The Maradona challenge is important for the Rossoneri coach not only for the stakes: he becomes the eighth coach for appearances in the club’s history, like Max
By character, he has never been one to look at the numbers of his house. When you enter the Pioli house, everything is imbued with concepts such as the collective, team goals, the common good. It is what he transmits to his players on a daily basis, it is his philosophy, of which the Milan that won the Scudetto is the maximum expression: no real superstars, but the triumph of the group.
Round number
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Yet there come moments when personal goals are achieved that cannot go unnoticed. This is one of those for Pioli and we are not just talking about the wonderful possibility of bringing Milan back to the Champions League semi-final 16 years after the last time – for the Rossoneri coach Europe has become one baptism after another, once the group stage -, but of purely personal numbers. The first is a round number that has a certain effect: in fact, the next one will be victory number 100 at the helm of Milan. The current 177 benches – all included – tell these results: 99 wins, 42 draws and 36 defeats (with 322 goals scored and 203 conceded). Thus, 55.9 percent successes: there are worse statistics. The average points is 1.92 and here too we travel at considerable heights. It goes without saying that achieving the 100th victory for the Rossoneri in such an important and historic match as the one in Naples would give an even more special flavor to the enterprise.
Certainties
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The other relevant data is in the number of benches. Maradona Pioli will be number 178, which will allow him – after having already overtaken Jozsef Banas (173) – to grab Allegri in eighth place among the coaches with the most games in the history of Milan. Allegri who obviously will then be overtaken with Milan-Lecce next Sunday. For position number seven, occupied by Antonio Busini at an altitude of 193, it will be necessary to wait for next season, even if to have this certainty it may be necessary to wait for another, or at least fourth place in the standings at the end of this championship. However, reflections out of place a few hours before the second round of the Champions League with Napoli. Pioli, meanwhile, when stimulated on the subject, always replies that he wants to stay at Milanello for a long time, where he has felt “at home from day one”. The current contract, however, will expire in 2025: in the ranking of the longest-serving coaches, there are other positions to climb.
April 16 – 1.24pm
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