This archive report was first published on 9 October 2019.
Published on October 9, 2019, AC Milan have appointed Stefano Pioli as their new coach, handing him a two-year contract in the hope he will turn around the fortunes of the seven-times European champions.
After sacking their previous coach, Marco Giampaolo, on Tuesday, AC Milan are looking to Pioli to lead the team back to success. Giampaolo's departure came after the team lost four of their first seven Serie A games, leaving them 13th in the league, 10 points off leaders Juventus.
Stefano Pioli has a wealth of experience in Serie A, having coached several teams including Lazio, where he led them to a third-place finish and the Coppa Italia final in the 2014-15 season, and Inter Milan.
His last job was at Fiorentina, where he was credited with keeping the team together after the sudden death of captain Davide Astori in March 2018 threatened to derail their campaign. Despite leaving in April this year, Pioli's efforts helped Fiorentina finish eighth.
AC Milan, who last won the Serie A title in 2011, have been struggling in recent years. They last played in the Champions League in the 2013-14 season and qualified for the Europa League this season after finishing fifth in 2018-19. However, the club voluntarily accepted a one-year ban from all European competitions for breaching UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
