AC Milan director Paolo Maldini has compared the early struggles of Marco Giampaolo to those of legendary boss Arrigo Sacchi, insisting he will be given time to get things right.
Maldini spoke ahead of Milan’s game against Torino at the Stadio Olimpico on the Thursday night, a game which could draw the Rossoneri back level on points with fourth place should they be victorious.
The team will be looking to put memories of the derby defeat to Inter behind them and try to find a goalscoring rhythm at the same time.
Milan have lost two of their opening four Serie A games, scoring just two goals and only one from open play in the process.
On Monday, our correspondent Vito Angele told us that there is total confidence in Giampaolo from the Milan hierarchy for now, but that the next couple of games could be key.
Now, Maldini has offered his take on the situation in an interview with Sky Italia before the game, for which you can read our preview here.
“The derby was disappointing in terms of result, but also the performance, obviously,” Maldini said (via Football Italia).
“We had the opportunity to reach the top of the table by beating Inter, but lost when playing a quality of football that was below not just our expectations, but also those of the Coach.
“It is an important test against a side that is basically in our same situation. We mustn’t let ourselves get hasty or impatient. We chose a Coach who wants to play a very specific style of football and we always knew that would take time, so we have absolute faith in him.
“We are well aware of the type of coach we hired, we discussed all this before signing the contract. This is an ambitious club and we continue to believe he is the right Coach.
“I remember we went through these same issues with Arrigo Sacchi. He too had very precise ideas, not much happened in the first couple of months, but then once the results started rolling in, everyone realised it was the right approach.
“We had to work within the limits of Financial Fair Play, reduced the squad from 29 to 25 and made decisions in line with the club’s requirements.
“If you want quality, you have to pay for it, especially with the market going the way it has been recently, so we made some gambles and believe they will pay off.
“Anyone who signs for Milan has no reason to fear competition. There ought to be competition at an ambitious club and the players cannot feel certain of their starting spot.”
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