The most criticised man since AC Milan’s downturn began has been Stefano Pioli, and while he is to blame for several things there are other reasons for the collapse too.
La Gazzetta dello Sport have published an article which pits the two arguments against each other, namely the factors that Pioli is responsible for versus the things that are outside of his control.
His Milan built a reputation based around intensity in their style of play, and that strength became a weakness. Milan are in pieces today due to injuries – which have been a constant since the beginning of the season – and athletic condition.
In the Dubai training retreat, more than one thing went wrong and questions arose about the series of muscle injuries and whether it is right to call them a coincidence any more given how long it has been going on.
There are rightly questions asked such as whether it was right to have Theo and Giroud play on January 4th shortly after coming back from the World Cup, and whether the new signings like Thiaw and Vranckx could give a boost.
Then there is the squad management. Milan have 30 players but a huge gap between the 5-6 best (Theo, Leao, Maignan, Tonali, Bennacer) and the second/third tier. Pioli has made rotations due to injuries or choice, and hasn’t been able to motivate the team for a month.
Rafael Leao started the games against Sassuolo and Inter on the bench, and then there is criticism aimed at Pioli for the failure to integrate new signings such as Charles De Ketelaere, Thiaw and Vranckx.
However, the same source notes that even though the head coach has undoubtedly made his mistakes, he’s not the only one and he actually has quite a lot of alibis starting with the 2022 summer transfer window.
Milan closed the summer mercato with a net spend of €40m while the balance of Napoli – who are 18 points higher at the moment – was an €11m profit.
Seven players arrived at Milanello, two of which are on loan, while Maldini and Massara decided to invest almost all of the budget on De Ketelaere (€32m plus €3m bonuses) who is on the bench today also because he never blossomed.
Then there is Divock Origi who was a Giroud-style bet that has not paid off so far, and the most significant risk was that a worthy replacement for Franck Kessie was not found either, with Pobega and Vranckx failing to convince.
The idea of the squad having had their hunger vanish must be talked about, because from Tomori, Theo Hernandez and Calabria, from Kalulu, Tonali to arguable Leao as well, the general decline is sensational.
The World Cup in Qatar was a factor that brought unknowns, though now we know Theo and Giroud came back exhausted having reached the final with France, who lost in the final to Argentina. Meanwhile, Lautaro has 7 goals in 2023, 2 of which against Milan in the Supercoppa and in the league. Giroud has one.
Finally, Pioli had to manage the follow-up season to the Scudetto win without two fundamental leaders in Maignan and Ibrahimovic. The impact of the goalkeeper is fundamental because of how he influences the system, makes match-winning saves and distributes, but he is also a leader while Tatarusanu is limited.
Then, there is only one Zlatan and his presence can make the difference even just in the dressing room or on the bench. A year ago, he scored 8 goals – more than Leao and Giroud – and this season has not played a game.
