Stefano Pioli’s future has been a hot topic in the last few months and while the feeling is that he will leave, nothing has been decided yet. As highlighted by a report this morning, all roads lead to Rome for the manager as well.
Milan were drawn against Roma in the Europa League quarter-finals draw yesterday and although it won’t be easy, the Rossoneri now dream of reaching the final. Bayer Leverkusen or West Ham will be up in the semi-final, should they make it there.
As highlighted in today’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (see photo below), all roads lead to Roma for Pioli as the Europa League is decisive for his future. Amidst all of the changes taking place at Milan, from the search for investors to the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pioli has shown that the criticism has been excessive at times.
Despite the ups and downs, Milan are now on four consecutive wins and have reclaimed second place in the standings. The Europa League semi-final is now also in sight, which is why April 18th – the date of the second leg – will be so decisive.
Getting knocked out of the competition by Roma would set a very negative tone ahead of the away clash against Juventus, as well as the derby against Inter. Winning the tie, however, would confirm Milan as a European team with another semi-final spot (after doing so in the UCL last season).
Without reaching the final, as the newspaper states, it will be very difficult to see Pioli at the club for the 2024-25 season as well. The elimination from the Champions League and Coppa Italia, not to mention Inter reaching the second star first, would sting too much without EL success.
In short, Pioli’s future at Milan will be decided in those ten days. At least an exit, as a potential confirmation would most likely require more evaluations at the end of the season.
