It wasn’t the first time AC Milan fans had staged a protest and it probably wouldn’t be the last.
Fifteen years ago, Milan enthusiasts were under the window of a certain Brazilian playmaker who was deliberating on a mega-monetary move. In January 2009, Man City made a scandalous offer to Milan for Kaka, estimated at $128 million. Milan had accepted the offer due to their emerging debt, but Kaka was not sold. To convince the player to stay, Milan fans gathered and stood outside his apartment complex chanting his call in thanks. In the end, Kaka quedó. al less for about six more months, and nevertheless joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2009. But his protest triumphed, giving rise to Garry Cook’s famous “bottling” line that now lives in immortality.
Over the past week, the Rossoneri faithful have staged a protest, this time online, against the club to prevent Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui from replacing Stefano Pioli at the end of the season. It’s an open secret that Pioli’s tenure at the club is coming to an end after four-and-a-half years at the club. In fact, Pioli is Milan’s longest-serving coach since Carlo Ancelotti left the club 15 years ago after nine years in charge.
Milan want to hire a coach who will bring new concepts and momentum. This season, they look tired and the stagnation is evident. Antonio Conte’s call has been circulating around the club throughout the season, but it looks like the former Juventus and Inter manager could simply return to Serie A to manage Napoli, if reports are to be believed.
Lopetegui’s squad had been added to the squad along with those of Roberto De Zerbi, Mark van Bommel, Paulo Fonseca and others. Zerbi aside, this seems like a boring list of possible candidates. Van Bommel very early in his coaching career and probably not in a position for a club the size of Milan; Fonseca has done a smart job at Roma, but nothing on his manager’s CV suggests he is smart enough for a club like Milan, while Lopeteugi has no experience in Serie A and his last job at Wolves.
When news circulated that Lopetegui was close to signing a deal with the club, fans went wild and started a petition to stop the club from signing the Spaniard. Some 10,000 signatures were collected in less than 48 hours, as was done across Milan’s Curva Sud calling for the club to be more ambitious, and the hashtag “Nopetegui” went viral on X (formerly Twitter) last week. Fans cited his brief tenure as coach of Real Madrid in 2018, a club Milan considers him on an equal footing. as one of the reasons for not signing the 57-year-old, not to mention his last assignment with Wolves, whose pulse barely quickened.
It has been reported that Milanese owners RedBird were taken aback by the noisy reaction to Lopetegui’s potential hire and have since pulled out, going back to the drawing board and trying to identify a new boy. Arguably, De Zerbi is the choice of names. On the list, but with a $16 million buyout clause to release him from Brighton, it remains to be seen if Milan will pay that much for a guy who played for them (in short) in the mid-1990s.
De Zerbi’s ability to expand the ability of youngsters and demand passionate football from his players pleases Milan’s hierarchy. Plus, he enjoys the Serie A experience that most clubs look for and doesn’t make too much of a fuss when it comes to moving applications. Still, RedBird runs Milan under a strict monetary style and paying $16 million to exempt a coach from his existing contract is likely not compatible with his philosophy.
Vincenzo Italiano is a coach that Milan considers. The current Fiorentina coach, like De Zerbi, values attacking football and his same old 4-3-3 formula would make the most of Milan’s existing generation of players. Italiano is also said to be less expensive to sign than De Zerbi and has led La Viola to a European final and will most likely achieve another in a matter of weeks.
With city rivals Inter so dominant this season winning the Scudetto in the Derby della Madonnina and getting a second star in the process, Milan enthusiasts know the club will have to get the date right this summer to keep up the pace. and bring in an established coach who is an improvement on Pioli.
Only time will tell if they will follow the advice of the fans.