GdS: ‘Winning the derby might not be enough’ – Pioli’s Milan tenure fizzling out | OneFootball

It is perhaps an obvious statement given the magnitude of the result, but last night’s defeat against Roma has drastically reduced any chances of Stefano Pioli remaining as AC Milan head coach into next season.

La Gazzetta dello Sport talks about how the full-time whistle in last night’s defeat against Roma might have also been symbolic of time being called on Pioli’s Milan tenure. He would leave with a Scudetto, a Champions League semi-final and plenty of players developed, but eventually everything ends.

The segment is titled: ‘Pioli and Milan, the future has never been so uncertain. Winning the derby might not be enough’. Obviously, the implication is that Pioli could part ways with Milan at the end of the season.

The hashtag #PioliOut was back in fashion on X within about 10 minutes of the end of last night’s 2-1 defeat against Roma, which meant a 3-1 aggregate defeat against a side 14 points lower in the league table.

It is a journey that began in 2019, as an interim, when Marco Giampaolo was sacked after just seven games in charge, and it continued through a series of successes. In 2021 he brought Milan back to the Champions League after seven years of absence, in 2022 he won the Scudetto after eleven seasons, while in 2023 he led the team to the semi-finals of the UCL.

Milan exiting the Europa League last night though was defeat on multiple fronts. The main one is that it was the only way to save the season with a trophy, but in addition to that the manner of it was frustrating given that the Rossoneri had 40 shots and Matteo Gabbia got the only goal after 86 minutes of the second leg.

And now? The ball passes to the management trio of Geoffrey Moncada, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Giorgio Furlani. The latter has spoken publicly several times about the coach’s fate: “Since the beginning of the season, criticism of the coach and doubts relating to his future have emerged after every defeat. I can only say that I am lucky to have him with us.”

Milan have 12 points more than last year but the squad is certainly stronger than last season, especially if we consider the reserves. The upper levels, however, are called to make a decision: call time on his nearly five-year spell after 233 games, or continue with the man of the Scudetto.

In the press room, after the usual TV interviews, Pioli spoke for the umpteenth time about his future: “Be patient until the end, then we will take stock and address the discussion.” The first date circled in red is Monday 22 April: the day of the derby against Inter.

The Nerazzurri, with a win, would celebrate the Scudetto and the second star ahead of Pioli. This time avoiding a defeat may not be enough.