Sergio Conceicao, the coach who had a confrontation with Mikel Arteta in the Arsenal – Porto match, has endured family tragedies since childhood.
Family Tragedy Plagues Coach’s Clash with Arteta
In the recent second leg of the Champions League Round of 16, Arsenal defeated Porto in a penalty shootout with a score of 4-2. The match concluded with a confrontation between Sergio Conceicao and Mikel Arteta.
Porto’s manager displayed anger towards his counterpart immediately after the penalty shootout. Subsequently, during the press conference, Conceicao openly criticized Arteta: “The result is truly unfair. My team deserved to advance. What Arteta said in Spanish has offended my family. He should focus on managing his own team.”
Arteta refuted the allegations made by Conceicao. Sources within Arsenal indicated that the Spanish coach did not comment on Conceicao’s family.
Regardless of Arteta’s remarks, Conceicao is particularly sensitive about family matters after experiencing tragic events in the past.
At the age of 16, Conceicao suffered immense pain when his father passed away in a car accident. Conceicao shared with JN (Portugal): “I remember at that time I had just signed a contract with Porto. I had convinced my father to let me go to a big city like Porto.”
“The accident happened about two to three months after I insisted on coming to Porto. And just one day after I signed the contract, my father passed away.”
Tragedy continued to haunt Conceicao. Only two years after his father’s death, his mother also passed away.
“I once thought about quitting football. I felt lost in life. I grew up in my family’s strict discipline, but I deeply cherished my parents. My mother is my great idol. I think about them every day and pray for them.”
The clash with Arteta is not the first time Conceicao has clashed with an opposing coach. In 2021, Conceicao also had a heated argument with Thomas Tuchel when Porto faced Chelsea in the Champions League.
Previously, in 2020, Porto’s manager also exchanged words with Pep Guardiola after a match against Manchester City in the Champions League group stage.
Sergio Conceicao was a renowned winger in Portuguese football in the early 2000s. The former star born in 1974 left his mark at Lazio, Parma, and Inter during his peak years.
As a coach, Conceicao has helped Porto win the Portuguese league three times, as well as securing three national cups and one league cup. He has been voted the best coach of the Portuguese championship three times.