Journalist Franco Ordine has revealed his belief that AC Milan ‘deliberately missed’ the opportunity to hire Antonio Conte or Thiago Motta as their new head coach.
As soon as it became apparent that Stefano Pioli would not be continuing as the head coach, the newspapers and other media outlets wasted no time in linking Milan with both Conte and Motta.
After all, they tick boxes that would be appealing for any club. The former has won trophies nearly everywhere he has been – including with Juventus and Inter – while the latter took Bologna to the Champions League and is regarded as a top young coach.
In the end the choice seems to have fallen on Paulo Fonseca, who is expected in Italy within the next fortnight to sign a two-year deal with Milan and begin work.
Speaking live on Radio Rossonera,Franco Ordine expressed himself on many issues that revolve around Milan and he was asked about whether not hiring Conte or Motta is a ‘wasted opportunity by Milan’ or a chance to pull the rabbit out of the hat, by appointing a surprise name.
“It is the great opportunity deliberately missed. Because the others were not better, available faster or more generous. It is deliberately lost because Conte does not fit into the format of the current Milan coaches,” he said.
“And I must say frankly that the famous duo of the technical area, Boban-Maldini, had also adapted to this format. I remember that they chose Marco Giampaolo. With one difference, in my opinion.
“After seven rounds, Boban above all understood that the choice had been wrong and took very little time to correct it and find the replacement who proved to be the trump card: Pioli.
“Now you have to understand, if by chance there were an identical drift, which cards they will have available to possibly correct a wrong choice. This is the unknown of next season.”