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Gattuso’s passion for AC Milan is not in question, but it’s now time for a cooler head to take them forward
Adam Digby |

May 10, 2019

THE title was wrapped up by Juventus two weeks ago and Frosinone’s drop into the second tier was also confirmed last weekend, meaning there is very little to be decided at either end of the Serie A table.

Results over the past week also showed that many teams are honouring the Italian tradition of appearing to be on holiday once they have nothing left to play for. Chievo – already resigned to their fate in Serie B next term – rolled over and were smashed 4-0 by SPAL, while mid-table Fiorentina were beaten by relegation-threatened Empoli.

Yet on Monday night, the nightmare of 2018/19 continued for AC Milan. The Rossoneri are one of a very small group of sides with anything left to fight for, yet as they took on Bologna at San Siro, it was clear that almost everyone involved wished they didn’t. Fans, players and even Gennaro Gattuso seemingly cannot wait for the campaign to be over.

Last season, the former Italy international was the club’s saviour, rescuing them from a self-inflicted nightmare. Milan had overspent on a bizarre, haphazard collection of players that simply never gelled, but where Vincenzo Montella had failed, their old hero succeeded, galvanising the team with the same gritty determination that he had epitomised during his own career on the field.

Hailed as their own Antonio Conte, Gattuso’s ability to instil what it meant to wear the Milan shirt was priceless, and he was handed a three-year contract last April. The Elliott Management Corporation effectively repossessed the club from Yonghong Li a few months later, and their sound planning saw the squad improved with a coherent strategy rather than the scattergun approach of the previous summer.

Everything seemed to be headed in the right direction as this term got underway, results on the field only adding to the sense that, finally, the sleeping giant was beginning to awaken. Given their claim to have “Champions League DNA,” the five years since their last appearance in UEFA’s elite competition is much too long for the seven-time winners to digest.

They crashed out of the Europa League in the group stage but that was deemed inconsequential, securing a place in the top four undoubtedly the real objective at stake. Through January and February that seemed to have paid off, the lack of distractions allowing the Rossoneri to embark on a ten-game unbeaten run just as their rivals began to falter.

That run culminated with a Week 27 victory over Chievo which tightened their grip on third place, moving them to within six points of Napoli in second. Suddenly the goal was in sight, and the following weekend’s derby clash with Inter would allow Gattuso’s men the chance to hammer home that advantage.

Rather than do so, however, Milan collapsed, losing 3-2 to their city cousins in a game which saw midfielder Franck Kessie physically held back to prevent him attacking his own team-mate Lucas Biglia. The team was in complete disarray, a myriad of issues, arguments and tensions that had been masked by winning were suddenly laid bare for the world to see and suddenly their form nosedived.

They would taste victory only once in their next six games, losing to Torino, Sampdoria and Juve while being held to disappointing draws against Parma and Udinese. Those results have not only seen the Rossoneri fall behind Atalanta in the race for fourth, but have also brought Gattuso’s future into very real contention.

He has looked out of his depth in almost every way, unable to heal the rifts between players and failing to instil either good discipline or a coherent tactical plan into his side. Over that seven game spell since the derby they have lacked the intensity, speed and urgency that were hallmarks of their early-season successes, while the coach himself has cut an increasingly desolate figure on the touchline.

Bemoaning the way players have changed, Gattuso told ANSA last month that “you have to be careful when you say something to them, because if you tell them something, they start complaining and looking for excuses.” Seeking to remove any justification for their struggles, he forced the squad into a five-day training retreat last week, and while he was vindicated by a win over Bologna, yet more problems arose.

One of the factors that lead to him cutting the team off from the outside world was Tiemoue Bakayoko arriving over an hour late for training on Wednesday, with the Chelsea loanee’s frustration boiling over on Monday evening. Asked to warm up by Gattuso, the midfielder was not ready to enter the game and the pair exchanged angry words on the bench when another player was sent on instead.

“What happens is our business and it happens in our dressing room, but I asked Bakayoko to get ready, he took a while, so I called up Jose Mauri,” Gattuso told reporters after the final whistle. “We represent a prestigious club I have to be clear and honest. I waited seven or eight minutes and he hadn’t even put his shin-pads on. I’ve told many coaches to get stuffed in my career, it ends there.”

But the spat perhaps revealed evidence that the players have lost faith in the very man who once galvanised them, with veteran defender Ignazio Abate admitting to Sky Italia that “since the derby, we have lost our nerve.” That is evidently clear, and so too is the fact that it will be Gattuso who shoulders the blame should they eventually fall short of their objective of returning to the Champions League.

In truth that might be no bad thing, as even when they were winning he seemed tactically naive. He has one just one of the eight matches with Serie A’s top four sides this term, registering five losses and two draws in the remaining fixtures. Continually out-thought and outmanoeuvred in those encounters, replacing Gattuso with a more astute coach is arguably the only way the Rossoneri can ever hope to contend with the division’s best sides.

Only then can AC Milan truly hope to restore the lustre of their illustrious name.

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