A

little over a year

ago, Serie A

giants Milan,

unhappy with

their seasonal

results, sacked

coach Gennaro

Gattuso. To many, it seemed harsh.

After all, Gattuso had done reasonably

well, claiming fifth place in Serie A,

just one point away from Champions

League qualification.12 months later,

Milan have just finished sixth,12 points

adrift of the Champions League.

However, this time the club have kept

faith with current coach Stefano Pioli.

It is of course true that it is not

always a good idea to sack the coach.

The thing is for months now, Italian and

German media have been assuring us

that the former RB Leipzig coach, Ralf

Rangnick, would be Milan’s head coach

and sporting director in time for the

2020-21 season. That plan has now

been abandoned.

Last October, after a poor start

which saw the club lose four of their

first six league games, then Milan

coach, Marco Giampaolo, the man who

succeeded Gattuso, was given the old

heave-ho. Suddenly, the sacking of

Gattuso did not look so smart, as

experienced stop-gap coach Pioli,

formerly of Lazio, Internazionale and

Fiorentina, was rushed in.

Not long after that, Milan CEO Ivan

Gazidis was assuring fans that the club

was laying serious plans for the future

with a view to finding a permanent,

non-caretaker coach. The successful

Rangnick was reported to have

concluded a deal to take up his

new role at the club.

And then, the results began to talk.

Having sunk as low as12th, Pioli’s

Milan began to climb back towards

the top of the table. In particular,

Milan blossomed in the post-lockdown

restart period inJune andJuly, picking

up nine wins and three draws in12

Serie A games. No side did better

in that period.

Milan picked up wins against Roma

(2-0), Lazio (3-0) and champions

Juventus (4-2), while it it took two

equally in-form sides, Napoli (2-2)

and Atalanta (1-1), to call a temporary

halt to their winning gallop. The only

other stain on their record, a 2-2

draw with SPAL, involved a comeback

of true character, scoring twice in the

last15 minutes.

Not only did Milan hit a white-hot

streak of good results, but they also

produced some very attractive football.

Suddenly, all those ugly ducklings –

Rafael Leao and Ante Rebic in attack,

Ismael Bennacer, Hakan Calhanoglu

and Franck Kessie in midfield, and

Theo Hernandez in defence began

to look like world beaters.

What had happened? In one

word – Ibrahimovic.

Obviously, Milan’s good form

depended on a combination of factors,

but nothing was more game changing

for them than the leadership, wisdom

and class of the 38-year-old.

Remember, this is a young Milan

• Leao and goalkeeper Gianluigi
  Donnarumma are 21, Bennacer
  and Hernandez 22, Kessie
  and Lucas Paqueta 23.

When “Ibra” was pulled out of MLS,

attracted back to Milan from LA Galaxy

last December, many wondered if this

was not a pathetic last hurrah for both

player and club. Could Zlatan still be

effective, indeed influential, in Serie A?

The answer, with ten goals and

five assists in18 league games, was

a resounding yes. He reached the

milestone of 50 goals in his second

spell at the club, becoming the first

player in history to reach half a century

for both of the Milan teams.

Perhaps the Swede was helped

by the tempo of Serie A, less intense

than the Premier League, where he

was last seen in Europe. But what is

beyond doubt is that he is a huge

influence on this team.

It was at this point, then, that Milan’s

best laid plans fell apart. If it ain’t broke,

don’t fix it, and by the season’s end

Milan were looking anything but broke.

Just as the team was beginning to

seriously come together, it made no

sense to dismantle it and start all over

again with the wholescale rebuilding

job that Rangnick, in various interviews,

had indicated as necessary.

By the middle ofJuly, the Rangnick

idea was dropped while Pioli was

confirmed, given a two-year contract

Milan coach...

Stefano Pioli

Celebrating...

Zlatan with vice-

captain Gianluigi

Donnarumma

Media have been assuring us that

Ralf Rangnick would be Milan’s

head coach and sporting director...

that plan has now been abandoned

Milan

Italian giants tear up plans for a new sporting director

Headliners

New era...

Ibrahimovic

is central to

Milan’s plans