With six points on the board after four games in charge of AC Milan, there seems to already be a degree of uncertainty surrounding Marco Giampaolo’s reign.
There are concerning signs regarding the Rossoneri’s start to the season, with two defeats already on the board and just two goals scored (one from open play) – the joint lowest among Europe’s top five leagues.
The most damaging defeat came on Saturday night at San Siro, where rivals Inter took all three points thanks to goals from Marcelo Brozovic and Romelu Lukaku.
Despite this, Giampaolo is actually not too far off the points total that a lot of the recent coaches have managed to amass from Max Allegri onwards.
Here, MilanNews.it compares the first four league games of the last eight Milan bosses…
Max Allegri – 5 points
The last manager to win the Scudetto with the Rossoneri was far from perfect to begin with. A win against Lecce was followed up with a defeat to Cesena before draws against Catania and Lazio.
From then on though: 10 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat (against Juventus) in the next twelve rounds.
Clarence Seedorf – 7 points
The Dutchman began with wins against Hellas Verona (home) and Cagliari (away), but followed that with a draw against Torino and a 3-1 defeat to Napoli.
Following that, two successive victories against Bologna and Sampdoria came, only to fall back with three defeats.
Filippo Inzaghi – 7 points
Pippo actually made a very good start to life as Milan boss, beating Lazio to start the season before winning a thriller 5-4 against Parma. A defeat to Juventus and a draw against Empoli came after to leave Milan on seven points.
From there on though, things got worse for the former Rossoneri number nine: 8 games, 2 wins, 5 draws.
Sinisa Mihajlovic – 6 points
The Serbian coach also lost his debut as Milan boss (away at Fiorentina, 2-0) and the derby against Inter (1-0, in round three) inside his first four games. The wins came at home against Empoli and Palermo.
Mihajlovic would go on to be sacked before the end of the season.
Cristian Brocchi – 5 points
Called to replace Mihajlovic, Brocchi won his first game 1-0 away at Sampdoria thanks to a strike from Carlos Bacca, but things then turned sour. Milan could only draw against Carpi and Frosinone, before losing to Hellas Verona.
Brocchi lasted only six days, because Vincenzo Montella arrived in June to take over.
Vincenzo Montella – 6 points
Montella won a thrilling opening game 3-2 against Torino with Donnarumma saving Andrea Belotti’s penalty to preserve the three points, but then lost to Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli. A shock defeat against Udinese at home followed, before Bacca against scored the winner away at Sampdoria.
In the following 11 games the Diavolo went on somewhat of a surge, winning eight and drawing two, but would eventually finish sixth.
Gennaro Gattuso – 4 points
Gattuso’s first game was full of drama as Milan threw away a late lead against Benevento, with the goalkeeper Brignoli equalising in added time to give them their first ever Serie A goal and point.
A victory against Bologna followed, then two defeats against Hellas Verona and Atalanta, making Rino the manager with the lowest points accrued from the first four games on this list.
Marco Giampaolo – 6 points
Defeats to Udinese and Inter without scoring and narrow victories over Brescia and Hellas Verona may taint Giampaolo’s start, but the list reflects well for the former Sampdoria boss.
READ MORE – Vito Angele: Total trust in Giampaolo for now; the concerns of Elliott Management
