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Theo Hernandez Vs Feyenoord Diving Shame: Is His AC Milan Career Dead? (Clip From Q & A Pod)
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After Theo Hernandez getting a red card against Feyenoord costing AC Milan a spot in the Round of 16 in the Champions League, discussions are rife as to whether or not this is the final nail in the coffin of his Milan career.
The Italian Football Podcast patron Alex send in questions wondering what Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Gargenese think about the Frenchman's future with the Rossoneri.
This is an extended clip from this weeks Q & A episode of The Italian Football Podcast available only to patrons on Patreon.com/TIFP
To send in your own questions and support The Italian Football Podcast simply become a member on Patreon.com/TIFP OR Spotify OR YouTube Memberships. Your support makes The Italian Football Podcast possible.
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Transcript
Should Milan Sell Key Players?
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. um Next question um comes from Alex. He says, if Milan had to sell one, should they sell Teo or Leao in the summer? Should they try to
Pros and Cons of Selling Teo Hernandez
00:00:15
Speaker
keep both? I think they should sell Teo because Milan need a more defensive left back with all these attacking players they have now. Also, Leao's number of assists and output in the final third would be extremely hard to replace.
00:00:25
Speaker
Mainly, I can't get over Teo's comment from the Euros about right now I'll play the Euros and we'll see if I stay at Milan or not. That, combined with his lack of effort, I'm convinced he hates being at Milan. Leal looks like a workhorse compared to him last season.
00:00:38
Speaker
Well, I mean... I want to go first on this. you know i want to go go I want to go first on this on Teo.
Champions League Elimination Fallout
00:00:44
Speaker
I want to talk about Teo first because we're recording this after the the the humiliating Champions League elimination of Milan against Feyenoord on Tuesday night.
00:00:55
Speaker
And we have to be honest here. and I think everybody said set the same. Milan are out because of Teo Hernandez. he's he's he's as He's single-handedly, let's be honest, cost Milan qualification. Milan are 1-0 up against Feyenoord.
00:01:11
Speaker
they They're completely dominant. I mean, Feyenoord can barely even get into their half. Feyenoord are completely decimated. They've got 10 players. They're without 10 first-team players. They're playing kids and and reserves.
00:01:24
Speaker
full of kids and reserves in their team. um You know, there's only one winner in in this game. There's only one winner. It's only a matter of time before Milan get that second goal. There's just no way anybody that's watching watching that game, there's no way that Milan don't go through unless...
00:01:42
Speaker
they get a player sent off.
Teo's Reckless Gameplay Analysis
00:01:44
Speaker
And for Teo Hernandez to do what he did is just utter stupidity. The first yellow card, just completely stupid, right in front of the referee, decides to just pull the guy's shirt and fling him onto the ground. Like, what the hell is he doing there?
00:01:58
Speaker
That's number one. Then when you know you're on a yellow card, to to to take the risk of going for a penalty. but that you know You've got to smell danger. you've got ah There's got to be something in your mind that tells you we're 1-0 up.
00:02:13
Speaker
We're going to win this game. There's no need to take risks, to take stupid, unnecessary risks. Now, I understand that, you know, and not many people will say this, that maybe there's a slight bit of, he's a slightly unfortunate in the sense that, you know, when you play football, if you anticipate contact and you think there's going to be contact, as a natural movement, you will sometimes kind of go down.
00:02:35
Speaker
But you've got to have in your mind before that, We're 1-0 up. Do not take any risks at all. So do not, but have it in your mind that there's no way you're going down to try and win a penalty.
00:02:49
Speaker
No way. For him to do that is absolute madness. It's absolute madness to get himself sent off. He's cost Milan qualification. And it's insanity.
Contract and Attitude Issues
00:03:00
Speaker
And with everything that's already going on with Teo Hernandez, his contract runs out in 2026.
00:03:05
Speaker
We've had long contract negotiations that they've that they haven't been able to to to agree on. and They've been lingering on. He's been asking for big pay increase. He wants to be earning the same wages as Teo Hernandez. um He's been having a poor season.
00:03:20
Speaker
He's been having problems off the pitch. um He's been having problems with you know the former coach, Fonseca. We had that whole incident of of him and and and and Liao in the game for the calling break where refused to come over for the team talk with the manager.
00:03:36
Speaker
ah He hasn't behaveing we' been behaving well. His attitude has stunk. He's put in some dreadful performances, especially defensively. um Neither Fonseca nor Conceição have really been able to quite get him to work well.
00:03:50
Speaker
as a team player or as a defensive player at all. When you add that all up, Milan actually accepted a bid in January for 47 million euros from Colmo, which has come out in the last days.
00:04:04
Speaker
They accepted the offer, but it was Theo that rejected it and said, you know, he had no interest in going to Colmo. When you add that all together with what happened and the the anger, apparently he's been he's going to get fined by Milan. The fans are furious. They want him out.
00:04:19
Speaker
I don't see any... I think this this is the end of Teo Hernandez. I think this is... i think I don't see a way back for him now. I think in the summer he leaves.
00:04:30
Speaker
I think there's no doubt about the fact that he will leave in in the summer. I think this this is it. this this was that This was kind of the final straw. um Because this doesn't happen in
Leadership and Consistency Challenges
00:04:39
Speaker
a vacuum. This happens on the back of two seasons where he has been woeful defensively.
00:04:44
Speaker
And there's been question marks about his attitude and his overall behaviour. And Milan fans and the environment around Milan have not been too happy with him. the problem is, as Capello kind of said yesterday, is to Ibra was, well, you know, he does this quite often and he didn't say it out loud, but in Italy kind of gets away with it.
00:05:07
Speaker
And yesterday in Europe, with without an Italian referee, he didn't get away with it. And that's just, that's just, that's just, you know, part and parcel of what Teo Hernandez has done and does. And, and he got caught out for it. And the fact that,
00:05:23
Speaker
For me, the the thing that is most... and the The worst part of this is... You look at Milan's three last games in the Champions League. they were They only had to beat Dinamo Zagreb, and they would have been in the top eight.
00:05:38
Speaker
They wouldn't even have to play this game. Mattia Gabia has a meltdown, a brain fart. That costs them that game. And Jonas Musa as well. Gets himself sent off, if I remember correctly.
00:05:52
Speaker
Then you have Mike Mignon last week with a proper howler. And then you have Teo Hernandez doing what he did yesterday. We're recording this on Wednesday. And barring Moussa and Gabya, the latter two are two of Milan's more senior senators.
00:06:09
Speaker
They're the
Teo as a Reflection of Milan's Decline
00:06:10
Speaker
ones are supposed to be carrying this Milan. Both of them had the captain's armband. um When your leaders make these kinds of mistakes...
00:06:20
Speaker
you have a serious issue in the squad because if these are your leaders, well, no wonder shit's going bad. it's it's It's very, very simple um when it comes to that. Very, very harshly, you have to come down to that.
00:06:36
Speaker
You have to break it down to that. And I think that maybe that what Milan need to do is have you know have a really difficult and serious conversation about where they move forward with this situation.
00:06:49
Speaker
whether I think Teo Hernández leaving in the summer is a given. But they also need to have a discussion about Leal. They need to have a discussion about Mignon. Is it better to move them on and completely reboot and restart the project from scratch?
00:07:03
Speaker
But only this time, do make that decision if you're going to continue with Conceição or whoever you're going to bring in. you know i think Moncada, his contract expires too.
00:07:15
Speaker
Look, there's too many in you know question marks hanging around Milan on and off the pitch in terms of when it comes to the footballing part of the side of things. And that, I think the Teo situation just kind of highlights all of those things.
00:07:29
Speaker
And it's it's a mess. It really is a mess. It's a mess. Yeah, I agree with you, Nima. I agree with you. um And I think that with regards to Teo, it's a microcosm of of of where Milan are at. you know milan Teo and Milan, you know the club doesn't seem like a serious club right now.
00:07:50
Speaker
And Teo is is an example of that. Milan has just become a bit of a circus. and in the last, you know, probably since Maldini left. And Teo Hernandez, you know, he just doesn't come across as as a serious player for a set for a serious club.
00:08:07
Speaker
And again, you know, I'm sorry, but I have to say this,
Cultural and Disciplinary Shifts Needed
00:08:10
Speaker
the pink hair, It exemplifies all this. you know no I'm sorry, no serious ah no serious club would allow one of their players, let alone one of their their top players, to have pink hair, to have this pink streak of piss through his hair.
00:08:26
Speaker
I mean, it makes the player look unserious. It makes the club look unserious. It gives the vibe of Teo of, I'm an individualist. I'm not a team player. I mean, I might say ah so my i may sound old-fashioned when I say this,
00:08:39
Speaker
But i think it takes away from the whole feeling of this is Milan, this is a group. And it makes the team it makes the team and the and and the club look like ah a bit of a bit of a circus, which is which is what has what milan has which is what Milan has become. Now, this might look but I might sound like a boomer here and I might sound like i'm making a, you know, this this is a bit of a ridiculous take, but I'm sorry.
00:09:00
Speaker
I think it just exemplifies what Milan what milan have become. The club is a bit of a circus and then you get your one of your top players having this ridiculous pink hairstyle, then doing what he does. And it just makes everything just look like a just a bit of a joke. yeah you know i cannot imagine any other club allowing one of their top players or one of their players to have pink hair or some ridiculous hairstyle like Teo Hernandez has. And I think that just tells you where his mind at, what his attitude's like.
00:09:27
Speaker
And he's just not it's just not serious. It's not a serious player. It's not a serious club. And if Milan wants to become a serious club, they need to root out these kind of players like Teo Hernandez because he's become a big problem.
00:09:38
Speaker
You can't build anything with players like this.
00:09:42
Speaker
it's speak They're too inconsistent. And it's the same thing with Leao, I think, to certain extent as well. We've been waiting now for many years for him to consistently deliver at the highest level.
00:09:55
Speaker
If he can't do that, then he shouldn't be earning those wages because the wages he earns, the wages that Mignon will earn, the wages that Theo wants to earn and kind of earns are for an Italian club, wages that you play you pay to teams, you pay to players that are consistently at the highest level.
00:10:14
Speaker
Italian clubs can't afford to pay those wages to players who are... moody and aren't consistent. It's that simple. And they have to make difficult decisions. Can they rehabilitate Mignon? Do they think that it works?
00:10:26
Speaker
Can they get the best out of Leao? If not, sell them and bring in players that suit but give you more consistency in results.
Overperformance and Future Reassessment
00:10:36
Speaker
I think it's reached a point now where okay, they they won the Scudetto once, they will always forever be remembered for that.
00:10:44
Speaker
There's no doubt about that. But...
00:10:48
Speaker
They haven't been good enough since. And that's just the brutal reality of it. Neither has Milan at any level. And let's be honest, the the season they won the Scudetto, they overperformed.
00:11:01
Speaker
you know they They were nowhere near... nothing think we have to say that now. i think we have to I think we have to concede that. I mean, I thought that at the time. I thought there's no doubt Inter into where a bed and were definitely the best team and squad. Milan got on a hot streak after the...
00:11:13
Speaker
after the the, you know, in the in the kind of like the running. They were on a long winning run. Liao and Teo and got really hot, but they overperformed, you know, you know and we saw that kind of like how they did the the following season or seasons, you know.
00:11:30
Speaker
And then obviously since Maldini's gone, it's just it's just things have kind of fallen apart a bit. And Zlatan as I know if you mentioned Zlatan before, but, you know, like even the whole Zlatan, I Zlatan was standing up, was defending.
00:11:41
Speaker
He was blaming it on the referee. Zlatan after the game. You know, and and I mean, you know me, I believe in anti-Italian discrimination more than anything. I can't blame the referee for that.
Justification of Teo's Actions
00:11:53
Speaker
I mean, by the law, it's two yellows. The only thing I said, and I tweeted it, is like... it's very, very rare for a referee to to to send a player off for simulation. and And I just kind of said partly tongue-in-cheek, well, it's funny how you know only an Italian player gets get sent off for simulation.
00:12:11
Speaker
you know would they have Would they have sent off that player if it was for simulation, if it would have been like a Real Madrid or a top Premier League club? I'm not sure they would have done. I think it's you know this isn't this is a rule that's very rarely upheld, especially in big games.
00:12:23
Speaker
But at the end of the day, is so By the law, they all should be. By the law, you have to blame Teo Hernandez because you don't take that kind of risk in a game like this. you know what I mean? is is If it's nil-nil in a Champions League final, tight game, and you think, right, you know we might not get another chance to win this, you know maybe you do it.
00:12:43
Speaker
But when you're 1-0 up, you're totally dominant against a really with all due respect, with the players they have on the pitch, a really quite weak team, then you don't take stupid risks like that.
00:12:58
Speaker
No, you don't. You really don't. You don't. And you don't do it when you're supposedly a leader and and a more senior player of a squad. of this of a squad Yeah. don' don't have them Don't have the brain for it.
00:13:14
Speaker
He's brain dead, Teo, sometimes. like even Even before that, him and Liao were winding up that Reid guy before. I saw one point you kind of pushed him in the head a little bit before and they will neild up they were trying to get to him. Fine, people do that. You try and get into the mind. But like again, unnecessary.
00:13:28
Speaker
You don't need to do that against these kind of players. Do you know what i mean? You're better than them. You should be beating them. You don't need to mess around with taking unnecessary risks.
00:13:39
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, very frustrating. We'll talk about this more on on the Thursday, for sure.
00:13:46
Speaker
Absolutely.