AC Milan are still believed to be searching for the man they feel should replace Stefano Pioli as head coach, but just like with key business in the past they might just turn to Lille.
There is chaos and confusion surrounding Milan at the moment, and it has very little to do with the fact that we are in the business end of the season given that there is so little left to fight for.
The last 48-72 hours has seen several reliable sources claim that Milan had unanimously agreed internally that Lopetegui is the right man to take over from Pioli, after a long period of evaluations and some meetings between the parties.
The Basque coach meanwhile was eager to take the job and has rejected West Ham United because he wishes to join the Rossoneri, but once the news emerged a petition against his hiring has reached 8,000 signatures.
James Horncastle has written an interesting piece for The Athletic which is centre around the anti-Lopetegui outpouring that has emerged, and there is a consideration at the end regarding who Milan should actually go for.
“Looking at Serie A this season, Milan should perhaps have acted with more urgency to hire Thiago Motta; a young, naturalised Italian familiar to the league with cutting-edge ideas on the game.
“he notion he is ‘too Interista’ as a member of Mourinho’s treble-winning team in 2010 is a weak one given Trapattoni, a legendary player at Milan, dominated as a coach with Juventus and Inter, a club who, many years later, would hire Conte, a former Juventus captain, to knock down the house he built. Motta, by the same token, is now expected to join Inter’s most bitter rivals, Juventus, in the summer.
“The shine has also been taken off Francesco Farioli’s remarkable season at Nice, after their totally unexpected title challenge faded. Nice are now down to fifth in France’s Ligue 1, but are still six points better off than they were on April 29 last year, when they eventually finished ninth.
“Perhaps they would have sustained their form from the first half of this season if owner INEOS had invested in the team over the winter when its attention was instead taken up by the purchase of a minority stake in Manchester United.
“Milan’s owner, Gerry Cardinale, has a big decision to make. He inherited Pioli, so this is his first appointment. It will not define his ownership, but it is one he will not be able to take back, either.
“Conte would no doubt get the Curva Sud and the media on board. De Zerbi has a cult following in Italy and would capture the imagination. But Milan are run on the same basis as Liverpool, and Liverpool did not consider either of them when finding a replacement for Jurgen Klopp.
“While his name will not generate the same hype and enthusiasm as a Conte or a De Zerbi, Lille coach Paulo Fonseca is the most compelling compromise.
“Fonseca speaks Italian, has managed in the most scrutinised media market in the country (as Roma coach from 2019-21) and conducted himself with class during the COVID-19 pandemic despite an injury crisis and a change of ownership, and with a team terribly assorted by sporting director Monchi, who wasted the money earned from a run to the Champions League semi-finals, not to mention the sales of Mohamed Salah and Alisson to Liverpool in successive summer windows.
“His style of play and work with young players match up well with the club’s search criteria, probably more than that of the Curva.
“When asked whom he would recommend if Milan were to miss out on Motta, none other than Capello, an Invincible and the mastermind of that famous night in Athens 30 years ago, was unequivocal when it came to his endorsement: ‘A coach who knows Italy. Someone like Fonseca’.”
Is it joke…..? Another clown…..
Agreed
Ok, we’ll take Nopetegui. Just not this guy please!
Completely ridiculous. He knows the league, but he is a second rate coach. For me that he is even on the list tells a lot: a club completely without competence and ambition.
People complaining about Fonseca need to remember that a coach performs or less also depending on the team that he gets. By team, I mean the players, the locker room, support from management,etc.
Luis Enrique didn’t do good at Roma, than went to win a treble with Barcelona, yes he had Messi but so did other managers that didn’t win a CL .
Pioli also didn’t win much before joining us, Zaccheroni, Ancelotti, Allegri had won nothing before joining us.
@Bob, U are right! We just have to take things easy. It was PIOLI OUT, yet he won the league…. For me, I think Pioli is just a weak-minded coach, nothing more. Hiring even De zerbi, Motta, De rossi doesn’t guarantee immediate success but a rebuild from the scratch. I would never want Conte or Allegri, but I think this team lacks discipline, focus and ambition that only these two can give to the team. This team have never played to their strength. INTER have been consistent for two years now. THEY ONLY LOSE IF THEY DON’T WANT TO PLAY. This team can do more than they are doing right now. We’ve got star players but inconsistent ones. They have to be consistent for us to achieve our desirable result
Can we afford another experiment of maybe, what if, possibly, look at…the gulf between us and Inter does not afford us the luxury of trying out a new coach. There are 2 names that will give us certainty, Sarri and Conte…anything else is a gamble. And the the most calculated gamble would be Motta or De Zerbi. Let’s proceed sensibly with this appointment.
Fonseca is a terrible option. He’I’ll get carved right up in Italy. His Roma stint wasn’t anything special.
Milan need to upgrade the coaching position. Not make a lateral move. And most of these names are lateral moves.
#Nonsenca
More bulls**t.
What Amorim? That link to the Athletic takes you to an article on him. Seems like exactly the type we need. Liverpool seems to be passing on him. Surely we’re more attractive than West Ham?