GdS: How the frosty relationship between Fonseca and Theo Hernandez thawed | OneFootball

Theo Hernandez will get his place back in AC Milan’s starting line-up for tonight’s game against Roma, and a report has detailed how he won Paulo Fonseca over.

La Gazzetta dello Sport speak of Theo his ‘destiny on the line’ which often leads players to ‘make the wisest decisions’. Fonseca and the Frenchman, until 24 hours ago, were two islands: they looked at each other from afar, without contact.

Fonseca was annoyed – let’s say furious, if you like spice – by the attitude of his full-back, while Theo was not enthusiastic about being benched. Then something happened: yesterday, the pair spoke in a serious conversation, in which they talked about training, matches, attitudes.

Only they know the exact words, but the meaning is clear: Theo wants to return to playing, Fonseca has asked to give more because he wants to see the devastating full-back of the past again. It’s not the first conversation of the season, it could become the most important: because they are on the same page.

The epilogue was not a given because Fonseca, without that speech, would have kept Hernandez out. It is a question of coherence with the past and management of the group, with the same laws applying for everyone.

However, something has changed in the last few days. Theo ended up on the bench in Verona on December 20th and, when he came on, he played badly. Fonseca did not attack as he did after Milan-Red Star, when Theo was the real recipient of the outburst, and asked him to train on December 23rd, a day off.

Theo went to Milanello and that was a first sign. Yesterday’s training helped, and today Fonseca and Theo will thus play for their future together, and that is very wise given the circumstances that both face.

For Hernandez it is a question of both reputation, more specifically the question: how can one of the top three full-backs in the world end up on the bench? The topic of his renewal looms like an eternal crossroads, too.

For Fonseca, the idea is to remain safely in his job despite the rumours of a potential sacking. A week from the Supercoppa Italiana, the coach must show that everyone is rowing in the same direction and that the Champions League places are obtainable.