Football Season Guide

Milan started the past season with plenty of confidence, winning 7 out of the initial 8 games and they seemed capable of posing a threat again for the title. However, come mid-October, their performances became irregular and wins rarer to come. With Inter and Juventus running, they looked doomed to a 3rd-place finish. Having slightly improved their performances, they managed to make it back to the second place by March, profiting from Juventus troubles and remained there until the end, despite slowing down in the final 7 weeks, when they won only once. If they can be happy for finishing second, Milan cannot really be happy for their early Champions League, Europa League and Coppa Italia exits. And the management did not look happy at all as they ended up parting ways with coach Stefano Pioli. Paulo Fonseca, who had a mixed first Italian experience with Roma, will thus be the new man at the helm. Milan were not particularly active over the summer but they still lost a couple of important players. First and foremost, 37-year-old Giroud, capable of 49 goals in 132 games overall, decided to test MLS football at Los Angeles FC. 31-year-old Morata, coming from a great performance in the Euro 2024, seems to be his perfect replacement up-front. Then, they also opted to let go centre-back Kjaer, as well on the wrong half of the 30s. In came 23-year-old Pavlovic, who did well in his two seasons at Red Bull Salzburg. He is set to become a starter in the heart of the defence but Milan are on the hunt for another centre-back. More players are actually expected to quit as Milan did have a rather large squad, among them striker Origi and defender Ballo Toure. On the other hand, they saw 1 player returning after having a great season on loan at Bologna: Saelemaekers could be given the chance to leave some mark in his second stint at the club. Milan are still looking for a back-up goalie, a central midfielder and an attacking midfielder.