Former AC Milan sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli has claimed that the Rossoneri’s current problems stem from sacking Stefano Pioli and not replacing him well enough.
Speaking during an interview with Libero (via Calciomercato.com), the now-Padova director explained that he can identify two reasons for Milan making such a poor start to the season.
He clearly does not think that Paulo Fonseca is the correct calibre of coach for Milan and believes that a scudetto winner should have been signed instead, along with the sort of transfer window that is reminiscent of title-winning teams.
“The cause of the problems is in Pioli’s farewell. They should have sat down at the table, clarified the roles in the club, looked for a better coach and had a transfer market worthy of the scudetto. Last year Pioli was decimated by injuries, he often had half a team but some blamed his preparation…wrong,” Mirabelli said.
Milan addressed all of their major needs during the summer transfer window although the quality of the acquisitions will have to be judged as the season progresses.
Having started with draws against Torino and Lazio and a defeat against Parma, there is plenty of criticism coming the way of the players and the coach.
The current belief is that Fonseca has the next three games to show something to the Milan hierarchy before alarm bells really start to chime, as there are some very high profile coaches who are waiting for jobs.
Assessing other elements of Milan’s predicament, Mirabelli said: “Few have understood Ibrahimovic’s current role. The transfer market is not complete, if you turn the page and try to go from second to first you have to act differently and make very different choices. Fofana is excellent, but I don’t think a breakwater is enough to provide stability. And I respect Fonseca, but I go back to what I said before: if you leave Pioli you go for a top coach. Leao doesn’t give certainties, last year Giroud often pulled the chestnuts out of the fire.”
Pioli leaving Milan is one of the best decisions but our management team is full of mediocre who claim to know too much but are kids in managing coaches. How on Earth do they think a coach sacked by inferior club ( Roma) is good for Milan? Think of it first
Ibrahimovic is just a loud mouth show boy who makes loud noise but nothing to show for it. The season is already over so we should plan against next season. We need a coach with experience and it’s very painful we lost conte to Napoli.
“The season is already over ”
Time for you to head back to the school bench and spend some time improving your math skills.
Sure we have had a dismal start to the season but we are currently 5 points after the first place with 35 Serie A matches to go or 105 points to play for.
Hardly a season that is over just you being over dramatic here.
Season is already over or are you expecting inter to play like you? It’s over and moreover which magic are you expecting from a coach who Roma ( inferior club to Milan) sacked and Milan picked to do?
If you knew Milan pedigree you won’t be positive. On Pioli he has lost ideas and nothing left in his skull. Milan class and level of coach is conte not this garbage
All speculations on your behalf as its simple math that it isn’t over yet as all teams are bound to lose points as well. Where the hell am I positive as I said its simple math and which it is and you know what I’ve probably been an AC Milan fan longer than you have lived as I’ve been a fan for 35 years so quit your pedigree talk as its an empty and hollow argument with no substance.
I didn’t say that we would win but the season is far from over.
Pioli leaving is never the best decision. If you can equip Pioli well he can perform
Pioli lack ability to study matches and opponents. You can’t continue playing same pattern every season and expect to go far. How did you think we were able to beat Barcelona that has the best players in 1994 champions league final? Capello changed his formation and played different style but Pioli is always relying on same set of players and immediately Leao is marked and Theo stopped from going forward Milan is done.
Don’t know why they sacked Paoli. He got second place. I am a newby to football, but American sports don’t sack coaches who get second place. They offer them raises, then try to find better players to get first place next year. I guess I have a lot to learn.
Pretty sure Ancelotti was sacked by Parma before we took him and he became the arguably the best manager of all time and definitley our best ever manager.
Having said that, i don’t think Fonseca was or is the right man for us.
Not defending Fonseca but Pioli was sacked by Fiorentina before Milan hired him in 2019 to replaced Giampolo.
With Pioli, we not just comeback to Champions League after a decade absent but we reached to semi final again which our last attempt was in 2006/07, won the 19th scudetto, and got stable position in the top serie-a table. All Milan manager after Allegri can’t do what Pioli did.
You can dislike Pioli all you want but you must respect his big contributions for Milan, especially when Milan didn’t give him world class players from the get go.
Agree
i agree with you the bad decision wasnt that pioli left it was to get a worse coach
Correct. We got relegation surviving level of coach not Milan coach
Pioli’s time was over. The thing is who you replace pioli with. I’ll support Fonseca until we play inter, if we get hammered then its a different story
Like pioli would’ve done any better.
He was done the second he lifted that cup. Overachieved af then continued to do same old same old with a crop of players that didn’t not fit his same old set up of the team.
He literally showed 0 willingness to change what he was doing and 0 willingness to ask the club to bring him players that would make hiss set up work again.
This set of players is even less capable to play the 4231 the way we won the scudeto than the one from last season..
Our midfield was one of the strongest in Italy now it gets overrun by freaking Parma fresh from serie B
Ruben on AM. Dude has #8 on his jersey. Does that not give anyone any idea where to field him?
Ah yeah he should have twisted Furlani and Moncada’s arms or break their knees so he could get better players than the cheap donkeys they went after. As if he has any choice regarding the players. He even had to fight to keep Krunic when he noticed that the guys were acting like drunk monkeys on the market and bringing some right winger from Valencia to be the new Kessié…
Yes he should have. Think any coach worth a damn should do that
I think you don’t understand the situation. Those who open their mouth, like Maldini or the mole, are fired. Yes men only. Seems like Pioli is not the superhero you wanted him to be, he’s a guy with a family and who wants to get his salary at the end of the month.
Pioli is a millionaire. He’ll do just fine and his family will do just fine even if he never works again.. pretty sure his family is set for at least 3 generations if not more
Not to mention if he got fired, which he did btw, he still gets paid…
So I think you’re the one who doesn’t understand
I’m not saying Pioli is above criticism or anything but there was an interview where he stated that he had always been in a good dialogue with the management in regard of which players that had been brought in so not really sure what more you are gonna expect.
Because people don’t lie, right.
Whenever he said he was OK with players being brought in he was lying his aśs off I bet 20 years of my life on that. 20 years.
Of course people sometimes lie but from what i can recollect it was actually after he had been sacked that he said he had been listened to in regard of transfers and that the job was done in a dialogue in between him and mmm. Whether he was listened upon under the new ownership might be a different matter.
Fonseca was not the right replacement however it was right to replace Pioli. But I’m going to give Fonseca a fair backing. That won’t stop at round 3 of matches and not even necessarily at round 6 depending on the team’s improvements. Losing to Inter and Liverpool is very possibly and I can accept but we MUST play with ideas courage and heart.
Pioli didn’t get another chance despite the new management dismantled his scudetto team and gave him mostly crap replacement. Just look at last season, outside Pulisic, Okafor, Reinders, and Jovic, the new players are fking mediocre from Chuk, Musah, RLC, Jimenez, Romero, and Pellegrino. Even Krunic or Pobega played better than Musah and RLC.
Now the management brought another hot dumpster fire with Fonseca, Emerson and Fofana. Then they kicked out Kalulu, Simic, and Daniel but still keep Musah, RLC, and Jimenez. Fking nutz.
The problem is who we brought in to replace him. Thanks to Ibrahimovic