GdS: Milan gave ‘serious consideration’ to Bologna boss Italiano – the background

AC Milan were linked with Vincenzo Italiano in the summer, before Massimiliano Allegri became head coach, and they will face him again tonight.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, on May 14th, Bologna beat Milan in the Coppa Italia final. Four months have passed, and exactly four months later – on September 14th – Milan and Bologna will face each other again.

One summer later, Bologna have the same soul, they’ve changed while remaining true to their philosophy. Dan Ndoye, who decided the final, is at Nottingham Forest, but the imprint is recognisable. At Milan, almost everything has changed.

Italiano to Milan: The background

Milan are a different team now, and it shows. In May, Reijnders was in midfield, Jimenez and Theo were on the wings, and Jovic played up front. There was very little fighting spirit that night.

The principles are different now: they play with two strikers, and of the 15 players used in Rome, only four remain: Torriani, Bartesaghi, Loftus-Cheek, and Santiago Gimenez. The coach changed too, of course.

Was there any chance that Vincenzo Italiano would go to Milan? In these four months, was he close to signing with the Rossoneri? Close, no. But yes, there was a chance. Milan gave serious consideration to Italiano, and Giorgio Furlani even discussed him in the spring meeting in Florence with Igli Tare.

Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images

Nothing came of it because everyone, at the crucial moment, chose elsewhere. Italiano wanted to stay at Bologna to complete his journey in the league and the Europa League. For him, it wasn’t time for another change, a year after leaving Fiorentina.

Instead, Italiano moved towards a contract renewal (until 2027) with a pay rise. Milan, on the other hand, called Allegri, and in this Igli Tare was very important, probably decisive. Tare has always believed that Milan needed a top-tier coach, with great experience, tested at big clubs.

After such difficult years, his idea has always been to rediscover the values ​​and certainties of the great AC Milan of the past. And then, Allegri: when he called him, they closed the deal in three days.