FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - First Leg - FC Porto v Arsenal - Estadio do Dragao, Porto, Portugal - February 21, 2024 FC Porto coach Sergio Conceicao before the match REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo
(Reuters) - New AC Milan manager Sergio Conceicao said he is prepared for the tough job ahead as he aims to turn the team into a side worthy of the club's heritage, and his first task will bring him up against his son at Juventus.
Conceicao was appointed on Monday after the club sacked Paulo Fonseca, with the club eighth in the Serie A standings and already out of the title race, after seven wins from their opening 17 games leaves them 14 points off leaders Atalanta.
"I'm proud to take on this adventure. The emotions are temporary because we need to work," Conceicao said.
"We need to have a warm heart and cool head to work as hard as we can and win the matches. That's what we want because we represent a great club on a global level and we need to be worthy of this great club."
Conceicao will depart with his players for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, as his first game in charge comes in Riyadh on Friday when Milan take on Juventus in the semi-final of the Italian Super Cup.
"We don't have much time but that's absolutely not an excuse," the new manager said.
"With the time at my disposal, I have to work as hard as I can so that the players understand what they have to do, first as individuals and then be a strong team in every game we have."
Conceicao, who played with Lazio, Inter Milan and Parma in Italy, will have good memories of the Super Cup, and playing against Juventus.
In his first ever game in Italy, Conceicao scored an added time winner on his Lazio debut to defeat Juventus in the 1998 Super Cup Final, so Friday's game may feel like a date with destiny, as well as being a family affair.
Conceicao's son Francisco joined the Italian club in August on loan from Porto, where he played under his father.
That move came shortly after Conceicao brought an end to his seven-year spell as manager at Porto, despite having signed a four-year contract extension in April.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes)
