AC Milan are currently in crisis after a dreadful start to 2023 and the sharp decline under Stefano Pioli has shocked most fans, but perhaps wouldn’t be such a surprise ti supporters of his previous clubs.
La Gazzetta dello Sport recall how at Inter he had a similar journey. Pioli was in charge the Nerazzurri for 182 days, from 8 November 2016 to 9 May 2017, and he started very well with a spell 7 wins in a row that reinvigorated the dream of qualifying for the Champions League.
However, a tiring second part of the season – with a vertical collapse – was certified by only 2 points collected in 7 games, which caused him to be sacked before the season had even ended.
With Lazio he guided the team into the Champions League preliminaries with a third-placed finish in 2014-15, but defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in that qualifier to start the next season, plus a 4-0 defeat Chievo and a 5-0 against Napoli saw the Biancocelesti start to struggle.
The real blow, however, came on April 3 2016 in the derby when El Shaarawy, Dzeko, Florenzi and Perotti fired Roma to a 4-1 win, putting an end to an anonymous season. It was the last act of Pioli’s time there, with Simone Inzaghi replaced him.
With Bologna, Pioli reached survival comfortably with a 13th place finish in the 2012-13 season, after overcoming a complicated period between October and November (6 defeats in 8 matches). He was sacked in January 2014, after having accumulated 15 points in 18 games and with just one win in nine.
In Parma, he had another complicated spell. Pioli began his time there in June 2006 and made his debut as a coach in Serie A in September. He was sacked in February 2007, following a negative moment which included (across all competitions) with 6 defeats, 4 draws and only one victory.
