AC Milan Need Major Overhaul Despite Performance in Coppa Italia Final

Well, better late than never.

After six weeks of vapid performances against some of Serie A's worst teams dropped them into seventh place, AC Milan put in a good performance under new coach Cristian Brocchi in Saturday's Coppa Italia final against Juventus.

If you're going to put in one of your best performances of the year, it may as well come in a game that is a must-win. Having lost out on sixth place thanks to their nosedive since Brocchi took charge in April, they had to win the Coppa in order to qualify for European competition.

But as well and as hard as the Rossoneri played, they weren't able to reach that promised land. Juventus aren't the five-time defending league champions for nothing, and even though Milan caught them on a bad day and with a severely weakened midfield, they were able to hold defensively and lifted the trophy after Alvaro Morata sealed the 1-0 win in the 110th minute.

That means another season out of Europe for Milan. It also means it's time for a major reassessment of where this team is going.

Milan's roster is bloated—a problem in and of itself before you realize it's bloated with mediocre players. Guys such as Andrea Poli shouldn't be starting in a cup final. Nor should Philippe Mexes be playing in games as important as Milan's Serie A finale against AS Roma.

But this is the caliber of player Milan's coaches have been supplied with by owner Silvio Berlusconi and CEO Adriano Galliani.

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That's going to have to change if the Rossoneri want to challenge the top of the table again. Milan are in desperate need of more creative players to complement Carlos Bacca, who has proved himself to be an excellent finisher.

But he needs more service in order to continue to succeed. On Saturday, according to WhoScored.com, the Colombian only managed 23 touches in the entire game. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma touched the ball 63 times.

This season, Giacomo Bonaventura was often Milan's only creative outlet. Keisuke Honda pitched in on occasion, but his most dangerous moments tended to be when he was standing over a free kick. From a squad standpoint, the most pressing need for this team is a creator in midfield. A center back to go with Alessio Romagnoli would also go a long way toward improving the roster to the point it could compete with the league's new elite.

But the real change needs to come away from the field. Berlusconi and Galliani have made major contributions to this club since Berlusconi bought the team 30 years ago, but things have changed. The modern world of football has passed them by, and they keep on trying to apply 1990s solutions to 2016 problems.

Berlusconi in particular has been harmful this season. His penchant for interfering with his coaches is well-documented in works such as I Think Therefore I Play, the memoir of former Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo. That interference totally derailed this season.

Sacking coach Sinisa Mihajlovic with six games left with the team still in position for a spot in the UEFA Europa League and a place in the Coppa Italia final wrapped up was a huge mistake. Brocchi, who had never previously coached above youth level, was obviously in over his head and was probably simply put there because he—like predecessors Clarence Seedorf and Filippo Inzaghi—is a former Milan player.

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The move proved disastrous.  Brocchi never got the team behind him, and they dropped points against the likes of Carpi, Frosinone and Hellas Verona—the latter coming from behind with minutes remaining to hand Milan an embarrassing 2-1 loss.

Galliani, on the other hand, has shown himself incapable of making the kind of impact buys for which he was once known. The €20 million he spent last summer on Andrea Bertolacci, whose performances this season ranged from ineffective to incompetent, was money wasted. And who could forget his mystifying purchase of Alessandro Matri in 2013.

The squad needs to be upgraded and trimmed, yes, but for Milan to move forward, the old guard needs to step aside. Berlusconi can't spend money like he used to, and Galliani has lost all touch in the market.

If Milan are to return to the top of the table a lot of things are going to have to change, but new leadership is key. The longer Berlusconi stays in charge, the less chance Milan have of returning to the place where they used  to be.