In recent years, the figure of the sporting director has taken on an increasingly central role in the dynamics of clubs aiming for the top.
In this perspective, Milan are looking for the right profile to fill a role that for too many years has been relegated to being almost a supporting role. Rather ironically, the last sporting director that the club had left due to a disagreement, so getting it right this time is crucial.
Since the sacking of Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara, Geoffrey Moncada has been the technical director of the club. Antonio D’Ottavio was also promoted to sporting director, but reports earlier this season suggested that he stepped down due to having a different vision.
Who will replace him and begin the planning for the 2025-26 season, ahead of what is a pivotal summer? It seems that the Milan leadership have narrowed the list down to two candidates: Igli Tare and Fabio Paratici.
Both have held prestigious positions, but with very different paths and results. In a possible head-to-head battle to take the reins and decide the future of Milan, which of the two would be the best option?
The Paratici dilemma
Starting with Paratici, the Italian has built much of his career alongside Giuseppe Marotta, a figure who in Italy is considered the true champion of the role and is of course currently in charge at Inter.
However, away from Marotta’s shadow, Paratici has had difficulty maintaining the same standards of excellence. His work at Juventus has left more doubts than certainties, culminating in legal problems that have further undermined his credibility.
Looking at the work that was solely his, the high-profile addition of Cristiano Ronaldo – signed from Real Madrid in 2018 for €112m – certainly stands out and he repaid the faith, scoring 100 goals in three seasons.
Matthijs de Ligt joined Juve from Ajax for €75m too, while Dejan Kulusevski was signed from Atalanta for €35m before reuniting with Paratici when he headed to Spurs, and Adrien Rabiot’s arrival on a free transfer can be deemed a success too.
Paratici demonstrated some creativity when Juventus were not able to spend exorbitant sums. For example, in 2020 Arthur Melo was acquired from Barcelona in a swap deal involving Miralem Pjanić plus €10m. He also won the race for Federico Chiesa from Fiorentina with a loan-plus-obligation formula.
Paratici’s later years drew criticism because of high wage commitments such as the Ronaldo and Aaron Ramsey deals, while investments on certain young talents such as Cristian Romero, Merih Demiral and Weston McKennie did not pay off in the immediacy nor become part of the future core.
Tare’s tale
Tare has shown great adaptability and management in a rather unique environment like Lazio. Working for over a decade with a ‘difficult’ president like Claudio Lotito, he has managed to build competitive teams despite having limited resources.
His work was not limited to the simple management of the mercato. Tare was in fact able to earn trust far and wide from top to bottom, earning support from the ownership down to the fans, from the head coach to the squad.
He brought valuable players to the capital who embraced the Biancoceleste cause perhaps beyond all expectations. Furthermore, it is not to be underestimated the ability with which Tare was able to maintain high standards at Lazio by retaining the key players.
The shining jewel of his work was Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, acquired from Genk for €18m in 2015, who became probably the best midfielder in Serie A. Luis Alberto was signed from Liverpool for €4m in 2016 and he proved to be another shrewd pick-up.
Ciro Immobile was signed from Sevilla for €9.5m in 2016, becoming Lazio’s all-time leading scorer and winning the Capocannoniere. Tare’s ability to replace players was also commendable, as seen when Francesco Acerbi was signed for €10m from Sassuolo to replace Stefan de Vrij in 2018.
Lucas Leiva arrived from Liverpool for €5.5m in 2017 as a replacement for Lucas Biglia, a player they sold for over €10m more to Milan and it proved to be the right time to cash in on him. Perhaps the best indication of ‘the art of the deal’ was signing of Felipe Anderson from West Ham for €3m in 2021 after having sold him three years prior for over 10x that amount.
Lazio won three Coppa Italia titles (2008–09, 2012–13, 2018–19) and three Supercoppa Italiana titles (2009, 2017, 2019) while he was there, while also competing for and in some case achieving Champions League spots, like in 2022–23 when they finished second.
Why isn’t he still there? Well, towards the end of his time at Lazio, signings like that of Vedat Muriqi (€20m from Fenerbahce) were deemed expensive flops, though Lotito’s financial limitations never gave him much margin for error when pushing the boat out.
He also had a tense relationship with Maurizio Sarri which led to his departure. Since he left, arguments can be made either way about whether Lazio have improved, but they have still attracted players like Matteo Guendouzi, Nicolo Rovella, Taty Castellanos, Boulaye Dia, Nuno Tavares and others.
The coach factor
Another aspect that clearly distinguishes Tare from Paratici is his relationship with coaches. If Paratici has often worked with already established profiles, Tare has been able to pick out emerging managers.
Perhaps the first example would be Stefano Pioli, who had not achieved a great deal prior to finishing third in 2014-15, though things did fall apart the next season. More recently, Simone Inzaghi is the shining example, and this trend could have a big influence on Milan’s direction.
With Tare in charge, it is almost certain that he would look for profiles like Vincenzo Italiano, Raffaele Palladino, Roberto De Zerbi or even Cesc Fabregas, figures who embody a modern football philosophy and who know Italian football.
It’s a completely different story with Paratici who, as mentioned, prefers certainties to gambles. In the case of his arrival, the most popular names would be Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte, two notoriously successful coaches with high demands but experience of such pressures.
The choice Milan face
From a qualitative point of view, the gap between Tare and Paratici is evident. Tare has shown that he can build solid, sustainable and competitive teams, even without the economic means available to other top clubs.
However, the Milan environment represents a different challenge and an almost incalculable dynamic whereby competence is not enough: you also need the ability to manage pressure and expectations, delivering silverware often.
In this aspect, Paratici could offer greater guarantees, but the price to pay would perhaps be the demands for a greater amount of money to spend on rebuilding the squad based on the coach he hires. With that comes the risk some of the euros would be spent badly.
If Milan decided to focus on a long-term project, centred around developing emerging talents and coaches, Tare would seem to be the ideal choice. The real question is: are the Rossoneri geared towards the courageous and ambitious or the safe and traditional?
What the ” management ” should be doing is looking to hire the people throughout Serie A who constantly make them look dumb.
Zlatan, Foolani, and Moncacka are all frauds. Doesn’t matter which position they hold, they are ruining Milan and the club will no succeed if they are in any way on the books.
Theres a difference between mistakes and willful igorance. Mistakes are acceptable if they are made in earnest
reply to “they should hire who constantly make them look dumb”
does it sound familiar to you..??
#BrinbackMaldini. Who the hell are these Dumbo’s
The common theme between all of this jargon is that they want people that can work with a small budget. Which tells me they aren’t interested in extending Milan’s legacy only profitability for an eventual sale in the future (probably by 2030). I think the stadium debacle is holding up some of their plans but overall they plan to continue to use an algorithm and purchase 10-20 mil players and hope they work out. They need a coach with an extremely strict system like a Sarri or Allegri or Pep and that way they can just “plug and play” with purchases and when they don’t work out you just dump em and buy some more. Maybe we’ll win one major trophy between now and 2030 but that’s all they’ll need to justify a huge sale. If we’re in the black and have a trophy, that will mean they’ve reached their goal. I don’t think they’re winning the champions league with this formula so I’d assume they’re hoping for an off year in Serie A for the rest of the teams or maybe a Europa league trophy. I won’t be hopeful on any new additions, hope is gone until real solid results start coming but until then I want Redbird out.
If these 2 are the only options then give me Tare. Any idiot can “win the race” by overspending for Chiesa, De Ligt, Kulusevski or give Rabiot, Ramsey a 7 mil salary.
Juventus downfall started with Marotta’s exit and Paratici’s promotion.
If Milan isn’t always a day late and a dollar short I would have liked Sartori or Berta.
Milan already tried to hire Tare in 2020 after the Boban firing but he turned them down.
Either way, both Paratici and Tare are more qualified, more experienced, more competent and more connected than anything Milan has had in the last decade.
Neither Tare nor Paratici is the solution for this role. The optimal choice, which has been clear for some time, especially in light of ACM’s disastrous collapse in Italy and Europe this season, is the legendary club icon Paolo Maldini, who was unceremoniously fired by the owner for telling him the truth.
Maldini was instrumental in rebuilding ACM during the Elliott years and enabling us to win a Scudetto and reach a Champions League semi-final. We were heading in the right direction with him involved at the club. The owner’s decision to sack him in 2023 was a terrible own goal – the start of the regression in form and results that has culminated in the train wreck that is ACM’s 2024/25 season.
Tare and Paratici don’t hold a candle to Maldini, a former captain of the Azzurri, who in a long and distinguished career with ACM won 5 Champions League trophies, including 2 as skipper, and whose father Cesare also played for the club, leading it to its first European Cup triumph in 1963.
The classy, competent, and loyal Maldini – not Tare or Paratici – is the defining and enduring symbol of ACM; the talismanic figure who has always had the club’s best interests at heart and should therefore be tasked with ushering in another Golden Age.
The owner must eat humble pie and bring Maldini back, if he wants to restore the faith of ACM fans in the club. Give Paolo a proper budget to purchase and retain the best players, instead of rejects and has-beens, and he will deliver. ACM will once again be competing against the likes of Real Madrid, Man City and Liverpool, for Europe’s highest trophy – not against minnows such as Lecce to save what shred of credibility remains in its 2024/25 Serie A season.
If the owner isn’t willing to do that, he should get out. ACM fans have had enough of mediocrity and failure. A storied club that not so long ago was the cynosure of world football – the go-to destination for the finest players and coaches – has been reduced to an impoverished and middling status as a result of glaring ownership and management failings.
ACM needs an owner with deep pockets, footballing savvy, and cultural sensitivity, who has the driving ambition, as the immortal Silvio Berlusconi and his deputy Adriano Galliani did, to take ACM to the top and keep it there.
It’s now 18 years since ACM played in a Champions League final. During this period our great rivals Real Madrid have won that competition multiple times. They’ve become what we used to be – the dominant force in Europe. Are we ever going to fight back and reclaim our throne?
As master coach Carlo Ancelotti, formerly of ACM, now of Real Madrid, said a few days ago: Maldini’s dismissal was a mistake.
So, RedBird: Don’t be an ostrich and bury your head in the sand. Bring Maldini back! It’s a no brainer.
#FACTS
“Tare and Paratici don’t hold a candle to Maldini, a former captain of the Azzurri, who in a long and distinguished career with ACM won 5 Champions League trophies, including 2 as skipper, and whose father Cesare also played for the club, leading it to its first European Cup triumph in 1963. ”
Comparing apples to oranges. What Maldini did on the pitch has nothing to do with running a club. Maldini won one trophy as a manager. Tare & Paratici have half a dozen or more.
So, let me quote you here: “Maldini doesn’t hold a candle to Tare & Paratici”.
Please enlighten me: Did Tare and Paratici ever play the game? Players look up to former players, especially great ones, who are in coaching or other active roles at a club (e.g. Cruyff, Ancelotti, Zidane, Hoeness, Guardiola).
Maldini wasn’t given the opportunity to build on his record in management. He was sacked by the owner for telling him what was plain to see after the CL SF defeat to Inter in 2023: that ACM had to significantly upgrade its squad if it wanted to be a serious challenger for the CL trophy. They couldn’t go on buying players on the cheap and trying to transform them into stars.
How right Maldini was! Since his departure, ACM have gone backwards – not forwards. All his fine work has been undermined.
Our owner has spent considerable money bringing in rejects and has-beens into our club. He refuses to dig deep into his pockets and buy the very best players, as Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern, Arsenal, PSG, and Liverpool do.
Tare and Paratici, like Zlatan, are itinerants who move from one gig to another. Maldini, on the other hand, is a loyal one-club man, the crown jewel of a famous Rossonero dynasty. He has the inspiring quality of being a defining and enduring symbol of ACM – one that’s firmly embedded in the hearts of its fans. His mere presence at the club lifts spirits – a living reminder of its glorious past and a harbinger of better days hopefully to come.
Identity matters in football. Our owner is turning ACM – a storied cultural institution – into a fungible, a commodity – stripping it of its core Italian identity on the pitch; devaluing its treasured red and black striped shirt colors; and outlawing one of its most revered figures. A club that disrespects its unique heritage has no future.
Why should anyone continue to support ACM if the only remaining link with its proud history and culture is that it’s based in Milano? The club may as well up sticks and head to Las Vegas.
Tare and Paratici may be good operators, but no, when all things are considered, they don’t hold a candle to Maldini; to what he means to ACM and what he can help deliver on the pitch.
A long emotional biased bla bla. When facts considered, I would hire Maldini for another role, but not as a Sporting Director. Tare is the best based on his previous record
Sacchi himself never been a professional player but he is a good coach for AC Milan.
Yes, you’re right. Sacchi was exceptional – arguably ACM’s best ever coach. As you probably know, it was he who famously said, when asked if he had the right qualifications to be a coach given that he hadn’t played professionally:
“I never realized that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first.”
But my point wasn’t that you have to have been a former great player to be a good sporting director. Rather, it was that if you’re a former great player, as Maldini is, you’re more likely to command the respect of and inspire players than if you’re not.
With all the respect to Maldini, but he was a bit of primadina acting like he owned Milan or a hard to get girl.
I agree 100% Tare is way better then Maldini in this role based on the record of their resoective work. In fact Tare is Top and available, I hooe he agrees this time
Maldini: 4 years, one Scudetto, one UCL semi
Tare: 15 years, zero Scudetto, best UCL finish R16….. I’ll repeat that in 15 years his best result in Europe was the round of 16., couple of copas.
To add to that Tare finished only 4 times in UCL places out of FIFTEEN whole @ss years. 3 times below 7th. Maldini’s worst finish was 6th and coming out of banter era. The rest were 2nd, 1st (Scudetto) and 4th, always in the UCL thereafter. I know who I’ll choose anyday.
Tell us how he was a primadonna? Because he asked for investment for higher caliber players ?Guess what he was absolutely right given where we’re at right now.
How is there not one article about Fonseca right now and what he did? Obviously that our current management cannot make the correct hires! This team has regressed so much since Maldini, Massara, and Pioli did. Not that it was perfect, but they were building something.
Because that would trigger some people to shout how Milan destroyed Fonseca and his career just like the club does to all the (mediocre) players. You all know who I’m talking about. 🙂
Paratici has a juventus DNA, cheat and foul play.
A big NO!
What did Maldini actually do that made him look like he was a “prima donna”, that he “owned” ACM, and, worst of all, was a “hard-to-get girl.” How come Elliott had no problem with him when he was performing exactly the same role at the club with them?