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Maldini - A Father & Son tale
A Football Manager Career by Deleted User #151676
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The season hasn't got off to the dream start I had been hoping for, three defeats in four games is not a great way to come out of the blocks, still we have made it through to the group stage of the Champions League, so as long as we pick up some league points in September I'm happy to forget about the heavy defeat at Milan and the slip at Parma.
We lost the first leg against Dynamo Kiev which had me fearing the worst, however the players responded well and eased to a pretty comprohensive victory at home to send us through 5-3 on aggregate, we now face this group;
I'm fairly confident of going through second, Shakhtar could be tricky but we should certainly be beating Legia if we are serious about our European ambitions this time. I think it will be a case of playing for a draw against Bayern.
Zenit came in with a deadline day bid of £6M for my Romanian full-back Nicola Murru, a bid I was happy to accept as I've had several fallings out with the 25 year old and £6M is more than twice his value. of course his departure meant I had to find a new left back sharpish;
I'm happy with my new man, signed for £11M from Sao Paulo courtesy of my board (I had used up all my funds) although we very nearly had a useless player on our hands as the board only brought his Sao Paulo contract and not the 10% owned by his agent, co-ownership is not allowed in Italy so he wouldn't have been able to play if I hadn't sold one of my youth players to raise the £1.5M needed to buy the agents share in time.
I was approached by West Ham this month to take over the Hammers, flattering to be asked of course but after the black smudge on my record from that disastrous spell with Everton I have no desire to return to England any time soon! I was also asked by the Croatian FA if I'd be interested in taking over their national side, again I politely declined but it's nice to know that the Olympics haven't killed all hope of a International career.
Christian
Has been feeling fatigued after playing through the summer at the Olympics so I gave him an extra fortnight holiday, he returned to La Viola in the 2-1 defeat to Parma.
Things went a bit pear shaped at Fiorentina, I was hoping to follow up on last season's fourth place finish, however we got off to a very unconvincing start and languished in the lower half of the table for the first four months of the table, putting in some underwhelming performances which eventually lead to a falling out with the board, not surprising when they had backed me with over £100M in that season alone! I made the fatal mistake of blaming our run on bad luck which earned me the sack from La Viola.
I wasn't out of work long though as Dutch giants Ajax approached me to turn around their own faultering season, Ajax were just two places off the bottom of the table with the title they are so used to competing for seemingly out of reach already, I got off to a great start, going on a fifteen game unbeaten run in all competitions, however it all seemed to go tits up in the business end of the campaign, we ended up crashing out of Europe in the second round and the Dutch Cup in the semi final on penalty's which was gut wrenching as I thought I was finally going to get my first trophy.
We finished fifth in the league, not that bad considering where the team was when I took over, but it could have been so much better if we hadn't gone down hill so steeply, we had occupied second for a time.
I had intended to stay with Ajax and give Holland another go, however when my beloved A.C. Milan came knocking I just couldn't say no to the Rossoneri.
I've got off to a wonderful start, unbeaten still after 19 games and looking strong in all competitons;
So to recap, my career history now looks like this;
Things have been unsettled recently, however I really hope than now I have finally landed my dream job I can really begin to establish a dynasty at Milan, Christian is as always right beside me after following me to Amsterdam and back, he's now 25 years old and at the top of his game, recently earning praise from my fellow Milan legend Alessandro Nesta for his performances so far in the famous red and black stripes.
My Milan career could hardly be going any better, we are still competing in all competitions, top of Serie A with just one defeat all season, (a slip up against mid-table Atalanta) a cup final place all booked and ready and into the latter stages of the Europa League. 2021/22 could be a glorious chapter in the great clubs history if we keep our cool and finish the job, and on a personal level I could finally put to rest that empty trophy cabinet that has haunted me so far in my career.
It's been an amazing season so far and we deserve to finish it in style, I feared the worse when we were held 2-2 by Icelandic minnows FH in the very first game, however my team has adapted to my tactics and gone from strength to strength since.
The title is within touching distance now, bit with Roma, Inter, Juve and Napoli still to play we cannot afford to take anything for granted yet, just take it one game at a time.
Yes, we will face hated rivals Inter in the Copa Italia final, there has been two Milan derbys in the final, We triumphed in 1977 and Inter we succesful just two years ago, I'm determined it will be us celebrating again this time.
We overcame Tottenham in the last round to set-up this tie with Valencia, I'm expecting a tough time but I do think we can beat the Spanish outfit if we are on top of our game, the Europa League would be a very nice addition to the Milan silverware haul as it's the only active trophy that they have never lifted before.
Yes! After a wonderful season we in the end strolled to the Serie A crown with ten points seperating us from Inter in second, although they did throw a spanner in the works by beating us in the Copa Italia final to deny us a domestic double. Still I'm delighted to have finally got my hands on the trophy after finishing in the top four three times before.
Just two defeats all season throughout the title winning campaign (Atalanta & Inter) is better than anything I could have expected when I made the move from Ajax last summer, my team has been dominant throughout and thoroughly deserved the championship, it was a gutting moment to lose on penalties in the cup final to our fiercest rivals though, we will be able to exact some revenge when we meet again in next seasons Super cup.
Arsenal ended our Europa League ambitions, The board didn't see the Europa as important, however I would dearly have loved to have collected a European trophy, of course next year we will be returning to the Champions League instead, perhaps we can win that instead!
A well deserved award for the man I splashed £22M on last summer to bring from Fiorentina, He's paid us back with intrest and at just 22 years old he could get even better next season.
There was also an award for me!
The first of many I hope!
After such an impressive season the squad obviously doesn't need many changes aside from a new goalkeeper as Victor Valdes has decided to hang up his gloves at the age of 40, I tried to convince him to stay on as he was still a top keeper but he has now moved into my coaching team.
It's been a nice peaceful summer in Northern Italy, I am happy with the squad that won the Rossonari's 22nd Serie A title last season and so large amounts of change were unnecessary with just two new players (both goalkeepers) brought in. Only two first team players have headed the other way, Brazilian forward Leo has joined Espanyol for £2.5M and Romanian keeper Laurentiu Branescu has returned to his homeland with Steuea Bucharest after finding his first team opportunities limited last season.
So let's take a look at the complete squad then shall we?
I prefer a 4-2-3-1 formation and most of my player slot into specific roles for this system;
Goalkeepers
My two new boys, Krul joins us for £5M after seventeen years with Newcastle in England where he won the 2017 FA cup as well as earning 75 caps for Holland. Now 34 Krul is at his peak and should be a worthy replacement for the recently retired Victor Valdes.
22 year old Kamps is being groomed as my long-term goalkeeper, he signs on free transfer from Schalke after deciding he saw his future beyond Gelsenkirchen.
Defenders
As his wages may suggest, Brazilian international Ricardo is the rock around which my defence is built, strong, fast and a excellent reader of the game Ricardo is one of the best defenders in the world right now. Last season his defensive partner was more often than not Austrian Aleksader Dragovic, however I am eager to give game time to youngsters Franco Campana and Dimitar Hristev also.
Christian is my first choice right back, the two star rating doesn't do him justice, he is a dependable right full back who now has 230 senior appearances to his name. When he needs a rest Hugo Mallo will normally come in, a more attack minded player than my son, although not as good defensively.
Endrit Kruja (who some of you who have been reading this career for a while may remember I brought for Roma for a considerable sum seven years ago) is my preferred left back with Spaniard Alberto Moreno providing back up.
Midfielders
Normally two of these will sit and hold whilst the wingers and advanced playmaker push up, Yannick Gerhardt and Pedrag Dragicevic are both expert readers of the game and tenatious ball winners, Italian international Tizano Tulissi will normally stay deep and try to dictate the tempo of the game,he regularly rotates with Swede Oscar Hiljemark who operates in much the same fashion.
Wingers
Giovanni Mariottini was outstanding last season, scoring twelve goals from the left wing, Nicolo De Marachi was also potent on the opposite flank as he netted ten as well as young player of the season, you may have been forgiven for expecting such returns from a pair who cost me a combined £68M last summer.
Romanian Nicusor Staniciu was nominated for World player of the year last season with his performances, an expert free kick taker who curled in ten and another three from open play in 2021/22.
Forwards
My former Fiorentina starlet Stephane Fournier lead the scoring with 16 strikes last season, hopefully he can continue to improve this time around, Lorenzo Pezzi will certainly need to, I stumped up a whopping £64M to bring him from Monaco in January, so far he has only managed two goals which is a concern although he will perhaps be more adjusted this time.
So that's my squad, I'm expected to be competing for the title again this season as well as reaching the knockout rounds of the Champions League, which I think it is more than capable of. There is also of course the matter of the Italian Supercup to attend to before the league season gets under way, my side is itching to get revenge on Inter for the Copa Italia final defeat in May.
Italy underperformed at the 2022 World cup in Qatar, only making it to the second round, losing Vicenzo Montella his job.
I couldn't resist! The opportunity to manage my country to Euro 2024 in Spain is one I didn't want to pass up. I intend to continue with Milan as well, at least for now. I'm going to be a very busy man now!
I could put out the U21's and would still be expected to win this group, although I shall ensure complacency doesn't become an issue, memories of my under-23 sides Tokyo 2020 Olympics serve as a painful reminder of what comes of underestimating your opponents at International level.
Shedender
Johno
Thanks guys!
It seems trophies are like buses, wait ages for one, and then two come along at the same time....
Supercup games are often perceived as little more than glorified pre-season friendlies, however with the opponent being our most hated rival I didn't dare field a weak side, and I'm glad I didn't as all the supporters inside Stadio Olimpico were treated to an absorbing Milan derby, I feared the worse when we fell behind after just three minutes, however we responded strongly and blew Inter away in the space of twelve first half minutes to all but seal the cup before the interval.
The supercup might not be the most prestigious competition we will compete in this year, however it is a nice way to kick-off the campaign as well as upsetting our nuisance neighbours to do it!
As we have had no pressing transfer matters to attend to I took control of all the pre-season games, and finished with a 100% record;
Trips to the US and Brazil netted us a substantial amount of cash to add to our bank account which is now recovered from the £182M I splashed over the course of last summer, only a relativity modest £8.1M spent this summer on Tim Krul and a young German who I immediately loaned back to his native country to gain first team experience with 1860 Munich.
The 2022/23 season opens away at our affiliate club Chievo Verona before Lazio make the trip north from Rome to Milan the following week.
As I havn't been too busy with Milan in the last month I have used my spare time to study the squads of the other Serie A & B sides in order to expand the national pool with my first game in charge of my country rapidly approaching, a freindly with Egypt in Cairo at the beginning of September. I will likely field an experimental line-up as I assess my options ahead of my first competitive game against Serbia five days later as we begin qualification for Euro 2024. Will Christian get the call?
We're off to a pretty good start to the campaign, second in Serie A with just one bad result thus far as Lazio got the better of us early on, however since then we have turned on the style and produced some big results;
The league table is looking much more like we are accustomed to seeing it, with all the traditional big powers in Italian football in the top half of the table, in stark contrast to last season when Lazio were almost relegated and Juve, Napoli and Roma were bogged down in mid table, It's good to see the club where I began this adventure, Brescia, continuing to improve each year too.
A defeat to Liverpool at Anfield was a set-back, however I'm still very confident of advancing, hopefully as group winners, the return game with Liverpool will likely be crucial in that regard.
A slightly shakey start to my career with the Azzuri, the squad took a while to adapt to my tactical ideas, however there have been signs of progress as we defeated Armenia and then convincingly beat Australia in a friendly.
My first couple of squads have heavily revolved around players I have managed before throughout my career, In fact for the Egypt game, 11 of my 23 man squad currently or have previously played under me.
GK - Nicola Leili (Metalist)
RB - Christian Maldini (A.C. Milan)
LB - Endrit Kruja (A.C. Milan)
CB - Giusseppi Prestia (Fiorentina)
CB - Alessio Romagnoli (Roma)
RW - Nicolo De Marchi (A.C. Milan)
ST - Diego Peralta (Inter)
LW - Giovanni Mariottini (A.C. Milan)
CM - Marco Verretti (Real Madrid)
CM - Tiziano Tulisi (A.C. Milan)
AM - Bryan Christante (Manchester City) *Played for me at Roma
GK - Andrea Consigli (Juventus)
CB - Guisseppi Belluschi (Fiorentina)
CM - Jorginho (Liverpool)
AM - Fedrico Vannuchi (Udinese) *Played for me at Fiorentina)
LW - Luca Valzania (Fiorentina)
ST - Manolo Gabbiadini (PSG)
RB - Mattia De Sciglio (Tottenham)
CB - Ezequial Munoz (Roma)
LB - Luca Saporetta (Catania)
CM - Mario Pugliese (Arsenal)
RW - Lorenzo Insigne (Liverpool)
GK - Simone Colombi (Atalanta)
Using players I know and trust to do the job is obviously ideal but their places are not assured, the ones who I see play every game for Milan especially need to keep up their performances if they want to keep winning caps for the Azzuri.
I know your all wondering, and yes Christian turned out at right back in all four games, he genuinely is the best right back in the country, given the choice between him and the decling Mattia De Sciglio I gave Christian the nod, and he fully deserves his first four caps, only 121 to go until he catchs up his old man!
A good month for us as we recorded five wins from six games, although our sole defeat was at the hands of arch-rivals Inter which didn't go down to well with the supporters;
Derby defeat aside I can't complain about how things are going, we eased into the last sixteen of the Champions League with two games to spare as well as being right up there with Inter in Serie A, it looks as if it could be a two horse race between us two Milan sides for the title as we are threatening to lose the chasing pack at the moment.
Two friendlies this month, one won and one lost;
A somewhat experimental line-up for this one with four débutantes in the starting eleven, our first half performance was poor, however we did rally in the second period and really deserved a draw, however the Swiss defended well to held on to win.
I went for a more experienced selection against our main rivals France, Nicola Murru was the only one of the four rookies from the Switzerland game to keep his place. I feared the worse when Bryan Christante turned the ball past his own keeper early on, however he made up for it later with a beautiful free kick to level the scores before we shifted through the gears to ultimately gain a well deserved win.
There is no more Italy duty until March now so I can dedicate all my time to Milan and trying to get my hands on some more silverware this season!
A defeat at Juventus has stopped us from regaining the top spot from Inter this month, however the title race remains wide open with Juve dragging themselves back into contention;
We have dominated against smaller sides but have struggled when it really counts against our main rivals, that is something that needs to change if I am to bring about the era of dominance I envision, our home form will continue to be crucial, in my eighteen months as Rossonari manager we have lost just twice at the San Siro (Atalanta and Lazio)
We go through as group winners after a convincing win over Liverpool, although we have a very tough last sixteen tie with PSG to overcome if we are to reach the quarter finals;
Speaking of quarter finals, we are through to the last eight of the Copa Italia following a routine victory over Cantania by what was essentially my reserve team, my old club Fiorentina await;
After losing the final last year I would very much like to go one better this time.
Bring on 2023!
Johno
How's Christian's stats coming along?
Thanks mate!
He's continuously solid at the back as ever, he's never going to be a real threat going forward, however he does have quite a few assists to his name dispite the relatively low passing and crossing stats
Johno
Yeah, he's been training as a wing back to try and improve his attacking a bit whilst still working on his defending and having been tutored by some top defenders throughout his career has helped plenty.
We have begun the new year in good form, unbeaten this month and safely through to the Copa Italia final again after overcoming Udinese over two legs. we slipped up a little in the league as we missed our chance to re-claim the top spot from Inter by conceding in the dying moments against Lazio and failing to beat Sassuolo who are currently in the relegation zone.
Despite those draws we are right up there, just a point behind our great rivals with the rest of Serie A desperately trying to keep pace with us two, We face Inter next in March, we just need to maintain our form until then to snatch the lead, hopefully they will slip up before then however in order to make things a bit more comfortable for us!
As I mentioned we are through to the final of Copa Italia after beating Udinese, however it was the other semi-final that provided the drama;
With Inter winning the first leg 4-0, I, along with everybody else assumed that we would face a re-match of last years final, however relegation threatened Livorno turned the form book upside down by smashing the league leaders 6-0 in order to reach the final. I certainly won't be underestimating them in the big match!
I was fairly busy during the transfer window,, Harchim Mastour has decided to join Sampdoria at the end of his contract, I can't say I blame him as he has very much been a backup for Nicolo DeMarchi who is one of the worlds top players right now and has had limited chances. I have lined up a top quality replacement;
Alen is setting me back £12M plus midfielder Pedrag Dragicevic, a hard bargain but one I was willing to make as I have a couple of youth prospects who are bursting for a chance in the first team, I'm hoping one of them will step up and replace the Serb.
One other incoming deal is sorted;
Signing on free transfer this summer, the 23 year old has been an important part of Udinese's squad in recent years which has been involved in the title race consistently, He will make a fine addition to my back line.
xeraphine
Johno
Can't say I'm familiar with him in real life, looks a talent on FM though and hopefully he will do the business for us!
I certainly hope so mate, I shan't take them lightly after they mauled Inter 6-0 though.
Eleven games left in the Serie A race and we are currently in the driving seat as we snatched back the top spot from Inter and put three points between us and our stadium sharing rivals.
We face Inter next month which will be absolutely crucial, we cannot afford to take our foot off the gas before that game however as we take on Brescia, Ternana and Roma, two visits to former employers should be interesting, not least after being held by Fiorentina at the end of this month,
Things aren't looking quite so promising in the Champions League however, a 2-0 defeat to PSG in Paris has left us with a mountain to climb in the return game, it's not impossible but we'll have to put on a very good showing to claw our way into the last eight now.
Speakign of Frenchmen I have agreed to buy mdifielder Giles Castel from Manchester United this summer;
Those of you who have been reading a while may remember I brought Giles for Fiorentina during my time there, he cost me £12.25M back then, this time around he is setting me back a whopping £49M! Still only 20 years old the wonderkid has already encouraged fees of almost £100M in his short career, he also broke into the French national team recently, lining up against my Italy side last November in a friendly.
Christian
Played all the league games this month, however he missed the PSG tie after coming down with a cold, Hugo Malo deputised for him in that game, Christian got an assist to his name against Napoli when he crossed in for Giovanni Mariottini's late winner, his fourth set-up of the season so far.
Christian is likely to feature in my squad for Italy Vs. Azerbaijan and Austria next month, He's been in good form and no other right-back has caught my eye so I see no reason to drop him.
Johno
Yeah, they put up quite a fight but in the end we prevailed...
Sorry, I jumped ahead of myself somewhat after becoming completely immersed in the run in which culminated in a highly succesful campaign!
I thought we had it in the bag when we beat Inter with the last kick of the game in mid-March, however a dip in form throughout April opened the door back up for our rivals and made things a little hairier than they should have been, however an Inter defeat to my old club Brescia meant we were declaired champions before we even kicked a ball against Novara who have had an impressive season of their own, finishing sixth in the league;
I'm pleased to see Fiorentina and Brescia both in the top half, Roma have had a bad year though and might well be looking for their SEVENTH manager since I left Stadio Olimpico five years ago.
Stephane has been in fine form throughout the season, second striker Lorenzo Pezzi, who you will recall I forked out a record £70M for has steadily been shaking off the tag of expensive flop as he netted twelve, although it's still not the kind of return I was expecting but I dare not sell him as I'll make such a heavy loss on him, better to keep trying to improve his tally.
Three players in team of the year, Ricardo is probarbly the best defender in the world at the moment so his inclusion was almost a given. Tizano Tulisi has had a wonderful season, eight goals, five assists and six man of the match awards from twentyfour games.
I retain both of the manager of the year awards I collected last year which is nice, but not as nice as this....
I'm making it my personal mission to displace Antonio Conte (who is still Juve manager) as number one, it will be tough but it can be done!
The Copa Italia final proved something of a walk over as we strolled to the trophy...
After being a losing finalist with both Roma and Milan previously I was delighted to finally get my hands on the cup the third time around!
My priority next season has to be a third consecutive Serie A crown, however I also want a better showing in Europe, we played well in the second leg against PSG this year but were unable to break through, the French club did go on to reach the final however.
I don't envision any great restructuring this summer, as with last year I am happy with the squad and I already have deals signed with replacements for Harchim Mastour (who has been brilliant since he decided to leave
My Azzuri had two games this summer, one competitive and one freindly;
Thoroughly easy match, the scoreline could and should have been far higher as we had over thirty shots on goal, Azerbaijan didn't manage a single one until stoppage time.
Our game in hand puts us in good standing to win the group, we face Slovenia and Serbia this June knowing we will be all but through to the finals in Spain if we win both games.
More like it! Both Bollino and Depprau were first time goalscorers for the Azzuri and four players made their International débuts in this fixture.
Had his best season yet, he started thirty games in Serie A, obtaining an average rating of 7.12 and was named in team of the week five times, that coupled with him collecting more silverware and having made eight appearances for his country this year have seen his value quadruple to almost £9M in a short amount of time!]. Making his old man proud!
Johno
What's next for you?
I've just signed on with Milan until 2027, so I'm not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. I'm thinking of taking the Fergie Vs. Liverpool mentality and refusing to quit until I have toppled Juventus as the most successful team in Italy, Juve have 33 Serie A titles to our 23, that would keep me put for another ten years at least.
I'm also intrigued by the prospect of retiring as Paolo and beginning a management career as Christian when he hangs up his boots, he's now 27 so he's likely got another 5 to 10 years ahead of him yet, giving me time to complete my vendetta against Juventus.
My third season as Rossonari coach is off to a good start, my side is unbeaten in all competitions after eight games and lifted another trophy, what more could I ask for?
The pre-season schedule went very well;
The tour of Japan helped raise our profile in the far East which should ensure a long term profitability should we choose to return in the future.
There are two new faces other than the ones I introduced in the previous update who's deals I sorted out before the 2022/23 culminated;
Ariel has been a key part of Udinese's squad in recent years, and was a key part of the team that won a league and cup double three years ago. He is a talented playmaker who can also sit deep and defend when required. He has set me back £25M.
Jesper wasn't a signing I had intended to make, however my backup goalkeeper Maiek Kamps broke his arm in the final friendly against Carnonnese, with no youth prospect who is ready to step up I was forced to enter the market. Jesper was the ideal man, I worked with him before at Ajax where he was my number one, following his release from Ajax I was able to sign him up
I've also signed almost an entire team's worth of youngsters from various locale around the world, however there are two many to introduce in one post so I'll show screenshots of them as and when they make their competitive débuts.
Only one additional departure to those I detailed previously, Franco Campana decided he wanted to leave on free transfer when his contract expired next summer, I couldn't let such a talented player go for nothing so I put him up for sale, in the end it was Arsenal who won the ensuing bidding war for a fee of £30M.
We're off to a good start, beating Livorno, Manuel Gaggaro on his debut with almost the last kick of normal time to win the Supercup was a great way to get the ball rolling, hammering Brescia away was also nice on a personal level, I harbour no ill feelings towards the club themselves, I enjoyed my two years there, but their current manager Gianluca Atzori is constantly taking swipes at me in the media for some reason so I enjoyed shutting the prick up.
Barca will obviously be tough, however I will be extremely disappointed if we failed to at least come second in this group.
I've overseen four games with the Azzuri this summer;
I was furious that we didn't see off Slovenia, we had over thirty shots on target but could only convert a goalmouth scramble from a corner, we were punished for our failings up front when Slovenia nicked a thoroughly undeserved point late on much to my displeasure, I wasn't much happier with the draw with Serbia as again we dominated but were let down by shoddy finishing.
The goals did begin to flow against Armenia though as we avoided the embarrassment of dropping out of the qualification places by thumping the minnows, 3-0. the introduction of Bayern Munich forward Marco Lorenzoni seemed to make a big difference, the 23 year old who scored 11 in 23 games in the Bundesliga last season seems a far better fit than those who I have used as my sole striker previously, he has two goals in two games for his country now after scoring against both Armenia and Chile.
It's still uncomfortable for us with two games left to play against Azerbaijan and Slovenia, mistakes must not be made!
Is now into double figures with his Italy caps collection after making twelve appearances at the highest level, he also had some interest this summer as both Lazio and Newcastle United came calling, needless to say I was quick to rebuff their advances.
Dan
Thanks Dan, Not sure if I'll manage that count, but it's nice to have something to aim for. I never buy the new FM's until SI bring out the first or second patches as they are usually so buggy it's not worth it to begin with so I do have time to collect plenty more silverware beforehand.
The run goes on! The mighty Rossonari remain unbeaten in all competitions and have recorded some big results in the past couple of months;
Holding Barcelona at the Nou Camp was a good result on paper, however when you take a look at the match statistics you will see that we were actually unfortunate not to come away with all three points against the Catalans;
There were big wins over Roma and Palermo amongst the fixture list, however nothing comes close to the gravity of smashing arch-rivals Inter 5-0, I couldn't believe what I was witnessing as we found ourselves 4-0 up in little over twenty minutes. a truly glorious result for our club!
Now that we are top the challenge is of course to stay there, I would like to wrap the title up nice and early to avoid a nervy run-in like last season, and of course it would give me licence to concentrate on bringing the Champions League back to the red and black side of Milan for the first time in seventeen years.
We've met expectations and qualified for the knockout stages with ease, we still have to welcome Barca to the San Siro in the final game, if we win we shall top the group which may surprise some, we were better than Diego Simeone's side in the away game so I think we could well beat them in the return which would be a real statement of intention in this competition.
The next fixture against Napoli is a major milestone for me as it will mark my 500th game in management and my 130th with Milan.
I'll forgive the two bad results as they were largely 'B' players I fielded for those fixtures with us having secured qualification for Euro 2024 in the 6-0 victory over Azerbaijan. Beating England was a good result as they are ranked third in the world at the moment (we're seventh) I'll just try to forget about the Scotland game as soon as possible!
Not finishing top of this group will rightly have raised some questions, however we only lost the one game, and that was after having already secured qualification so I'm just going to turn my attention to the finals now and am looking forward to seeing who we are drawn against for the tournament in Spain.
In other International news I have decided to give the Olympics another crack this summer, I will lead the under-23's to Toronto with the hopes of doing (a lot) better than in Tokyo 2020 when my team failed to get out of the groups. I've decided I will only use players uncapped at senior level which will make this a very useful scouting mission, giving me a great chance to see the younger players on the cusp of my team up close.
Surpassed 250 league appearances in his career this month and is now up to 255 (315 in all competitions) and also has 15 senior international caps. I've been rotating him with Hugo Mallo in order to keep the Brazilian happy as well.
Group A
Bosnia & Herzogovina
Bulgaria
Portugal
Serbia (Champions)
Group B
Denmark
Greece
Scotland
Spain (Hosts)
Group C
Croatia
Holland
Romania
Sweden
Group D
France
Germany
Poland
Slovakia
Group E
Belgium
Finland
Norway
Ukraine
Group F
England
Ireland
Italy
Slovakia
Not too bad really, we've already beaten England this year, albeit only in a friendly, we should comfortably win against the other two if we are on top of our game, also there are no teams that worry me much in group E so we could have a fairly comfortable passage to the quarter finals. will it pan out that way though, with my track record at International level I'll take nothing for granted!
On a personal level, my 500th game in management was a 4-2 win over Napoli;
I'm still really enjoying my career, heres to the next 500!
As the calendars flip over into February 2024 we are looking unstoppable at the moment, we are still unbeaten in all competitions and running away with Serie A already with sixteen games left to play as we have a thirteen point cushion as well as a game in hand over second place Fiorentina.
I've been a bit cocky throughout January and have been testing out some of my younger players as most of the teams we have faced have been the weaker sides in Serie A, to be fair my young lads havn't let me down at all and most look quite comfortable as part of my system.
Petr is the pick of my promising kids, I snapped him up from Sparta Prague last summer as part of my youth team strengthening mission, of course he's far from the finished article but my coaches rate him as a five star prospect. He came off the bench against Modena to make his debut before I handed him a starting shirt in the cup game against Parma where he repaid my faith by scoring what proved to be the winning goal!
I think the biggest difference from my previous two here is that we are now beating our title rivals, previously we struggled in games with Juve and Inter especially but got away with it due to us stuffing everybody else as a matter of routine, now however we are getting the results in the big games which is giving us a much more comfortable lead.
The Champions League is also a source of excitement at the moment as we again we unfortunate not to beat Barcelona, in the end we went through on level points, the Catalans just sneaking first place with their superior goal difference.
I think most people would fancy us to be Zenit given our current form, however I have never made it past this round of the competition in four attempts with Roma, Fiorentina and now Milan so I won't take anything for granted.
There was also a hard fought victory over Juventus to see us ease into the semi final of the Copa Italia, we will meet Novara over two legs to decide if we will get the chance to defend our trophy against either Fiorentina or Sampdoria.
Nothing to report at the moment.
Got injured in the game against Juventus mid-December with a broken foot bone, he's not expected back until late March, thankfully just in time to get himself fit for Euro 2024.
itchycoo