You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. That famous saying could not ring more true in Stefano Pioli’s four-and-a-half-year tenure at the helm.
The Rossoneri faithful have lived through just about every single emotion possible, but the nightmare past couple of weeks endured has forced many fans angrily on the verge of tipping point – and they have every right to feel aggrieved.
Personally, although many were sceptical of Pioli’s tactical awareness, especially in the crunch-time matches, in some cases the criticism directed at him was rather harsh. Let’s be honest, many were waiting eagerly on the edge of their seats to berate the Italian as soon as a defeat eventuated – but were quiet when the ship was resurrected as Milan’s back were against the wall on numerous occasions.
That said, six consecutive derby defeats – losing the Scudetto to Inter in the most recent derby – and an abysmal 180-minute performance against Roma in the Europa League quarter-finals means the club hierarchy has little choice but to part ways at the end of the season.
In the end, Pioli’s limitations were exposed to the point of no return and the tactical experiment with Rafael Leão as a sole number nine was ultimately the final straw. It’s clear he has reached his ceiling as Milan’s manager and the time has arrived for fresh ideas and a new direction.
With bitter rivals Inter Milan now celebrating their second star, the current anguish and pain for Milan fans is still incredibly raw – making it extra challenging to acknowledge just how far this once-fallen giant of world football has made steady steps to get back on the trajectory of competing with the elite.
However, it’s important to recognise it and distribute credit where it’s due.
When Marco Giampaolo’s disastrous spell ended before it even began, Pioli entered the frame, much to the revulsion of a disgruntled fanbase who judged the move as a downgrade. He was instantly branded a caretaker, with the promise of a more ambitious appointment to come.
Milan are a club that demands to win at all costs. When Pioli, a man who had previously coached the likes of Inter, Fiorentina, Lazio, and Bologna without winning anything, was unveiled as the Rossoneri’s new hope, it was challenging to envision any sort of success.
A humiliating 5-0 loss away to Atalanta in December 2019 would increase the heat more than ever until a 27-match unbeaten run in the league provided Milanisti a slight glimmer of optimism, something they had been searching for nearly a decade.
Finally, there was an identity in the style of football with an attacking-minded approach and free-flowing build-up all whilst picking up results.
A first full pre-season before the 2020-21 campaign would pave the way for further growth, becoming winter champions before running out of steam in the title race to Antonio Conte’s Inter. Yet, Pioli was overachieving.
And just when you thought Milan would regress down to the mean, there was another gear that Pioli found to motivate a squad filled with talent, but also inexperience – by no means an easy task.
From ‘#PioliOut’ tweets to ‘Pioli is on fire’ chants, Milan claimed a memorable Scudetto to break an 11-year drought and unexpectedly achieve the pinnacle of Italian football – so significant that Pioli commemorated the achievement with a tattoo of the Italian shield with number 19 on his forearm.
The classical underdog tag didn’t phase the seven-time European champions in the competition they possess in their DNA – reaching the semi-finals before succumbing to a better-equipped Inter outfit. That’s when the doubts around Pioli’s future officially took shape.
Young prospects such as Leão, Theo, Tonali, and Tomori were transformed into undoubtedly better-developed players as the transfer values of many have skyrocketed under Pioli’s watch.
The club were crying out for stability and consistency after settling with an unhealthy managerial merry-go-round of eight coaches since Massimiliano Allegri’s stint. Pioli brought almost five years of security.
Recently there have been some people commenting on social media that Pioli is a ‘fraud’ and a ‘disgrace’ to the organisation. Sure, he hasn’t been perfect, but to treat him in that fashion leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
He was deeply attached to the club and always defended his players like they were his sons. In 2020, he expressed his love for the Rossoneri, admitting if Milan were a woman: “She would be my wife. She is the love of my life, so it means that Milan is too.”
Pundits can argue back and forth about the 58-year-old’s managerial ability all day long, but there is no doubt that he is about to depart the club in a better place than it found itself since he walked through the doors of Milanello. The core foundations are set in stone for his successor to build on the work done both on and off the pitch.
The reality is that Milan has gone from celebrating top-four qualification as if it were a league title to now feeling utterly disappointed to finish in second place. The mentality has drastically shifted, and surely Pioli deserves credit for that.
Unfortunately, the sad reality is that Pioli will be remembered for dying on his sword rather than bowing out as a hero.
He was fine. Then he lost “key” players and the club didnt get him proper replacments and he didnt change to facilitate what he had.
Honestly in this day and age to last almost 5 years at a club, its getting rare
It’s not rare in well run clubs.
Simeone has managed A Madrid since 2011.
Guardiola – Man City since 2016.
Klopp – Liverpool since since 2015.
If we want to compete with these teams we need stability.
Pioli gave us stability.
His replacement has to be with us for 4-5 years if we want to return to the top of European football.
There’s now a pretty good chance we’ll return to a period of instability but I hope I am wrong.
Its rare. You buffoon can’t see the names you mentioned are a very, very rare exception…
Also if a club is run well all the coach does is coach. Like bayern 4 example. Don’t over value what pioli did. He had no part in bringing us financial stability. Only the one on the pitch. The bankers (yall seem to hate) done the rest…
How do you:
– on the one hand demand success from the manager and the players;
and
– on the other hand accept mediocrity from the owners and directors?
Surely if the manager doesn’t work out that’s the fault of the owners and the myriad of directors?
This is the problem with people being so accepting of the casualness of modern football clubs.
When managers and players don’t work out or the club is turned into some kind of conveyor belt fans just accept that as totally normal, or even worse revel in the chaos as they speculate who can be the next manager or player.
i havent seen any mediocrity from the owners or directors.. sure they arent top notch but they are in no way mediocre.
And why wouldnt i demand success from the manager and the players? From my perspective they should demand that from themselves anyway if they work in a club like AC Milan!
If they just want money they should go to saudi like Ke$$$ie
Not exactly. For example, he brought out the best from the likes of Tonali, who these bankers (that I indeed hate) were able to make profit from. The value of the team has risen a lot due to on field results. Thaiw, Tomori, Kalulu, Theo, Maignan, Leao, even Pulisic already all have high price tags due to Pioli.
@ flyingturtle
Sorry I’m confused, are you happy with this season or not?
If you’re happy then presumably you want Pioli to stay and if you’re not then presumably not happy with how the club is being run?
Otherwise you’re setting higher standards for the manager than the owners.
And then you’re comment about managers being temporary things. It’s all just so mediocre. 1 year, 2 years, whatevs. It’s normal (in football but not in any other sport or business).
You want a win win answer and i won’t give you one because it’s a waste of my time..
Go watch other sports then and leave us grumpy milan fans in peace
He gave us stability as a top 4 team and perhaps a last 16 CL team. If you’re happy with that then crack On buddy, but that isn’t enough for me.
Pioli is a good journeyman coach, he deserves a lot of credit for steadying the ship and expelling the joke banter era. This isn’t a personally attack, he’s just reached his ceiling. He is our Ranieri, not our Jose!! He isn’t capable of competing with Pep, he’s not tactically aware enough nor does he have the in game management skills.
Now I feel for him because the team he won the scudetto with was stronger than what he has now, Tonali and Kessie weren’t replaced, and midfield is so important.
When Jose took over at Chelsea he got success instantly, Pep took one year. You are right that europe might be 4-5 years away, but Sacchi took 2 seasons. The thing for me is we just aren’t competitive now, not really. Winning Serie A, beating Inter and being a player in the CL(semi’s and beyond) is the key. It will take a lot to displace City and Madrid but we need to be in the mix.
The new coach needs to get the balance of youth and experience right, bring in those primavera stars as well as retain the core of Mike, Theo, Leao, Pulisic and get them playing to their potential.
Nah, I’m going to guess that Pioli won’t be fired and will be the coach next season. It all comes down to next season: the base (Maignan, Calabria, Theo, Tomori, Bennacer, Leao) is still there, last season filled gaps (Reijnders, RLC, Chuk, Pulisic, Okafor), and now we have this upcoming window presumably meant to fill the CB, CM, and ST gaps. Once those additions are made, Pioli will be in the his final year and I’m sure there will be nothing accepted except success. Stop losing your heads people!! Makes zero sense to start with a new coach before next season, next season is the conclusion of 4-5 years of building with Pioli. Anything is possible though, let’s wait and see.
You are 90% correct. With the other 10% being the fact that we will need to face Inter again next year.
Wow I like your optimism but I think it’s inevitable Pioli will now be fired.
@ Christian montegan
Actually, you are right 100 % …as much as I’m an ardent antagonist of Pioli the coach , Pioli the man is a gentleman and has always been, it’s just that managing Milan requires not a gentleman but a crazy man, ruthless and a passionate human who is ready to die for the black and red. Thierry Henry describe Guardiola as ruthless.. a crazy maverick like sarri who has a definite style… because trust me we love Ancelloti, Sacchi and capello because of their definitive style, Milan of these aforementioned manager oozes class and style and they also won….but fast forward think about the Milan of Allegri, Zaccheroni, etc they won but nothing to romanticize about, buried in the sea of forgetfulness,… Pioli the coach human aspect is no doubt his capital and asset, but a football club needs more than that, she needs Style, substance and success… 3 indivisible ingredients that makes Guardiola and Ancelloti the la creme de la creme of managers! And Milan deserve this mould…
Aptly put
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain”
Exactly. If Pioli was fired when he should have been fired, January of last year, he would have been remembered in a better light.
That’s on management. They kept him too long and now he will leave remembered as the worst coach in the history of the Derby Della Madonnina.
People in charge have to have a sense when a coach has reached the end of the road with a club and make a change on time. Same with a player. It’s better to sell a player a year too early than a year too late.
Milan is letting go of Pioli a year too late.
He did a good Job for the first 2.5 years but the scudetto win was the peak and it was a downhill from there.
Let’s see who they bring in next.
Well put together article. I completely agree. Pioli has done a lot of good at the club. But again, after the Scudetto season it all started to go downhill. This season unfortunately all his limitations came to light at once and got exposed.
He was always a limited tactician. We all knew that. Maldini knew that and wanted to replace him before he got fired. I’m sure management knew that too but preferred maybe not to make too many changes last summer when a coaching change would have been better. Who knows?
He will be remembered for his failures of late with only the objective fan base being able to appreciate him for the good he has also done. This relationship has run its course. Even had we secured EL semi’s/final it will still have been time for a change.
Exactly – a lot of the same people wailing about Maldini being fired then started clamoring for Pioli to be fired – the only guy left in the set up who the players looked up to and respected. Even more firings and change would’ve resulted in more unhappy players and who knows what would’ve happened.
after the scudetto season, all started going downhill cuz the management could not keep the team together. they allow the heart of the milan team leave for free. i dont need to mention names . you already know.
what stops the management from making diaz deal permanent. building a winning team after the scudetto they sold the best and the most important player in the heart of the midfield and want adli to so tonali’s work ?
this management are not serious… theyre only here for business and i wont be surprise if milan end up like arsenal. cuz right now they operate the same way arsenal used to operate before now. going to france to buy cheap young players with diaby, and co then under arsen winger
Stop crying about management. It’s been 4 yea by now he had a squad that to his liking. He knows the player. Pioli lacks character and it shows specially when he did everything to keep Krunic, failed to get the best out of Hakan. He should pressure management to sell Kessie. Complaining about Tonali sells but everyone keeps forgetting that Milan is under stick FFP regulations. Had to balance the book. What’s the point spending on big players that may not turn out good like Piatek, Biglia and Bonnuci Higuain all whom were flop with big wages
How is it all gone ‘downhill’ when we have more points than the Scudetto winning season?
How is he even that limited when he’s outdone 18 other Serie A coaches including Allegri, Sarri, Mourinho….
I can accept that it’s time for Pioli to move on (and I would’ve preferred he moved on last summer when we objectively had underperformed in the league aka the only thing that matters) but I really have an issue with just how much BS is spoken about.
It’s all just accepted narratives that don’t actually fit with reality, and then become self-fulfilling, which then results in us sacking a coach who in actual fact has achieved his best ever season with the club.
And everyone just nods along.
Yes of course he should be sacked.
Yes it’s all been downhill.
Very tactically limited coach – don’t we all agree.
Very rigid with his inverted full backs and players constantly switching position on the pitch. It’s the rigidity that’s the real failing here not his overly flexible tactical approach….
Last season was a crash and burn after the Scudetto finishing 5th.
Failures against big teams started last season.
Failures of motivating the team to show up consistently.
Defensive problems started last season.
Tactical rigidity – sure. Idiotic experimentations.
6 derbies lost.
But yes, second in the league that’s weaker this season and we still can’t beat top teams.
Help me out here.
All of us positive accomplishments were frontloaded. Like I said, after this could of season, things started falling apart. Bringing us to today.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always defended Pioli because he’s done well with the club. But unfortunately, this season all of his limitations are front and center.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_AC_Milan_season
Take a look at that squad and you’ll find your answer why we didn’t succeed after the Scudetto season. YOU CANNOT REPLACE KESSIE AND ROMAGNOLI WITH VRANKX AND THIAW. Two seasoned vets replaced with kids from other leagues. A huge step down in talent if you are expecting them to perform immediately.
You also lose Ibra and replace him with Origi. You also could not accept that CDK was going to come from the Belgian league and set the Serie A on fire. He needed time to adapt. He looks good this year but I’m sure his next year will be even better.
The squad has turned into a development team without any true leaders under this management.
How is the league weaker this season, and why should a weaker league be Pioli’s fault???
This is all just more subjectivity.
He has won more points than the Scudetto winning season therefore he is objectively had a better season regardless of what anyone thinks.
I accept he’s all but gone but we do need to move away from all of this subjectivity and negativity which is usually a product of people’s completely unrealistic expectations.
The next guy has to be given a proper chance. Nearly every team except for the champions usually will go through negative periods in a season that is why you need to look at overall standings at the end.
For as long as the next guy has us within reaching distance of the top 4 we will need to support him.
“How is the league weaker this season, and why should a weaker league be Pioli’s fault???
This is all just more subjectivity.
He has won more points than the Scudetto winning season therefore he is objectively had a better season regardless of what anyone thinks.”
I thought this was already adressed but I’ll try again.
In 2013/14 Juve won the serie A with 102 points having won 33 games out of 38 but were relegated to Europa League. In 2014/15 they won the serie A with only 87 points and reached UCL finals in arguably one of the strongest editions of that decade. Tell me is Juve 2013/14 objectively stronger than 2014/15 ? Following the logic the points the answer would be yes.
This season, Napoli and Lazio (and even Roma for most part of the season) were objectively weaker than 2021/22 and 2022/23, thus gaining points against them becames easier.
Having more or less points to a X or Y season is again irrelevant, 86 points can win you some editions but you won’t even get second place in some others. Is the point to try to win titles or reach an arbitrary threshold and call it a day ? If you didn’t win serie A win 86 or 90 points that means you didn’t do enough to win serie A, period.
Now it’s not Pioli’s fault that Napoli and Lazio are weaker, but this season’s performance cannot and shouldn’t be considered to be anything close to the scudetto season. During the scudetto season, we won the scudetto, this season we didn’t fight for a single title.
@ Giga94
It’s not subjectivity. It’s points. It doesn’t get more objective than that.
Arbitrarily rating teams’ as hot or not is subjective.
Your little history lesson doesn’t address that basic fact. And those other teams have nothing to do with Pioli.
Pioli’s Scudetto season v Pioli now = the only way of comparing Pioli.
Pioli now has more points than Pioli then therefore the notion that he hasn’t improved or gone backwards is nonsense.
Unless you think a kid going from Bs to As hasn’t improved because other kids got As.
Why are you doing this?
Why are you performing statistical gymnastics to downplay Pioli’s achievements?
Is it to somehow justify the NEED FOR CHANGE.
Fans never living in the moment.
I did say Pioli has nothing to do with Napoli and Lazio getting weaker. I don’t know how or why you skipped that part.
“Unless you think a kid going from Bs to As hasn’t improved because other kids got As.”
No, you got it the wrong way. It’s more the kid going from B to A not because he improved but the test got easier.
“Pioli’s Scudetto season v Pioli now = the only way of comparing Pioli.”
Pioli won the scudetto in 21/22. This season we didn’t fight for a single title. That’s all you need to know.
“Why are you performing statistical gymnastics to downplay Pioli’s achievements?”
It’s pretty much you and some articles here that jump of every occasion to create a metric that somehow makes us look better. If you want to use a comparative metric, you need to make sure all the measurments are equal, you can’t just assume that later part.
In 10 years no one will remember if this season got as much points as 21/22, we only remember success and failure. And success is measured by what you managed to win.
The need for change has been adressed several times by many posters and articles.
@ Giga94
You assuming the test got easier is what makes the whole thing so subjective.
You actually think your opinion of the standard of the teams is a relevant consideration for anything.
It’s the classic ‘hot’ or ‘not’ approach to all things football.,
That player’s ‘hot’, that player’s ‘not’, I want ‘hot’ players, sell all the ‘not’ players. Keep chasing some imaginary improvement.
For most of Pioli’s tenure he’s been written off as a ‘not’ and any of his achievements downplayed seemingly for this reason and no other.
But my is everyone so confident of their completely subjective options which they try and back up with tenuous statistics.
If he had showed some balls by playing and trusting the young players and dropping the established players showing lacklustre performances on pitch and rewarding motivated players but no our dearest manager is high on crack by playing same set players week in week out, and throwing the competition for places out the window- the cardinal rule for building competitive team but no Mr. Pioli is always distrupting the growth of the team by giving no assurances to the Bench or the Primavera. Let there be a breather, Mr. Pioli pack your bags let the fans breathe. Thanks for Scudetto and enjoy the memories too.
So there are a few things,
1. for the past 2 seasons, Inter was the better team by far and when they played us, exluding the fact that it was a derby they played with a chip on their shoulder for the lost scudetto.
2. If you count the last two seasons, we had 7 games, we won the first, and Inter won the remaining ones. The truth is that for the last second half of the year, we weren’t in good shape, and only some good performances (and luck) allowed us to make it to Semifinals of CL.
3. At least 2 of those derbies didn’t have Leao, and 2 of them had Tatarusanu.
4. Last season we had no sub for Giroud and he was out of breath by the end of the season, I’m sure we all agree that Origi doesn’t count.
5. Arguably Okafor and Jovic are not much better, overall good poachers but I’ve never seen them carry the team in their shoulders, or boss a defense. I don’t think that there is a single defense in Serie A that would say ‘Oh no, we’re playing against Okafor and Jovic tonight, it’s going to be painful and we need to be extra careful’
That said, there are also Pioli responsabilities (especially defending from corners and being more synchronized offensively and defensively), but some things are player problems. If Leao is not in good shape, we suffer offensively. If a team defends deep, Leao gets sidelined and we need to hope that Giroud is in a good day to score from a cross or that Pulisic/RLC can do more. We have very little shooting power from outside the box, no free-kick specialists and even our own corners are hit and miss.
We also have no defensive players which doesn’t allow us to sit deep since sooner or later Inter will score
Also I don’t think that Pioli has fallen on his sword, rather he’s refusing to drop the sword even though management has given him a so-so regiment to lead (so-so compared to what they proclaim to want, aka winning… if they’re looking only for a top 4 spot, this is a solid team).
Pioli is Spaletti 2.0 before Napoli. The difference is Spaletti commend respect and discipline which Pioli failed to. Pioli should have left last season
Yep.
I really don’t understand how people can both:
– accept the fact that Inter are better;
AND
be disappointed with Pioli for not beating Inter,
but then again that would require people to be reasonable and consistent….
If the management is serious about taking Milan to the ‘next level’ then we need a ‘next level’ coach and players.
Note ‘next level’ players are not players playing for mid-level teams in other leagues…
So because inter is better, it’s okay to lose to them 6 times consecutively.
Without putting up a fight.
Maybe you need to be reasonable and consistent. Because your words follow since inter is clearly better, losing to them does not matter??
Right. Isn’t it
???
Losing to a better team cannot exactly be considered a failure.
That doesn’t mean there’s no fight. It just means we shouldn’t be surprised if we lose to a better team….
There’s that reasonableness and consistency.
he made some wrong decisions by resting players, inter never rested player except he got injured. and also changed formation after loosing
Good article – we knew Pioli wasn’t a tactical mastermind before we hired him – but he was the right coach at the right time for that particular group of young players. And now that time has ended – unfortunately with a whimper.
How is he not a ‘tactical mastermind’ given he is one of a handful of coaches to have ever coached who has a Scudetto and also has Milan’s highest win ratio?
He is outdone Allegri, Mourinho, Sarri, Conte and, yes, Simone Inzaghi over the years.
What are these ‘tactics’ that people keep banging on about?
I wasn’t a fan of the inverted full backs but I am not going to pretend to know more than a Scudetto winning coach.
PS I will pretend to know more than the owners and the directors because I have probably played more football than all of them combined!
I agree with the sentiments but it’s a bit unfair to describe Pioli as a caretaker.
He is more like the civil works contractor who set the foundation on which a building is built. He can’t build the building but he is no less important to its construction.
He has been instrumental in developing a style/system of play, he has developed some world class players and he has been able to create a very strong dressing room culture – the players always seem to be united.
He is the coach who ended the banter era and returned Milan to the UCL. In addition to all of that he has won a Scudetto, finished second twice and played in a UCL semi-final.
His tenure has been a success on almost any measure. He has overachieved in one way or another in each year he has coached.
That the project has outgrown him, and I think it pretty clearly has, is a testament to how good he has been. He is as involved as anyone in the project outgrowing him.
I don’t see why Milan fans would not look back on his time with fondness and otherwise consider him a key figure in Milan’s history.
While it’s Easy to blame Pioli. We had a superb won during the scudetto win. Inter was shacky like we are, he got lucky and kept his position. Maldini was right last season management sucks, we can’t sign quality players even emerging talents. CDK was not a failure. The coach was with his unconventional tactics. Management deserves blame for failing to aquire quality players. Since Ibra we haven’t had quality signing while Inter keep getting the jump on us.
Inter has been a top team for the past 5-6 years, with continuity in management and ownership. They continuously spent money and acquired players and did a stellar job in acquiring free agents. Inter has been better than us and further along into the project than us.
Their debts, of course, will eventually catch up to them, and I think given our financial foundation we will be a better run club long-term than Inter.
Like with most human beings, Pioli’s tenure had strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths: Took us out of the banter era, made us routinely qualify for the UCL again, won a Scudetto, got us to a semifinal in the UCL, achieved this season more point than in the Scudetto season despite having to integrate 11 new players and having had the most devastating injury crisis among ALL professional football teams in the entire world. That’s right, no other team in the entire planet had so many players injured like Milan had this season. So all things considered, Pioli overachieved. And the idea that he doesn’t give opportunities to young players is completely bogus: actually Pioli was the coach that gave THE MOST opportunities to young players among all head coaches of the top 5 European leagues. I’m sure people will be surprised with this stat as there is this recurrent and misguided idea that he doesn’t allow the young players to play. Much the opposite, he gave them more minutes than any other coach in Europe’s top five leagues. He achieved more wins with Milan than Ancelotti, and he did that in fewer games and with a roster that wasn’t at all as prestigious as the one Ancelotti had at his disposition.
Shortcomings: Not a good tactician which was demonstrated by not being good against the big teams as he got routinely outcoached by the opponent’s coach. Too rigid in his choices, not learning from mistakes and repeating the same mistakes game after game. Would stick with a favorite player even though it was evident that the player wasn’t doing well, and would neglect substitutes that were performing better. Very slow to react to game situations; would only sub at minute 70 or even later, when it was already too late to change a losing game. Naïve in certain games: pressing high against a team that had a strong counter-attack resulting in goals conceded. Unstable formations and lineups: for example, poor Musah is shifted around in all sorts of positions so he never learns a set of skills necessary for a preferred position. Rotations that were too numerous: would rotate more than half the team, almost invariably with disastrous results and dropped point to bottom-feeders, and then, not learning from the mistake, would do it again and again. Supported a rather incompetent athletic director who was in great part responsible for the huge number of injuries. Unable to notice when a player was in red-hot form, still sitting that player repeatedly in favor of players who weren’t doing as well. For example, Chuk as of late has been on fire; Pioi still sits him. Gabbia has been much better than Thiaw; Pioli would still start Thiaw when both were available.
I think Pioli overall did well, but his most striking shortcoming is his stubbornness which made him impermeable to learning from mistakes and tend to repeat them. The 3 games we just lost to Roma and Inter were examples of that. Pioli went with mostly the same roster that wasn’t performing well, instead of trying something like Chuk as RW, Pulisic as CAM, Okafor as ST, keeping Rafa as LW (what the hell was that, getting Rafa to be the striker against Inter when Rafa is not suited at all to the role of a ST???). Giroud has been a non-contributor ever since he set his sight on Los Angeles FC but still, Pioli played him over and over; 180 minutes against Roma, which meant that we played with 10 men for the entire 180 minutes, and we didn’t have a striker; how could we win that way???
And then, there is the problem that has been correctly diagnosed here, of the hero who overstays his welcome and becomes the villain. Pioli’s strengths were more visible in his first two and a half seasons, and his shortcomings have been particularly prominent this season, so it is easy to remember the latter and bash him when overall, all things considered, he actually wasn’t so bad; but definitely he was worse this season than in previous seasons.
Again, all things considered, while I acknowledge his strengths and I’m grateful to him for what he did, his shortcomings are getting more and more prominent so now he needs to go. There is no more space to keep him. The fans don’t want it, and the management doesn’t want it.
Ciao Pioli, farewell, thanks for the good stuff, and so sorry for the bad stuff, hopefully in your next gig you will learn from your mistakes. You do need to be less stubborn and to grow the ability to learn from mistakes; if you do that you will be a more than decent coach.
Good riddance!
What don’t you go too before you start laying into the next victim?
Agreed. Management is also paying the price and school fees to learn that selling a permanent starter (in tonali) comes with tradeoffs such as instability in that department. Perhaps it was right economically but more care is needed to recognise that the incoming new players require time to integrate, learn the league and understand the new coach.
So I am grateful for pioli for the work he’s done previously in raising our expectations (and dreams) that we now expect to qualify for CL from a time when qualifying for CL was the dream.
It would also mean that we are now expected to further level up and hold our own against better teams while dominating weaker teams. In this regard, it’s safe to say that Pioli is probably not at that level to deliver such performance and a more experienced manager is needed. That said, what is concerning (to me) is also if the upper management also recognises that “they also don’t know things that they don’t know”. Otherwise, there will be continued mismatched expectations.
Talent (and perhaps money all) can win us a game but to win trophies (and championships), teamwork and intelligence is needed. Right now, the Roma and inter games have shown that the teamwork and tactical intelligence needs more work.
All this said, Forza Milan!
Pioli is a great coach, and in my eyes he’s in the second tier of coaches only behind the very top Klopp, Pep, ect … When people mention the scudetto they forget his record unbeaten run prior to that, and they way he made a top European team from a bunch of nobodies (no one knew who the hell Theo was before Pioli, and Leao and Kessie were considered mostly a flop).
And he’s a brilliant tactician. We’ve seen him outsmart our opponents several times, and some of his ideas are truly innovative for serie a.
However, one has to be blind to not see why the criticism is there. I personally care about results, not a win over this or that team (people on the site seem to think milano is glazgo; the two different fanbases of milano don’t actually hate each other in reality). And Pioli’s system this season has given us a defensive game which cannot be sustainable at the top, in serie a nor in Europe. You simply cannot concede so many goals and expect to win the scudetto.
Yes, our squad and signings in the summer were way too focused on offense, and the quality of our CBs and DMs is nowhere near the quality required at the top (I’m sorry, I don’t see a team winning a scudetto with Gabbia as a starter). But Pioli’s system seemed to highlight these deficiencies, instead of hiding them.
AS B A BIG MILAN FAAN I have no complaints about mr Pioli . What he done it is all the possible with this line ups .
Agree with most of that although I am not sure about the dig at Gabbia.
What has he done wrong since he’s come back?
How is Gabbia any worse than Acerbi (our former player who has just won the Scudetto with our rivals along with Darmian another player).
It’d be terrible if we gave up on Gabbia and he went on to the Scudetto with our rivals.
And like you said, he’s not exactly been helped by the tactics, the lack of DM, and the performances of players next to him particular Thiaw and Theo (defensively) (and Calabria playing in a free role!).
Losing the scudetto, did you say? First, Napoli were the defending champions, so, there was no way Milan lost what wasn’t theirs. Second, was Milan gin g to stop Inter’s March to the scudetto by winning the derby? Inter was about 13 points ahead, and it was only a matter of one or two games for them to be crowned champions. I see that it’s only hitting hard because they were crowned champions at the derby. Even if Milan won all the games left, including the derby, that was not going to stop Inter.
Interesting comments.
I would have preferred that the management take time to analyse this last two seasons critically before going for a coach (however, time is ticking, all other available good coaches are being poached and concluding deals so waiting might not be so smart).
But yeah, things are worth analying:
1. Pioli time so far (good bad and ugly),
2. support from the club to build the team. have they been always there, or he had to figure out how to make things work on his own. I can just think of Chalalougu, Kessie, Romanogli, and who were brought to replace them. Only Tonali seemed to get valuable replacements last season, and guess what? We’ve gathered most point ever in a decade despite our defence injury crises.
So yeah, everything has to be analysed critically and worked on. If not, Pioli will just be the scapegoat of all the others incompetence.
If we hire De Zerbi then we gonna win CL within 3 years. We have a good squad we need more Italians like Scalvini and boungiorno. We need a physical midfielder and a great striker.
Maignan
Kayode Scalvini Tomori Hernandez
RLC Casemiro Reijnders
Pulisic Zirkze Leao
Bench: Sportiello Kululu Gabbia T.Silva Boungiorno Jimenez
Adli Musah Casadei Terracciano Eletu Zeroli
Chukweze Guirrasy Okafor Jovic Maldini
Coach: De Zerbi
Give this squad to De Zerbi or Motta and we would win CL within 3 years.
Sell. Pobega+Cash for Boungiorno
Saelmakers+Colombo+Cash for Zirkze
De Kaetelare+cash Scalvini
Calabria exchange for Kayode
Bennacer 40 million Euro
Thiaw 30 million euro
Buy: Casadei 20 – 25 million T.Silva free Guirrasy 17 million Euro Casemiro 15 million Euro
Out: Messias Origi Ballo Toure Lazetic Krunic Vasquez we have Brescianini 50% sell on Caldara,Kjaer, Giroud, Mirante free