AC Milan were eliminated from the Champions League yesterday night, and Carlo Pellegatti has reflected on the result very critically.
In a season where Milan were relying on some source of positivity, the Champions League sat on a mantlepiece. However, that has now crumbled, and the season has done with it. Not only does it affect the present, but now the chances of five places next season are minimal.
The loss yesterday has had huge effects on the now and then, and understandably everyone is confused and angry about the situation. However, it is more of an exhaustion than an anger, after all, it is just the latest example of a poor performance when something more was needed.
Today, Pellegatti has reviewed the defeat, and it’s meaning, and his words have been relayed by Milan News.
“Humiliation. A never-ending humiliation in a season full of unbelievable events never experienced in Rossoneri history. Milan are eliminated by Feyenoord. I spell it out because I can’t realise it: ‘M I L A N – IS – E L I M I N A T E D – B Y – F E Y E N O O R D’.
“In the last three games, against Dinamo Zagreb and, I repeat, Feyenoord, Conceicao’s men have picked up one point. Just one measly point. The minutes pass but it’s hard to realise that I’m no longer in the Champions League, that I’m spending a month of March sitting on that damn sofa, my companion for too many long years and on which I hoped to no longer curl up on Champions League nights.
“Gone out with Feyenoord. Gone out of the Champions League.
“That’s the refrain ringing in my ears, those are the words echoing in my head. A goal after 37 seconds wasn’t enough against a team that had lost 6-1 in the last away match in Lille, but had many reserves compared to that team today.
“They blame Theo, who then repeats the same nervous and useless gesture as Musah in Zagreb for the first yellow, and then falls in the area for the silliest of simulations. If only this disastrous season saw only Theo as the sole culprit. It would be easy then to find a solution.
“The truth is that, in the last eight months, so much nefariousness, unbelievable episodes, hallucinating facts, not least the abnormal preparation on the eve of the most important game of the year, have happened that finding a single culprit is a trivial and very convenient exercise. Now let the Frenchman be fined, but there are so many who should be fined or self-culpable.
“Unfortunately, in 24 months, the precious work that had brought Milan back to its level of… normality has been destroyed. That is, a club of great blazon, a protagonist in Italy and above all in Europe, accompanied by the emotion of its wonderful fans.
“What awaits us now? So many questions. What future does this coach have? What are the repercussions on a technical and economic level in the event of a possible non-participation in the next Champions League?
“What is the morale of the environment and the players after the dismal draw and subsequent elimination? I leave the press room at the end of a Champions League match, savouring every second of this albeit bad evening.
“Because I have no certainty when I will live another night with, in the air, the music of our favourite Cup. I, always very optimistic, struggle to find reasons for consolation and hope in one of the saddest moments in Milan’s international history.
“On my way out, I am sadly reminded of a phrase that is chilling in its truth, given the authority of the person who uttered it: ‘You don’t find the solution to problems with the heads that caused them!’ That was Albert Einstein!”
The fact that his message is being echoed by the fanbase is a real concern, and things right now are very deflated, but it is not really a shock.
Y’all wrong. Ego killed the club. They thought the task of creating a team and winning was easy. They thought semi finals was an easy feat. As was top four or a Scudetto for that matter. They were wrong and their egos are to blame.
So its time that maybe just because of financial issues, we need to put egos behind and beg Maldini to come back.
No, we don’t need Maldini back per se, but hire competent people or people who understand what Milan means. He could be one of them, sure, but it’s not a requirement. And I doubt he is going to come back under the same bunch that fired him.
They need to put people of sport and sporting expertise to be in sporting positions. What Maldini did as a rookie director was amazing, the results speak for themselves. But it didn’t make sense to replace a rookie with another rookie. That’s the ego part and poor judgment
It’s time this page has like buttons for comments.
Anyway, I’m not sure @Dejan10 will agree with this.
I’ve been on a sabbatical for a while, since I realised Ibra wants to “build” his own Milan with Cardinale. It’s no more a question of helping Cardinale. It’s basically Ibra trying to carve his own legacy. So, how does he do it? Destroy the previous!
Convince me that Emerson Royal was worth buying when Milan could have kept Saelemaekers and Kalulu? Better, actually convince me that Bennacer actually requested to leave on transfer deadline day.
So, how do you agree, let’s say he actually demanded to leave, and you couldn’t bring another midfielder except an injured one?
Ego is a big part of it but don’t forget stupidity too, the both go hand in hand. Gerry put people who had no experience in a top executive jobs in football so failure was always most likely and wow they failed, the fact they fired fonseca and morata after only 6months bringing them in was a very big fail, bringing in Emerson and Tammy was a fail, selling kalulu was a fail, getting rid of Abate was a big fail as futuro look like a Sunday club. Getting rid of the sporting director was a fail. This whole management must be removed
I don’t think bringing Tammy is a failure. He played exactly on the role he was meant to, a back up striker. He was never the main man, but he does really well within that range.
On the other hand, it’s more of the management-level failure. Bring in someone like Fonseca that don’t have good record or any specific purpose. The sacking and the January transfer that has bigger budget than the summer one is one of the indicators.
Spill the beans mr.pallegati and well said.
Can’t disagree with anything he has said. And certainly can not disagree that there’s no trust in this management who got us in this mess to now take us out of it…
WELL SAID !!!!!! (UNFORTUNATELY )……
“Unfortunately, in 24 months, the precious work that had brought Milan back to its level of… normality has been destroyed.”
Shocking right? Us the hindsight doom&gloom squad were preaching that for the last 24 months.
I’ll be honest I was willing to give RedBird a chance and Jussie it based on merit but they have so far been making progressively more questionable decisions to get us where we are now.
I thought their Mercado had good merits and questions as well as they got us Reijnders, Pulisic, Pavlo, Santi more recently. But also so many wrong signings and deadwood.
But overall the direction this club has been heading in has been suspect with clear signals at this point that the people designated to lead us are leading us the wrong way.
Based on some names that are viewed positively in these chats,there are some people who unfortunately just watch calcio,but don’t see it.
They said pioli face easy team to reach the semi final, the same easy teams we can’t beat in the league and ucl now,
Exy
Exactly
..and that was Tottenham and Napoli to reach the semifinal with a “less better team” as some are describing.
Well said. Great article. Spot on.
I can’t find a solution in the current ownership. I wish some rich Arab, Chinese or European, but not American, has the same feelings as all of us, buys the team, kicks out the management, inclusive Zlatan of course, and invests in young hungry players, preferably in some Italians too.
Jedini spas koji vidim je ZVONE BOBAN !!
When they fired Pioli i knew that Milan will suffer this season …. Pioli must return
Scaroni should be the first one out and should go back to Elliott.
Furlani not sure till this day what value he brings to Milan and what exactly he is doing here
Moncada if we need a change and he cannot buy good players with a reasonable budget that Redbird has given the coaches in recent years then he should leave.
Ibrahimovic is not a Milanista and was brought in if you remember when things started going very badly with Milan and Pioli.
Lastly, Gerry should sell the club and take back his investment as the money he has spent in recent years had that been given to Maldini we would have been sailing today.
True. How disaster has been. The disorganized, mentality declined, weakened team composition, all due to upper level incompetence! How can team trust, be confidence, respect, if the upper level are bunch of clowns. I hope these clowns leave milan for good sooner.
In fact all the team is underperforming!!
They’re willing to compensate by stupid decisions, like Theo’s silly simulation.
And Leao’s simulation in Rotterdam!
Some of them have lost even their own self respect.
We need a real and intelligent overhaul from the top till the bottom.
No champion-minded players, no real leader in the field, buy only very young player not more than 10-15 million eur but, on the other hand, pay for players? more than big-name coach — That’s all we heard before the season.
And this is the result
The main issue here is Pellegatti speaks as a passionate Rossoneri supporter. Those who own the club are not. It is merely a business transaction
So can we all finally agree that moneyball is horsesh!t 😂
American Ownership is the problem.
More interested in shirt sales and sponsorship rather than playing the actual game.