Although Stefano Pioli hasn’t been sacked yet, AC Milan are already thinking about life without the manager. Two profiles are at the top of their wish list for next season, a report claims, but one is more likely than the other.
Following the 2-2 draw against Salernitana, Pioli has come under heavy scrutiny and could be sacked before the end of the year if things continue. Given the lack of mid-season alternatives, though, Milan are more focused on replacing him in the summer.
According to Calciomercato.com, a defeat against Sassuolo on Saturday could indeed force Milan to find a caretaker for the rest of the season, with Primavera manager Ignazio Abate a hypothesis. For next season, however, Thiago Motta and Roberto De Zerbi are the two key candidates.
Motta has impressed a lot with Bologna this season, sitting just two points behind the Rossoneri despite a clear difference in player material. De Zerbi, meanwhile, has made a name for himself in the Premier League and he’s also a known Milanista.
Per the report, it would be easier for Milan to secure Motta’s services. De Zerbi has a high release clause and several top clubs are monitoring his development, meaning there could be a lot more competition as well.
Having said all of this, Milan cannot afford to let this season go to waste, and that’s why immediate solutions are needed as well.
At this point I think Motta is my favorite as well. As the article highlights, the “immediate solution” is the big issue. I just don’t see one, and Abate is a complete roll of the dice. We’re still in the top 4, so maybe stick with Pioli for as long as we’re in. Then if we do fall out of the top 4 a difficult decision will have to be made. Here is a name who might be an effective caretaker and is free: Leonardo Semplici. It’s not a sexy name, but none of the top free managers are going to come in on a six month contract, and none of the top free managers are ones that I believe are a good long term fit for Milan.
Agree with that.
Obviously, the reason is simple.
Why do people think De Zerbi will leave the Premier League to join and manage Milan? He is already getting a lot of interest from PL top 6, and he will prefer them over Milan for sure.
“he will prefer them over Milan for sure.”
Not all Italians like it in the UK.
The top 6 have some pretty good managers though!
Man Utd and Chelsea are the only ones who’ll likely replace their managers in the medium term, and both clubs are worse run than Milan (at least before this summer).
The top 6 have some pretty good managers though!
Man Utd and Chelsea are the only ones who’ll likely replace their managers in the medium term, and both clubs are worse run than Milan – at least before this summer.
CalcioMercato have clearly found an article format that is generating clicks for them. I don’t think the 200 repetitions of this same nonsense in the next month will have any more grounds in reality than this one.
Motta + Zirkzee.
You can get 2 of your biggest needs in the same store
40+mil. Furlani and Ibra would have to see the SH*T of this idea to Gerry.
Regrettably, we should never be in this situation. Pioli should have gone back in January when we had to stomach getting torn up for arse paper every game. I hope management show some ambition and push for De Zerbi.
I agree Pioli should have gone at the end of last season, finishing 5th and just making CL.
Then in CL struggling to win games is not acceptable, Pioli brushes it off just like the Milan MGMNT
What if they had not made Europa League would Pioli still be there, ” FATE”!
DE ZERBI is Milan… Rosso Nero thought and through just like conte was for Juve!
DE ZERBI will bring back our identity and pride!
We didn’t finish the 5th, we finished 4th. You don’t get to change recorded history.
(And, yes, we did finish 4th, and, yes, Pioli did factor in Juve’s point deduction when resting players and focusing on the champions league where, yes, we reached the semi-finals, and, yes, you don’t sack a manager after reaching the semi-finals of the champions league and meeting expectations in the league).
Because of point deduction. Otherwise we would be 5th. So yeah 5th counting all the points.
Did you see the bit in brackets?
The point deductions were factored in.
We finished 4th. No ifs, no buts, no maybes. 4th.
That is reality. You don’t get to change reality
.
Might as well rename this site to sempre CalciomercatoMilan
LOL, so true
I guess sempreCalciomercatoMilannews should be the new name…
Many news outlets do this… Go to NewsNow look up Milan and you’ll see many outlets rewording other publications…
Few sites are doing their own reporting and interviews.
Yeah, they have been doing this for years now. It has been quite annoying to read the same content numerous times just by a different source. They do have their own exclusive content, though.
January window will start soon, so most probably this type of articles will increase soon.
I can imagine one already,
“The new gulf owners interested in bringing Zidane as our head coach” Blah Blah Blah….
They should just use AI generated content it’s pretty easy to product the subjects and format.
Do we even know if Motta is interested?
Probably not, he will probably also get bigger clubs if he finishes top 4 with Bologna or maybe even wants to coach Bologna in the UCL (probably not)
Bologna in CL is a terrible idea. They wont go far and will cost Italy ranking points. Not to mention the talent level in CL is not anything like domestically.
Bologna will eventually lose points. I think Roma will take the 4th spot and Napoli the 5th if we will be awarded one.
Napoli from 1st to 5th (and indeed Milan from 1st to 4th) the season before a hows just how fine the margins are.
How are the exact same players suddenly struggling to produce the sorts of performances they produced last season?
This is how big a difference Spalletti made.
And a new manager at Milan could make a huge difference. But it’s the single most important appointment a club can make so we have absolutely have to get it right.
@Maldini’s Heir, you do know that Napoli lost their excellent coach and possibly the best defender in Serie A last season, and that the replacement coach has himself already been replaced, right? You’re drawing a false equivalency to Napoli’s situation.
Nevermind, I misread your comment. We are in agreement with respect to the importance of the coaching change there.
That’s absolutely true. Their transfer strategy was abysmal. How can you ruin the flow of a well oiled team by replacing the manager with Rudi Garcia of all people. The KMJ replacement was also bad, they bought some cheap Brazilian instead of a proper, top performing CB.
This is quite similar to how some people here want Abate to take Pioli’s job as soon as possible.
According to clown Maldinis Heir logic, we have to sign a coach who has won UCL and Scudetto in order to win Scudetto or UCL 😂
Apparently we have to put Pioli above De zerbi and Motta cos they won NOTHING!
So, we have to sign Pep, Klopp, Sir Alex, Conte or Ancelotti lol
Historically, we have better luck with unproven coach. Sacchi, Capello, Zaccheroni, Allegri, Pioli. I think Ancelotti won UEFA cup with Parma before joining us.
Never said that…..
I hope Milan lose against Sassuolo so that Pioli can be fired. This will be the first time supporting Milan to lose but one thing about Pioli is that he wins when he’s under pressure or his job is on the line 😂 I am afraid he might win 🤦
Pioli is certainly doing better this season than Sarri, Mou, Mazzarri, Gasperini, Garcia. Those are squads that are not far worse in quality and are out of top 4. This notion that everyone is better than Pioli is extremely naive and can be disproven by a look at the table.
Motta has done incredibly well… for like 6 months now. De Zerbi has been doing well and evolving for over 3 years with different teams in different leagues. He has competed in European cups and accumulated experience playing twice a week. His teams have clear identities and play beautiful football.
De Zerbi is clearly the better option with more experience, but we won’t be able to sign him for various reasons. Motta would be tough, too and he’s an Interista.
People have this “perfect coach” fetish huh?
What’s really sad is there are Milan fans, like the loser Dos Santos above me, who wants Milan to lost just because they want to see Pioli got fired.
I love Milan since ’97 like more than 25 years but some of these comments makes me wants to puke and don’t want to call myself as a “Milan fans”.
De Zerbi is just extremely hyped. Doesn‘t mean that cannot be good, but I‘d try him once the hype has settled.
Yeah he would also come here once fails in Premier League lol
Wow u guys don’t even take a break for Christmas 😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣