New Rossoneri boss Stefano Pioli has no time for Giampaolo ‘slogans’ as he joins the ‘Milan seven’
The AC Milan managerial merry-go-round continues with Stefano Pioli taking over from the recently sacked Marco Giampaolo.
Incredibly, Pioli is the Rossoneri’s ninth full-time manager since their last Serie A triumph back in 2011 and their third in 2019 alone, along with Gennaro Gattuso.
Upon taking the job at city rivals Inter Milan, Antonio Conte revealed his motto of “head down and ride”, while the previous incumbent at AC Milan, Giampaolo, preferred a “heads up and play” approach.
But Pioli, who won the 1985/86 Serie A title with Juventus as a player, arrives at the San Siro in confident mood, choosing to follow his own, very simple mantra: win.
“We must fight to go to the Champions League. My slogan is ‘win’, just ‘to win’. Head up or down, you need to win,” he said at his unveiling.
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Despite that Serie A title to his name, Pioli has a lot to prove to the AC Milan supporters and in general as a manager. His last job with Fiorentina saw him win just 27 of his 74 games in charge (36.49%) across all competitions, while the only title to his name as a manager so far is the 2000/01 Allievi Under-17 National Championship with Bologna. You’ve heard of it, right?
And who was he in charge of before Fiorentina? Inter Milan, of course.
In fact, Pioli is now the seventh man to take charge of both Milan giants, having stood on the opposite side of the Derby della Madonnina rivalry for 27 games between November 2016 and May 2017.
With Juventus well and truly in control of Italian football and the likes of Napoli and Inter proving to be the Old Lady’s nearest rivals in recent years, Pioli’s main task will be to return AC Milan to the elite footballing conversation, not just in Serie A, but around Europe.
Given that they haven’t finished above fifth-place since 2013, that task is a monumental one.
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