AC Milan will not sack Stefano Pioli despite their rough recent run of form, and there are a number of different factors that play into that decision.
According to Calciomercato.com, the management have once again retained their trust in Pioli despite the latest damaging result, which was the 2-2 draw against Lecce at the Stadio Via del Mare from a 2-0 advantage.
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Two home defeats in a row at the hands of Juventus and Udinese plus the 2-2 draws away against Napoli and Lecce – both of which came after two-goal leads – have pushed Milan away from the top of the table and encourage the return of the chasing teams, Napoli and Atalanta above all.
Pioli is under contract until June 2025 and behind the decision to keep him is the fact that, in the eyes of the management, there is an absence of alternative solutions deemed suitable for the current season.
The aim of qualifying for the round of 16 the Champions League remains within reach after last Tuesday’s victory against Paris Saint-Germain so there will be no upheaval during the international break.
There will certainly be an open debate regarding the very long list of injuries (many of which are muscular) that have affected the Rossoneri in this first part of the season.
Pioli himself publicly admitted the existence of a problem – with Leao and Calabria coming off today – and the leadership have not hidden their concern about a situation that is negatively impacting the team’s recent performances.
The two weeks at Milanello will be used to make a deep general analysis of what hasn’t worked in the last 30 days and find a key to reversing the trend.
With all respect,Pioli is not on same level as ACM rooster is at the moment.Milan has very strong rooster,a team which is ready for bigger things then loosing 2:0 against Napoli,and Lecce,and so on.I think this team deserves high level coach who will be capable for leading squad in tournaments(Cl,cup…)on same level as in race for scudetto.It’s just my humble opinion….There are way to many bad tactics and games played in the last two years….way too many for one top team
Very strong roster?!??! Chukwueze, Florenzi and
Krunic are mediocre players. At least Florenzi was a great player, about 10 years ago. The other 2 wouldn’t get into any team in the top 4 in the major leagues, nor would projects like Musah. Thiaw is raw and prone to mistakes, Giroud is too old and immobile. The form of RLC and Pulisic is the only thing that gets Pioli a pass and both were risks given their injury history and, surprise surprise, they’re now injured.
Maybe I wasn’t precise enough,my bad….What I ment it is strong comparing to squad list in the last years .Mike,Fikayo,Theo,Ruben,Puli,Leao are very strong/excellent/world class.It is almost half of the team.Not to forget,ACM was in deep finance black hole,and is still coming out of it,step by step.On the other side,in todays ACM rooster are several,or more,players on pay list who are there only by miracle,who doesn’t deserve to play seria A…Shall I name them?Please,leave Thiaw out of critics,he is young and I am sure will be one of the best worlds defs.He is a kid,and still needs some time.Adli is great potential,game with him has another smooth dimension especialy with his pass abilities.Personaly,for me Reinders is the most intelligent Serie A player(will be superstar in 2 years)almost complete player,Calabria has improved comparing to last year,we are waiting for Bennacer to get back,Pobega should get stronger(and faster),Chukwu should be more agressive…Potential is here,it’s a long list,and making a team/starting over is a procces,it takes some time.I think,at the moment ACM rooster is strong enough to be able to achieve higher goals then playing slow motion games against Juve,Napoli(not to mention others).I might be wrong…we’ll see,season is long.In any case I would prefere to look much more offensive football with more moving ,especialy in midfield,I expect new Nr.9 ,maybe one high class Nr. 10 ,and one strong deputy for LB/RB.Playing on three fronts also takes casualties ,muscles are over streched ,recovery time is shorter….but,this is AC Milan,one of the most glorious teams in the world,and fans demand higher achivements.We dont want to see 2:0 against Lecce turning into 2:2.I am not sure if Pioli is capable to lead a team who aims to get scudetto,CL and cup same time.Scudetto is gone,already lost,if there was no 3 against PG CL would be lost too,and cup in Italy like big eiscream,nothing more.You can get it,and enjoy it 5 minutes
The word you are looking for is ROSTER. not Rooster. Rooster is a bird (that doesn’t fly, by the way) Milan needs to fly.
🤭🤭🤭🤭
Hahahaha,right,my bad.I havent been using englisch since ten years…..thanks mate!((BTW I recall what rooster is,lol!)))
So the current squad is better than the squad that won the Scudetto or reached the semi-finals of the Champions League,
Is that just because you have a good ‘feeling’ about the players, or is it actually based on anything real?
The fact that whilst last year’s squad was playing in the semi-finals of the Champions League most of the new signings were barely playing in Europe doesn’t tell you anything?
Crucial difference between ACM year ago and now is that Sandro is gone,Dias gone(Reijnders/Musah/RLC came),and switch on right wing(Salemaekers/Messias gone,Chukwu/Puli came).Thiaw became first choice instead of Simon who will never again be in in form before knee surgery,Bennacer gone pause,Ibra gone,bad luck with Calulu(who is huge talent).Good feeling?Yes.The group has more stability all over the field,Calabria improved strongly,Leao too,Maignan/Tomori/Thiaw are better from game to game(Thiaw will improve,give him some time,he is still a kid)Adli has shown more then few glimpses Reijnders is almost each game on top.So that is something real,right?I’ll have to mention that this young group of players have one more year in feet by playing together then last year.Not to forget ACM startet from scratch 4 years ago.It was group of kids 4 years ago,now it is group of people who know each other prety well.Left side works better that last year,right side too,more stability(also technik) in midfield is needed.I am very curious how it will be with Ismael on 6 and Reijnders/RLC on double 8 in January.It COULD be fantastic,we’ll see.CL Semi final last year could also be different ,we have had huge luck to get there,like as we had some bad luck this in CL.From the squad that won scudetto,this ACM player list is 20%-25% stronger,if not more.Problem in Serie A is that Pioli wants to go through with minimum energy,to save guys for CL…..which is not posible.In those cases big Teams from Serie A simply give up on Italian Cup(like Milan did year ago)t o be able to carry CL and Serie A out.As I said,we’ll see,there are plenty of games up to come.To fight in CL,and relax in Serie A is …desaster!!!It is obvious that ACM tempo till 70.-th minute is on 75% if not less….Not promising at all
He should have been fired in the Summer. Now it’ll be harder to find a replacement.
A lot of things should have happen back then but it’s too late
Pioli has not beaten Big team frequently and when needed
Last year showed this manager’s weakness, and I’m talking about inability to manage a big club to win big games convincingly and just falling over the line!
Good luck to the BLACK & BLUE the scudetto is yours once again
From Scout7Calcio on Twitter.
Milan Muscle Injuries;
In the NFL there was a study saying:
‘During acceleration from 80% to 100% of an athlete’s sprint speed, the amount of mechanical energy the muscle must absorb increases by 50%. The amount of how many HIGH INTENSITY Sprints our players have to put in is probably the highest in whole of Serie A,similar to RB teams,Liverpool, etc.
The more often you do these kind of HIGH INTENSIVE Sprints
the more your muscle will suffer and the more often the muscle gets injured, the
easier, he picks up another injury.
That’s why Ralph Hasenhüttle (another Red Bull Graduate) at Southhampton said:” This Season we have to change to
a more Possession oriented System,the High Pressing is not sustainable if you cant put in fresh legs every Transfer window (or Youth Players)’
Klopp against Toulouse almost
completly rotated his starting 11, even in the UCL against us, he rotated the whole
11 saying, “My Medical Department will kill me if the guys play another 90mins”
So whats the way to minimize them?
There is no 100% formular,RB for example has ALOT of different Systems
for before and after games to recover and also has alot of Blood Tests to always know exactly what Nutrition the
Player needs,which vitamins,which diet
etc etc.
There are only few Solutions:
1) You invest heavily to upgrade
everything to be able to predict
when a player has to sit/do light training etc.
2)You change your System to a less Pressing Oriented one where you sit in a block.
3)A better Rotation
4)Have enough “Legs” to be able to replace injured players.
Wow interesting post Z!
I knew we played a high press after the pandemic and kept it for like 2 years until last year where we clearly burnt ourselves out. We pressed like Pool tbh. And while it was fun to see, you need fresh players or else burn out. Couple that with a coach who’s notorious for not rotating and this is what you get
That was a great post. Milan need to overhaul how they are managing their players fitness. I’d think that would play into the spreadsheet metrics mentality ownership is embracing. Hopefully they will invest in this area similar to other top clubs in the world. Speaking of Liverpool……I mean I’m just going to say it….could we get klopp? Maybe he’s tired of the premier league meat grinder. I know it’s dumb to say we need a coach like that because everyone does. But…….we need a coach like that. Need to invest in a leader like that. I can’t imagine heat he could get out of the squad we have now let alone the better players we could attract. I feel like we are to that point now. Where it’s time for a top tier coach. ….or maybe they can analyze and find the next klopp. We need a great coach now. We don’t have one. We have a man ok coach that caught lightning in a bottle w ibra and it will all live forever in our hearts. Now we’ve just got to get on with it.
That’s an interesting post. So about the first solution? I think we have a perfect example in modern football. Just look at Chelsea, everyone is criticizing them for spending 1B and still struggling to win a game. But what about the long run, they are giving their players 6-8 year long contracts and buying multiple top talents for a single position. Do they have a long vision for this? Now with the UCL format change and introduction of the new FIFA Club World Cup, the strain on players will continue to increase. So they will have an edge over their competitors because they can deploy fresh legs every week. Just my thoughts.
Nice post. I’ve been a physio for 16 years and it absolutely boggles my mind what they have been doing at Milan Labs and in training. I understand we can’t see what goes on during the training session, but we can gain inference from watching the matches and the detrimental physiological results. The whole training staff needs an overall. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gerry starts going after top physios, not only from Italy, but from the United States and the rest of the world.
If the players cannot put up an exciting show every time they play, then why watch football ? Some games should be sold at half price.
If Pioli would play Simic which was sitting on the bloody bench there would be 3 points. And that is complete nonsense and plain stup***y.
A) simic was not on the bench today and B) even if he was and would play it would not have made a diffrence, the cbs did their job well
That was Pioli decision that he was not on the bench. And of course it would exatly made a difference because both goals were conceded when Musah played LB from his poor marking and ball handling. So I have no idea why you said what you said.
RB of course*
same here buddy. you’re talking nonesense
Great reasoning man! Just as we like it.
Seen this same song and dance for years across different sports, They say they support the coach, not going to fire him, they’re not going to replace him mid season, blah, blah, result continue to get worse and worse and he’ll be gone by Janurary.
We’re very likely out of the Champions league and top five by Christmas, out of the Coppa Italia in the first match and in seventh by February with this moron in charge.
#Pioloout
Pioli should have been sacked during the January of disaster. Instead this ownership model decided to sack Maldini and co because they know what they are talking about where as the owner doesn’t. Milan is a club with history and prestige and should have no problems bringing in a decent manager. Let’s see who you can get, Mr Cardinale…….
How can we expect the players to raise there game and improve, when we have owners who accept an under-performing coach and seem satisfied with his performances and results. We must not accept mediocrity! A top level coach/team will never accept or make excuses for the awful displays we have put in.
It’s true while many (including myself) are tired of Pioli, sacking him right now doesn’t seem to be a very good idea. There is not a whole lot of good coaches available right now and there won’t be a whole lot of time to get to know the team and prepare adequately for the BVB game.
With pioli, we can somehow hope, that if the team is motivated well enough, that Leao, Pulisic and RLC are in top shape and that pioli does’nt screw up the tactics, we can perhaps win the remainers games in the UCL and advance to the next stage.
Also while it’s almost certain that the scudetto is out of reach, would a new coach be able to get us to at least a fourth position ?
All these factors make me think that perhaps it’s more reasonable to wait for the end of the season before trying to get a new coach, but I’m not totally against trying for a new one right here right now.
For the price and now, Marcelo Gallardo
Conte. Just bring him in. He is the saviour.
Pioli won’t take us any further. 19th scudetto is his biggest achievement possibly in his whole carrier.
But we beat PSG 2-1 and keep the dream alive?
Nah… Thanks to the atmosphere dollarumma has brought to the stadium. We are so motivated by the ultras.
The problem is: milan don’t find that motivation everyday.
Conte is not the answer. He is too expensive and will ask for a completely different set of players that management will likely not deliver. THen he will start throwing tantrum fits…
Management have no balls.
So far, this year and last campaign ended as disasters.
CL semi was what saved him.
No alternatives?
Conte, Naglesmann, Gallardo, Flick MAYBE Zidane could be CONSIDERED.
Gerry has no issues sacking Maldini, but this bald idiot?
The thing Pioli can control is not being AC Leao and rotating his squad.
Leao should not have played against Lecce, certainly not from the start. Pulisic has been injury riddled for a few seasons now, that’s why he was cheap, as was the case with RLC. Be smart, rotate the squad.
Granted that Okafor looked like a Serie C player against Lecce but that’s knowledge after the fact. If he was so bad in training give the first 45 to Traore to keep Okafor honest. It’s just a wing and we don’t expect Leao to track back (if that work rate is beyond Traore even for 45 min).
Leao had a tough battle against Udinese and PSG was a high intensity match. Leao was facing a further 2 games next weekend for Portugal, anyway.
There has been faith shown in Pioli but he’s managing his team like his sacking is a week to week proposition.
If he’s is going to refuse to give time to young and depth players he is not the right coach for Milan, particularly with the glut of talent coming through the Primavera.
He has to make his own luck at some stage.
I miss Silvio Berlusconi. He wouldn’t have tolerated this mockery.
Splurge 200 m on de zerbi and it will be worth it. Imagine what he could do with a better squad. Doing miracles with brighton. I wanted him when he was att sassuolo. genius.
If we don’t get past the Champions League group, Pioli is fired
If do not sack rigjht now ,believeme they will not Qualify next Edition of UCL.
Pioli made a mess of yesterday game honestly,it should have be florenzi for calibra instead of musah ,he should explain why lotus cheek is left on d bench for 90min,
open u’re eyes MILAN !!!!!!
Does the media take any responsibility?
You drum up all this excitement over the summer with the many, many, many (we need more) new signings, and when the inevitable happens you then turn on the manager.
I mean you’ve got to keep the content going between transfer windows I guess.