AC Milan turn to Gattuso to bring back glory days
MILAN: Fallen Italian giants AC Milan named combative former player Gennaro Gattuso as their new boss yesterday after sacking Vincenzo Montella, the Chinese-owned club said yesterday. The seven-time European champions released Montella after a goalless draw against Torino on Sunday left them seventh in Serie A and have turned to 39-year-old Gattuso, a member of one of their most successful sides but has little coaching pedigree.
Gattuso made a total of 468 appearances for AC Milan between 1999 and 2012, winning a reputation as a rugged defensive midfielder and earning the nickname “Rino”, on account of his verbal raging and rampaging playing style. He won the Serie A title twice and helped Milan to Champions League glory on two occasions. Gattuso was such an integral part of Marcello Lippi’s line-up when Italy clinched the 2006 World Cup in Germany that he was named in FIFA’s team of the tournament.
AC Milan have not finished higher than sixth in any of the last four seasons in Serie A but new Chinese owner Li Yonghong funded a 230-million-euro ($270 million) signing spree in the summer.
Leonardo Bonucci arrived from Juventus for 38 million euros in an eye-catching move, while Portuguese player Andre Silva came for a similar sum from FC Porto and Hakan Calhanoglu was signed from Bayer Leverkusen. But even with those reinforcements, Montella failed to put the club that was once the jewel in former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s business empire in contention for a Champions League place. He leaves after 17 months at the San Siro.
There will be heavy pressure on Gattuso, who has always had a controversial edge-he once slapped the then Ajax striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic with the back of his hand. On another occasion that his temper spilled over, he infamously grabbed Tottenham assistant coach Joe Jordan-greying and 26 years Gattuso’s senior — by the throat before head-butting him, picking up a heavy UEFA ban. Gattuso spent a season at Walter Smith’s Rangers before joining AC Milan and won the Scottish double alongside English midfielder Paul Gascoigne. Since retiring as a player he has been working within the AC Milan structure as youth team coach after a stuttering coaching career elsewhere, with short stints at Sion in Switzerland, at Palermo and Pisa in Italy and at Greek minnows OFI Crete.
With Juventus dominating Italian football and Barcelona and Real Madrid dominant in Europe, Gattuso faces a huge task to restore Milan to their former heights. He was a key cog in a team featuring Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo and Filippo Inzaghi which won the 2003 Champions League by beating Juventus on penalties.—AFP