17 hours ago
27
AC Milan will look at Napoli last season and say, ‘Yes, no European football is good’. However, if they look closer to home, the doubts appear.
Starting this off simply, no one wants no European football, and this is not a ploy to try and convince you that it is a good thing. Instead, it is more a case of looking at Milan’s recent history without European competition and how it affected things.
On a general basis, without the Champions League, or even its baby brother, the Conference League, the Rossoneri have significantly less pull. Look only at the case of Manuel Akanji, where a deal was agreed.
Instead, though, he went to Inter for two reasons. Firstly, linked to their participation in the Champions League, then the higher wages that were offered, which is undeniably something attainable with recent European purses.
Sticking to the financial side of things, there is a massive salvo in European seasons and non-European seasons in the budgets. We covered this topic extensively over on our Substack, so we’ll steer clear here.
Anyway, the point there is that a sale of Tijjani Reijnders is not as much of a necessity, if at all one had the Diavolo achieved a European finish.
That is enough of the present, for now, so let’s go back in time.
The start
Perhaps the peak of the ‘banter era’, Milan experienced a drought in every sense. Two Supercoppa Italiana titles were the only pieces of silverware attained, but it was not the most embarrassing part of the ordeal.
No. Far from it.
Instead, it was the fact that, for the first time since the turn of the millennium, the Rossoneri finished in a position without European football. Not just once, but three times. We could go into the intricacies here, but living through that period was probably enough, and just the mention of this period probably gives flashbacks.
However, it begins in the 2013/14 season, the Rossoneri finished in 8th place in Serie A, winning only 16 games, their lowest tally since the league had changed to 20 teams. Coincidentally, the coach that year was Massimiliano Allegri.
Though his cycle had been coming to an end for some time, and he was replaced by Clarence Seedorf, who won 11 games.
Without Europe, the Rossoneri turned to another legend, this time Filippo Inzaghi. Backing that season was not extensive, as Mario Balotelli departed for Liverpool for €20 million. In his place, Jeremy Menez arrived on a free from PSG, whilst Jack Bonaventura and Suso also highlighted a below-average summer.
Unfortunately for Inzaghi, he could not bring the team to the heights of his playing days. In fact, they fell lower than they were in the season before that, sitting in 10th place after the final Matchday of the campaign.
The crux
At this point, the Diavolo were stuck in this cycle. A season without Europe had not brought a revitalised squad and a chance to attack Europe after a year of gelling. Instead, it brought little to no hope.
However, the cycle started again!
Instead of a club legend, Siniša Mihajlović arrived, someone with heaps of Serie A experience, having seen out his career in the league, whilst also having three managerial appointments in Italy before the Milan job.
Things were certainly better, though.
More than €100m was spent, with the ownership keen to get back into Europe, so high-profile names like Carlos Bacca and Alessio Romagnoli arrived, whilst another €40m or so was spent on Bertolacci, Adriano and Antonelli.
After such spending, improvements were required, and they did. The Rossoneri were runners-up in the Coppa Italia and finished in 7th place in Serie A. However, that did not stamp a ticket back into Europe.
So, the struggles continued.
Then came the 2016/17 season, where Vincenzo Montella was appointed. This time around, though, spending was not as extreme, with less than €55m spent and received. A quiet window by all accounts.
However, this is where things got better. The silverware curse ended, with the Supercoppa Italiana being won, whilst a sixth-place finish entered the Diavolo into the Europa League.
Milan were finally out of their European omission. However, they could only make it to the Round of 16 and the Group Stages after that. Whilst 5th and 6th placed finishes did nothing to really support claims that the Rossoneri were truly on their way back.
The blip
Of course, those three seasons were not the only ones without Europe, though. As right at the end of the 2010s, the club were banned from the Europa League after breaching the Financial Fair Play regulations. What a way to see out the decade, eh!
It would be unfair to really focus too much on this season, all things considered. However, things were certainly on their way upward. Without Europe, the Diavolo finished 6th in Serie A whilst also reaching the Coppa Italia semi-final.
The present
So, that brings us to now. How Milan will fare this season remains to be seen. The opening day defeat certainly returned the club to a panic, but back-to-back wins have certainly eased things. Another win this weekend would only further aid things.
There has been significant talk about the need to get back into the Champions League from early arrivals this summer. However, Adrien Rabiot’s words were probably the most intriguing. In his opening press conference, there were waverings of a multi-year plan for success.
Of course, those who played in the Europe-less seasons before probably had the same ideas planted with them too. However, the groundwork is there for an instant return to Europe. It seems unlikely that another banter era will occur, after all, with such a focus on sustainability, results are not needed anymore; they are mandatory.
English (US) ·