Legendary coach Arrigo Sacchi took stock of the debate surrounding the future of Milan coach Stefano Pioli, weighing up his positives and negatives.
The Rossoneri coach has been under pressure for the entirety of this season following last year’s failure to keep up with Napoli, and things have only heated up in recent months, with many now feeling his future depends entirely on the Europa League quarter-final clash with Roma.
Roma hold a slim 1-0 lead over Milan heading into the second leg, giving Pioli and his squad an important job at the Stadio Olimpico if they want to progress to the Europa League semi-finals. Winning the competition would bring in millions in revenue, key for the summer transfer window.
Sacchi on Pioli position at Milan
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Sacchi was first asked if it was better for Milan to keep Pioli or sack him.
“I’ve known Pioli for a long time, and he was one of the many tactical coaches, that is, one of those coaches who don’t believe in the game. But I also believe that in recent years he has instead tried to become a strategist, that is, to propose something of his own.
“It’s a question in general, in football there are few strategists and a lot of tactics, only in recent years has something moved with some who are finally seeking to dominate the game, Pioli is approaching that.”
He also gave his thoughts on if it was unfair or not to judge Pioli based on the results of the coming matches.
“It depends on the market and let me explain. Coaches must learn to choose the players they want to develop their own ideas. I don’t know if all the foreigners who arrived at Milan last summer were taken together with the coach or in any case with his approval.
“Therefore, it would be ungenerous to judge him for the next results if he didn’t consent and didn’t endorse the market. Otherwise, it is clear, he would have his responsibilities.
“In the first case he wouldn’t be at fault and if I were the president, I would look at who chose those players, but if Pioli participated in the decisions and then something didn’t work, he is also to blame, and I say this with regret because he is on the right path.”
Sacchi discussed some of the positives and negatives of Pioli’s tactics.
“Milan’s problem is that they lack consistency. The team struggle to move as 11 players, the attackers often don’t sacrifice themselves and avoid coming back, the midfielders don’t filter because the team are too spread, and the departments are distant, that’s where we need work.
“If I watch the English league, I immediately notice how in the best teams in the Premier League there is great collaboration between the defensive and offensive phases, they are ‘tight’.
“Today they are firmly in second place. This season he has shown that he knows how to get out of a complicated period and has set up his work well.”
He spoke about if there needs to be greater attention to Rafael Leao.
“He and Giroud must be more present in containment. Football is played with 11 men, and this is what is difficult to understand. My Milan was the exaltation of the collective. If a boy doesn’t have a personality you can wait, he can develop it later.
“Temperament, on the other hand, is genetic, you have it or you don’t and Rafa must be taken that way. However, Milan have several players who struggle to hold their positions. Giroud is excused for his age, one for his temperament, at the end of it all, however, the defenders aren’t excused…”
Finally, Sacchi was asked for his concluding thoughts on Pioli’s position and future at Milan.
“I don’t know what the internal relations at the club are today, I took a risk, but I had my back covered by the president. In Italy we’re in a crisis of planning, we look for the individual or the foreigner due to lack of ideas.
“But it doesn’t mean that spending is the solution and winning isn’t automatic. To do this you need an international mentality, and the coaches must cultivate that.
“The tacticians put the clubs in difficulty by asking for purchases that can make the difference and which perhaps end up putting the accounts in the red. We need the strategists, Stefano still has to do a little jump. Not a big jump…”