This is going to be Lisi’s, aka Nonno’s, post but I wanted to drop in here (and at the end) just to say a few words.
Lisi echoes many of the same feelings I have about saying goodbye to these guys but I especially have a soft spot for Pioli. Underrated and underappreciated since he put ink-to-paper, Pioli came into his own here at Milan and found the next level in his coaching evolution.
Not always perfect in squad selection and tactics – no coach is – Pioli displayed a willingness to play young guys and change formations with a roster not exactly bursting at the seams with talent. Still, he found ways to win and I think presided over one of the more successful Milan eras when all things are considered. Pioli had to deal with restricted funds, few true stars, and expectations that were not always proportional to what the talent was on the team.
Pioli’s tenure at the helm will not fully be judged until we see what comes next as we need to see how he compares to what came before and what comes after. That, however, we will need to wait. For now we say goodbye to Pioli and also Kjær and Giroud, two giants in stature – physically and mentally – who were Pioli’s co-pilots (along with Zlatan) during this hell of a ride.
Now, I hand if off to Lisi…
Olivier Giroud
I believe my initial response to the Giroud rumors was something like ‘Olivier Giroud? Get the fuck outta here’. It seemed like the kin of lazy rumor, always Chelsea players, that got floated every summer because we did a lot of business with Chelsea. Also, we just didn’t attract players of that class anymore unless they were already cooked. Think Fernando Torres folks.
Then it was real! A bona fide veteran, world class striker who had won a World Cup and Champions League was coming to Milan with gas still in the tank. He felt like the perfect successor to Ibra and he filled those shoes perfectly. He scored in every big moment leading to the Scudetto, including beating Inter and also in the clincher away to Sassuolo.
A great leader who almost never missed a game. He started 97 of 114 league games over his 3 years at Milan, never missing any significant time through injury. During these last 3 years he was 4th in Serie in total goals with 39 trailing only Lautaro, Osimhen and Vlahovic. A fixture up top during our most productive years under Pioli. Of course arguably his most memorable in a Milan shirt came not scoring a goal but PLAYING in goal.
Mike Maginan got a late red away to Genoa and Milan were out of subs. Giroud calmly grabbed the shirt and went in goal, made a few saves and preserved the tie. That’s leadership folks. A Milan legend to be sure.
Simon Kjær
My favorite player of the Pioli Era. Before he arrived I was always enamored with him but he was always a mystery. Every Euros or World Cup you would see him for Denmark. He was the leader of a stout defense that was always tough to break down which always made them a dark horse to win almost any game. Then he would vanish into the ether.
He bounced around from Italy to Germany to Turkey to Spain rarely staying in one place very long. Was he a head case? Was he one of those guys that always turned up for his national team but just never that good for club? No and no. Turned out he just needed to be in the right place.
Stefano Pioli
When Stefano Pioli started at Milan I think all anyone really cared about was that his name wasn’t Marco Giampaolo. That was really it. Between his bullshit tactics and watching him try to feature Suso as a CAM, I think we were all desperate for something new. We really didn’t care who it was. Fortunately on October 8th Maldini fired Giampaolo and replaced him the next day with Stefano Pioli. Who? Like I said, it really didn’t matter. Little did we know that he would go on to manage more games than the 8 previous managers before him combined.
Folks selectively remember that his first game was the 5-0 loss to Atalanta. In fact that was his 10th game in charge. That game was a turning point though. The coming January window Maldini and Pioli would put their heads together and hatch a plan. In came Lord Zlatan and a whole crew of his apostles. Out went Suso and some other dead weight. We would go on to only lose 2 of our last 21 games the rest of that year. Pioli’s Milan gained 44 points in those 21 games, ultimately rising from 14th to 6th in the table.
We had the best record in Europe after the Covid break going unbeaten in 12 after the break. The game I remember most that year was the 4-2 beat down of Juventus that summer. A glorious day where for the first time in years it felt like we were back at the big boy table.
What also sticks out from that year was Pioli being the first coach to embrace the new 5 sub rule and how to use them. Almost immediately he started bringing on 3 guys at the 60 minute mark, usually in midfield or attack. That left him 2 more subs for either an injury or one last change. It was a brilliant tactic that allowed us to compete with better teams by wisely using our depth and variety of players. It’s now something you see all over Europe.
We all know the story from there. We finished second in year 2, won a scudetto in year 3 and made the Champions League semis in year 4. Along the way he has lifted up the club from the Banter Era to where Champions League qualification is once again taken for granted and league titles and Champions league success is the expectation. I’m gonna call this the Pioli Era. He leaves having coached over 200 games with a 54% win rate. The only other coaches that can say that are guys like Ancelotti, Capello, Sacchi and Rocco. The bar has been raised and once again Milan are contenders. A job well done from a very unexpected source.
Wrap Up
Gillis here back with the wrap up. Kudos to Lisi for taking us down memory lane. Pages in life are always turning but every now and then we get to the end of a chapter. Thankfully, Milan is a never-ending story and we are ready to embark onto the next. May the next 5 years be as enjoyable and fruitful as the last.
Lastly, let’s let the Curva sum up our feelings as we wrap up…
*Here are some extra pics from the farewell at the San Siro but if you want to see more of the images from the night those can be found at the Milan website (there’s a few images from the Scudetto celebration too because why the hell not!).
