Julen Lopeegui is one of the candidates to replace Stefano Pioli at AC Milan and based on recent reports, he’s in pole position. Speaking to Italian media, his former director Monchi explained why he’s the ‘perfect candidate’ for the Rossoneri.
Monchi hired Loptegui during his second spell at Sevilla, having left Roma to rejoin the team, and he won the Europa League trophy with the manager. Currently part of the successful Aston Villa, the director still holds Lopetegui in high regard.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, as cited by MilanNews, Monchi explained why Lopetegui is the perfect candidate to replace Pioli. Above all, there are three virtues that make the manager stand out and these will gel with Milan’s project.
On Lopetegui joining Milan…
“For me, Julen has three virtues that I consider fundamental for any coach: great professional qualities, competitiveness, and group management. When I began talking with him about Sevilla, I felt this immediately, and certain qualities don’t get lost over time, on the contrary, they consolidate with experience.
“Then, when we started working on building the team which in Sevilla’s case required radical changes, the virtues that I had visualized in the first conversations materialised in everyday life, between training and matches.”
Apparently Lopetegui will have no difficulty in adapting to Milan and Italian football…
“He won’t have any problems because he’s used to working in big teams, and therefore in situations of great pressure and demands. I’m thinking of Porto, Real Madrid, the Spanish national team.
“This is why I’m convinced that Julen is a perfect candidate. First of all, Italian football is becoming more globalised every day, then the tactical aspect is historically of great importance and he’s a coach who works very well in this respect,” he concluded.
It remains to be seen what decision will be made, but Milan have taken note of the fan criticism and will take that into consideration. Lopetegui may be one of the primary candidates, but the appointment is far from certain at the moment.
Another clown…
He is not an exciting coach. He won’t draw in the crowd because he doesn’t give that “I want to win everything” vibe. That means, ticket sales will be down, rating will be down, sponsorships start going away, and the only thing that this owner cares about, aka their bottom line, suffers.
The “perfect candidate”…. Yes, the “perfect candidate” to take Milan back to mediocre
He won EL with Sevilla… that’s like winning the Bundesliga with Bayern. Sevilla is made for that tournament.
Aside from that? Not a whole lot to write home about. What criteria did he excel at? What are the indicators of success that make Milan’s Spidey Senses tingle?
He’s cheap
He won’t talk much italian language so yes ma’am 😀
I like how you said yes ma’am
Out of every coach we could choose why is this name even mentioned.
In as much as most fans wants Conte, they must also consider the fact that, Conte will not come cheap, he would demand for complete control of the players to be signed, and we all know Conte won’t go for young and talented players in line with the present Milan’s philosophy. Also, we are all witness to how Conte left his last two jobs, where he left Inter and TOT when they least expected due to differences. Conte won’t stick with any club when the club is in difficulty as he won’t hesitate to do same with Milan. Lopetegui may not fans favourite, but he’s not also a bad coach. The only reason I will want Conte to come, is to come and drill some of these our lazy players and instill the spirit of fight till the end in them, else…..
Get an ex Milan player. We need someone who has been there..done that. Familiarity with Milan takes time.
We tried Gattuso Inzaghi Brocchi Seedorf etc… the last person I want is someone like MvB or Pirlo just because they’re Milanista.
hahaha I was just gonna say the same thing. Oddly enough, Mihajlovic did pretty good with what he had 🙂 Maybe we need former Interisiti.
Is being Inter fans count? If so, Pioli can tick all the boxes.
Monchi is an idiot. Christophe Gaultier, Paulo Fonseca, Ruben Amorim, Domenico Tadesco and Francesco Farioli are better options than Lopetegui.
I like how you said yes ma’am
this guys is a loser. he didn’t do well in RM and even wolves fired him. Please dont come to Milan
He’s free and his salary is below 5 mil. How’s that not become a favorite to this management?
Joking aside, we only have 2 choices here. Either we recruit someone that’s a proven winner (like Conte or the Klopp drram) or someone that’s fresh, exciting, and uprising (Motta, De Zerbi). And Nopetegui doesn’t fit in both.