GdS: Pioli scoops deserved Panchina d’Oro prize but is far from satisfied yet

By Oliver Fisher -

Yesterday Stefano Pioli was given the Panchina d’Oro award at Coverciano and was therefore crowned as the best Serie A coach of the 2021-22 season.

La Gazzetta dello Sport (via MilanNews) writes how there is extra meaning behind the award given it is voted on by fellow coaches, and the Milan boss swept away the others with 33 votes out of 46, ahead of Davide Nicola and Luciano Spalletti.

This is a very much deserved award that Pioli wanted to dedicate to those who worked alongside him, as well as obviously to the club and the players that helped the Rossoneri end their 11-year wait for a Scudetto.

While it is a certification of the hard work and the huge achievement of last season, the feeling for Pioli is that there is in fact a lot more to come, and he hopes this is not his last award.

“I think this Panchina d’Oro is a satisfaction because it is deserved. And I would like to win another one but to be able to have it you have to… win again,” he said.

It’s unlikely that it will happen this season given that Napoli have basically already won Serie A, while in the Champions League there are too many teams stronger than Milan for it to be a realistic goal, which means finishing in the top four is the target.

“We’ve seen how good it is to be in the Champions League, we want to play in it again next year. There are two paths: either we win the Champions League or we finish in the top four,” Pioli added.

“The season is still long, we have many things to do, we want to win all the matches between now and the end and, as mentioned, keep the Champions League: it’s too beautiful and stimulating.”

Tags AC Milan Stefano Pioli
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