A deal for July 2007 has already been sealed, but if the current difficulties persist the ex National team coach could come by January.

Marcello Lippi is preparing his big return to the world of football. After a period of deserved rest, he might be forced to make an anticipated return to a football bench, in case Milan decide to call time on Ancelotti's period.

The change of the guard might take place by January, or by early February at the latest, if the current Milan coach should fail to turn the tide by that time. Ancelotti risks losing control of the team, which is torn apart by internal problems. Even though Lippi is not keen to take on a team with the season well underway, he might be stimulated by the idea of taking charge of a team still in the race for the Champions League.

The opportunity of guiding an assault to the Champions League. It's true that Lippi would like to build up some credit abroad as well by guiding a team in the Primera Liga or the Premiership, the attractive power of Milan is still very strong. All the more for having to build an almost entirely new team and bind his name to a new cycle of success.



source: http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=189256

I think the same as han: Rijkaard or Mourinho are available or...

...Carlo will stay.

Carlo will stay only if he wins CH.L. (I'm sure 99%, although with this management you can never be sure about anything )
And as hard as it looks, can be easy as well.

Don Silvio said some days ago that he is goin' to stay 'cause he belongs to Milan "family".

I agree. If we have no better options on the market...

At the moment, the coach is the last thing I'd change. Maybe the directors (Galliani and Braida) and some players <in and out>... would solve the problems.

Yes, sure, I also dont think that its only Ancelotti's mistake. After all he can't make them run faster, be more fresh, teach strikers how to score, or defenders how to mark players. He can tell them what to do but rarely HOW to do coz they are proffesionals they are well-aware of their job.

Changing coach now won't be the answer...

Yup it wont

Those are the only 2 coaches I want to take charge of Milan.

And I now I recently said that I was against the idea of Mourinho, ever since I have been watching Chelsea regularly, the guy has grown on me.
So yeah, it's either him or Rijkaard for me after Carlo.
Pls Don Silvio, no Lippi!!!!



The CL is 70% luck the other part is how good you are. You can't base this on the CL. If the CL was so easy to win then we should have won it for these last few years running since we have been the best these past 4 years. Bjut it's not about that, 1 bad night and you're out.

lippi denying that he will take charge anyway! reiterated that he won't do anything till the start of next season so hopefully carlo will turn it around and there will be no need for a new coach

why don't you think lippi could help us (not january transfer, I mean summer transfer)?

I just don't think he will that's all. He's no tactical mastermind either. If you think Carlo is stubbern with his choices and the fact that he has becaome more conservative as of late then believe me Lippi isn't the one to go for if you want these things to change.

And again if you have been watching Chelsea a lot lately then all you have to look at is how Mouringo makes his changes, I think he's a genius. I mean moving Essien to RB? Who the hell would come up with that one?

For me it's either Mourinho or Rijkaard or else Carlo stays

Lippi reveals Milan truth

Marcello Lippi has quashed speculation suggesting he is on the verge of replacing Carlo Ancelotti as Milan boss.

The World Cup winning Coach is reportedly one of the candidates to be Ancelotti’s successor and the latest reports claimed he might join the Rossoneri as early as January if their present crisis continues.

But the experienced tactician, who replaced Ancelotti at Juventus in 2004, has rubbished the reports.

“The truth is that these rumours are not true,” said Lippi, who left the Italian national bench after the German triumph.

“I have not changed my plans and I want to rest until next season. I am not interested in taking on a team with the season well underway,” added the Viareggino, who had already been paired with Napoli and Mexico’s national team.

“I have not received any offers from Italian clubs and I have only been contacted by foreign outfits,” he continued.

“I have read all kinds of news lately, they mentioned Napoli and then Spain. In any case I don’t have any preferences, I will leave all doors open.”

Fooyball Italia

This is the third season running that Carlo hasnt produced any silverware ..

He should be replaced, thank you Carlo, but we seriouslly are in need of a coach that could and will most likely win us something, Marcello Lippi.

I have been in support of Carlo ever since Istanbul (I have a bitter taste, everytime it is mentioned too ) .. But Milan can't rub into the dirt, w/ Carlo trying to prove that this team, the one that won us 02/03 CL in Manchester, can still have another go at it ...




With numerous titles, including the UEFA Champions League and the prestigious Scudetto won under his reign, he is arguably the most successful Milan coach of the decade.



Since moving to Milan, he was nothing but success. In his first season with Milan, Ancelotti took the team and brought them back to international competitions. Before Ancelotti came to Milan, Milan has not produced since 1999. Ancelotti took them to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and Milan finished fourth, ending the season at a high note. The following season, Ancelotti, who was threatened and heavily criticized by Club President Silvio Berlusconi due to his defensive plays, was able to adopt a creative play in Milan. He converted rising superstar Andrea Pirlo to a defensive playmaker and played him along with Manuel Rui Costa. At the same time, the striking partners of Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko were dominant and dynamic. Milan won the Champions League in 2002-2003, beating Italian rivals Juventus 3-2 on penalties at Old Trafford. The following season, under the new playmaker Kaká, Milan won lo scudetto (Serie A), as well as the Coppa Italia.

Since then, however, the tag of "nearly man" has come back to haunt Ancelotti, with two consecutive league runners-up places (to Juventus, although the match-fixing scandal has seen both wiped from the record books), and a horrific penalty shoot-out defeat to Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League Final, despite having been 3-0 ahead at half-time.

In 2003, he became the fifth coach to win the European crown as both player and coach. The other four are: Miguel Muñoz (Real Madrid player 1956, 1957, Real Madrid coach 1960, 1966); Giovanni Trapattoni (AC Milan player 1963, 1969, Juventus coach 1985); Johan Cruyff (AFC Ajax player 1971-73, FC Barcelona coach 1992) and, in 2006,Frank Rijkaard repeated this landmark (AC Milan player 1989, 1990, Ajax Player 1995, FC Barcelona coach 2006).


Source

It can't, this team has broken down; Some of our Key Players are in the Infermary: Nesta, Kaladze, Sergio, Costacurta, Cafu *just came out*, Dida, Kaka, Ambrosini, Gattuso *just came out*, and the ONLY hope Kaka .. The list can still grow longer as Seedorf isn't 100% and I'm definately NOT counting Favalli.

So the team Carlo based his success w/ has broken down.

Lippi might bring us something else, as he has been Juventus's most notable managers for a decade! i.e. proven on the BIG stage.

The turning point for Lippi came in the 1993/94 season when he led Napoli to a place in the UEFA Cup. The achievement was all the more remarkable given the financial turmoil of a club still basking in the triumphs inspired by Diego Maradona.

Source

ehm .. Shevchenko anyone ?!

Anyways these are his qualifications:


Juventus:

5 Italian League Championships
1994/95, 1996/97, 1997/98, 2001/02, 2002/03
1 Coppa Italia
1994/95
Runners up: 2001/02, 2003/04
4 Italian Supercups
1995/96, 1997/98, 2002/03, 2003/04
Runners up: 1998/99
1 European Cup
1995/96
Runners up: 1996/97, 1997/98, 2002/03
UEFA Cup
Runners up: 1994/95
1 European Supercup
1996/97
1 Intercontinental Cup
1996/97

Internazionale F.C.:

Coppa Italia
Runners up: 1999/00

With the Italian national team:

1 FIFA World Cup
2006

Source

Maybe it's just me, but I have a gut feeling that THIS coach needs a go at Milan, cuz f@ck he has credentials

Surely not now .. At the end of the season

I see your point and I somehow agree with you, R7. Carlo's time at Milan is coming to an unavoidable end. He's given us a lot, 5 prestigious trophies in the last 3 years and we're really greatful to him for that. We've also got to give him credit for the new key positions of players like Pirlo, Serghino etc. He's a mastermind, there's no doubt about it. Problem is the new coach who will replace him, will he be in the same level of Carlo? I don't like Lippi and I don't want him at Milan, despite his glorious past. Cause I agree with han, he's not a good tactician. The only managers I think that might be good replacements of Carlo are Mourinho and Rijkaard. I wouldn't either mind people like Van Basten, Prandelli or Spalleti, but I think the first two are the only ones capable of replacing Ancelotti. This is what if he leaves one day. But the fact Milan are doing so bad this season isn't absolutely Carlo's fault. In my opinion, he's the last person to blame for. The board gave him an unadaptable team, he rised his voice many times for new signings but the board didn't realize his wishes. Now our medical centre is full of injuries, players like Nesta, Dida and Serghino won't recover 'till a long time. What is Carlo supossed to do? What would you do if you were in his place? He has his hands tied and is absolutely uncapable of improving the situation, cause he's human, like me, like you, like anybody else. He's not some kind of magician that with a buzz of his stick would recover all the injuries and change Silvio's mind to make a couple of signings, no. All he can do now is wait 'till the Christmas break, get a part of the injured players back, rest the team and so they can be ready for the second part of the season. Changing coach at the moment isn't the solution. I'm one of those who think, that if Carlo's given a competent team, capable of aiming both Serie A and Champions League, than there's absolutely no need in finding a new manager, cause fair and square, Carlo is one of the best out there.

Well, I heared today that the board are investing a total of 150M right into Carlo's hands to pick and choose; he will be able to use it during this winter break and next summer. Ofcourse next summer, if he produces anything this season

150M? Hmmm, that sounds tasty. I really hope the font you heard it from is reliable, cause with 150 millions, I've got a wish list aswell.

were did you hear that??
€150m that's crazy no way would they give anyone that amount to spend

Heared it from a friend today, the amount is mind boggling, I know .. But nothing amazes me anymore, after Chelsea happened, everything is possible.

I usually don't like to talk about figures, but this gives me hope that there is a plan underway to rebuild this team, to have some face at least ..

Ofcourse, I wont believe anything till I see it, and my hopes aren't that high up, but surely this team needs patching up BIG time, if Milan is to reach it's goals this season.

@ R7's first post: I really don't think Lippi is the man for the job. As I said, I'm not one who wants Carlo to leave because like X-Offender I'm a firm believer that if Carlo where given the right recorces he will win us a lot more then he already has. And don't forget we couldn't do anything about these last 2 scudetti because of the match fixing, even if we had won them they would have bee stripped away.

And Lippi? Where has he had all his success at? JUVE a team that was doped up in the 90's and has been fixing matches ever since Moggi stepped into the frame.
So basing your theory because of his success at Juve isn't such a good idea since we don't know what he won on his own and what he won with 'help'.

If you watched Italy during the WC then you would know what sort of manager he is and how infuriating his decisions and even stupid sometimes, they could be. I mean putting in Iaquinta when you need a goal instead of the inform Pippo who scored a goal even when he was on for juyst 20 minutes. That should say a lot.

And as I said, I'm not someone that wants Carlo to leave, BUT if he does leave then my ONLY choices would be Mourinho or Rijkaard no one else. Maybe Prandelli but I think he's too inexperianced to take over a Milan side that needs a lot of work put into it. No Van Basten and definately no Lippi

@ X-Offender: GREAT post completely agree with you.



Well I hope this is true. Cause as I said I'm a firm believer that if Carlo is given the proper tools to work with then he will win us more Trophies

@han ..

If Carlo doesn't win us anything by next summer .. Then, it's time for him to step down. This is AC Milan not AS Roma !

Lippi, I mentioned him, because apart from his achievments w/ Juve, he kept Napoli in contention after Maradonna left and with the financial difficulties of the club .. I remember it clearly that season .. He blew life into them after Mardonna left.

The WC06 ... !!!!! I cant believe u wouldnt give him credit for it !!! Iquinta ?? Pippo ?? The man is a master mind !!! I for one didnt think Italy would make it!

He had the players, knew exactly where to play them and he got the cup ..

I remember b4 the tournament, all the papers where like Italy wont make it, cz their key player, Totti, isnt in form, blah blah blah .. Now look at Italy


I have a lot of respect for Mourinho, not because of what he has done for Chelsea, but for Porto ... To me, he is of the calibure of managers as Guss Hednik, etc ..

Rijkaard ? I would go for Ten Cate .. I don't think Rijkaard is ready for Milan, especially w/ the team lacking in motivation and worn out, as is. If the board invest in the team, I wouldn't have problems with him or Carlo .. So There is no difference there.

But w/ Lippi, u have a manager that defied the odds and drove Italia to win the WC .. Not any manager can do that ..

With Juve; whether the players were dopped or have influence from Moggi, he still made the right decision with who to play and what the formation on the pitch should be .. Wether he had a leverage from outside of the pitch, none-the-less, he left Juve and came back 2 years later to bring glory back to Juve.

So point is, how could u not count him as a potential successor to Carlo ? His credentials speak louder than that of Mourinho and Rijkaard put together.

I didn't count him winning the WC with Italy because I just don't see that as HIS big achievment, don't get me wrong I'm not saying he didn';t have anything to do with it, but I just don't count him as the BIG part in why Italy won it. I consider him more as being in the right place at the right time, rather then being a master mind. And what are you talking about? He knew where he was going to play each player?? He kept messing around with the formation and the starters of the team throughout the whole tournament, because the attack was never really working. The only players he knew exactly where to play where Pirlo, Rino and Cannavaro. The others he just kept changing their place.

Ten Cate is good but he's staying at Ajax. And If you are going to count Lippi's achievment with Napoli then yu can look at what Carlo did with Parma before he went to Juve. He got them SECOND in Serie A!!

I really can't see how this season should be considered as the ultimatum season for Carlo seeing how it was totally screwed up from the very beginning.

You are amazing man

The last WC was the coaches WC, actually every team was led by its coach, I don't remember I saw any player made an excellent WC! (Apart for Brasil's Zizou)
As for Lippi he is definitely a master mind, but I don't want him at Milan cause I think he is too defensive, Hiddink would be great for Milan!

Anyway I'll go for Carleto staying

That's what everyone keep telling me actaully

You think what he did against Austalia and the US is actaully a tactical mastermind of a plan?? Now forget about the send offs. But look at what subs he made and WHEN he made them.

Of course every team is lead by it's coach, but look at Italy during the last WC, you don't think that a player like Pirlo, Rino, Canna and Gigi didn't have any influence on how Italy played? Pirlo was the inspiration for that team, and if he had gotten injured Italy wouldn't have made it as far as they did. And I know it may seem like I'm giving Pirlo all the credit fo the win, but it's just a fact of how important he was, everyone was making a big fuss about Totti when in Reality he never even showed up, and the man everyone forget was the one that lead Italy to the title in tthe end.
And for me it will always just be, Lippi was in the right place at the right time for the WC win. Now I'm not telling anyone to think like me and I know some would disagree with me, but there are also a lot who would agree.

Hiddink would also be a good choice but he has just taken over the Russian NT, so I don't think that would happen.

btw, why can't we seem to agree on anything lately

Against the U.S I'll put that on De Rossi's head, and how self confident the Italian were before the game. Against Australia I didn't watch the game, but from what I heard the red card on Materrr changed a lot!



Of course, those players had a lot to do, they are talented and world class players, but France also had talented and WC players, the same goes for Brazil, Portugal and Germany, but they didn't make it, and I think it was because they hadn't someone like Lippi, France is the best example, in the final they could won if they just put another forward, and Vieira injury was like a sign, The Italian were totally drawn but they won thanks to the French coach, the same goes for Brazil and Netherlands, I still remember VB on the bench thinking what to do before doing nothing!!!



Different vision, same goal!

His subs against Australia where very dumb imo, he took off Gila (who was having a good game btw) right when the second half started, that was wisting 1 sub for nothing. Then Matrix got sent off and he had to put in another defender. Waisting another sub. Then things went bad from there, a little more time and had Italy not gotten the penalty they would have lost.



Well Domenech is just a treat isn't he?

I personally just don't see Lippi as the tactical genius as everyone makes him out to be that's all. The only game in which Italy did well in and that fact was based on the tactics rather then above average from some of the players was the one against Germany. In the final France where definately better

Well for starters .. Lippi's most notable moment in his career was getting each club he coached a kick start .. Inter, he played for two consecutive season's and got them runners-up .. And I'm talking about the merda, the one's that think third place is alright !

Moreover, Lippi's success with Juventus .. You cant over look it, cuz he left in between of his two stints there and fixed the problem right up again. He is a master motivator, brilliant tacticsis (fresh Idea's like the one we saw in Germany), ... Look this team usually it's #1 goal is the CL and Lippi is a master at constructing a team for tournaments .. He did it for Juve .. For Italy ..

Now I'm not trying to prove that he is better than Carlo, cuz I think highly of Carlo, but his tactics are worn out, his players are tiered (I understand bcz of the summer), but his team can't make it anymore .. This is the third yr running !!

Maybe if Carlo get's his funding this winter, he might find the right fix to get us back to contention .. But even so, are the player's motivated to go on any further ?! ... I don't think they are .. They are tiered .. worn out .. I mean 85% of this team resembles that which appeared in the 02/03 CL final .. We are now 2006 and during this time, Carlo hasn't produced anything materialistic .. We are top of the European standing, right, but that is about it. It counts just to keep us feeling relaxed about the clubs status, it keeps Carlo fit enough to sit on the Milan bench .. But glory anyone ?! His two season's with Juve, just like these past two season's with Milan, runners-up .. Lippi came in and what happened, please dont tell me Moggi, cuz moggi was there w/ Carlo too

All I'm saying is, I want what's best for the club, as any Milanista would want .. But if that means Carlo has got to go, then Carlo will go .. Not me not you not anyone but the board can make that decision ..

And when that decision comes, who do you think Milan will entrust the bench w/ ??

That's when you think ?? Who can logically take us to glory .. Lippi has enough credentials to earn the right to sit on Milan's bench! He has brought nothing but success where ever he coached

Maybe Mourinho .. Who knows .. But if Carlo comes out empty handed at the end of this season, expect to see him fired.

I really can't see THIS season being the ultimatum season for Carlo. First of all it wouldn't be fair to him. The reason the team is practically still the same to the one we had in 02/03 is because the board let it happen, not because of Carlo. If anything, you could say that Carlo over achieved in the CL especially these last few years, with the ageing team he's had and the fact that 2 out of the 3 times we where knocked out of the CL these past 3 years wqhere because of bad ref calls (Istanbul, sheva goal wrongfully disallowed and if you hadn't noticed the lines'man had his flag up during Smicer's goal because a pool player was offside but the ref didn't notice. And last season we all know what happened with Sheva's goal against Barca, disallowed for no reason, or rather because of Puyol's dive).

And Lippi's success at Juve ahouldn't be overlooked but I just didn't see these fresh ideas you are talking about duringthe world cup. I think the whole tactics where "just play the ball through Pirlo".

If you want fresh ideas and a man who isn't afraid to make changes to the team then Mourinho is the man. Now I was probably one who was the most against him coming to Milan but I have been watching Chelsea a lot and the guy won me over. He's just a genius. I don't think Lippi is half as good when it comes masterminding a gameplan or changing a game around.

And I was never one who didn't like Lippi he never bothered me at all, but I'm an Italy fan and during the WC I just couldn't stand him, not because of what he was saying but because of his tactics substitutions, and everything about his game.

I personally don't think Lippi would be the answer for us, it would be better to stay with Carlo rather then have him. And if we get to 4th spot then Carlo will stay. Hopefully after Carlo ends his reign with us, Mourinho, Rijkaard or Hiddink will take over.

@han ..

It's clear u don't seem to be quit fond of Lippi .. That is ok .. Look for Juve games since 94 .. If that's out dated, then 2001.. U'll know what I'm talking about

The way he played his team to the final (I'm not counting how they played against France) .. Just the route to the Final was enough for anyone to recognize, Marcello Lippi took Italy to the Final. Now wether u like him or not, he did what Rijkaard, Mourinho, Carlo, Hednik .. All couldnt do

TBH, I wouldn't mind Carlo staying, that is, IF he can get the 4th spot and try to go for the CL Final ... I'd be more than happy, but if he fails at both those targets .. Then my friend, all sentiments aside .. He will be replaced, I don't think Milan will go four seasons dry ! You could give reasons as to the team is old, no transfers, Tata ti tata ta .. But the truth is Mourinho, Lippi .. I don't care, just someone with new ideas

I wasn't talking about 4th spot, because if he doesn't get us in that position by the end of the season, then for sure he is out. I was mentioning Silverware, as in actually winning it. You think this Milan can compete with Chelsea and Barca?? Our defence can't even handle Cagliari and Palermo let alone Chelsea and Barca's attack.

As I said I never had any problems with Lippi, that is until he coached a team I supported. I never agreed with his formations or tactics during a games and sometimes even the players themselves criticised that they didn't know what role they where playing in and what to do. Mainly because of his constant changes because of his indecision of what formation will ACTUALLY work and he can stivk with for the entire tournament

That's how u win competitions

Surely a coach of his calibure cant be questioned until he fails to deliver .. Did he fail ?!

But ofcourse we cant, again look at the injury table !! Mainly, Sergio is out .. He was/is our rapid left back (dst .. dont ) .. Nesta ?? Dida ?? .. Well there u have it, but with transfer window right around the corner, Carlo has another shot at getting to his minimal goal ..

IF he doesn't, then there is little, if not, NO say in it for us who will coach Milan ..

Out of a couple of top notch coachs, we have Mourinho and Lippi I see as our next coachs .. Mourinho, bcz of his success w/ porto and Lippi cuz I'm tiered of reiterating his past achievments ..

I believe that Italy were (Cover your ears La Palma) meant to win it and even if I was the one coaching them they would have still won it.

As for our situation, well Carlo has nothing to do with the transfers, but I'm hoping that our board will get us at least 1 fullback with Sergio's qualities, lightning fast that can constantly cross in balls. And another forward, not a Trezeguet or something similar but a creative froward, which can play in support of Gila or Pippo and score us a couple of goals. And maybe another midfielder. That's all. Just 3 players, and I'm not asking for some big shot super star, just someone make his contribution felt in the team.

And my choiced would still be Mourinho or Rijkaard and maybe trying to pry away Ten Cate from Ajax

Maybe in manager

Laugh all you want but I'm a really good manager