Journalist Pietro Mazzara has suggested that AC Milan could have taken Gian Piero Gasperini from Atalanta in the summer, but chose not to.
Milan’s decision to part ways with Stefano Pioli at the end of last season led many to presume that the management would go for a bigger name who perhaps guaranteed an instant rise in the level of competitiveness.
However, Julen Lopetegui was the first to be seriously linked with the job then he didn’t arrive, mainly due to fan protest. In the end Paulo Fonseca was appointed after he chose to leave Lille, and it has already been a rollercoaster under him.
Wins against Inter and Real Madrid have been largely offset by other dropped points, three of which came on Friday night against Gasperini’s Atalanta who are now top of the league having won the Europa League last season.
Speaking in his column for MilanNews, Mazzara provided some interesting insight regarding Gasperini and Milan’s search for a new head coach in the summer.
“A behind the scenes that I have come across: in the summer, Milan could have got Gian Piero Gasperini, who after the victory of the Europa League seemed to have closed his cycle at Atalanta,” he said.
“Gasp would have accepted the Rossoneri bench, probably bringing that technical and mental revolution that the management instead went to look for in a foreign profile.
“But coaches with personalities, as we know, are difficult to manage both from the point of view of technical requests and in terms of communication, because they are not afraid to say what they think as demonstrated by Conte, Gasperini, De Zerbi and others.
“Therefore, it is better to avoid problems and go in a direction that is leading Milan to something that was not even minimally predictable. Like it or not, in Italy teams work if there is cohesion between sports management, coach and team. Did someone say 2021-22 Scudetto?”
Thanks to these awful owners Milan are a foreign club now. They have no respect for Italy, Italians or Serie A.
Such a shame.
Gasperini and De zerbi were my favorite targets. Lopetegui proved to be a very bad choice (just watch west ham) and Fonseca is just like an other article describes as a: “rollercoaster situation”.
This is just ifs and buts, and just guessing, because of the direction the club wanted to take, which is to enhance young players, then push them into the team ,they needed a Coach who is used to using young players, and has the courage and fortitude to stick with them, to an extent Fonseca was a good idea, but I still think Van Bomnel would have been a better pick, he had a very good C.V as a player, was a former Milan player, and also a serial winner everywhere he played, and Dutch Coaches have a way of enhancing young players, and mixing them with young players, which we have an abundance of, what Fonseca needs to do is put his head down and continue to work, their are certain improvements, but he also needs to be very proactive during matches, and be brave in his selections, we now have some what of a stable team, he should also think of using a midfield 3….
Many people had Thiago motta as their number one coach and now people are calling him allegri 2.0.
This wasn’t supposed to be a reply
You also thought Bonera was a better coach than Pioli so there’s that too
Lmao me? I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned bonera ever and if I did I must’ve been out of it.
No, that was for Usman lol
I hope it hit the correct Reply button. Sorry if I made that mistake
Van Bommel is still available…
Pato is also still available if we need cheap striker..
Like I said thousand years ago… Haha.. if Milan wants to leading the league with young players / cheaper like RedBird or Elliott tagline, they have to choose Gasperini. It’s the right man for these modern football. Maybe liberali, camarda or zeroli will already on Milan starting lineup. Should we watch last Milan game that Atalanta teach Milan how to play football with precision and no wasting time .. thanks
Gasp’s system takes years to understand and implement. Atalanta didn’t become sensational overnight. And it certainly didn’t play out for him at Inter.
The ironic part is that with a lesser coach in Fonseca it may still take years to understand and implement his tactics but without the upside. LOL!!!
Why would he leave Atalanta. He has everything he needs there. The management trusts him, fans adore him and the expectations are not as high.
He’s a European title winner. And I do hope they get the Scudetto this year. Would be awesome for football
Fonseca is proven. He will bring trophies if we actually give him a chance to.
Yes, these fans are giving up on him so fast even though it has only been 5 months. Piolo was bad at the start of 2023 and it took the management 1.5 years to fire him, it will most likely take that time to fire Fonseca if he continues to do bad, which is unlikely
Pioli coming out of covid after maybe a month or two when he took over in October had us playing some of the best football in the league with a clear identity and an excellent pressing game that was the best for about ,two years in the league. It’s a huge difference.
Covid did help him to have a preseason of sorts. But the fact is he turned that ship around.
If at the start of 2023 you mean the implosion in January then sure but we took the UCL seriously that year and made semi finals and still managed a UCL spot for the following year. The jury is still out for our current coach
Yes, you’re absolutely right. Fonseca is proven. A proven loser, that is.
What trophies? Ukraine’s league? LOL
The Scudetto? For your information, to win the Scudetto you need to finish in first place. We’re in seventh. You don’t win a trophy for 7th place.
Fonseca hasn’t won anything important. He is utterly mediocre.
The problem with Milan’s profile of characteristics for a coach is that it’s not compatible with the coach being good, except maybe at the level of youth development.
All the good coaches are ultimately abrasive personalities. They will all call out a management team for not delivering.
I now wonder whether this is Furlani and Moncada protecting their positions. Why else are they so hellbent on restricting themselves to a mediocre coach?
The 21/22 Scudetto is a precedent for nothing. It was an outlier facilitated by the underperformance of Inter. It’s been 2.5 seasons now and nothing about that seasons has been recaptured with any consistency. Sometimes you have to be prepared to see what is staring you back in the face.
Of course it’s them protecting their positions. It’s like you wrote, but rather than you abrasive I would use assertive. It takes an assertive coach that knows what’s what, to call the clubs higher ups on their BS. And demand the right kind of players for his system.
And Milan’s management don’t want that. They want a jello coach who is malleable and goes with the flow.