Filippo Inzaghi Fired by AC Milan, Sinisa Mihajlovic Hired as New Manager

AC Milan sacked Filippo Inzaghi after just one year in charge and hired former Sampdoria boss Sinisa Mihajlovic on Tuesday, the club announced.

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After spells in charge of Bologna, Catania, Fiorentina, the Serbian national team and his last experience at Sampdoria, Sinisa Mihajlovic is officially the new coach of the rossoneri.

The 46 year-old from Vukovar arrives with 156 matches as a coach in Serie A and 11 in the Italian Cup behind him, and not to mention 9 World Cup qualifiers in charge of Serbia.

As a player, Mihajlovic was a team-mate to ex-Milan great Dejan Savicevic during their days together at Red Star Belgrade before arriving in Italy and Serie A where he would enjoy the most success in terms of titles and trophies at capital club Lazio. 

Mihajlovic was renowned for his work-rate, commitment and also as a dead-ball specialist during his playing career and is good friends with Milan legends Andriy Shevchenko, Filippo Inzaghi and Clarence Seedorf.

Good luck and welcome coach!

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Mihajlovic led the Blucerchiati to a seventh-place finish during the 2014-15 campaign, with Inzaghi's Milan finishing four points behind in 10th.

Sky Sports' Anton Toloui weighed in on the club's outlook this offseason:

The Italian’s departure means he’s become the third manager to be sacked by the Serie A giants in less than two years. Inzaghi, who won two league titles and two European Cups as a Milan player, was appointed in June 2014, replacing former team-mate Clarence Seedorf, who had taken over for Massimiliano Allegri in January that year.

Pier Paolo Cito/Associated Press

But Inzaghi found it tough to galvanise this former juggernaut of Italian football. Despite signing a host of players last summer and in January, Milan failed to secure a stint in Europe and finished 35 points behind champions Juventus.

Notable losses to Udinese, Genoa, Napoli and Sassuolo lowered Inzaghi's stock prior to being sacked. Although Milan ended the season with victories over Torino and Atalanta, the former continental powerhouse remains in the wilderness. 

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As we can see here, courtesy of Bleacher Report’s Matteo Bonetti, there have also been reports in the Italian press, such as the following in La Gazzetta dello Sport, suggesting there has been a toxic atmosphere festering in the camp:

After such an unrelenting turnaround in playing personnel and management, Mihajlovic's appointment for Milan is an enormously important one. It’s also imperative that the Rossoneri board give the new man enough time to lay the foundation for a substantial rebuilding job.

While Inzaghi will always be popular with the club’s supporters for his goalscoring exploits in the famous red and black strip, it was clear his position was untenable after such a turbulent campaign. However, if Mihajlovic cannot expedite a turnaround in this team's fortune, it’s tough to see who will.