Filippo Inzaghi to Blame for AC Milan's Recent Troubles

Filippo Inzaghi has been coach of AC Milan for seven months now. But Milan are basically where they were seven months ago: eighth in Serie A.

It was never going to be easy. Not with this squad. Milan still lack the kind of investment that a championship team needs. There are holes in every outfield position, and the higher-ups have only papered over those gaps.

But Milan are a still better team than Empoli or Cesena, better than Sassuolo or Torino or Cagliari. Yet the Rossoneri could not beat any of these clubs. 

Milan wake up for the bigger contests. They beat Napoli and Lazio and took points from Sampdoria and Roma. These are some of the best in Serie A. It’s the minnows that conquer Milan, and that is a sign of poor coaching. 

Over the past few seasons, the bottom-feeders have caused Milan the most problems. That’s why Max Allegri was fired. His team lost to Sassuolo last January, and that was the final blow.

This month, the same thing happened—except it happened at home. Milan blew a lead against Sassuolo and eventually lost. The same issues remain from a year ago, and this is arguably a better team than that one.

Inzaghi wrote his coaching thesis on a winning mentality, but it is exactly this mentality that Milan are missing. From game to game, they are a different team. Inzaghi changes his line-up almost every game, either due to circumstances (injuries) or choice. And, naturally, the results are different.

This group of players does not have the confidence to impose their game on inferior opponents. The staff are divided on this issue, according to Tuttosport (h/t Football Italia). Some believe that Milan should “adapt” to the match at hand, while the rest believe the club should set the tone. That there is even such a divide within the club is proof that Inzaghi, after seven months, has not managed to develop any kind of philosophy.

Pressure is now mounting on the first-year coach, and rightfully so. “Milan's brass will monitor the team's two matches against Lazio (in Serie A and Coppa Italia) to evaluate Inzaghi,” writes David Amoyal of GianlucaDiMarzio.com. 

Milan signed the 41-year-old through 2016, with the same terms as Clarence Seedorf’s contract. They are still paying Seedorf, as he is effectively on gardening leave. Sacking Inzaghi would mean paying three different coaches.

But he doesn’t deserve the sack—not yet anyway. He deserves a full year, just as Seedorf did. Whether he deserves a second is an open question. Any decision over Inzaghi’s future should really come in the summer. 

Inzaghi likes to talk about the process, about improving and about changes, as if the club is going through a stage of puberty. “We knew that in order to rebuild we would have ups and downs,” he told Sky Sport Italia in December (h/t Goal.com). 

But the process is failing. There are no signs of anything improving. What they do in training is obviously not enough. The visits from Silvio Berlusconi are not enough. The coaching is simply not good enough.