Pioli lifts lid on Milan sacking, ‘fight’ with Zlatan and derby record: “Forever grateful” | OneFootball

Stefano Pioli has been seen around the AC Milan squad recently, with their trip to Riyadh coinciding with the Italian’s new job. Today, he has spoken at length about his exit and much more.

The big talking point for much of 2024 was Pioli. In the early months of the year, the Italian was on a see-saw constantly, about whether he was going to leave then, or at the end of the season. Frustratingly for many, an answer was not found until the damage had been done.

Then, when the Scudetto-winning coach departed and the months passed, many went back on the decision made by Milan, suggesting that keeping Pioli would have been the better move, with Paulo Fonseca struggling to get himself off the ground.

For the first time since his sacking, the 59-year-old sat to speak about his exit – doing so with Gazzetta dello Sport – whilst also touching on his relationship with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and much more.

Pioli, how is his life in Riyadh?

“It’s the regular one of a professional: from 7.30 am to 4.30 pm at the training ground when the heat reaches 45°. In this period, in the morning. On Fridays, we finish by 11 am to respect religious services.

“I live in a well-equipped compound, about 30 km from our sports centre, with my wife, my son and my staff. We play padel, bowl, and explore the city’s ethnic restaurants. Apart from the traffic, everything is fine.”

An Arabic word? “Yalla, which I also use in training to say ‘Let’s go… let’s go…’. And mabruk which means congratulations.”

Do they recognise you on the street?

“Everywhere… In malls, in restaurants. They call me Bioli, with a B. They say, ‘Hello Bioli… AC Milan… Scudetto’. There are a lot of Milan fans.”

How much do you miss your grandchildren?

“A lot. Also the friends. But it was also a deliberate choice: to get out of my comfort zone, I felt the need for an experience abroad.”

How did the Arabs win you over?

“With the questions at the first meeting: competent, targeted. The best professional approach of a career. Then, without hypocrisy: money weighed in.”

He seemed determined to take a sabbatical…

“True. I had a year off in mind, after the five at Milan, which were beautiful but exhausting. I had already planned a month in London to improve my English and visit a few clubs: Chelsea, Tottenham…

“I could have enjoyed the Milan super-contract, but I soon realised that I would struggle to stay put.”

Offers from Italy?

“Three. The first in May, the last just before Arabia. But after the wonderful adventure at AC Milan, it didn’t seem right to coach in Italy.”

Would he have fought for the Scudetto? “I think so…”

The level of Arab football?

“Higher than I thought: 6-7 teams can stay in Serie A, 3-4 would play for the Champions League. At the beginning, at Al-Nassr, I didn’t force it, then slowly we brought the players to where we wanted them, especially in terms of intensity.”

Cristiano Ronaldo?

“If I arrive half an hour earlier at training, he arrives 25 minutes earlier. He’s always the first on the bus. A perfectionist who demands a lot from himself and others. He lives for the team, helps, and advises.

“Sometimes, I let him talk to the boys. I can’t consider him like the others. But he is intelligent, he respects roles.”

Even to Ibra, you leave space in the dressing room.

“Yes, but they have different characters. Ibra was impetuous with a dominant personality. Cristiano is a legend, he’s planetary, he’s huge… He has a thousand official goals in his head. He will score them. He doesn’t miss many.”

Does he still hear from Zlatan?

“He wrote to me when I signed for Al-Nassr, I congratulated him after Madrid. We spoke again here in Riyadh. It was a pleasure to coach him, not easy, but for that very reason a pleasure.

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“He will certainly remember an intense fight in my office… It helped me.”

Maldini and Massara?

“We kept in touch. I worked well with two honest and very competent people. Our understanding was very strong. Then with Paolo, there were also strong discussions, because we are two hard heads.”

Do your former players still call you?

“Many. But really: we speak very little about Milan.”

Theo is very attached to you. He is suffering.

“Theo is a good guy. Everyone has their own strategies to get the best out of players. There wasn’t a single day at Milan when I didn’t have to push him. But tell me one left-back in the world who can move games like him. I’ve been reproached for only using the carrot. That’s not true. But I didn’t show the stick in public.”

Leao?

“By dint of criticising him, you lose sight of the reality, which is a boy who is constantly growing. Even this year. I remain convinced that Rafa can still become very strong, I don’t know if he’s a Ballon d’Or winner, but much stronger than now. He’s getting there.

“When he went to the national team I used to tell him, ‘Watch everything CR7 does well, then report it to me. He’d come back, tell me and I’d say, ‘See it? You do it too!”

Who has grown so much is Reijnders. You pushed hard for him…

“Moncada told me, ‘Take a look at this guy. I had already admired him in a conference game against West Ham. I was fascinated by his elegance and his ability to go past his opponent without dribbling him. Yes, I did everything I could to get him.

“At the start of the season, he was getting two chances a game. I used to hammer him: ‘Tijj, I’ll get the goals out of you. Now he’s getting them all out. Fofana has completed it. We, having lost Krunic, have had problems. The truth is that playing in Italy is not easy and a year of acclimatisation is needed.

De Ketelaere indeed…

“There Gasperini was very good at finding the right position for him, in attack. We already had Giroud and Leao. We needed someone who could also work more at the back. Then he grew athletically and found the right dimension in Bergamo. San Siro and the Milan shirt weigh a lot.

“Charles is very strong, but in the final in Dublin he struggled and last year against us too: Thiaw cancelled him out. He still has to learn how to handle strong pressures. He is young. We certainly weren’t wrong to buy him.”

Have you followed Milan matches?

“Very little. I must confess, I can’t, I get too emotional in front of the TV. I only saw one match in full, the worst one… Milan-Juve. And the second half against Real.”

So you didn’t see the derby?

“It was written that Milan would win, without me…”

After five years, was the story between you and Milan over anyway or did those derbies weigh?

“It had come to a physiological end, the derbies accelerated it. Losing six in a row hurt me, naturally. Especially the two in the Champions League, also because they took away the value of a great result: being back in the semi-finals after 16 years.

In addition to the derbies, have the injuries weighed on you? That Milan continues to suffer without you…

“At Al-Nassr I only had a half-contracture of the Brazilian Talisca who missed one game. The working methods are the same as last year.”

When did you realise it was over at AC Milan?

“There was a precise moment: the return leg of the Europa League quarter-final, Roma v Milan, at the Olimpico. In the first leg, we had lost 1-0. In the dressing room before the match, I gave a goosebump speech, one of my most heartfelt ever. I was sure we would go through.

“Instead, the team got nothing and did little on the pitch. There I realised that what I was giving was no longer enough. The empathy had broken down.

Regrets? Regrets?

“None. For me, there is only one yardstick for evaluating a professional adventure: evaluating the team as I found it and as I left it. Everything that happened in between, the good and the bad, is part of the journey and must be accepted.”

He found Milan in 11th place, a team which hadn’t played in the Champions League for five years and hadn’t won a Scudetto for eight; he left it in 2nd place, in the Champions League, with an extra Scudetto…

“For five years I gave Milan everything I had, to make the club, players and fans happy. But I didn’t receive less in return than what I gave. The accounts add up. I experienced unimaginable and unforgettable emotions. I will always be grateful.”

Choose a photograph of the Scudetto.

“At Tonali’s goal against Lazio, Giroud, a little happy for the very important goal, a little annoyed because I had taken him out, jumped on me and threw me to the ground… Few people noticed. And then the Scudetto party and the joy of my friends in Sassuolo.

“Few today remember how young that team was. We did an incredible mental job. I wish Milan that kind of joy in the future too, and all the best. With all my heart.”

Even to manager Ibra?

“Of course. When you face a new job, you have to learn many things and you also grow through mistakes. Zlatan is intelligent, he will grow and do well.”

The Al-Nassr fans chant ‘Pioli on fire’…

“Especially at the beginning, when we always won… But even now on the street: ‘Hello, Bioli on fire…’. It makes me happy, but I would like that song to remain linked to the unique magic of the Scudetto. I’m a little jealous of it.”

Is Inter still the strongest?

“Yes, even if Atalanta has grown, thanks to the exceptional work of Gasperini, but also of Percassi. I liked a recent interview by Ancelotti, in which he explained that he came out of a difficult moment and the 4-0 defeat by Barcelona thanks to the support of the club.

“That’s how it is, I’ve proved it: there can be no winning project without a strong club behind it.”

Napoli?

“Conte for the Italian league is a guarantee. They have strengthened his team and he has weeks free of cups. He will fight until the end.”

Pioli, what do you see beyond the desert dunes?

“I want to take Al-Nassr to the Final 4 of the Champions League, in Riyadh, and try to lift the cup. We have set ourselves the goal of returning to winning ways after a while.

“We have laid the foundations, if I win next year, I will stay. If not, we’ll see. The most challenging league remains the Premier League. I have entered the year of 60, but I feel like a boy. It’s not time to stop yet. Yalla… let’s go…”