We are only in September and the season is just four matchdays old, but Milan have already found themselves in an uncomfortable position, one that will not be easy to escape from. Cardinale is far from satisfied, to put it mildly, while Amorim has also tried to play down the outcome of their meeting the other day. The Portuguese coach is not under threat, at least not for now, but he must resolve issues both inside and outside the dressing room.
Amorim’s extreme honesty was also appreciated during his pre-match press conference ahead of Milan-Lecce, including when he had to address the delicate issue of managing the senior players.
Amorim is a young coach who is consistent but also very rigid when it comes to his principles and squad management. That very rigidity had already caused some internal issues within the Manchester United dressing room. Now, the Portuguese coach is being called upon to take another step forward to avoid similar problems at Milan.
Modric has made no secret of his frustration with how he has been managed during the very early stages of the season, particularly after spending the full 90 minutes on the bench against Benfica. The most notable case, however, is Pulisic, especially because the coach himself admitted that the American was very upset and made no attempt to hide his frustration over his limited playing time at the start of the season. Saelemaekers is also not entirely convinced by Amorim’s management, and the two have had a frank discussion in recent days, as per Calcio Mercato.
Amorim's honesty:
“I am always clear with everyone. Obviously, when you don’t play, you are angry. They want honesty. Sometimes you don’t agree with the coach, but if you are honest with your players, they understand. Just look at our schedule after the international break, we will play every two or three days. We will have to be ready. There are things I see during the week, I know the players’ physical workload and their history: I have to manage all these factors. They understand my role and that I have to make choices.”
Amorim was clear in his press conference regarding the senior players, making it clear that he will always try to explain his decisions to the squad but without changing his approach, remaining faithful to his principles.
In the immediate future, Amorim will look to show confidence in some of the squad’s most experienced and prominent players: Modric, Rabiot and Pulisic are expected to start against Lecce. There are more doubts over Saelemaekers, with the coach not seeing him as a right-sided winger but rather on the opposite flank, where Moreira should get the nod, at least initially.
The meeting with Cardinale has led to a first shared decision aimed at putting some distance between Milan and the spectre of a crisis. This was reported by Calcio Mercato.
