Berlusconi makes his move: Brocchi replaces Mihajlovic at AC Milan

Date: 13th April 2016 at 12:28pm
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Silvio Berlusconi has finally made his own wish come true after he sacked Sinisa Mihajlovic as AC Milan coach and replaced him with Cristian Brocchi on Tuesday.

silvio-berlusconi-1

The Rossoneri president was never too shy to voice any criticism of the Serbian tactician and his team’s 2-1 defeat at home to Juventus on Sunday was the final straw.

This is the fourth time in two years that Berlusconi has changed coaches at AC Milan and now he has brought in the youth team coach Cristian Brocchi for the remaining seven matches of the season.

Brocchi has the remainder of the Serie A campaign as well as the Coppa Italia Final against Juve to prove that he can coach the Diavolo next season but it is easy for anyone to doubt him.

Like Clarence Seedorf and Filippo Inzaghi before him, he has no experience coaching a football team at the senior level, and like ‘Super Pippo’, he has been promoted from the Primavera side.

Cristian-Brocchi AC-Milan

It seems that Berlusconi is keen to have former AC Milan players as coaches so they can teach the players about the club’s history and winning mentality. Fabio Capello and Carlo Ancelotti both played for and coached the Rossoneri and were very successful at the club but not everyone can achieve their success.

At least Mihajlovic had experience coaching at the likes of Bologna, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and the Serbian national team but Inzaghi showed that coaching adults is different to coaching teenagers so it is easy to assume that Brocchi will be another flop.

While the sacking of Mihajlovic was met with disapproval from Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani and the Rossoneri supporters, Berlusconi seems convinced by his choice.

“Brocchi is a choice for the future, a future in which Milan must return to playing football and gaining results like it did in the best moments of its history,” Berlusconi announced on his Facebook page.

Although the Diavolo patron should not expect instant success from Brocchi, the new coach has worked with some of the youngsters that are coming through the ranks at the Milanese giants such as Gianluigi Donnarumma, Davide Calabria and Manuel Locatelli.

The latter has not made his Serie A debut yet but reports in the Italian media suggest that Brocchi is likely to give Locatelli playing time in the Rossoneri midfield, possibly in place of the experienced Riccardo Montolivo.

Mihajlovic

Mihajlovic failed to develop a style of play in his stint as AC Milan coach but those who know his background know that the Serbian hardly sets a team out to play attractive football. His teams have usually been solid at the back and hard working.

Brocchi’s methods contrast with the former Sampdoria coach’s ones with his 4-3-3 attacking style which he has used at the Allievi and Primavera levels and he wants his teams to play the ball out of defence instead of just making old-fashioned clearances.
Recent history has shown that employing unproven coaches is not a recipe for success but Berlusconi seems keen to go down that path for the third time in two years.

Although he has got the opportunity earlier than possibly anticipated, Brocchi has a chance to buck the trend set by Seedorf and Inzaghi.

 

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