Milan is approaching the end of its season and the question accompanying the Rossoneri universe these days is only one: "Does the Coppa Italia save the season or not?"
The answer, based on what has been seen this year, can already be given: no, at most it could make it less bitter, but a Coppa Italia is not enough. Clearly, it is very important that the Rossoneri do everything they can to win the trophy in order to secure Europe next year and to dive into the new season with the awareness that there can be no more mistakes.
What went wrong?
This season opened – for the second consecutive year – without a sporting director and with a troubled choice of coach, which saw the management backtrack on its first option (Lopetegui) and choose a profile that was not high-profile compared to all those available on the market (Antonio Conte above all).
A misunderstood mistake, as shown a few months later when Fonseca was dismissed to make room for the Portuguese head coach Sergio Conceição. And it’s not even so much the choices themselves, but how the management (did not) defend them throughout the year: two coaches who were left alone on too many occasions.
Then there’s the issue of the team: from a market completely overhauled mid-season to a weak presence of the management team at Milanello, which progressively disappeared as the year went on. But, if you believe this team can still win the next few matches, and especially the Italian cup final on May 14, then you have to look into sports betting because it might help you to stay informed on all the latest results and odds, and also be able to possibly gain some important bonuses while you are at it.
Strong choices and mediocrity
The watchword for next summer, therefore, is only one: "strong choices". In all three of these areas.
It must start from the very top, from the club’s higher management.
The choice of the sporting director must arrive as soon as possible, so that planning for next year can begin and no time is wasted: a team that wants to compete on multiple fronts and with the prestige of the Rossoneri cannot be without a sporting director. And it’s not enough to just make a choice, but internal hierarchies must be clearly defined to avoid the power chaos that occurred this year, as relayed via Milan News.
If this intrinsic order is respected, then it will be fundamental to choose a top-level coach, a winner who can give a precise identity to the team, which in turn must be built intelligently. A decision must be made as soon as possible about who the leaders are, who to keep, and who to let go, already thinking about adequate replacements. Only in this way, only with strong choices, can Milan think about lifting itself out of the mediocrity into which it has fallen.
Now, a few matches are left in the season. But above all, there is a final to focus on, which is the shortest way for the red and black faithful to achieve a European qualification next season.
What did Sergio Conceicao say about the much-anticipated Coppa Italia final?
“Managing the team in view of the cup final? I don’t have to manage anything. Every day that we come to work here, there is the responsibility of working for a club like Milan. The league is what it is, but we have the responsibility to show quality every day, to be a different team from what we’ve sometimes been in the league. That’s what we’re working on. The management that other coaches do means nothing to me. I respect Capello a lot, he has his own thoughts and I have mine. We don’t manage anything, and then the match isn’t just about the 11 who start. We think one game at a time, that’s our mindset,” he said in a recent press conference.
Will winning the Coppa Italia final matter for the coach’s future and Milan’s technical project moving forward? Here’s what AC Milan’s director Geoffrey Moncada had to say about the matter:
“It’s not like that. We have faith in him. He has brought the right mentality. He is a hard worker, he works a lot every day at Milanello with his staff. The Coppa Italia has nothing to do with it, it’s a different matter. We’re doing well with him. On what is needed to be done to return to a high level? We need to work, we know our needs. We have clear ideas, we know what we have to change and do better for the future.”
