Former AC Milan sporting director Ariedo Braida has criticised those currently in charge of the club for assembling a squad that is ‘mid-table’.
Braida has certainly had enough experience in football to know what it takes to win. He was the sporting director of Monza from 1981 to 1984, before moving on to Udinese and then Milan.
He held a position at Milan as the CEO from 1986 to 2002 and then he became sporting director of the Rossoneri, before leaving in December 2013 after 27 years at the club.
Since then he has worked for Sampdoria and in February 2015 he became the sporting director of Barcelona, dealing in particular with negotiations with foreign clubs, but he left in 2019 in what was quite a messy exit.
Braida worked last as a general director of Cremonese before leaving his role on 30 June and he made some statements to Radio Sportiva regarding the period that the Rossoneri are experiencing, with his comments relayed from Calciomercato.com.
“I think we need to look at things from within. If you work for Milan you have to know their history and level: now there are players who are not up to the club’s standards, but not only there,” he began.
“In the past there were few teams that fought to win the Scudetto, the players sometimes have the ability to prove that they are wrong: many times mistakes are made, but the problem is that when you sign a good player it will only be time that will tell if he really is.
“At Milan right now there are ups and downs, they’re not a great team and I say this honestly. They’re a mid-table club, which haven’t even made it past the Champions League group. They’re not at a high level at the moment.
“I am in love with the Rossoneri, I would like to see them competitive, touring Europe and fighting for the scudetto, but instead it is just a good team in which something is missing and there are critical issues behind, in the middle and in attack… in all departments.”
True and untrue at the same time. They can be much better but we also are not in the middle of the table.
The Cl group, even tho we could have done better, was hard AF. Napoli, šinter and lazio did not have that hard opposition in CL.
But its easy to state the obvious. MIlan is not in a good place this season and yup they are not at a high lvl.
Great comment.
We all want better Milan, but a mid table club?
If Milan at 3rd place is a mid table club than serie A only has mid table and bottom table clubs, because the 2 team ahead of Milan on the table are not much better, especially Juventus. Inter has something extra but old man Braida needs to wake up and smell the roses. This isn’t the same serie A he worked in when it was the best league in the world. Everything he said about Milan you can say about all of the clubs in serie A, besides maybe inter. It’s a low quality league.
💯, the table never lies!!
Why would you voice such a negative opinion, would love to know his motives
How does anything he said hold up? Mid-table club? Look at the table you doucheOk sure Milan aren’t the greatest team ever. Pioli isn’t a historically great coach but no wonder why this guy was fired from the likes of Cremonese. Like most Italians his age his head is rooted firmly up his butt. Everyone at Milan is well aware of the clubs history. To suggest they aren’t is beyond insulting. F this outdated pos. This guys attitude reflects everything wrong with calcio and why it’s quickly fading from relevance.
Really? Gerry didn’t know how many CL’s Milan won and Moncada said there were many great French players in Milan. That’s insulting.
That’s an untrue rumor invented by the same people who can’t accept Napoli are the only Italian owned team to win a scudetto without cheating in the past 20 years and you know it 🤣🤣
Those two idi0ts said that in their interviews themselves.
Because everything you see online is true.
The man owned a French club for crying out loud. He has some sort of knowledge
Watch the interview Ted, it’s on Reddit. “I didn’t know until about 4/5 years ago.” He knew what he was buying and for you to think someone would spend 1B and not know the most rudimentary facts about their purchase says more about you than any agenda you’re trying to project. I can’t find any source of Moncada’s quote, so show me. But I do remember him at one point talking about how the current crop of French players are outstanding. Like I said these rumors are started by Italians that know calcio has fallen under their watch and they are desperate to shift as much blame onto others as they can. It is pathetic and transparent af.
https://sempremilan.com/moncada-scouting-process-leao-role-milan-future
Moncada for you.
I’ve pasted the link for Moncada’s interview but the comment did not show. Maybe it’ll pop up eventually. The interview was posted everywhere including here. Funny you don’t know about it, we discussed it here many times.
It’s titled “Moncada discusses scouting process, Leao and his new role and future of Milan”
He spent 1B on a club he assessed from financial portfolio. I do believe they made all risk assessments and saw potential for grow and return. The dude is a banker. That’s it.
Funny you can’t find any evidence. You are just making stuff up. Get outta here you troll
I’m now convinced you are some inter fan trolling. You don’t know about the teams right before the banter era, the players Moncada was referring too were Jérémy Ménez, Philippe Mexès and
Mathieu Flamini. Those are just the guys off the top of my head. They were on the French national team and were some of Milan’s best players at that time. However the link you shared has no mention of the fictional quote you attributed to him. Those French players happened to be nationally relevant in France, and who the French considered to be good at the time. Like I said you are twisting words to create an anti Milan narrative.
Pioli has managed to cement this average midtable squad in 3rd place. So Pioli is not really a bad coach is he?
*grabs popcorn*
That “slave will always be slave” comment is just flat out inappropriate and at least dated half a millennium.
Neet to improve our mentality. The quality is all there. Just a few key additions then improve our current psychological frailty and get a winning mentality coach (not necessarily named Conte)
Braida is talking like an average milan fan. You can’t bring better players because you don’t have money for that. We finished the CL group with the same points like super rich PSG. I think there is a personal matter which makes him talk like that
Mid table team no. But with transfers cost the max is only 20m we aren’t going far in cl we fought well but we miss going through because we aren’t getting replacements we needed so much. No replacement for giroud no 2nd CDM no high quality CB no high quality RB or LB which makes the first 11 players not feeling the threat from the subs and sometimes doesn’t care how well they do in one game. Musah was mistake. So personally we need to get high quality players and the range of transfer should increase and buy more expensive players not crazy prices but it should have increased. We need winning mentality coach and smart one Conte flick klopp spalleti .Then is we have to promote youngsters from primavera Simic Zeroli bakoune eletu skoczylas nsiala these players can really help when the team needs players
The most honest and heartfelt comments I have seen from ANY ONE in a long time.
In the latest sempre milan podcast one of the questions asked was how can seria move forward regarding catching the epl la liga ect in other words how can the league become a top tier league again rather than a third tier league.
And that’s the problem we are struggling to compete in a third tier league which really proves how POOR this team is.
It’s all about standards and once upon a time we set and maintained those standards and before ANY ONE BITCHES AND MOANS ABOUT BERLUSCONI AND HE NEARLY BANKRUPT THE CLUB BY SPENDING BILLIONS NO HE DIDN’T 😠😤 1 billion in over 30 years and not just on players making AC MILAN ONE OF THE GREATEST THE GAME HAS EVER SEEN also you could say bringing the entire league to new highs also.
Now I know what’s coming FFP WE NEED A NEW STADIUM BLAH BLAH BLAH ELLIOTT REDBIRD NO MORE EXCUSES you’re quite happy to post on social media regarding the good old days and liv of that but continue to cut costs or do nothing at all and stay away ENOUGH IS ENOUGH PLEASE LEAVE THE CLUB .
you can leave yourself, so much talk for someone who understands jack all
Are you ok?
Umm, we do need a stadium and we are bound by FFP. If you can’t see that those two things affect our spending ability I cant help you; Google it.
We are not struggling to compete – we are third. Third in the third best league in the world is not “POOR”. It’s not glory days Milan either but football – not just Milan, is a very different animal to back then.
With regard to the league quality, we must remember that we are talking about elite sport and therefore fine margins – on the pitch at least, if not in the accounting room. The answer is clear and only needs spelling out in a podcast to people who perhaps don’t read enough. Own stadiums, MUCH better marketing at both club and league level, and vastly improved investment in the TV product being produced (camera angles, production value, even sound mixing – the stuff only the EPL takes seriously).
Now, if only someone had owners that were focussing EXACTLY on those things…..
So when it comes to discussing the solutions, you bla bla bla them away. There is a reason why Newcastle, who has the biggest sovereign fund in the world behind them, isn’t spending like crazy, e.g. no winter activity, and is prioritizing growing organically if because of FFP. Its why Chelsea may need to offload Connor Gallagher who is arguably their best performer now.
I am sure you can contribute something intelligent here. But if you just want to be frustrated and insult left and right, this is an internet forum so please let it rip:)
This is exactly what takes place here 90% of the time, James. The usual suspects too. Have you not realized that already? 🙂 Most are just here for a free therapy session to blow off steam.
I would take note of the users who make objective statements and only reply/converse with them.
Newcastle are waiting to spend this summer and they’ll go big with no ffp come backs .
Chelsea so sky say have spent 1.6 billion in 18 mounths so is it any wonder that there might be a sale or two .
As for BLAH BLAH BLAH that’s not an insult or lack of INTELLIGENCE ffp is a con and something Ac milan should have fought to the bitter end .
Barcelona have and I quote 1.3 billion debt according to Spanish football experts they all so have over 100 allegations of match fixing aswell as ffp
vialations dispite this apparently klopp is off to go there after next season as well as a 300 million transfer kity.
So you’re quite happy about that ? while Ac milan do as there told cut costs don’t spend sell there best players and that’s before you start with
Man city Psg Real Madrid Chelsea?
But last by know means least STANDARDS coaching fitness doctor’s ect ffp doesn’t affect that.
Dumbest take of the year. It doesn’t even make sense. They are comfortably in 3rd place, that’s not mid-table. Or is he saying that the quality of players is mid-table, but Pioli is doing such an amazing job that he has them in 3rd? Why do they even talk to these bitter old birds?
Facts Braida! No lie. Milan won only a few games convincingly. The rest were a stroke of luck and others we lost.
Is that because the squad is mid-table squad or is that because of the coach is mediocre? It can’t be both because we are not in mid-table.
We’re mid-table in terms of player quality.
Are you saying Pioli is a genius for guiding mid-table squad to 3rd in Serie A?
Pioli is a very good coach, he improves players, but he’s not a genius because he’s reactive, not proactive. The other teams in Serie A are even worse. Look at Lazio and Roma’s squads. Teams full of rejects.
Somehow Lazio finish above us last season.
So in-form Leao is a Bologna level player in your opinion?
As are Pulisic and RLC?
Tomori, Thiaw and Bennacer are all constantly being linked with moves to the sharp end of the EPL but no one has a clue what they are on about, because realistically they’d be lucky to get a move to Sassuolo?
Maignan and Theo aren’t in fact top 5 in the in the world at their positions – they are Torino players?
Thank you for the great work in the past Braida but come on bro! Times have changed. Maybe he’s thinking in terms of relative to AC Milan teams of the past, then sure we’re miles away from those but we’re in the present. And we’re not mid table in terms of squad (or more objectively, results). Maybe mentally I dunno where he was going with this but …I wouldn’t disparage the team to that extent.
People denying what Braida said is living in delusion. Of course we are a mid table club as we stand right now. You think we will be able to compete against ANY top club? We cant even beat Inter or even draw. Who are we kidding? Even BVB ran circles around us somehow. The only reason we are 3rd is because other teams are worse than us, hardly any justification of our own quality.
Our attack is atrocious, midfield unable to create ANYTHING nor can it defend, defense disappears the moment Tomori becomes unavailable or having a bad day.
We can talk about the reasons for that, may it be Pioli, may it be management, may it be players.. but the fact is we are awful as a team and literally everything needs a MASSIVE improvement.
The only reason we are capable of scoring goals in high pressure situations is Leao, otherwise we are impotent AF bar maybe one or two incidences of sheer individual brilliance. He has to start the attacks or create something outta nowhere for us to win any important games and guess who ‘fans’ want sold. lol And somehow these deluded ones think we are some sort of world beater because we are 3rd. LOL
The only saving grace right now is Zlatan and hope he can guide these nobodies in our management towards some actual light.
If Braida’s assesment is correct (mid-table squad) then Pioli is a genius for bringing such squad to top 3 (currently).
Oh you’re so delusional. If this team was midtable, it wouldn’t be sitting where it is. I implore people to go back to 2013-2017. That’s mid table. 2014/15 we ended up in 10th place. This team is top 4 material. Now if we win the scudetto that dependent on more factors. Like having a better more consistent striker and reducing injuries…
But we aren’t midtable and haven’t been since the last few years of Berlusconi and that awful owner that took over after Berlusconi.
To everyone who thinks us being 3rd is THAT big of a deal, here is a puzzle for you guys. Do you think this team is capable of snatching a comfortable win over 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th team in the league? In case your brain is struggling to process an answer, here is the reality We all know .. Its a BIG FAT NO. We are incapable of winning convincingly against effing relegation teams of serie A. No matter how high on copium some of you guys are.. hope you get to pull your heads outta whatever delusion you guys are in and return back to reality to finally realize we need massive improvements to even start competing against actual big dogs.
3rd is above mid-table, that is for sure. I agree that it is not big deal, it is the bare minimum. We should have challenged for the title (1st or within a game from 1st) which we fail to do.
Such a shallow argument. Just because we are 3rd we are not a mid table team? lol We drew against an 8th place Bologna. Are you sure we can convincingly beat 9th Napoli and 10th Torino? Everyone and their garbage dumps knows the answer.. it’s a no. In fact, chances are, we will lose 2 out of 5 matches played against these two teams at our current stage. Which means, Braida stands corrected. We are the same as our midtable team in Quality as of now. The ONLY thing that separates us from them is Leao. That’s about it. But apparently according to sempremilan commenters, Leao must be sold for whoever offers a few cents. But hey.. we are 3rd in the table is one hell of a copium, I give you that and glad it’s suits you. The difference between you and me is I unfortunately happen to be able to see beyond copiums.
Which big dogs?
Domestically? We are only behind Juve and Merda in the league. We are are as good as Juve, and yes the other one’s have a better squad than we do. We are miles and miles better than anyone else, on paper.
Globally? Well ‘mid-table’ feels like a stretch but for sure we’re not in that top tier any more. but then, we’re not in that top tier financially either, so that’s to be expected isn’t it?
You’re another one on here who’s screaming through a megaphone without expressing what you actually want Milan to (realistically) look like.
I want Milan to be competitive in the league and in the international stage as we are meant to be instead of a team that is struggling to stay afloat against relegation and midtable teams while waiting with a thumb in the mouth for Leao to do something.
I don’t want to watch Milan against small/relegation teams with my arse clenched lol Even Midtable teams are beating these relegation teams with ease while we Clinch a hard fought last gasp Draw most of time from the verge of losing!
Does these performances make you feel like we are a top tier team? Really? If yes.. Then I guess the definition of a top team of yours and mines are very different.
Apparently you and Braida don’t understand what mid-table means, which is odd because it’s pretty self explanatory. 3rd is not mid-table, so is Pioli overachieving with this squad? Not sure what you or he is saying.
By all means, Braida needs to learn the definition of a midtable team from a random nobody in sempremilan. LOL Neither Braida, nor myself expect you to be sure of what we are saying. It’s baffling how Facts can elude people even after they are suffering it day in day out. Your approval aint that important my friend in case you missed the memo lol
It’s not a subjective term. It means the middle of the table, which 3rd place is clearly not. SO again what in the world are you on about? Talent wise they are mid-table? That would mean that there are at least 7 or 8 teams with a better squad, and Pioli is doing an amazing job. Or the two of you just don’t understand basic math… Which is it?
Not everyone is as objective as you.
Appreciate the compliment my friend.
“assembling a squad that is ‘mid-table’.”
Ridiculous. We are not in mid-table. Is that because Pioli is such a great coach that he can bring mid-table squad to top 3? NO! It’s his fault we are not challenging for scudetto.
Braida is the best scout in world !!Plz sign milan and give us the best brasilaiannnn player !!!Braida is a big champion and one of the. Best scout ever in world
Forza milan
Best scout? Leonardo and Serginho were the ones finding the likes of Kaka, Thiago Silva and Pato. Braida and Galliani were like Massara and Maldini, responsible for choosing and negotiating the deals.
Considering Braida’s experiences and track record, his opinion have some weight behind it.
I personally agreed that right now we don’t have a “great team” because the new and old players are not completely adapt to one and another. There’s still a lot of room to improved for the future though.
Milan is in 3rd because all potential contenders behind them are faltering. How often this season has Pioli come under fire if he was doing such a brilliant job keeping Milan at 3rd. We should not be 11points behind Inter if we were so competitive. Braida has a point, we
need to take his comments seriously. because he comes from an era where that jersey was donned with pride. Spoken like a true and concerned Rossoneri…Milan cannot even sign free agents to save their lives, so where did it go wrong for them. Please see the context of this article and stop defending this current state we find ourselves in.
Oh please. I remember under him we signed many free agents and entered the banter era. He’s being hypocritical. Oh and our team is dramatically improved over past years. Like with the last few years of Berlusconi and that failed Chinese ownership that followed it.
Milan is only third because everyone else is faltering? Season after season? No. This team isn’t perfect. It has issues. There is room for improvement, but this isn’t a midtable team.
Berlusconi and Galliani left this team in 10th place. But I suppose that was a better era (the banter period) with Djamel Mesbah and Kevin Constant were better than what we have now.
I laugh at that suggestion. And I laugh at the idea that we are just lucky season after season, when it was luck stacked against us. Especially with injuries (which is what we need to resolve with a change in medical staff perhaps).
No, with these players we are a top 4 team. Now winning the scudetto requires an extra edge. Which we may not have at this point. But we aren’t middle table. And haven’t been since Berlusconi and the failed Chinese ownership that came after.
In addition to being top 4, we are financially stable. Something Inter and Juventus are not.
He is not wrong.
How many from todays squat would make it to the 2005 squat? or that of 1994? Or 1989 for that matter? Not many, hardly any.
Mike and Leao (scudetto Leao, not this one).
dear Mr. Braida, some “true fans” will say to you “are you just wake-up from your sleep at 2005?”
wanna be big, think & act big, only mediocre think small with thousands excuse