AC Milan supporters will look back on their club’s gamble to stick with unproven coach Stefano Pioli as the decision that set them on course to winning their first Serie A title in 11 years.
A double from Olivier Giroud inspired Milan to a 3-0 victory at US Sassuolo in their season finale on Sunday to seal the Serie A title ahead of rivals Inter, ending what had been too long a wait for the “scudetto” for a club of Milan’s grandeur.
The man who masterminded the title triumph collected the first trophy of his 19-year coaching career, but it could have been quite different had the club not shown faith in him at the start of Milan’s journey back to the top.
Photo: AFP
Milan’s fall from grace following their previous league triumph in 2011 was spectacular. Four years after their 18th Serie A triumph, they finished 10th in the standings and spent seven seasons outside the top four between 2014 and 2020.
After Massimiliano Allegri’s departure in 2014, six permanent coaches in five years tried and failed to turn things around, before Pioli came in to steady the ship.
The initial results were mixed after Pioli succeeded Marco Giampaolo in October 2019, before a fine end to the 2019-2020 season secured Milan a return to European competition for the following campaign.
However, Pioli appeared set to be replaced ahead of the 2020-2021 season, with former RB Leipzig and Schalke 04 coach Ralf Rangnick reportedly coming in.
Sporting director Paulo Maldini instead decided to give Pioli a new deal, revealing that he felt Rangnick was not the “right fit” for the club.
Pioli restored Milan to the big time without breaking the bank, and by keeping things simple.
Astute signings last season, such as midfielder Sandro Tonali, Croatian forward Ante Rebic and Denmark captain Simon Kjaer, helped Milan to finish second in the standings, with the return of veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic firing them back up the table.
Exciting young prospects such as defender Fikayo Tomori, alongside more experienced signings like Giroud, took Milan to the next level this season.
“We believed in the young players we brought in and in working to a budget,” Maldini, who was the club’s most decorated player, told DAZN. “We did not buy ready-made champions, but guys like Theo [Hernandez] who were promising, but who had been lost — or ones like [Rafael] Leao who was on the bench in Lille [OSC].”
“We thought we could change some guys who were presented to us as complicated, working psychologically with them,” Maldini added. “The championships are won with men; they proved to be strong guys with great ambitions.”
Milan finished the season unbeaten in 16 league games — unbeaten Serie A runs have become a staple of Pioli’s reign — with a consistency his predecessors had been unable to find.
Such continuity takes time to build, which is something Pioli was afforded after Maldini’s decision to stand by him.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS