Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara have left their positions as the technical and sporting director of AC Milan, and that will have ramifications for Stefano Pioli too.
As confirmed by La Gazzetta dello Sport (via SempreMilan.it), the farewell of Maldini and Massara will not affect Pioli’s future in the slightest in terms of him potentially also losing his job.
The Rossoneri coach received a message of trust from the ownership yesterday, as they greatly appreciate the work he has done both in terms of results on the field but also developing players on the training ground.
He managed to lead Milan to win the Scudetto after an 11-year drought in 2021-22 and guided them to the semi-finals of the Champions League after a 16-year wait. However, not everything will remain the same.
Greater involvement
What will have to change instead is the level at which Pioli gets involved, given that Maldini and Massara previously had virtually the entire say when it came to signings and sales, with Pioli working with what he was given.
With the promotion of a figure more in the background like Geoffrey Moncada to de facto sporting director, it will be up to the coach to have a strong voice in the building of the squad.
Klopp-esque role
RedBird’s idea is to build a well-oiled gear in which each component (coach, management and ownership) work synergistically and without protagonism for the good of Milan.
Precisely for this reason, the role that Pioli will play in the new Rossoneri course will be more similar – in relative terms – to that of well-known Premier League managers like Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and in the past at Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
Work begins immediately
There are a lot of areas that must be addressed, but among the choices that the Rossoneri coach will have to make before the start of preseason ideally is the kind of player he wants to cover Ismael Bennacer’s absence, given the midfielder is out until December.
Then, the coach will have to decided which players are no longer part of his plans and can thus be sold to bring in additional funds, like Ante Rebic and Divock Origi.
