Manager watch: 5 candidates for AC Milan
Silvio Berlusconi will probably end up running through an entire league full of managers in hopes that at least one of them will be able to bring some glory back to the Milanese side’s plate. It’s been a terrible few years if you are a Milanista with the team finishing outside the top 6 for Three seasons in a row now without a single trophy to ease the pain.
In fact, AC Milan have not won anything since Max Allegri’s unprecedented march to the Scudetto in 2010-11 (unless you count the 2011-12 Italian Super Cup). All of it seems to be ancient history and what is scary if you are a Milanista is that so seems to be the case also with Milan’s reign as an elite club.
In the two and a half years since Max Allegri left the club (and went on to achieve greater things with a presently greater club), Berlusconi has hired and sacked Clarence Seedorf, Pippo Inzaghi and Sinisa Mihajlovic with the axe close to falling on the ex-Milan player and now head coach, Cristian Brocchi.
Milan weren’t all that happy with Mihajlovic and the same now stands for Brocchi who may find himself out of a job as AC Milan finished 7th in the league and 10 points off Inter let alone the 23 points off the UEFA Champions League spot.
A change in direction is nigh at the boardroom level with Berlusconi selling the club and so sooner rather than later a managerial change is on the cards, let’s have a look at the tentative names on the short list of managerial candidates who could take over if you believe the links in the press.
1) Rudi Garcia
The likes of Tutomercato and Tuttosport are all keen on linking Rudi Garcia to the AC Milan job and have named him as the favorite should the Chinese Consortium at the club take over as is claimed by the Milan hierarchy as a possibility.
The Ligue 1 winner who has had a fine experience with Roma before he was sacked by the Italian club may be a decent choice for the job. However, the murk and gloom around the club where expectations are high and of late, tidings are poor may be a problem for Garcia who finished second twice with Roma before being sacked midway through the third.
He does get his teams to play good football though and is a good natured manager with a lot often referring to him as one of the best young managers out of France, but he will certainly look for a job that has less baggage.
Manager-Club Match Rating – 3/5
Rudi Garcia is an excellent match for a club which will look to play good football and climb up the places in Serie A. If backed reasonably, he’d do a decent job building the team up again. However, doubts remain as to how much mopping up he is capable of, at a level where expectations will be high from the word go. Experience at clubs like Lille and Roma would serve him well if he were to take the job on.
Garcia has a keen eye for fresh unestablished talent and is great at nurturing them, so budget constraints would be something he could work with if his decision making otherwise is backed. Hence, a few conditions in place, he’d prove to be a decent choice for the club.
Rumour Rating – 3/5
Rudi Garcia is a free agent and he is actively looking for his next project. Considering, how he well he could align with the club he seems like a viable option for AC Milan and his appointment seems fairly logical.