With Montella gone, AC Milan blame shifts to Mirabelli
Following the dismissal of manager Vincenzo Montella, pundits and fans of AC Milan have begun their search for who to blame next. With Milan’s shocking struggles, culminating in yesterday’s historic draw to lowly Benevento, despite spending ~€220 million this past summer, people don’t have to look far to find the hottest seat in Milan.
Replacing Adriano Galliani was always going to be a difficult task. The responsibility fell on Massimo Mirabelli following the sale of the club. The new executive went to work immediately and signed stars Nikola Kalinic, Franck Kessie, Lucas Biglia, and many others.
Already having received rave reviews for the moves he made, Mirabelli went out and made his biggest: the acquisition of Leonardo Bonucci. All signs pointed to a return of the world-class AC Milan we’ve known for nearly a century.
However, in the wake of their desperate struggles this season, it appears that Mirabelli’s moves have done nothing to reverse AC Milan’s fortunes in recent history. In fact, despite the gigantic expenditure and initial praise received, it appears that his moves have weakened the club.
Andre Silva, who arrived from Porto for 38 million euros is yet to score a league goal. Andrea Conti has missed most of the season with a serious injury. Hakan Calhanoglu has done nothing to prove he deserves the #10 that he wears. Mateo Musacchio looks like a traffic cone on the back line.
However, the aforementioned Bonucci has been his biggest disappointment. Costing 42 million euros and Mattia De Sciglio, and pulling down a 7 million euro net salary, the new captain has quickly become public enemy #1 among the fans, and a punchline around the league.
Montella, despite the team’s deep struggles, was given far more chances than fans, and pundits, thought he should have. One reason for this was that he served as a buffer for criticism. He was the man fans and pundits could point to when assigning blame. Now, with him gone, those fingers are pointed squarely at Mirabelli.