About a decade ago, Milan were regarded as one of Europe power houses in football. Three European Cup finals, two Champions League titles, Club World Championship titles and Serie A title under Carlo Ancelotti with vice-president Adriano Galliani pulling the strings in the transfer market backed up by then owner Silvio Berlusconi.
Fast-forward to current day under new owners Elliot Management, they believe investing in younger players, that can be developed and later sold for high transfer fees, is the more financially sound route for a prestigious club like Milan. Sporting directors Paolo Maldini and Zvonimir Boban have gone on the record saying they’ve never seen a team of young players win the Champions League, or Serie A, before. Both Maldini and Boban believe in adding a sprinkling of experience to go alongside bright talents.
Four months after terminating his Sampdoria contract to enable him sign for AC Milan, Marco Giampaolo is out of a job. The Diavolo’s poor start to the season has seen them manage three victories in seven league matches. Interestingly, they are four points off fourth place Napoli but have lost four league matches already. With less than a quarter of the season gone in a new project, why did the Rossoneri board hastily get rid of coach?
Both the club and the ousted trainer will share the responsibility for this failure. The board perceived idea of how to return the club to its glory days was quite different from the manager’s. The club has been spending money every summer but it hasn’t done wisely; Giampaolo never got the players he asked for. This difference in views and summer shortcomings hasn’t helped much but Giampaolo’s failings is also part of the reason his Milan career was short-lived. The former Sampdoria coach is known for his use of a 4-3-1-2 formation, but he didn’t have the players to operate the system but tried shoehorning. The experiment in Suso playing as a trequartista was disastrous, as early as preseason, it would quite obvious the Spaniard simply couldn’t interpret the role. In trying to be fit square pegs in square holes, the coach switched formation to 4-3-3 after Match Day 1 defeat to Udinese. Some of the players he relied on struggled to produce their best form under him – Krzysztof Piątek, Lucas Biglia, Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Suso. A case can be made for the Spanish forward who probably played out of position at times but since the Milan derby defeat, the Swiss-born Italian coach was living on borrowed times at Milanello Sports Centre.
In a swift move after dismissing him, the club announced Stefano Pioli as the new boss. He joins the list of managers to have managed both Milan clubs but his appointment is a clear indication of a club in chaos; one without a solid plan, identity and leader. It is easy to see why they would panic; just take a look at the Black and Blue side of town to see Inter right at the very top where Milan hope to be.
Since Max Allegri was fired in January 2014, the club has continued to make error after error. Giampaolo’s successor – Pioli is another cheap alternative having failed to convinced another former Inter coach Luciano Spalletti. Stefano is another journey man and it is predicted that he will not last.
Milan look lost as a club right now and for them to succeed, it is important they plan appropriately and realize that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Their obsession to return to the Champions League or win the Scudetto has to come with the right building blocks which they have failed to do since January 2014.