The CEO of Sportitalia, Michele Criscitiello, has once again claimed that AC Milan have reached the end of their cycle with Stefano Pioli and that Antonio Conte is the favoured choice for a new era.
Anyone who watched the 3-1 win over Roma at San Siro last night certainly did not see a team that look as though they aren’t fighting for their coach, but speculation continues to swirl suggesting that this will be his last season in charge.
We took a look back at the highs and lows of Pioli’s nearly five-year tenure so far during a recent feature, while in the meantime the newspapers continue to churn out the names of potential replacements.
Criscitiello has made it clear recently that he believes it is time for Pioli to got and that Conte should be the man that the ownership go for, and he spoke again in his editorial for Sportitalia regarding the idea.
“Relationships begin and end and it is not an offence to say that Pioli and Milan have now said and given everything to each other,” he said.
“The same goes for Mourinho at Roma, on the contrary they said nothing to each other despite the fact that for years there has been an unjustified veil of love and respect towards the Portuguese.
“Let’s start with Milan: the team are strong, something more could have been done in the mercato but what hasn’t been done now will be done in the summer. In the middle there is this winter window which however sees Milan as the protagonist.
“The management are well defined and are moving even if the fans rightly expect to aim for the Scudetto every year, at least until the end. Milan are not at the level of Inter and Juve.
“They need 3-4 real reinforcements, not gambles, and above all there will have to be a change of technical leadership because Pioli has done a lot and also achieved what no one expected when he arrived but now it’s over.
“Today the team follow him less, it’s part of the cycles. Milan must decide by February who the next coach will be and whether Furlani likes Thiago Motta but a lot will also depend on his continuation of the journey, for the Milan fans and all the managers (including Ibra) the only name in mind is that of Antonio Conte.
“The coach is too important and even more so if you have a team made up of many young players. Pioli has arrived at the end of the film, we are at the end credits and Conte is ready to embrace the Rossoneri project for 2-3 years.
“Of course, someone should call him otherwise he can’t show up to the appointment alone. If Furlani picks up the phone he will not regret the call, also because a great manager can be seen in the choices of great coaches who do not bring shadow but light to those upstairs.
“Milan do not need to take any more gambles on the bench, they need certainties. There have been too many gambles on the field.”
What could Milan expect from Conte? We took a look at the three most likely scenarios in terms of linked managerial changes that have circulated.
Is this Conte’s agent? What nonsense. We’ve got a manager with a good track record of developing younger players and getting results whilst the club lost stars like Kessie, Donnarumma and Tonali.
Conte’s always been an aggressive motivator of star and experienced players and does it very well, but this Milan team isn’t in that position. If Pioli has to go, I hope we go in a different direction than Conte personally.
They really want Pioli to fail geez
Or they really want him gone..not a single article on that we’re comfortably third and with luck could come back into the title race. Not a single one smh 🤦♂️
I don’t get it really. I’m not a fan of Pioli these days, but some of these articles are getting ridiculous. And they’re always pushing Conte as the defacto alternative. I’ll gladly stick with Pioli if Conte is the only option.
Any coach that can bring scudetto is fine, maybe Conte’s failure in Totenham Hotspurs was caused by his lack of English language abroad. He was like younger version of The Special One Mourinho 😀
The feeling that any change in coach can just result in a league win is unrealistic – Inter are at a peak in their current cycle, have an unsustainably high wage bill and are an evolution of a sporting project that shows the benefit of stability at director level. Is Pioli perfect ? No. But is there a coach out there guaranteed to do better with the tools given? Also no IMO.
Agree 10%
Sorry meant to be 100% lol 😂
But he never lack that while he was with Chelsea so why Tottenham..failure ma failure abeg
Another Day, Another Conte reference 🙂 I feel for Stefano. Poor guy can’t even finish his last 6mo’s in peace.
@ACM1899. Pioli has 1yr left on his contract. His contract doesn’t expire until June 2025.
Also, if Pioli manages to finish in the top 3 and win the Europa League he will not be replaced.
So technically it’s really too early to talk about a new coach unless something goes horribly wrong between now and the end of the season.
I haven’t agreed with everything Pioli has done. He should have allowed Krunic to leave last summer. He should make his substitutions sooner. But he’s a great coach and no we shouldn’t replace him.
What we need to focus on is revamping our fitness staff, and possibly replacing some of them.
But in my book, no to Conte. He’s not an immediate success where ever he goes. Let’s stick to Pioli another season.
@Goku. I’m not a fan of Pioli or Conte but choosing Conte will mean that the club will have to invest in players to suit Conte’s formation 352 or 343 and that will require a player to be sold such as Mike Maignan to get the 4-5 players Conte needs.
Honestly, I don’t think that’s the right direction especially if Pioli finishes the season in the top 3 and or win the Europa league.
If this happens it might be wise for Pioli to see out his contract and for the club to get him a good striker and DM.
If for some reason we finish 4th or worse then Pioli will definitely get sacked and realistically I don’t see that happening.
Conte? NO…NO…NO…Sorry!
OMG with the conte stuff.
I swear he’s paying for journalists to push his name everywhere daily.
This guy shouldn’t be allowed within 10 miles of a long term project.
Milan played REALLY WELL last game.
Some journalists have written Pioli off completely and already thinking about a replacement is a certainty. While I believe Pioli has his shortcomings, I think a brilliant young assistant coach in charge of offensive tactics for Pioli would solve a LOT of our tactical problems similar to the role Mourinho played under Van Gaal in Barca.
Even if pioli get sacked . The replacement of course not Conte, he cannot work with low transfer budget in ACM , if Conte come then ACM need to sell leao or maignan to fund conte request. The best option for ACM if pioli out are coach that can develop young player and can bring result with low budget like de zerbi or italiano