AC Milan sack Montella, replace him with Gattuso
AC Milan have relieved coach Vincenzo Montella of his duties after Sunday's goalless draw with Torino. The result meant Milan are now struggling at 7th in the Serie A table and the gap with fourth-placed Roma has now grown to 11 points. Former midfielder and one of their own Gennaro Gattuso has been given charge of the first team to rescue their season.
Worst start to the league in over 75 years
The Rossoneri spent over 200 million in the summer bringing in the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Andre Silva and Hakan Calhanoglu but find themselves at 7th position with 20 points from 14 games, 18 points adrift league leaders Napoli. The Italian giants have not endured such a disastrous start to the season since 1941/42, where they lost 7 games out of the first 14.
Given the boot after big summer spending failure
Montella took charge of AC Milan in June 2016 replacing Cristian Brocchi. The former Fiorentina and Sampdoria manager even had a decent year, leading the club to sixth-place finish. Troubles, however, came after he brought in new faces to challenge for the Scudetto crown; spending over 200 million and the results haven't impressed the board.
Milan replace manager with former player
Gattuso has made over 400 appearances as a player during his 14 years at the club. Renowned for his energy and aggression, the 39-year-old won two Serie A trophies along with two Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups and the Coppa Italia during his time. He also a part of World Cup winning squad and has been inducted into Milan Hall of Fame.
Is Gattuso the right man for the job?
Gattuso, Milan's former midfield ace, was previously manager of the club's youth team. He decided to step into management in 2013 and since then has had spells at Sion, Palermo, Crete and Pisa before taking over the Milan youth team earlier this year. He now has a task at hand since Milan's dwindling domestic form has been a concern for quite a while now.
A string of bad luck haunts former players
Gattuso needs to be wary about the poor luck former players have had since taking over as the head coach of the club. He is now the 4th player of AC Milan's last Champions League winning squad of 2007 to go on to manage the club within a decade. Seedorf, Inzaghi and Brocchi managed just 27 wins between them, can Gattuso do better?
