“AC Milan’s Decline: Questionable Management Decisions and Missed Opportunities”
AC Milan may have finished second in Serie A last season, but celebrating that achievement would be misguided, considering they trailed their fierce rivals, Inter Milan, by nearly 20 points. This weekend’s matches highlighted the significant gap in quality between the two teams, with Inter comfortably defeating Atalanta 4-0, while Milan barely managed to secure a draw against Lazio.
Despite making some smart signings last season, Milan showed little progress as a team, instead choosing to blame Stefano Pioli and replace him with a less proven manager. Replacing the coach who led Milan to the Scudetto with Paulo Fonseca is baffling. Fonseca’s track record in club football is unimpressive, with his only league title coming from his time at Shakhtar Donetsk, a club where winning the Ukrainian league is almost a given due to its strong structure and youth development.
Fonseca has an inflated ego, comparable to José Mourinho, but without the accomplishments. Unlike Fonseca, Jos Luhukay at least won the 2. Bundesliga twice. Fonseca, on the other hand, failed at Roma and didn’t even manage to qualify Lille for the Champions League in Ligue 1. His appointment at Milan seems unjustified, as he has not developed or improved any players.
Milan, one of the most prestigious clubs in world football, second only to Real Madrid in Champions League titles, made a mistake in hiring a manager inferior to the one they unjustly dismissed. This decision aligns with RedBird Capital’s questionable management, including their controversial removal of Paolo Maldini, who is not only an iconic figure at Milan but also the architect of the squad that won the Scudetto in the 2021/22 season.
Instead of building on their recent success, Milan has regressed, parting ways with key figures like Maldini and Sandro Tonali. They’ve failed to address the team’s major weaknesses in defense and midfield.
After a disappointing transfer window, where the only notable signing was replacing Olivier Giroud with Tammy Abraham, Milan’s vulnerable defense was exposed by Lazio. If it weren’t for the heroics of substitute Rafael Leão, Milan would have lost more points. Why wasn’t Leão, the team’s standout player, in the starting lineup?
Moreover, if someone argues that Theo Hernandez is Milan’s best player instead of Leão, they’d be equally puzzled, as Hernandez also didn’t start. This decision seems to be part of a power move by a manager who lacks credibility at Milan.
Fonseca’s ego-driven choices, such as benching Leão, are hard to justify. Only the most pessimistic and misguided Milan fan would attempt to defend such a decision.