By Ewah Chika.
Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Christian Broochi are the names of the coaches that have been passed on by AC Milan since the exit of Maximiliano Allegri in January 2014.
Out of the lot Mihajlovic was perhaps the most successful considering he led the club to the final of the Coppa Italia and almost to the Europa League before his sacking in mid-April by Christian Broochi who was inconsistent and lost out to Juventus in the final of the Coppa Italia.
AC Milan have struggled to replicate the form of Carlo Ancelotti's team after he left in 2008 and this has seen them fail to qualify for European Football for the past two years and this might also be the reason AS Roma legend Vincenzo Montella was appointed as their new manager on 29-06-16. With Milan fans ecstatic with the appointment considering the coach is top quality after leading Fiorentina to a top 4 finish in his three years at the club with limited budget. That was not just his achievement as Montella took the club to the semi-final of the Europa League in 2015 losing to eventual winners Sevilla. It did not end there as the former forward also lead the Viola to the final of the Coppa Italia of 2014 (beaten by Rafa Benitez's Napoli) . Montella is nicknamed L'Aeroplanino (The Little Airplane) by the Roma fans due to his goalscoring feats, small stature and goal celebrations spreading his hands like a wing. He was also inducted into Roma's Hall of Fame in 2013.
At 42, Montella is in his youth and full of energy and vibe with his attractive brand of football one of the reason he was appointed by the club. At Fiorentina, Montella played with Borja Valero and David Pizzaro bossing the midfield, Juan Cuadrado and Joaquin attacking from the flanks and Giuseppe Rossi finishing off the chances. This meant that Montella was one of the most successful managers in Italy as his stock continued to increase . Montella also guided Sicily club Catania to a mid-table finish in 2011 after quitting Roma that summer and also became the first manager to beat Catania Eastern neighbours Palermo for the first time in eight years.
Things took an unexpected turn after the Italian was sacked by Fiorentina for stalling to sign a new contract and this prompted his move to Sampdoria where he struggled with relegation all season finally finishing 15th at the end of the season.
AC Milan announced his appointment and have confirmed a payment of €500,000 as compensation to Sampdoria. The coach will earn a salary of €2.3 million per year for the two years he signed. With reports that a Chinese group are about to pay €750 million for 80% of Silvio Berluscluoni's stake with an option of acquiring the remaining 20% stake in the next three years, Montella will thus be supported with funds to return Milan to it's glory days and with the likes Giauluigi Donnorumma (goalkeeper), Alessio Romagnoli and Mattia De Sciglio all youngsters, there is no better time for the coming of the coach who scored 191 goals in 382 league games in his career.
No comments:
Post a Comment