AC Milan hit yet another large bump in the road on Wednesday night as they were dumped out of the Coppa Italia at the quarter-final stage by Atalanta, leading to more questions about Stefano Pioli’s future.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) are fairly transparent about the situation: Pioli being the head coach of Milan for the start of the 2024-25 season seems an increasingly unlikely idea.
The owners and management will make a decision later in the spring, but it is clear that things are not working as well as they once did. In the meantime, they are weighing up the merits and demerits of his tenure.
The merits
Pioli at present is criticised by countless fans who consider him the culprit of the defeats, the change in climate at the club and seemingly the lack of progress on the field, but they are forgetting what he has achieved.
No matter what happens from now, Pioli will remain the coach that ended the Scudetto drought, of the Champions League place earned after seven years and the semi-final reached, as well as building a young and fun group, of tactical ideas, capable of developmeng many talents.
Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez, Sandro Tonali, Ismael Bennacer and more – virtually nobody now considered a top player at Milan were at this level before they had Pioli as their coach.
Moreover, this was all done with style, as a polite and respectful person both in the media and in dealings with the management, a detail always greatly appreciated by Milan’s ownership.
The merits are economic as well as sporting because the two go hand-in-hand. Milan registered a profit in the 2022-23 accounts, something that hadn’t been done for over a decade, and that was largely thanks to Champions League prize money.
The troubles
Other things, evidently, didn’t work and injuries are a big issue for the club. The 33 physical problems in six months are far too many, with responsibility attributed to the staff and coach.
Speaking of too many, the five derbies lost in a calendar year against Inter and the errors repeated – the inconsistency, the goals conceded from set pieces, the decline in the second halves – all work against the current coach.
Pioli tried and changed a lot – formations, player positions, ad hoc moves – and sometimes the ideas were successful, other times they didn’t work.
Above all, however, Milan this season have not had the sacred fire of winning teams. When you look at them, you never know what version of the team will sow itself. It can change every three days or three times in the same game.
The writer of this article must be drunk! If you knew what football is and had played football for real, not on football manager but rather as a professional football team….you would understand that scudetto wasn’t won by Pioli but by the presence of one man Ibrahimovic and individual commitments of the boys! You writer only think football is played by ideas and keyboard! And ever since he won the scudetto have we any progress compared to inter? Juve ? Yet they spent less but have a manager in Marriott’s who knows the ingredients of winning not some furlani, moncada and Pioli! Imagine if he was that good, how come they aren’t in any competition even as early as January! What a shame of an article to credit Pioli for the scudetto!
LOL
You think we won a Scudetto without a manager and are jealous of two teams that haven’t won anything since we lifted it.
Go and support Inter and/or Juve.
It’d be better than moaning on here.
You’re the drunk one trying to rewrite history. You’re quick to criticise but you provide not one sensible point. Ibrahimovic was not there last season?
You yourself no nothing about football, pioli deserve some credit
You’re right Ibukun.
His losses, the injury/training issues and the horrible statistics all speak for themselves!
Pioli deserves the credit for those.
And the writer of this comment must be drunk. You think the team win without a coach. Well why do we need coaches then? If you want to say someone (Ibra) had a bigger influence on the title sure but you’re saying him and him only was the cause??? but wasn’t Ibra there last year too? What’s the explanation then?
Maybe it might have to do something with losing quality each year because we can’t afford to keep the players here. We lost Kessie and haven’t replaced him adequately since.
You actually sound like you’ve never played football so except on Xbox or PS
You sound like a complete fool.
😅 the media trying to tell us that Pioli turned Theo, Leao, Bennacer and Tonali into top players, something that they weren’t before he coached them?
Well 2 of the 4, Tonali and Leao just turned 20 when Milan signed them and Theo – Bennacer were 21.
Kinda hard to be top players prior to that since they were still very young.
Theo was an attacking force coming to Milan, but he has improved defensively without a doubt.
Leao is physically stronger and has more confidence but his game has not improved at all. He still solely relies on his speed and athleticism.
Bennacer 1st season at Milan was his best, even under Giampaolo.
Tonali was so bad his 1st season that the only way to go was up. Got better in the 2nd season but regressed again in the 3rd without Kessie next to him.
I’m surprised they didn’t say that Pioli also turned Maignan, Zlatan and Giroud into top players, something they weren’t before they had the incredible honor to be coached by the great Stefano Pioli.
Lol. That must have been hard. Look how long of a paragraph you had to type to try to discredit. It must be everything else except Pioli, who they’ve all credited.
Please do the same for: Tomori, Kalulu, and Thiaw; all players who have improved by more than 100% since being coached by Pioli.
Kalulu improved?
He barely played for 2 years, got a chance to play because Romagnoli and Kjaer got injured and the following season lost his spot to Thiaw.
Great improvement.
Thiaw improved?
Pioli didn’t play him at all until everyone got injured again and once Pioli was forced to play him he played well from that point on.
Tomori was a starter from the moment he cane to Milan. He was awesome from day 1 for the 1st year and a half, was poor last season and got back to his usual form this season before Pioli ran him Into the ground.
Try harder to find players that have actually improved under Pioli.
Lol. You didn’t disappoint.
Kalulu that was brought to Milan circa free, and is now worth over 25mil, even injured. Kalulu was playing way before any injuries btw, at RB mostly; but you won’t know that.
Same with Thiaw, 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. You remember the match he came and made a crucial block in the dying minutes? Was that because of anyone’s injury? He even started a game in the first half of that season, a makeshift 3 man defense, he played on the right. Did fairly well, made a lot of mistakes, clearly still needed time. Pioli was never ‘forced to play anyone. You get chances, snippets, and when you’re improved enough (and it coincides with the other person dropping off or injured) you play.
But that’s besides the point…
How does anything you’ve said negate the fact that they’ve all improved tremendously under Pioli?
The match Thiaw made the crucial dying minutes block was against Verona, away. That was as early as October of that year, just 2 months after coming from a Div 2 german club. The match he started was against Cremonese. That was in November.
But go on with your narrative that Pioli only played Thiaw in February when he had no other option.
Pioli has made his share of blunders but let’s be fair. He did great in developing our players and led us to a Scudetto. Since then, he lost important players in Romagnoli, Kessie, and Ibra (to injury). The latter two were not replaced and he still led us to a CL semi-final and managed a top four finish. This season, he lost a top managment team in Maldini and Massara and lost two of his top players in Tonali and Diaz who were replaced by average players. We are not doing well but we have uncovered a few Primavera talents.
So, unless Pioli had a big say in the recruitment and the switch to a 4-3-3, it’s fair to assume that these average players don’t have what it takes to play for him when Kessie, Tonali, Bennacer, Diaz, ,Krunic and now Pulisic, all did well.
Some people Played calcio in the lowest association and in Backyard but They think They know everythig about Trainers, Managers and Profi locker rooms. 😂😂😂
He should stick to a proven system of play he built through last couple of seasons. Instead he opted for different path this season, thinking he’s a genius tactician. He failed and this change will be the end of him unfortunately.
Conte conte conte .no no no .
If you think by appointing conte as new coach ,it will bring disaster to this club …He will no doubt get his own way ,,and will be a bully …players like pulisic and Rafeol leao have become the players they are ,because of one man piloi ,,,He is a great coach ,and has a great understanding with players ,,,and contrary to what some of you have said ,,a manger does make a difference to his team ,,,i said team which includes manager ,staff and players .So yes poili has brought success in the short period he has been with us .
If a manager is not needed what are some of you ranting and raving about …especially saying that it is down to the players only ,what utter rubbish you are speaking ..so don’t have a manager ,,just let the players manage themselves,,,yes you are making ambiguous statements…
Yes of course we need a manager we have a very good one ..We have a new group of players different from a couple of seasons ago and some good new youngsters coming through our ranks ..
So yes is pioli for me ..he has got good communication with his players .
Conte will be a step backwards..He will use his bully management tactics,,,he won’t have a team to manage ,,as the likes of pulisic and refeol leao will probably leave …What has conte won of late ?
So keep trust with a great coach ,who will bring more success to our team …After one season of winning nothing under conte ,,,he will probably leave ..
All I can say is be careful what you wish for!!! Not too long ago we’d give everything to be in the spot we’re in. We’re still comfortably 3rd with no or one Center Back, and only bested by two other more well equipped teams.
A new coach brings uncertainty. It isn’t guaranteed if Conte or Motta takes over, we’d win the league much less make 4th..neither is it guaranteed that we’d play better football.
I think fans have become extremely complacent. Seems like we’re chasing waterfalls…and need to stick to the rivers and lakes 🤭. I’d say figure out the injury issues before letting Pioli go. He at least deserves a healthy squad to show what he can do
The injury issue can certainly be blamed at least partially on Matteo Osti, the athletic chief. Aside from 19/20, in which he came in mid-season, we had a record of injuries ever since. In this season alone, out of 28 players before january, only 5 had yet to be injured.
Muscular injuries can be very bad and, if it repets too often, could deal a bad blow not only to a particular player’s season, but his entire career as well (actually you could argue that Bennacer has never been the same since his first injury). So this is a very serious matter.
Now, I don’t know if it’s true but Pioli has been very protective of Osti, the two men are afterall working together for years. If that’s true let’s get rid of them both.
Completely agree with those who refuse Conte and defend Pioli. However, I do think it is time for a change, solely for the sake of change.
I think Pioli have done more than we know and what we could expect. But now it is time for a change of management and ideas.
its easy to pin him for fitness issues when we signed players at the end of a transfer window and lads with histories of injuries, I can say he made a lot of mistakes, many are are tricle down from this and previous ownership. The inabilty for them to keep our players and secure new ones, in a timely, consistent manner, made squad preparation and chemistry building impossible for 2 summers in succession. All due to upper management interfering and hindering operations. Add to that, many of our pillars have been overplayed for the exact same reasons I cited for three years straight. This is the culmination or a lack on continuity and consistency from Furliani as well as ownership being prohibitive, forcing gambles to be made by sporting directors and tying their hands.
For all his faults and questionable choices, I can say correlate with the issues I pointed out.
add to the fact these players were purchased from abroad that had no time to be conditioned for the rigors of serie a physically and tactically.
We play in one of the most meticulously organized leagues in terms of tactical approaches. He was not afforded the chance to do his job properly.
Please let’s leave Pioli for now but if the management insist we get Thiago Motta or De zerbi or Hans flick but not Conte it shouldn’t be Conte at all he should be least for now