The most disturbing and surprising aspect of Milan’s elimination from the Europa League was the flat line from one Thursday to the next. No signs of life. Yet, Stefano Pioli has tried them all, like the most avid resuscitator. For a week he evoked the reaction, he hammered on the need to grow in defensive attention and competitiveness, he had the first leg at San Siro reviewed, he prepared a new tactical structure to go further, in the finishing training at the Olimpico he gathered the team in a circle and tried to recover an empathy of bodies and intentions, he brought Rafa Leao to the conference to face him with his responsibilities as technical leader. No way. The Devil’s heart was not ignited. Flat line like at San Siro. Leao and Theo still off. Giroud impalpable. Decisive inattentions in defense, perennial delays on second balls, anemic attacks. Surprising because, after the most negative performances, Milan have always followed up with a reaction of pride. Not this time.
end of a cycle
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And then it must be acknowledged that Pioli’s Milan no longer exists. The Grey’s Anatomy people would say, “We lost him.” Not because the players are playing against him or because the coach has suddenly become deceived, but because the cycles end and, after years of coexistence, the group relationships change and fray. The communication channels have become clogged over time, limescale in the pipes: the empathy of the championship no longer flows between the coach and the team, when everyone on the bus sang “Pioli is on fire”. Overall, the empathy of the entire Milan world crumbled: managers, fans… And everything was even more evident, in contrast with the extraordinary cohesion of De Rossi’s Roma. Today Daniele just needs to raise an eyebrow to get a virtuous reaction on the pitch. With the organization and new tactical courage, he conveyed serenity and confidence to the team. Gianluca Mancini, who under Mourinho was a hysterical hammer, now carries out Dybala-oriented checks with an unrecognizable calm. The American owners promptly confirmed the coach, instigating the evening. The Giallorossi people were a flow of honey, while the Rossoneri, livid, called the team under the curve.
Responsibilities
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Even if everyone wants Pioli on Golgotha, the blame for the debacle must be shared among all the components. Pioli remains one of the best Italian coaches and will be remembered as one of the best in Milan’s history: he took the team from the rubble, in 11th place and will probably leave them in 2nd, after having brought them back to the Scudetto (unforeseen) and to a semi-final of the Champions League, filling the San Siro with quality football for 5 years. The players who go on the pitch are much more responsible. Leao is concluding yet another season as an unfinished player, in June he will turn 25, 9 older than Yamal who already decides matches continuously. If, at San Siro, he could have been surprised by El Shaarawy’s cage, what did he do on the return leg to get out of it? How many matches of Theo and Rafa can be saved in the season? In the storm, there were no leaders at the helm. A rousing bloc of Italians, more sensitive to belonging, would have helped. And here the responsibilities of society come into play. It is useless to count the goals of Okafor, Loftus-Cheek and Jovic to argue that it was a good transfer. It was culpably incomplete: Tonali’s functions were not replaced, a midfielder of depth and personality, like Koopmeiners, capable of directing, was missing, a deputy Theo and a solid alternative to Giroud. As expected in the summer, Maldini’s void took its toll. Pioli lacked a technical interlocutor and the players lacked a reference presence. For Hernandez, one of the most disappointing, it was enough to exchange a few words with Paolo to swell up.
the reconstruction
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Ibra is something else, but it will be up to him to re-found. He will have to do it, first of all, by building a competent team around himself, choosing the right coach and targeting a market that will have to be important. As omnipotent as he is, Zlatan is still an apprentice to the role. This is his first real football engineering work. It’s time to make delicate choices, not to make mistakes, if you want to see the real Milan again. The one forced to ruin other people’s celebrations to save the season and who listens to the ultra homily with his head bowed has nothing to do with the glorious Rossoneri history.
