AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli is once again feeling the pressure after a bad run of recent form, but the club intend to stick with him for at least the next two games.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report that the club have decided in the most difficult moment – the hours after the horrendous 0-1 against Udinese – to keep their trust in Pioli despite three defeats in the last four matches.
The message is clear: to look ahead and try to change things rather than worrying about sacking the coach, especially because a very dangerous opponent arrive at San Siro tomorrow in Paris Saint-Germain.
It is believed that the team are still with Pioli, but Milan do not dismiss the crisis as an accident – it is clear that Saturday’s match, net of the terrible 5-1 derby loss , was the worst of the season – but continues to have faith in a project born in the summer on the foundations of a Scudetto and a Champions League semi-final.
The team met yesterday for training, with a video session and the idea – shared in the dialogues at Milanello – that everyone is called to give a bit more. Giorgio Furlani and Geoffrey Moncada were not present.
Milan decided in the summer that Pioli would be the man to build the project around and at present they wish to continue along that line. Gerry Cardinale will arrive in Milan today and he will watch the match against PSG tomorrow night, and at least this is certain.
It is not a formality that he will meet the team or Zlatan Ibrahimovic but in short, a coffee with Ibra is definitely in the forecast. At this moment Cardinale appears as Ibra’s main sponsor, the man who would most like him within the club, perhaps as a personal advisor, but it is clear that the decision will be delicate.
The games against PSG and Lecce in this context will say a lot about Pioli’s future. Two victories would put Milan back in the running for the Champions League round of 16 and would keep them at least within a reasonable distance of Inter.
Two defeats would bring down a virtual curtain on noble Europe and officially open a crisis. Milan cannot think of carrying on as they did in the last two weeks and the players will now be at the centre of the spotlight.
The team did not respond to Pioli on Saturday. They were disconnected, without clarity, ferocity and organisation, and so a performance is needed tomorrow in order to get the fans back onside.
