Will Ancelotti be Swept Away by the Winds of Change?

Stephen Maio

The notion has been out there for some time now, the inevitable changing of the guard postponed and turned a blind eye to by the continous success AC Milan have seen internationally. The club has been perfectly content to “save” their squad for Europe and dominate the world’s greatest club competition repeatedly without a serious challenge over the years. That saving philosophy has masked the accumulating problem the squad is now suffering from. Only a few predicted Milan would conquer the Champions League last season, whilst the majority pointed out the weaknesses they saw, particularily the age and depth of the squad, ones that never seemed to factor down the stretch as the Rossoneri claimed the title. All was well in the city after that, and every single point the countless journalists and analysts had made seemed to be a stretch of their imagination. It seems now though that the points they made were indeed valid.

Nearly one year to the day they held that trophy in Athens, a squad full of talented names are simply fighting for qualification into the tournament they have so often dominated since the turn of the millenium. They have been disasterous in Serie A this season, owning a 13-10-8 record (heading towards their worst record since 2001-02), and were run to the death while being eliminated by a young and hungry Arsenal team in the quarter final stage of the Champions League, suffering their fastest exit since the 2000-01 season in that competition.

The cited lack of depth and old age of the squad (particularily in defence) has shown its colours this season. The team is clearly suffering from fitness problems due to their clustered schedule, and the players are unable to perform at their highest level every game. The squad holds names of players deep into their 30’s that are unable to play consecutive games without six or seven days rest. AC Milan have always stood for loyalty to their players and have held onto athletes beyond their prime on many occasions, but it seems as though it may now be time for the club to recharge its batteries. Sooner or later all good things come to an end, and everyone knows change is inevitable.

Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani has claimed that next season will see a different Milan, and has declared the team will be very active in the summer transfer window. Long time players the likes of Serginho, Cafu, Dario Simic and the legendary Paolo Maldini have been mentioned recently and are expected to depart the squad as part of massive overhaul. A host of names from Amauri to Marco Amelia and Ronaldinho have been spit out to the press as possible arrivals to rejuvenate a club with an average age of nearly 31 years minus youngsters Alexandre Pato and Alberto Paloschi. But the one name that has been thrown around all season long on the chopping block is Carlo Ancelotti.

Dragged through the mud after every dissapointing defeat, the coach has come under fire from some fans for the club’s poor trophyless season both domestically and internationally. There is no definite opinion from the fanbase on what the man’s future should be with the club, and the upper management hasn’t leaked out a thing, but nearly every single day in most major newspapers in Italy an article is run describing a detailed plan of how Milan will go about changing their coaching situation this off-season. Could it be the greatest change of all in Milan camp this summer occurs off the pitch?

Looking at the club right now it seems Ancelotti may be part of the problem. The squad doesn’t respond to big matches like they used to and have seemed tired in the second half of some games this season. While not all of that can be blamed on Ancelotti, he hasn’t found a way to jump-start the squad at all this season. All it took was the inclusion of teenage sensation Alexandre Pato to see just how dull the team was playing in the first half of the season. His squad selections seem to take the brunt of the blame for Milan’s current run of results. Since being eliminated from the Champions League by Arsenal, Milan have lost three of their last four games in Serie A, have won just three of their last twelve games in all competitions and have a dismal 4-8-4 record at home this season domestically.

Just this past Sunday, after another disappointing defeat this time at the hands of Atalanta, Ancelotti publicly claimed the squad is playing poorly. Over the course of his seven year tenure, he has been criticised repeatedly for his defensive tactics that leave some of Milan’s world class talents handcuffed by responsibility from a variety of individuals within the club’s management. The difference this season is that Milan will finish the year empty handed in terms of silverware, and while during Ancelotti’s tenure he has been handed a fair share of criticism from the likes of Adriano Galliani and President Silvio Berlusconi, almost every season he has won some sort of trophy to defend his tactics and coaching strategies. Sure the Christmas tree formation didn’t provide the most exciting football ever seen, but in the end it’s results that count, and Ancelotti for the most part brought them. In a season very much considered a “write-off” by the club’s standards, many have used this opportunity to declare the time has finally come for Ancelotti to be replaced with a younger, more offensive minded coach that may utilise the squad’s frightening offensive array.

Truth be told, it has been a difficult season for Ancelotti. No doubt injuries to star players like Filippo Inzaghi and Ronaldo strained the coach’s options, as well the tired legs that resulted from the pursuit of a somewhat meaningless FIFA Club World Cup all the way in Japan. Would it be a mistake for Milan to rid themselves of “Carletto” now? They for years have longed to piece together a team that plays entertaining football as opposed to the catenaccio style often seen in Serie A, and have loaded their squad with explosive Brazilian imports over the years to help make that happen. This season’s often dull and unimaginative team seems quite far from playing that brand of football. Carlo Ancelotti may well pay the price for his style, at the only time the club can dismiss him without a considerable backlash, for it’s hard to fire a coach who just took your club to the Champions League final.

For him, from the time he was a player until now, he has always had a tactical brain for the game of calcio. Born and bread in the Italian mold of defensive strength and organisation, Ancelotti was always going to have those qualities as the cornerstone of his coaching philosophy. However, taking a look at his career it seems that along with his strategies, success has also followed any team with “Carletto” behind the bench over the years.

He began his coaching career in 1995 at Serie B outfit Reggiana, and earned them promotion to Serie A in just his first and only season with the club. Ancelotti was then appointed as head coach of Parma, returning to the club where his professional playing career started. He took the club to its best ever finish in Serie A in just his first season, 2nd place behind Juventus in 1996-97. He brought them the 1998-99 UEFA Cup as the only silverware for his duration with the club, while his team’s success saw Parma attract many star names in the late 1990’s, widely regarded as one of the most successful eras in the club’s existence. Also while at the club, he oversaw the development of a host of young talents such as Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Enrico Chiesa, Hernan Crespo and Lillian Thuram. He left the club in good shape for the future when he departed in 1999 to replace Marcello Lippi’s abandoned post at Juventus.

His record with a young and exciting Parma team caught the eye of the Bianconeri, but he could never re-create the same type of success at Juventus, and spent just 2 trophyless seasons there. He was eventually replaced by the man he replaced, Marcello Lippi, who returned for another spell after a disasterous experience coaching Inter Milan.

As usual in Italy, once a coach has gained experience managing a big club with high aspirations and is shown the door, all the rivals come knocking, and it was Milan who snapped him up for the 2001-02 campaign. When analysing his tenure from a bird’s eye view, Ancelotti has done what the management had asked of him upon his hiring; deliver the Champions League, and has done so on multiple occasions despite some distast for some of his formations or staring choices. He has won two Champions Leagues trophies, and has coached Milan to three finals in his seven seasons. AC Milan have been the most dominating team in the European game since the new millenium, and Ancelotti can take much of the credit for that. His suffocating defensive tactics have strangled the opposition as well as showcased Milan’s greatest strength, even if they haven’t made every fan watch from the edge of their seat. He has also brought a Scudetto, and a host of various other trophies, eight to be exact, in his seven seasons. He has qualified Milan for the Champions League every season he has coached the club. He was named ESM’s 2007 European Coach of the Year for his club’s success and is second all-time in games coached for the Rossoneri. If anyone would like to question his tactics, they will merely be answered by his trophy cabinet.

While the past success of the club is quite remarkable, the fact now is that Carlo Ancelotti sits in a very delicate position. This season has been a step backwards for everyone involved with AC Milan, and things need to be changed to ensure they continue to see success in the future. The club can go in a few different directions after this season’s end, and Ancelotti’s career may alter as a reaction of Milan’s decisions. While he has done nothing to warrant dismissal, and has actually done much to prove his ability, sometimes a club just needs a breath of fresh air after the success runs dry, and unfortunately for the coach, he is always the easiest and fastest way of ushering in change. After a while of hearing the same speech and tactics in games and training players can often stop listening. Much like a new job, at first you are very attentive of the instructions you are given, and after awhile it becomes a “yeah I know” scenario. The public is very aware of the club’s ambition to make the squad younger for next season, particularly in defence, and bringing in a fresh face to speak to a revamped squad may be included in their plans.

AC Milan have to ask themselves some questions before making the decision to dismiss Ancelotti. For starters, what is the real reason the club has hit a wall this season? They have been one of the major clubs with the least amount of player turnover over the past five seasons, only really losing Andriy Shevchenko as a major piece in their successful puzzle. For the most part, the major players that have led the club to success are still there, Paolo Maldini, Kaka, Filippo Inzaghi, Massimo Ambrosini, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Dida and Alessandro Nesta particularily. Is there a lack of motivation these days? How much of their form this season can you blame on a coach with the track record of Ancelotti? He has gotten the most out of his players over the course of his career, maybe this squad just needs a few fresh faces. It could be a major disaster if the club were to bring in another coach right now, especially if the current block of star players don’t take to the new guy as easy as they take to Ancelotti. It may be hard for the likes of Pirlo, Kaka, Gattuso, and maybe even Maldini to listen to a new voice, coming in and barking orders out at everyone like they’ve been there all along. Especially Andrea Pirlo, for it was Ancelotti who converted him from a striker to his now famous deep lying midfield role.

The Milan heiarchy could send the coaching position back to the revolving door it was before Ancelotti got there. Eight coaches in just five years previous to his hiring shows you the cut you need to have to hold that position. The club also has to consider Ancelotti’s track record with developing young talents into star players over the course of his career, and how he’s doing the same thing at Milan with Alexandre Pato, nurturing and creating the right environment for the player to blossom. If the club truly wants to infuse the squad with youth, maybe Ancelotti should stick around for a bit and “watch over things”. A man who has brought the club so much in his sevens seasons’ deserves at least another year, and with a few new faces in the squad, he might just prove why he got there in the first place.

With whatever direction AC Milan decide to go as a club in the future, if Ancelotti isn’t there then it will be through no fault of his own. He may not have always put forward the most exciting team, but he has brought the success the club has desired up until this season. He has always conducted himself in a respectful way and has carried the respect that a club like AC Milan demands from the time he was player for them until now. He played his game, regardless of what management wanted to see, and it got results. He played the players he thought were right for the job, but still held the respect of every individual in regard. I still remember the club’s classy send-off for veteran defender Alessandro Costacurta, allowing him to net a penalty that made him the oldest scorer in Serie A history. He is now at Ancelotti’s side on the bench. Ancelotti could take responsibility for a loss, and faced the media everytime his tactics were criticised, defending his decisions and his players with defiance. His recent comments made in which he stated that he would like to end his career at AS Roma may well be a possibility. “I would like to end my coaching career with a club and I would like to do it with Roma, it would really be nice, you cannot find a city like Rome anywhere in the world.”

One thing’s for sure, for a coach with a plethora of European experience and pedegree, there will be multiple sides interested domestically and abroad if Milan do make the choice to move onto someone else.