AC Milan are still looking for a new sporting director, and Devin Özek is the latest name to enter the picture.
Ralf Rangnick and Oliver Glasner are the two leading candidates to be the new technical director and head coach based on reports doing the rounds. However, with Rangnick busy at the World Cup with Austria, he is likely to leave tasks in the hands of another director.
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Part of the Leverkusen miracle
As revealed by Corriere della Sera (via SpazioMilan), the Rossoneri have begun initial exploratory contacts with Devin Özek. He is described as multilingual and data-driven, having begun his career in 2020 at Bayer Leverkusen as an observer and international relations specialist.
In 2022, he received a crucial promotion: assistant delegate alongside sporting director Simon Rolfes. This strategic partnership sparked the extraordinary cycle of the Bundesliga-winning team led by Xabi Alonso.
Özek personally coordinated scouting, talent identification, and financial planning, managing complex incoming and outgoing negotiations. Bayer won the 2023-24 league title unbeaten, also scooping the DFB-Pokal and making it to the Europa League final.
The German manager’s profile fits naturally with the RedBird fund’s guidelines. For Özek, knowing how to sell and generate capital gains isn’t a fallback, but one of the cornerstones of sports management.
His methodology is based on three pillars: understanding the club’s economic and cultural context, creating a recognisable footballing identity, and aligning the coaching appointment with this philosophy, so as to change the coaching staff without overhauling the core of the squad.
This is exactly what a team that has changed coaches three times in two years needs in theory, though Özek has just left Fenerbahce, where he worked directly with José Mourinho. The club opted to go in a new direction, amid presidential elections.
AC Milan is considering whether to bring Özek on as a stand-alone sporting director or in tandem with Rangnick, should the German assume full control of the technical department. The alternative remains Johannes Spors, formerly of Genoa, who has historical ties to Rangnick.
Basically what Moncada did at Monaco.
Come again, what was wrong with Tare?
I agreed with the other two
He blew over €70 million on Jashiri and Nkunku.
I believe he was axed primarily because he was the one choosing and signing Allegri.
he is also known to be good at splashing money for his PR