AC Milan director Zvonomir Boban has insisted that Stefano Pioli was not the second choice to take over from Marco Giampaolo as head coach.
The Croatian joined up with former team-mate Paolo Maldini and sporting director Ricky Massara to form a new-look leadership at the Rossoneri under owners Elliott Management, leaving his role at FIFA in the process.
However, the trio have come under fire recently, having sacked Giampaolo as head coach after just 111 days and less than four months in charge.
Boban has hinted at his displeasure at certain things to do with the club, such as not being able to sign more experience in the summer and Elliott having a ‘different dream’ to him.
He was in Trento for the Sports Festival on Friday, and spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport‘s microphones on the current situation at the club.
“I work to make Milan great again,” he said, via MilanNews.it.
“I have been here for a while, we have to work a lot from all points of view. We should do better and we will do everything to make it happen.
“Working all together. That’s what we do. We don’t have the magic wand. Paolo Maldini and I try to help the club get back to the top with our footballing skills. For now it hasn’t been so good, but there is room to improve. We are at the beginning, there is time to remedy.”
As mentioned, Milan have a new head coach in Pioli, and Boban is happy with the choice made.
“It was the best solution on the market. Pioli is not a second choice. We evaluated two situations, Spalletti is a great technician but this does not mean that Pioli is a second choice.
“Pioli is a strong man, he has good football ideas, he has taken over many times doing well. Normalizer? I would not say that. He is a pragmatist, also for this reason he is able to take teams in the race achieving good results. players.
“Let’s start with an expert coach who will do his evaluations. Many players will grow.”
On Giampaolo, he added: “The important thing is that the system works, but if it does not work what should be done? It did not work and we are sorry.
We parted in a normal way, with elegance I would say. It is a very good person. the football world these things happen. Giampaolo is good, but we have chosen to change all together for the good of Milan. We have looked at the product: the field decides and in fact has decided.”
Boban was also quick to deny that he and Maldini had any influence over training or tactics.
“It’s nonsense. Meeting and having different opinions is normal, but Maldini and I have never allowed ourselves and we will never allow ourselves to do things like that. Respect for roles is sacred.
“Not every day is the best day. Football is like that, everyone can say what they want. Neither Paolo nor I have ever hidden from responsibility. And we won’t do it now either.
“We will try to do a good job and if we do not succeed maybe someone will be better than us.”
READ MORE: A tactical insight on AC Milan’s new head coach Stefano Pioli
