Milan chiefs showed they are listening to fan pressure over Julen Lopetegui, so Susy Campanale urges them to push for Roberto De Zerbi instead.
For all the recent setbacks and a disappointing campaign, and his truly appalling record with muscular injuries, Stefano Pioli remains a well-liked and respected coach who still has one more year on his contract. So if Milan are to fire him, it has to be for a significant step up and many of the names floated in the media feel more like a downgrade.
The rush to appoint Julen Lopetegui only to then back off when the sheer virulence of the response from fans hit them like a slap in the face felt an awful lot like something Milan already experienced with Ralf Rangnick. That deal was done, as confirmed by Zvonimir Boban, and would’ve completely ruined the side that went on to win the Scudetto and reach the Champions League semi-final. At least Elliott listened then and RedBird are listening now.
Other names mentioned in the list are frankly not very exciting either, including Mark van Bommel – who at least played briefly for the club – and Paulo Fonseca, a man with some Serie A experience at Roma. If the response to the Spaniard was Nopetegui, then the reaction to these two is Meh van Bommel and Pff Fonseca. Let’s not bother to mention some of the even less appealing candidates like Marcelo Gallardo and Christophe Galtier.
The general consensus is that RedBird are looking for a foreign coach, which is another baffling element to the whole situation. In a season where there are currently two and a half non-Italian coaches (let’s count Thiago Motta as half, although Ivan Juric has been here so long he could probably be half too) out of 20, that’s an odd approach to take.
Italian tacticians are among the best in the world and, regardless of how much Arrigo Sacchi might complain, they are not just dour, defence-driven bores whose ideal result is a scraped 1-0 win. Except maybe Max Allegri, who is capable of making the most classic form of Catenaccio look exciting.
De Zerbi right idea for Milan
Logically, Milan ought to go for Roberto De Zerbi, yet Sky Sport Italia suggest he has not even been approached by the club owners. The 44-year-old is from the Lombardy region, he started his playing career at the Milan youth academy, even though he never made a single competitive appearance for the Rossoneri at senior level.
His ideas of football were clear even at Foggia, Palermo and Benevento before flourishing with Sassuolo, earning the opportunity at Shakhtar Donetsk and then taking Brighton and Hove Albion to unseen heights.
De Zerbi had seemingly been out of Milan’s reach when the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool and Bayern Munich were sniffing around, but the sands are shifting and Brighton’s struggles to deal with their first ever European competition this season damaged his standing in those fickle football fashion parades.
Milan have a perfect opportunity to swoop for someone who knows Italian football, but also has international experience, who already has a squad ready made for the 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation, can help develop youth as well as work with big stars, plus he’s even a local.
Imagine a Derby della Madonnina with Simone Inzaghi on one side and De Zerbi on the other. These two great examples of modern Italian football could help usher in a whole new era of Serie A excitement.