GdS: ‘One bench for three’ – the names considered as Milan want an Italian coach | OneFootball

AC Milan are closing in on hiring Fabio Paratici as their new sporting director, and he agrees with the management on one key thing: an Italian head coach is needed.

While the 2024-25 season is still a couple of months away from finishing, Milan are getting their pieces in place for the next campaign. La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) confirm that Paratici is likely to become the new director, even if there are some clauses to be clarified.

With that will come a change in direction: Milan will no longer rely on ‘European’ gambles and instead will try to rebuild an Italian base. This is something that begins with the coach, and there are three names on the table.

The Italian job

The first is Antonio Conte, perhaps the candidate who would require the most upheaval in terms of the playing squad as he has built many of his successes with a three-man defence, even if at Napoli he is having a great season with a 4-3-3.

Translation: he is very good at getting the best out of the material that is given to him, and Conte is someone Paratici knows very well from his days both at Juventus and at Spurs, so them reuniting cannot be ruled out.

Roberto De Zerbi is the second name, who is currently at Marseille. This Milan squad certainly wasn’t built directly around his football principles but he has used four-man and three-man defences during his previous jobs at Sassuolo, Brighton and now in France.

With De Zerbi there is a profile that knows Italian football well and is certainly an up-and-coming coach. Moreover, he also knows Milan well having spent time in the youth sector, yet there is also an element of risk because he hasn’t yet experienced pressures like the Rossoneri job brings.

Then, there is the potential return of Massimiliano Allegri, who would perhaps require the least overhaul when looking at the current squad. He too has shown a willingness to use both a three-man and a four-man defence, with the rearguard being the platform to build from.

Allegri is certainly more Conte-like given his vast experience in demanding environments – including Milan – yet he left Juve under a cloud towards the end of last season and there have been criticisms of his at time ultra-defensive style.