4 Former AC Milan Men Who Could Return to Manage the Club in the Future

The role of AC Milan head coach is an intimidating one. It is a position that comes with great responsibility considering the club’s storied past. The weight of history can be too much for some to bear, something that requires exceptional nous with regard to matters both on and off the field.

In order to undertake the job, every little helps, and experience of playing for the team can be a genuine advantage. Indeed, two of Milan’s finest-ever coaches also wore red and black at some point in their playing days, they being Fabio Capello and Carlo Ancelotti.

With firsthand understanding of the pressure and expectations that come with representing Milan, both men carved out exceptional reigns in the club’s dugout. And there are a number of up-and-coming present-day coaches who may one day attempt to emulate them.

Here, Bleacher Report takes a look at four former Milan players who could have what it takes to coach the club in future.

Cristian Brocchi (Brescia)

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After coming through Milan’s youth setup, Cristian Brocchi went on to spend over half a decade in and around the club’s first team. Having retired from playing, he returned to replace Filippo Inzaghi as head of the Primavera before being appointed temporary head coach following the dismissal of Sinisa Mihajlovic last season.

Brocchi’s spell as Milan coach was brief but uninspiring. He took over a functional side but failed to improve the quality of football while allowing the team’s reasonable defensive record to slide. He took charge of six Serie A games, winning just twice while drawing at home to minnows Carpi and Frosinone and losing away to Verona, all of whom were eventually relegated.

His last competitive game in charge was a spirited Coppa Italia final defeat to Italian champions Juventus, and after being replaced by Vincenzo Montella in June, he took charge of Serie B side Brescia. In his eight league matches as coach of the Lombard outfit so far, he has lost just once.

Apart from the basic shape, Brocchi didn’t bring about much change at Milan. He was, however, hampered by the extremely short period of time given to enact improvement.

His preference for a 4-3-1-2 is something that has continued, to an extent, with Brescia. Both of his two league wins with the club have come using this system, though he has also shown willingness to experiment, occasionally utilising a 4-3-3 and a 3-5-2.

At just 40 years of age, Brocchi is a relatively young coach and has plenty of time to rebound from his first spell with Milan. And, should he succeed with Brescia, he may soon be working in Serie A once again.

Roberto Donadoni (Bologna)

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Roberto Donadoni was an integral member of the great Milan sides throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Operating primarily on the left wing, he won six Scudetti and three UEFA Champions League titles before moving into coaching.

Rather than cashing in on his star status and opting for the easy route, he began in Italy’s lower leagues with the unsung Lecco. Then, following a strong spell with Livorno, he was appointed head coach of the Italy national team. However, after struggling to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008 and then being eliminated at the quarter-final stage, he was dismissed from the post.

His finest spell as a coach came with Parma, a team he guided to sixth-, 10th- and eighth-place finishes in Serie A before the club’s financial meltdown saw him move across Emilia-Romagna to Bologna, where he once again worked quickly to secure safety.

Perhaps as a result of the teams he has led, Donadoni has established himself as a pragmatic coach. Capable of switching systems, he often does so with a defensive bent born out of circumstance. With Bologna, for example, he has favoured a counter-attacking 4-5-1 setup.

However, he is also unafraid to give opportunities to young players, having nurtured the likes of Amadou Diawara and Adam Masina during his time at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.

Donadoni is by far the most experienced coach on this list and, having done well with a number of Serie A’s lesser lights, deserves an opportunity with a bigger club, such as Milan.

Gennaro Gattuso (Pisa)

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Gennaro Gattuso made his name as a snarling ball-winner in the centre of Ancelotti’s great Milan side. With Andrea Pirlo providing the class, he brought endless energy, voracious commitment and an acute awareness of his own limitations.

Since becoming a coach, he has evinced the same fearlessness that served him so well on the pitch, taking on opportunities in foreign countries and lower leagues. His first spell was with Swiss club Sion before he entered the mad world of Palermo and club president Maurizio Zamparini. Fired after just eight games in charge of the Rosanero, he again moved abroad to work with Greek outfit OFI Crete.

However, it wasn’t until taking charge of Pisa in August 2015 that Gattuso began to put together a positive string of results over a concerted period. His first season in charge of the Tuscan club resulted in promotion to Serie B, where he has since led the team to an impressive eighth-place position after eight fixtures.

Gattuso’s managerial style incorporates some of the features that marked him out as a player. "I demand a lot from myself," he told FIFA.com. "I’m a tough nut too and this flaw, if you want to call it that, has stayed with me as a coach. But...now my priority is to prepare the team in the best way possible."

At the age of just 38, Gattuso has worked in three different countries, taken on four different coaching roles and achieved one promotion. With a clear thirst for learning and a mentality built on self-awareness, he could be a coach to watch in the future.

Massimo Oddo (Pescara)

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As a player, Massimo Oddo was an elegant, attack-minded right-back who was perhaps underappreciated due to the quality of players in similar positions during his time. His time as a Rossonero saw him struggle to get ahead of Gianluca Zambrotta and Ignazio Abate, and after a loan spell with Lecce, he retired in 2012.

Having been born and brought up in Pescara, it was only fitting that his first head coaching role came with the Delfini, a job he was given last May after time spent with their youth team. And his maiden season in the hot seat could not have gone better, as he guided the club to promotion to Serie A via the play-offs.

Oddo’s side impressed early upon returning to Italy's top tier. In the opening round of fixtures, they almost caught out Scudetto hopefuls Napoli, throwing away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2. A similarly impressive home performance followed against Inter, though again a lead was squandered and three points were dropped.

While results have tailed off since, Pescara are entertaining neutrals with their fluent, attacking brand of football; indeed, only Empoli have completed more dribbles as a team this season, per WhoScored.com.

Oddo prefers a 4-3-2-1 system, which is fairly unique in Serie A today, whereby the two attacking midfielders operate dynamically behind a lone striker. The end product is fast, creative and incisive play with plenty of room for aesthetically pleasing combinations.

In recent years, Milan’s most successful sides have been associated with enterprising, offensive play. Oddo, while still in his first coaching role, has shown both a proclivity for this form of football and an ability to attain results that could alert his old employers.