Something that just a few days ago did not seem plausible has become reality: Massimiliano Allegri is back for a second spell as AC Milan’s head coach.
It was announced on Friday afternoon that Allegri is the new coach of Milan. He returns 11 years after his first tenure with the Rossoneri ended, and it was a difficult choice that has not come about without setbacks and twists. Thanks to our colleagues at SempreMilan.it, we can reconstruct step by step how it went.
The need for a reset
Milan ended the season in ninth place in Serie A, a disastrous result for a club with such expectations. The fact that two head coaches – first Paulo Fonseca and then Sergio Conceição – arrived and failed showed that major choices had resulted in fatal errors.
What the leadership deduced was that the real failure was structural. To be more specific, the management realised in the second half of 2024-25 that the absence of a sporting director with real footballing expertise left the team without technical and strategic guidance.
The choice to entrust the project to figures far from the world of football was the original mistake. A squad that was also of a good level thus found itself without foundations, at the mercy of a project that never really got off the ground.
So, while it might be easy to point the finger exclusively at the two Portuguese coaches for a lack of results, realistically everyone suffered from a collective environment full of confusion and without a collective vision.
The arrival of Tare: Expertise and vision
The RedBird ownership has decided to change course, focusing on an experienced and respected director like Igli Tare, the architect of one of Lazio’s most successful eras as a club. In his 15 years there six trophies arrived, while many stars arrived too from Ciro Immobile to Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
The Albanian had been in negotiations with the club for a long time, disrupted by internal struggles between Senior Advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic and CEO Giorgio Furlani. Names like Giovanni Sartori, Tony D’Amico and Andrea Berta were evaluated, but none could be convinced to commit.
For a few days, the idea of continuing without a sporting director for next season was circulating – and were fuelled by the words of Furlani – but the echo of the mistakes made in the recent past (fortunately) prevailed.
An important bit of background information is that when Tare got the job officially, he immediately indicated his man for the head coach role: Massimiliano Allegri. The new director sees the Italian as a figure who embodies experience, leadership, a winning CV and charisma.
In the eyes of Tare, Allegri represents the perfect synthesis between pragmatism and ambition. His previous era at Milan and his two spells at Juventus demonstrate that he is capable of handling high pressure.
Allegri talks begin
The negotiation was not easy. Allegri had a verbal agreement with Napoli, who were preparing for the departure of Antonio Conte, but Tare’s diplomatic work was decisive.
The sporting director accelerated the process and convinced Allegri with a concrete offer. The financial aspect is €15m net over three years (two guaranteed, plus one as an option). Then there was the promise of a competitive squad and centrality in terms of decision making.
Another crucial clarification concerns the salary issue. Initially, it is believed that those at the top of Milan were not willing to sanction much more than €3-3.5m per year for the new head coach, just a bit above what Fonseca and Conceicao’s deals stipulated.
However, Tare’s work did wonders here too. The ownership’s initial doubts about the €5m per year investment on Allegri were dissolved and there has been a sort of ‘break with the past’: no more salary caps and short-term projects. The mission is to rebuild and reset, not patch up.
There is a sliding doors moment to mention too, and it concerns Wednesday night into Thursday. Tare and Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a dinner with Allegri on the Wednesday, which was a charm offensive of sorts to explain ideas further.
While Milan pressed on the accelerator, Napoli remain in neutral, at least with regards to Max. The reason for that is now becoming clear: Conte has been convinced to stay with the champions, so they are not on the lookout for a replacement any more.
Furlani takes a step back
CEO Giorgio Furlani’s smartest move was to take a step back. By relying on Tare to choose the coach and to lead the club’s sporting side, he allowed Milan to regain internal and external credibility.
It is a choice that could also prove decisive for the future of big names like Mike Maignan, Theo Hernandez, Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic, all waiting for strong signals before deciding whether to stay.
Allegri, with his specific weight, represents exactly that type of signal. It is now expected that the new coach will hold phone calls with certain players, not only to ‘introduce’ himself but also to explain his ideas, from where he wants to take the club to the tactical intricacies.
As the Serie A coaching carousel continues, the Rossoneri cashed their chips in early and got off, with two major pieces in place before the end of May. Fabio Capello’s column for La Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday explains the sentiment well.
“A few days ago I urged Milan to spring forward so as not to start late. Well, I can say that the Diavolo listened to me and, using language from the Giro d’Italia, got up on the pedals. First a true sports director, Igli Tare, then a great coach, Massimiliano Allegri. Two moves… that are Milan-worthy,” he said.
“After an extremely disappointing year, it was important to immediately send a signal to the entire environment. Because we have to say it loud and clear: Milan can no longer afford to make mistakes. And they started off on the right foot.”
Goals and expectations: A new era
The Allegri 2.0 era starts from a more solid foundation than in the recent past. Milan finally have a coherent chain of command on the sporting side of things: an experienced sporting director and a winning coach.
Both are motivated by a desire for revenge, given that Tare left Lazio under a cloud following tensions with Maurizio Sarri, and Allegri left Milan’s rivals Juventus under a cloud following the 2023-24 Coppa Italia win.
They are determined to bring the Rossoneri back to the top of Italian and European football. Allegri’s return to Milan appears to be the decision to go with the proverbial ‘safe pair of hands’. At present, it is possible that Inter, Juventus, Atalanta, Roma, Lazio and Fiorentina all change coach this summer.
Milan have chosen to turn the page, but this time for real. With Igli Tare at Casa Milan and Massimiliano Allegri in the dugout, the Rossoneri seem ready to right their wrongs. Now, the summer business and the field will do the talking.
I don’t see this move as a progressive one. Modern football is having coaches who deploy highly advanced outfield tactics, not conservative football, which is what forms the core of Allegri’s football philosophy.
AC Milan’s greatest drawback last season was fluid attacking football, despite our the calibre of our attacking players and defensive flaws at the rear. I don’t see Allegri as the solution to the Milan crises.
Ya and how did that turn out for us this past season? Conte is an old school defensive coach and he won the scudetto. Italians have their most success playing the old school Italian way of taking a lead and playing magnificent defence. I’m fine with it if it means winning games.
Well I think at this point this is what we need …we can’t risk having average coach and settling for less
Why do you lot constantly incorrectly say we finished 9th?
We finished in 8th place.
It doesn’t make much of a difference, but at least get your stats right.
I thought I was the only one who has noticed that too
if your not first your last. 🙂
What I like the most since Tare arrived is, there’s no more Moncada in the frame.
Really refreshing.
“No more salary caps and short-term projects. The mission is to rebuild and reset, not patch up.”
We can hope, we can hope…
They said you will get the best gift ever if you sign,he signed and they gifted him selling of reinders and theo 🤡
Welcome back!
I called for Allegri to be sacked back in 13/14 and what a mistake it was.
Other than his Scudetto season, his best season was the season he picked up the side that had lost Thiago Silva and Ibra and managed to get them to 3rd place.
He did the same with Juve after they lost some stars and he dragged them into the champions league spot.
I won’t forget when Allegri brought 3 goal keepers to the uefa champions league away match with Arsenal. On that night he clearly wanted to defend the 4-0 lead. Ibrahimovic was livid that night.
Long story short, I don’t like his style of play but if we agree that it will win games, so be it