.

"We are also motivated to play this match against a very strong team that has won games comfortably."

Milan, however, have won just one of their last nine meetings against Napoli whent he fixture has been played in the first half of a Serie A campaign (D2 L6). 

Despite his side's league position after nine games so far, Fonseca believes Milan can win a 20th Scudetto title under his guidance.

"The fans must believe because we are a strong team and we are improving. We think we can fight for the Scudetto," he said.

Milan top Serie A after a fantastic start to their campaign, dropping points just once in a frantic 3-3 draw with Roma.

The Rossoneri's long unbeaten run in all competitions came to a shuddering halt on Thursday, however, as they suffered their first defeat in 242 days, going down 3-0 to Lille in the Europa League.

Milan have scored 14 times in the league this term – behind only Inter (15), Atalanta (17) and Sassuolo (18) – while Pioli's side have conceded only five goals, tied with Juventus for the second-fewest in the division. Sunday's opponents Hellas Verona have the league's best defence, conceding just three times.

However, after finishing sixth last season, Pioli believes the plaudits Milan had received prior to their defeat to Lille were over the top, although he claimed the same can also be said of the subsequent criticism of his players, with Alessio Romagnoli and Theo Hernandez coming under particular scrutiny. 

"We create our own pressure and are very tough on ourselves, because we want to be ambitious," Pioli told reporters.

"We're not interested in what the pundits say. The important thing is to concentrate and try to win games.

"Criticism and praise are always excessive in football, so I am not remotely worried about Romagnoli, Hernandez or anyone else who is singled out.

"Our problem against Lille was that we weren’t sharp enough in our choices, didn't read the spaces they left for us, but we can analyse this and learn from it.

"We lowered the level of our performance against the wrong opponent, so we must be ready to step it back up again. [Sunday] is another opportunity to prove what we can do and show what level we are at.

"An off-day was bound to happen, we've played 10 games in 21 days, so we have to be ready to deal with that both mentally and physically. Against Lille, we found an opponent in great physical shape."

Milan have never lost a home league game against Verona, who have not won away in the league since January.

The clubs and the league organisers met on Friday in an attempt to find alternative arrangements, after Bologna mayor Matteo Lepore had earlier announced that he had ordered the suspension of the match.

An agreement could not be reached, with solutions such as playing the game in Bologna behind closed doors or at a neutral stadium rejected, and the game has been postponed with a rescheduled date yet to be announced.

"The match is postponed because, with a decision that in my opinion is incomprehensible, the mayor has prohibited the match from being played even behind closed doors," Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni told reporters after the meeting.

The municipality of Bologna said in a statement that the match would bring around 35,000 people near the most critical area of the city, causing problems due to the presence of fans and traffic closure in the surrounding area.

With both clubs involved in the Champions League, finding a new date for the postponed game will prove difficult, and Milan will now be without Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders for Tuesday's match against leaders Napoli.

Both players were set to be suspended for the Bologna game, but will now serve their suspension in the next match instead.

Midfielder Reijnders scored two minutes before half-time in the Serie A contest when he nodded home after Alvaro Morata's header was blocked.

Monza had wasted some decent openings before Milan went ahead, with Mike Maignan making a fine save to deny Pedro Pereira while Dany Mota had a goal disallowed.

Reijnders almost made it 2-0 after the break, but his deflected effort was kept out by Stefano Turati.

Monza goalkeeper Turati made another stop later on, this time to deny Rafael Leao, who scuffed his finish at the end of a mazy run.

Milan, who had 18 shots and accumulated 2.5 expected goals (xG), were not made to pay for that profligacy, though, as they got back on track after their defeat to Napoli, though the Rossoneri sit seventh, eight behind the Serie A leaders.

Data Debrief: Reijnders on a roll

After netting twice against Club Brugge in the Champions League, Reijnders, who did not play against Napoli on Tuesday, has now scored in two matches in a row for Milan for the first time.

It was the Dutch international's first league goal of the season, and capped a fine performance in which he also played two key passes and completed 44 of his 46 passes, with a team-leading 14 of those played in the final third.

Mourinho's side booked their place in the quarter-finals with Thursday's triumph, courtesy of Paulo Dybala's 64th-minute winner, setting up a clash with the winner of the Napoli-Cremonese Round of 16 encounter.

But the Portuguese legend was damning of the Coppa Italia format in light of Torino's upset 1-0 extra-time win over Milan on Wednesday, which saw them progress to the last eight where they will face Fiorentina away.

"First of all, I'll say I would love to win it, I won it once playing against Roma, I would love to win it playing with Roma in Rome," Mourinho told Sportmediaset.

"I think it's the worst cup in Europe, it doesn't protect the smaller teams. It doesn't put on a show.

"I'm talking about Torino for example who win on the pitch of the Italian champions Milan, then they have to play the next elimination game away from home, I don't understand this structure of the Coppa Italia.

"We played against a Serie B team with a full stadium, if there are empty stadiums they must understand why we are full and the others are not.

"Last year we finished sixth, the year before we finished seventh and I want to invest in the Coppa Italia, but a lower team doesn't want to play, what motivation do these people have?

"Torino won against the Italian champions, they made great history in the Round of 16 and they have to play away. Where is the beauty of the Coppa Italia? It would be nice to play on a Serie B or Serie C pitch, where is that? Because people accept it.

"The next elimination game will be either in Naples or at home with Cremonese, if we lose like last year, we'll lose, but we'll try to win. For a squad like ours, playing three competitions together is very hard.

"There's too much build-up for people of more quality, it's a big risk to play three or four players who don't play all the time or to put so many kids together, I could have done Bove-Tahirovic but I didn't.

"If we want to win the Coppa Italia I won't say we want to, because everyone wants to, we will try to win the next game of the tournament."

Roma, who have advanced to the Europa League knockout round playoffs, bowed out in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals last season to eventual winners Inter.

He made that point in a Sweden press conference on Tuesday, giving 10/10 ratings to all aspects of the World Cup experience and saluting the country's lack of crime and drug problems.

The 41-year-old Milan striker had no part to play in the Qatar 2022 finals, owing to Sweden's failure to qualify, but he was a guest at the final, being pictured at the Argentina versus France showpiece game along with tennis superstar Novak Djokovic.

Asked for his impressions of the tournament and the country as a whole, Ibrahimovic said: "It was fantastic. As awesome as it gets. I was there for two days with the family."

He gave a rundown of his ratings for all aspects he encountered, saying: "The organisation: 10 points. The experience: 10 points. The match: 10 points. Crowd: 10 points. The food: 10 points. The journey: 10 points. Everything was 10 points."

When it was pointed out to Ibrahimovic that Qatar has faced criticism over alleged human rights abuses, Ibrahimovic stuck to his theme and gave a final mark to the country.

"Ten points," he said.

Pressure groups have claimed women and people from LGBTQ+ communities are particularly badly treated in Qatar, along with migrant workers.

Amnesty International said ahead of the World Cup that hundreds of thousands of such workers had been exploited, pointing to thousands dying suddenly or unexpectedly.

The same organisation said last week that "many thousands of workers have been unable to obtain compensation for horrific abuses linked to the World Cup", calling on football's world governing body FIFA to ensure this is rectified.

Qatar has been accused by its critics of attempting to 'sportswash' its reputation by putting on a successful major event that runs smoothly and paints the country in a positive light internationally.

Ibrahimovic will not be levelling such an accusation at Qatar's door, though, because he had a 10/10 time during his stay.

Speaking in a further interview with broadcaster SVT, the former Barcelona, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain striker added: "I think they have given opportunities to get a job. Then how they treated them, I haven't been there and seen, so I can't judge and answer those questions."

Ibrahimovic played for PSG during the early years of the Qatar Sports Investments era at the Parc des Princes, and Qatari club chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi joined him and Djokovic in their World Cup final photo.

The veteran Swede therefore has that close connection, and Ibrahimovic said: "Qatar as a country, I think it is a system that works. Are there drugs? No. Is there crime? No. Is there crime in Sweden? Yes, very much. Drugs? Yes.

"Qatar's system works. The Swedish system? It works, but if it works 100 per cent, I don't know."

Kick-off between Parma and SPAL was delayed for over an hour as Italian authorities considered whether all Serie A games should be suspended amid the ongoing battle against the coronavirus outbreak.

Milan were still unsure of the final decision when they left the training ground for an empty San Siro, with no fans allowed at any sporting event until April 3.

However, Pioli, who received backing from the club on Saturday as chief football officer Zvonimir Boban was relieved of his duties, was unwilling to use either of those events as an excuse for a dismal display.

"Clearly, playing without a crowd isn't football. That is true for all the teams, even more so for the hosts," Pioli told DAZN.

"Besides all that, we had the chance to prove our quality, that we had the strength to go past all of these issues and still win it, but we didn't win, and it was largely our own fault.

"When we left our training ground on the bus to get here, Parma-SPAL had not yet kicked off and we didn't know if it was going to. Clearly, that wasn't helpful, but we were in the same situation as our opponents, so again, that cannot be used as an excuse.

"As to whether Serie A should continue, there are people who know far more about the situation than me.

"We need no excuses or justifications, not for being behind closed doors, nor for any difficulties within the club or debates. We should've been more determined in certain key moments of the match.

"We have no excuses, we ought to do much better than this. It's difficult to say you didn't play well when you spent most of the game in the opposition half and had 22 shots on goal. It was not a technical or tactical issue, it was a lack of determination.

"It was such a good opportunity to prove that we felt strong and could overcome the obstacles, but it was a surreal situation for our opponents too. We failed to show determination at the right moments and that has nothing to do with playing behind closed doors or chaos within the club."

Asked about claims made by Boban that Pioli is a lame duck because Milan agreed a deal with Ralf Rangnick in December, the coach replied: "I read it, to be honest, I have to remain concentrated on my work.

"I am not worried about my future, I don't know what will happen, this is part of the job. This is a prestigious club and we have to end the season as well as possible.

"It's not my decision, all I can do is work well and try to end the season as well as we can. The rest of that is not something I can really discuss."

Milan were beaten 2-1 by Fiorentina before the international break, a defeat that came on the back of losing 1-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.

It was the manner of their defeat in Florence, where Theo Hernandez and Tammy Abraham were both denied by David de Gea from the penalty spot, which left Fonseca furious.

Fonseca slated his players for disobeying orders after the game, pointing out that Christian Pulisic was the designated penalty taker, while he was also furious to see Hernandez sent off for dissent late on. 

Speaking ahead of Saturday's meeting with Udinese, Fonseca told reporters: "I was so angry after Florence that it was good not to have seen anyone.

"We had few players in those training sessions, then all the internationals arrived yesterday. We talked about the match against Fiorentina and today we spoke about Udinese.

"I know that there has been a lot of talk about Florence, for me it was very important to talk about it."

Fonseca is already under pressure, with his side sixth in the Serie A table, five points off leaders Napoli. Milan have also lost both of their Champions League games, and their coach intends to tackle any issues head on.

"I don't close my eyes to problems. We have them, let's face them," Fonseca said.

"If we have any problems, I don't give a damn about the player's name. I talk to him. Frontally, directly, with the team or with the players.

"For me, no player is more important than the team. Those who make mistakes must take responsibility. If someone doesn't follow this team spirit, it's difficult for me."

Fonseca was then asked if he had already lost control of the dressing room, responding: "I don't have to demonstrate anything, I'm not an actor.

"In football today there is a great need to be seen, I'm not like that, since day one. Ask the players, if I have been this way from the start or not."

The then 33-year-old England midfielder agreed a two-month move to Italy to stay fit during the MLS close-season in the United States.

England manager Fabio Capello, who coached Beckham at Real Madrid, said: “Milan have made a good addition.

“At Madrid I left him out of the squad because he had signed a contract with Los Angeles but he continued to come on the field and train and I put him back in the team.

“He is a very serious lad, very sensible, a professional. People think he is a playboy off the field, it’s not true at all.”

The 108-times capped Beckham felt a move to Milan would boost his chances of England selection.

Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said: “His reasons are to stay fit and to make himself available for England, and the only way he can do that is to be training and playing in a good environment.

“This, on the part of David, was a purely technical rationale. He wants to continue to play for England and this is one of the ways to do that.”

Beckham began his glittering career at Manchester United, where he won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League.

He joined Real Madrid in 2003 and spent four years in Spain before moving to LA Galaxy. Beckham had two loan spells at Milan and ended his career at Paris St Germain in 2013.

Beckham went on to win 115 caps for England, a total only bettered by Peter Shilton and Wayne Rooney.

Azzurri great Rossi died at the age of 64 on Wednesday following a long illness.

Rossi's 1982 World Cup winning team-mates carried his coffin into the Santa Maria Annunciata Cathedral for his funeral and thousands gathered on the streets of Vicenza to pay their respects.

Reports emerged in Italy later in the day that Federica Cappelletti, Rossi's wife, had returned to their house near the Tuscan village of Bucine to discover thieves had broken in.

La Gazzetta dello Sport said several jewels and a Rolex watch belonging to former Juventus, Milan and Vicenza striker Rossi had been taken.

It was reported that none of Rossi's medals were stolen.

Dario Nardella, the mayor of Florence, tweeted on Sunday: "A more vile and disgusting act than this is truly unthinkable.

"The police must do everything possible to find those responsible. All my solidarity and closeness to the #PaoloRossi family."

Rossi was the leading scorer and best player in the tournament in the Azzurri's 1982 World Cup triumph in Spain.

The former Selecao star, widely considered one of the greatest to ever play the game, passed away on Thursday following a battle with colon cancer.

Pele's status as one of football's most recognised figures has drawn the sport together in mourning, with clubs across the globe honouring the late forward.

LaLiga and Champions League holders Real Madrid offered their condolences to the player's family, while paying tribute to the legacy he leaves behind.

"The legend of Pele will remain forever in the memory of all those who love this sport and his legacy makes him one of the great myths of world football," Los Blancos issued in a statement.

Fellow Spanish giants Barcelona said the Brazilian "made football greater than ever", while last season's Champions League finalists Liverpool called him an "icon" of football.

Several teams paid tribute to Pele with statements incorporating some of the game's other greats, such as Benfica, who posted a picture of him alongside late Portugal star Eusebio.

West Ham included former England captain Bobby Moore in their image after their famous battle at the 1970 World Cup, while Ajax featured Johan Cruyff, another of the game's great players, alongside the Brazilian.

Premier League trio Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City recalled their memories of Pele, with the Gunners reflecting on his visit for an encounter over four decades ago following his retirement.

Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich paid tribute to "one of the all-time greats" while Serie A champions Milan also offered condolences.

CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation, also issued a tribute to the late star, saying: "Thank you for putting South America on top."