Fofana explains Fonseca surprise and ‘perfect’ Milan derby performance | OneFootball

Milan midfielder Youssouf Fofana has spoken about Paulo Fonseca’s surprise message before Sunday’s Derby della Madonnina, and the ‘perfect’ performance from his teammates during the first Inter game of his career.

The summer recruit spoke to MilanTV in the week following a big result against the reigning champions in Serie A.

Fofana on Fonseca surprise and derby delight

Milan recorded a 2-1 victory over Inter thanks to an 89th minute winner from Matteo Gabbia. Fonseca had been at risk of losing his job had he not secured a convincing victory over Simone Inzaghi’s side.

Before kick-off, Fonseca had the word ‘courage’ displayed around the dressing room in several different languages in an attempt to motivate his players.

“I didn’t notice it at first, I was so concentrated that I didn’t notice,” Fofana said about Fonseca’s stunt.

“I was surprised when I saw it, because I saw the word ‘courage’ written in many different languages. That’s how it was. We just had to get out on the pitch and show that we understood.”

Fofana was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere during his first game against Inter in Serie A. He also believes this can be a turning point in what has been a slightly underwhelming start to the 2024-25 season for Milan.

“I’m very happy to have won the derby. It was my first derby here and the atmosphere was amazing. It was a real pleasure to play in it, and the win made it perfect.

“Given the results we had picked up before, beating Inter can be a new beginning for us. It’s a good starting point and I hope to go from here to as high as possible.”

Fonseca on settling in at Milan

Fofana also revealed why he has found it so easy to settle into the Rossoneri dressing room.

“It’s exactly how they described it to me here, the dressing room, my teammates, the fans and the enthusiasm you can feel around the city. I have no regrets and I can’t wait to find out more.

“The management has helped me a lot, particularly Geoffrey Moncada, being French himself has given me a big hand. In the team there are other guys who speak French as well. I have tried to speak a bit of Italia, but for now I am no expert. There are also English-speaking players here, so I try to chat to everyone.

“I try to learn about other cultures and speak other languages. I always try to speak Italian or Spanish, a little bit  of German, to learn it and hopefully remember some of it.”