Stefano Pioli has admitted that he is looking forward to returning to San Siro to face AC Milan, and insisted he hasn’t changed as a coach since the Scudetto win.
It was confirmed a couple of months ago that Pioli will be returning for another spell in Serie A after his experience in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr ended. He rejoined Fiorentina, a club that is close to his heart given he was there during the tragic passing of Davide Astori.
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The last job that Pioli had in Italy was obviously Milan, a club with which he won the league title in the 2021-22 season. Now that he has returned to Serie A, it means he gets the chance to face off against the Rossoneri.
‘It changed the perception’
Pioli gave an interview to DAZN over the international break and he spoke about meeting his former club as well as his evolution as a coach following his Milan exit. His comments are via MilanPress.
You’ll soon return to San Siro to face Milan…
“Yes, Milan-Fiorentina will be on October 19th. I didn’t mark it because I keep telling the team to take it one game at a time, and so I can’t go any further.
“It will obviously be a special day because it’s the first time I’ve returned to an environment and a stadium that has given me such great emotions and satisfaction. We’ll think about it as we get closer to that date.”
You won the Scudetto with Milan…
“Winning that Scudetto didn’t change me, but in my opinion it changed the perception from the outside. When you win, everyone thinks what you’ve done was truly important and positive. Winning it clearly gives you incredible visibility, especially with Milan having not won a Scudetto in many years.
“In my opinion, it’s a mistake to make people believe that a winning coach is only one who manages to win the Scudetto. Coaches are hired to achieve objectives and with expectations, any coach who manages to meet the club’s expectations is a winning coach.
“He who saves teams that need to be saved and who takes the team to Europe if that was the objective. I haven’t changed, and I’m no longer calm or serene because I’ve shown I can achieve this result.
“Winning probably brings with it even more responsibility and expectations. I’m even more focused on ensuring my work is at that level, at a high level. I have to be under pressure and prove I’m a top-notch coach.”
Another evidence of the stupidity invading Casa Milan. Pioli is not good enough, let’s replace him with Fonseca/Conceicao. Calabria is not good enough, let’s replace him with a million losers. Théo is not good enough, let’s replace him with Estupinan. And of course the highest level imbecility, with direct quote from Nobel Prize candidate Scaroni « we don’t need Maldini anymore » to replace him by the biggest idiots in European football and some baseball algorithm. Meanwhile some fans continue to believe, how underrated is human hope!
Mate, hope you remember that pioli won only 1 trophy in his Career which is thanks to Milan. Even the Milan scudetto win was more to Ibrahimovic as a player and Maldini as director than Pioli.
For a Coach like Pioli who handled Milan, Inter, Lazio. GIOLENTINA etc almost all the big teams in Italy. 1 trophy in a long career shows his true level.
He is not the level needed by Milan.
Replacing Pilo with Similar coaches like Foncesa and Conceacao the only mistake of the management. It should have been Conte last season.
Anyway, Management have released the error and upgrade to Allegri who knows how to win
In the 2 matches played in serie A with already, technical people can see a pattern already which is Milan will not give opponents too many opportunities to score, Milan will dominate the match with control rather than being spectacular.
Most times substance and grit are the reaosn teams win trophy , I see signs of it in Allegri Milan already.
I think you underestimate Pioli. There are not many coaches in activity who have won a scudetto. He also managed to go to UCL semifinals. Not so bad. And he is a good team manager.
I agree though that at this stage Milan needed an upgrade. There were reports that the previous management also wanted a change of coach before being fired. As you say, and this is the point of my previous comment, most replacements made by the current management have been downgrades. Fonseca is a very good example. Even before he failed in fashion, it was evident for people knowing football, which is something missing in Casa Milan.
Allegri has yet to prove that he’s an upgrade. He hasn’t win a scudetto since 2019 when Serie A was hardly competitive. His brand of football is atrocious. There’s a reason why he was fired by Milan a decade ago and why Juventus fans hate him.
“Replacing Pilo with Similar coaches like Foncesa and Conceacao the only mistake of the management”
The ONLY mistake? You not serious bro. I can list 10 easily off the top
We are talking about the coaching issue only.
There many mistakes especially from Maldini & Massara that failed to sell champions for money. Donnaruma, Jessie. HAKANetc all went for free that is also 200million that would have provided financial boost to Milan if used properly.
If u have a limited budget and the player and his relatives/entourage/agents wants more money, what u gonna do? Play or f*off if u don’t respect Milan. That’s the message Maldini showed.
Oh ok….Well if you are talking about the coaching issue only why you bringing up this whole other stuff ?