Milan Management

[ACMILAN1983]

Some interesting comments by Boban about Milan's current situation where he frankly talks about the team, but also particularly about the management situation. He also calls for Maldini's return again.

http://www.milannews.it/primo-piano/boba...ini-166016

Sacchi would be a tipical Berlusconi type of move. Get a well known Milan face to make it look like they are actually doing something. His arrival would not magically fix the problems.

You're right, if he's brought in by Berlusconi as a PR stunt, it's going to end badly. However, I think it's a good move if done right and the first of many steps required. The club needs an identity if it's to move forward with a clear focus on how it will build a long term sporting culture. Sacchi's Milan and his ideas best represent what Silvio wants from Milan, so it makes sense if his role is to help develop and cultivate this culture.

It will impact and overlap with the work of others, particularly Galli if Sacchi is predominantly involved in the youth sector, but it's up to these individuals, who have enjoyed a successful working relationship in the past, to work together.

Galli has commented on Sacchi's return:

http://www.milannews.it/le-interviste/tu...ndo-166015

Sacchi has also commented, saying he wouldn't take a role involving the bench:

http://www.milannews.it/le-interviste/tu...tro-166009

Not sure where else to post this..but in an effort to cut costs and/or raise funds, we have sold the team...

bus! http://football-italia.net/61457/milan-sell-teambus

Apparently this will save us 200,000-300,000 Euros a season. Again, not sure if to laugh or cry..

I'm not going to look too far into this. Apparently Juve and Inter did the same.

I think there's a number of things that are wrong with Milan at the moment, but to be frank, it really just boils down to a single issue: A lack of money.

Berlusconi was apparently furious after the match against Atalanta, saying that it is unacceptable that we keep losing to clubs that have 1/5 of the income that we do. He does have a point, but at the same time I think he is failing to understand a few important things. These clubs buy players that are within their budget, are suitable for their ambitions and fit into the type of football that the team has to play in order to do as well as possible. They know their limitations, and make the most of what they have.

What do Milan do? We buy players that are within our budget, but that means that they aren't suitable for the ambitions of the club. We then play overly ambitious football, which leads to dropping far more points than we need to.

If you think about Juventus, they were struggling with a lot of the same problems as us between 2009 and 2011. And what they did in 2011-12 was exactly what Milan need to do now. Nobody made Conte sign a contract that said that the team had to play attacking, entertaining football. They chose pragmatism, realizing that their first priority had to be winning. I don't think anyone would claim that they played better football than us in 2011-12. At our best we were far superior to them, and we had a stronger squad. But they won the title ahead of us, because they only cared about getting the points, not how they were won. A "provincial" attitude that proved to be very successful. That is what I think we need at Milan too.

Another point that an Italian commentator made today was that quite a few of the players in our squad most likely see playing for Milan in itself as the pinnacle of their careers, a fulfilment of their ambitions as a football player. That would explain why they're not constantly giving 110%, and why so many of them refuse to leave when offers come in from other clubs. This is, of course, due to having a club where everything is set up for ambitious, world class players. When you bring mediocre players into that kind of environment, where everything is handed to them on a silver platter, it shouldn't surprise anyone that they start to relax a bit, whether the players are conscious of it themselves or not.

Imagine yourself in the same situation: You are a slightly above average performer at work, and then suddenly you are headhunted by this massive company that offers you a fantastic five-year contract, your own big office with a great view, a company car, etc. Everything you need is given to you, no questions asked. They can't even fire you if you're not performing, and they keep asking you to perform at a level beyond what you are capable of. Of course you'll probably start to relax a bit after you've been there a few months.

However, if you graduated top of your class at university and you have the drive and ambition to really leave a mark on the industry, you will likely consider working for a company like that a way to reach those goals. When they provide you with everything you need, it gives you the time and energy to focus more on reaching your own goals.

So from that perspective, it's no wonder that we are struggling these days.

A really good post.

That said, I think Berlusconi, actually both Barbara and Silvio in the recent past, are right to question why this team who has a rather large budget comparatively fails to perform better than those with much lower budgets. It's the first step to acknowledging a problem before taking steps to resolve it.

I also think in terms of being more pragmatic, a lot depends on what to goals are for the club. For example, if there's a long term future based on Sacchi's principles and bringing through youth, then the club should play building to that philosophy. It might mean struggling in the short term, but it makes a smoother transition long term. I also think this because as it is, I don't think this side is cut out for being pragmatic. The players don't fight in the way Juve or Atletico do and imo the side tends to play at it's best when they are more ambitious and willing to take the game to the opposition, as seen against Napoli and Real most recently. It's often the performances where the side is failing to take any initiative in the game where they are most criticised, such as the defensive display vs Juve at the start of the season, the Torino match recently or the Sassuolo and Atalanta matches (where organisation and structure were lacking so the team never really dominated).