Patrick Vieira - from Midfielder to Manager

View attachment 198809

The terrible defeat to Tornio ensured that the month finished in really disappointing fashion ...

View attachment 198808

We started well enough with a 1-0 away win at Chievo which turned out to be our 6th win in a row.

But after the first game things really went down hill, and fast1 3 defeats in 4 games followed which meant we only picked up 4 points from a possible 15!

I think a lot of our problem is trying to motivate the players with so little to play for. Juventus have already won the league and we've been guaranteed of Champions League football for some time now ...

View attachment 198807

With us only picking up 4 points though, we actually lose 2nd spot to Lazio as we're both level on points.

We're also only 2 points clear of Roma in 4th. Finishing 4th would be a serious disappointment after being 2nd for pretty much the whole season!
​

With the race for 2nd spot really heating up, we'll have to get results from the remaining 2 league games ...

View attachment 198806

There's just Bari (home) and Sassuolo (away) left to play in the league before we head to the all important cup final against Juventus.

I was hoping to rest some players for the Sassuolo match as the cup final is played only 3 days later, sadly I dont think this will be possible with things so much in doubt.​
 
View attachment 198796

Bari was the penultimate game of the season and with Lazio now overtaking us, I was desperate for a win.

View attachment 198795

I changed a few things for this game, knowing a win was vital.

Adem Ljajic moved up-front to partner Carlos Bacca which is more of the system I went with at the start of the season. I also moved David Silva more centrally in the hope he can do more damage there.
​

View attachment 198793

What a response!

A brilliant 4-0 win really should give us confidence going into the final game of the season as well as the cup final just afterwards.

Jose Mauri opened the scoring from a corner early on before Carlos Bacca continued his brilliant goalscoring record by doubling the lead.

Adem Ljajic then celebrated his new starting position as a striker by making it 3-0 after Carlos Bacca played him through on goal.

It was then Ayoze Perez who stole the headlines with his first goal back from a serious injury. He just hadn't been the same played since returning but this was certainly more like it after playing the last half an hour or so.
​


MAN OF THE MATCH - CARLOS BACCA

View attachment 198788

He played really well today and grabbed a deserved goal and also set up Adem Ljajic for his as well. He looked a totally different player today with a partner upfront with him.​
 
View attachment 198784

The final game of the season saw us take on Sassuolo away from home. Fortunately, Lazio lost in the previous round of fixtures which meant we overtook them back into 2nd spot.

All we had to was win here and second would be ours!

View attachment 198783


View attachment 198782

We go with the same line up that beat Bari 4-0 last time out. There was no reason to change anyone after such a good performance.
​


View attachment 198781

What a shocking result!

Sadly, Bertolacci suffered an injury early on and had to be replaced, his replacement, Mijailovic actually went on to open the scoring though just before half time.

It was a great header from a deep free-kick which went right into the corner.

Sassuolo soon equalised though Biabiany got his first of the day on the stroke of half time. Managla just lost his run as he was able to finish from a deep cross from the right hand side.

Carlos Bacca then put us back infront with a typical goal of him, he's scored so many now that you just expect it most games.

Again, our lead only last a couple of minutes though as Biabiany had a shot from the edge of the box which deflected in from Acerbi who had come on to replace the struggling Mangala.

Sassuolo then, unbelievably, took the lead when that man again, Biabiany ran through on goal and finished past the 'keeper.
​

MAN OF THE MATCH - JONATHAN BIABIANY

View attachment 198775

He was a constant problem for us today. We just couldn't cope with his pace and really he should have claimed a hatrick and would have done if Acerbi hadn't deflected his second effort.​
 
Oh come on. Your players really let you down. But I think that happens to everybody. There is always a time in the year when I lose most of my matches, even against smaller sides and I can't really find the reason for it.
 
gandrasch said:
Oh come on. Your players really let you down. But I think that happens to everybody. There is always a time in the year when I lose most of my matches, even against smaller sides and I can't really find the reason for it.
Click to expand...

I know mate, whatever I change recently just doesn't seem to work haha! Hopefully we can put this behind us for the cup final :)
 
View attachment 198701

This is just about the worst news we could have heard leading up to the cup final ...

View attachment 198700

Leading scorer, Carlos Bacca has been ruled out for up to 5 weeks with a sprained ankle.

He picked the injury up in the final game of the season against Sassuolo. My heart sank as soon as he came off the pitch because I know what an injury now would mean ...

View attachment 198699

Our best player and top scorer will now miss the biggest game of the season!

After falling some way short of Juventus in the league, the Italian cup is all we have to play for now.

He's had a brilliant season, scoring 28 times but I know he'd swap all that for scoring in the cup final. Sadly that now is not possible.

With Bacca out and none of the other strikers in any kind of form, we may have to tweak things slightly for the big day.​
 
View attachment 198683

So, here it is, the Italian cup final against us and, title winners, Juventus.

View attachment 198668

Naming the side today was probably the hardest decision I've ever made as a manager, the injury to Carlos Bacca made it even harder.

I opted for M'Baye Niang to lead the line. He hasn't had a brilliant season but has looked good in brief appearances off the bench. I've gone with him in the hope he can add a bit of physicality into the side and give us an option off hitting it long if we need to.

I also pushed Silva and Bernard back out wide with Mauri as the furthest forward midfielder, his main concern will be tracking back into central midfield though.

The back 4 and goalkeeper really pick themselves and have been ever presents whenever possible.

Juventus on the other hand line up with a 4-4-2 with Mesut Ozil being their attacking midfielder, playing behind Dybala and Mandzukic. I was struggling to find a weakness and the closest I got was their central defensive partnership which isn't their first choice.

Let's see how the game pans out ...
​

I was really keen to get off to a good start, we've struggled in both previous games to Juventus and lost quite comprehensively. So I was determined to get a good start and take the game to them. Juventus are so used to teams sitting back and waiting for them to attack that I thought we should go for it and catch them surprised.

View attachment 198667

How unlucky!

We did exactly what I wanted the lads to do and that was take the game to Juventus and attack them.

The first half was pretty end to end, Juventus probably just edged it but it was very close with Niang having 2 glorious chances which we put wide on both occasions.

It wasn't until the 51st minute when Juventus took the lead, Davy Klaassen headed home from an Alex Sandro cross. Klassen wasn't picked up in the box as Juventus caught us on the break.

View attachment 198645

We created a number of half chances without really challenging Buffon too much.

With time getting on and us approaching the 70th minute I brought on Ayoze Perez, Kenedy and the forgotten man, Fernando Torres for the 3 midfield players in the hope of getting an equaliser.

This eventually paid off with 2 minutes to go. Antontelli caught the defender in possession high up the pitch and played Niang through on goal who finished well 1v1 with the keeper.

View attachment 198647

The trouble we had now was that we had such an attacking team that we had to continue to attack and search for the winner.

With neither side really having time to answer the equaliser, the game went into extra time.

Then, after 105 minutes Paulo Dybala won and converted a penalty. Kenedy tripped him in the area which left the referee with no option.

View attachment 198646

We then went back to shoving everyone forward in the hope of getting back into it. We created a lot of chances but as soon as we did that Juve would hit us on the break.

We had a great chance in the last minute with a header from Mangala, playing emergancy striker, but his header hit the crossbar and bounced clear.

View attachment 198648

​

MAN OF THE MATCH - Gianluigi Donnarumma

View attachment 198643

An absolutely outstanding performance from the young 'keeper. He really kept us in the game, especially late on, he had an awful lot to do. With a rating of 94 this was certainly the best game of his career.​
 
View attachment 198626

END OF SEASON REVIEW

So, with the Italian cup defeat it's time to look back on what was, in sorts, a fairly successful season ...

View attachment 198625

Lazio made a hash of their last 2 games as well which meant we overtook them back into second to finish runners on the all impressive, Juventus.

Juventus finished on 100 points, a massive 26 in front of us. There's some serious improving we need to do to even get close to them next season!
​

Carlos Bacca mirrored his club side as he too lost his individual battle with Juventus.

View attachment 198624

It was between him and Juventus frontman, Paulo Dybala as to who would finish the top scorer. Sadly, Juve beat us again here, by 2 goals.

Bacca can still be hugely pleased with his season and return of 26 league goals. He is one player who can hold his head high after this season.

I still wonder if the Cup Final would have been a different outcome had he been fit.


​

At the other end of the pitch, we also have a mention for Gianluigi Donnarumma ...

View attachment 198622

He finishes joint 4th in the race for the most clean sheets recorded.

His tally of 16 was matched by Juventus 'keeper and his idol, Gianluigi Buffon and was 4 behind eventual winner, Agustin Marchesin of Roma.

Donnarumma is nowhere near the finished article but showed promise this season and the Cup Final display was one of the best goalkeeping performances I've ever seen!


​

We also have 2 nomination's on the number of assists chart ...

View attachment 198619

The first being right back, Davide Zappacosta. I've banged on about his performances all season and 12 assist from right back justifies why. He's had a great season and at times was our biggest threat going forward.

David Silva also gets a mention here after finishing 6th on the chart. This is even more impressive when you consider he didn't arrive at the club until mid-January.


​

So, after finishing 2nd we qualify for the Champions League which was always the aim and means next season we'll be playing in the biggest club tournament in world football.

Talking of the Champions League ...

View attachment 198616

Chelsea won the 2017/2018 version of the tournament.

They beat Man Utd in an all English final after getting past Porto and Barcelona in the 2 previous rounds.

Chelsea winning the Champions League doens't surprise me all that much after knowing how good they can be after managing Newcastle against them a number of times last season.

Despite being so dominant in the Italian league, Juventus were knocked out in the round of 16 as they lost 4-2 on aggregate to Barcelona.
​
 
View attachment 198412

As the season had now finished, I'd booked a holiday to re-charge the batteries so I can give next season my full attention. With us playing in the Champions League next season I knew next year would be the real challenge.

I couldn't wait!!

But before I jetted off, I had to go back to the club one last time to pick up some stuff. As I walked to the main door, my entrance card wouldn't work. Not thinking much of it, I drove home.

On the way home, my phone was constantly buzzing. 43 text messages within a 30 minute drive ... something was up.

View attachment 198410

I pulled in an immediately looked at my phone, they were all from ex players, Milan legends and a couple of the current squad.

They were all wishing me luck! What were they wishing me luck for? Must be for next season I guess, still a little confused I carried on with my journey home.
​


I then switched the radio on, talksport blasted out:

"And we can now confirm that AC Milan have terminated the contract of their manager, Patrick Vieira with immediate effect".

What?!?!? How could this be right? My heart sank, that's what all the messages were for!


I pulled in at some speed and immediately rang the chairman:

Patrick Vieira: Chairman, what the **** is going on? I've just switched the radio on to find out I've been sacked.

Chairman: Sorry Patrick, we had to make this decision. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you in person.

Patrick Vieira: What do you mean, 'had to make this decision'? We only just lost the cup final yesterday and qualified for the Champions League! Are you mad?

Chairman: I'm sorry Patrick, I just felt the players were no longer on your side and weren't putting 100% in for you. Anyway, I must go now. Good luck in the future! Bye.
​

I was gutted!

I hadn't even been told! I was so excited for next season and even had a few players in mind that I'd be signing.

I was unemployed for the first time! I didn't know what to do.​
 
Allow me to kindly translate what il signore Ballarini truly meant to say:

Signore Stronzo Ballarini said:
I'm sorry Patrick, I just felt the players were no longer on your side and weren't putting 100% in for you. Anyway, I must go now. Good luck in the future! Bye.
Click to expand...

Dear Patrick, I'm sorry to tell you that you were only brought here as a bridge manager. Nobody expected you to cause an impact here and quite frankly nobody cares about your achievements so far.
We must part ways now as we feel the need of bringing a renowned manager to bring back faith and illusion to San Siro... Even if he doesn't get to achieve not even 1/10th of what you accomplished in only one year.

By the way, thank you so much for polishing and revamping the squad for us and good bye.
________________________________________

What can I say about this run so far...
Wonderful run (you've literally made miracles with both squads) but awful treatment given by your chairmen.

Hopefully you'll get to have a decent and respectable boss in your future team (it's usually said that third time's the charm after all).

Anyway, good job and good luck.
 
Gutted you signed Strootman now, hope he's injured for most of the season
 
genuinely shocked. id be raging (actually am a little bit for you).
 
Typical Milan board. They had a good manager which lead the team so high in the league and they sacked him ...
 
Average Joe said:
What the ****, I'm raging haha
Click to expand...

Tell me about it mate !

Andyplatt said:
Gutted you signed Strootman now, hope he's injured for most of the season
Click to expand...

Haha I do as well mate! Think he'll be class for them though, sadly!

Mahoney85 said:
now you should manage inter and give milan a lesson
Click to expand...

Good thinking, maybe one day! They're sticking my Mancini by the look of things though :p

dave8721 said:
genuinely shocked. id be raging (actually am a little bit for you).
Click to expand...

I really am! It was more shock than anything else to be honest!

kolas79 said:
Typical Milan board. They had a good manager which lead the team so high in the league and they sacked him ...
Click to expand...

I know, I think the laptop will be out the window if David Moyes takes charge! I couldn't cope with that haha
 
Zlatan Lumic said:
Allow me to kindly translate what il signore Ballarini truly meant to say:



Dear Patrick, I'm sorry to tell you that you were only brought here as a bridge manager. Nobody expected you to cause an impact here and quite frankly nobody cares about your achievements so far.
We must part ways now as we feel the need of bringing a renowned manager to bring back faith and illusion to San Siro... Even if he doesn't get to achieve not even 1/10th of what you accomplished in only one year.

By the way, thank you so much for polishing and revamping the squad for us and good bye.
________________________________________

What can I say about this run so far...
Wonderful run (you've literally made miracles with both squads) but awful treatment given by your chairmen.

Hopefully you'll get to have a decent and respectable boss in your future team (it's usually said that third time's the charm after all).

Anyway, good job and good luck.
Click to expand...

Pretty much sums it up mate haha! It never even came up saying they were considering my position or anything so I was pretty shocked! Have to pick better next time for sure
 
View attachment 197406

After trying to get to terms of being sacked for the first time in my career, I took some time out to try and get over it.

I had come to love Milan and was so excited for the challenge of the Champions League this next season. But without warning, all of this was taken away from me!
​

Anyway, after a couple of weeks off I looked at which clubs would be of interest to me.

Immediately I found a couple ...

View attachment 197405

The first big job of interest was Liverpool.

Their managed Marceo Bielsa had called a day on his managerial career and decided to retire into the sunset.

They'd had a shocker last season and missed out on all European football by finishing a disappointing 7th place in the league.

They still had some quality players such as Coutinho, Sturridge and Firmio but would be a huge job to take on taking into account their disastrous season.
​

View attachment 197403

The second job available would be more like a home coming.

Arsenal had sacked Pep Guardiola after just one season in charge.

Arsenal too had a really poor season and missed out on Champions League football by finishing 5th. This is the first time Arsenal won't be in the Champions League since 1996!

I forgot to post this earlier but Arsen Wenger retired last season after finishing second. Guardiola replaced him and looks to have failed miserably. What makes it even worse for them is that Tottenham pipped them to 4th spot.

View attachment 197402

Meanwhile my old club, Newcastle failed to improve on their 5th place finish last season as they eventually finished 7th this time around.

The Liverpool and Arsenal positions were really the only ones of any interest to me.

I applied for both but with Carlo Ancelotti favourite for them both I might struggle to compete with his cv.​
 
View attachment 197396

Before I heard back from either Arsenal or Liverpool, I had a different proposal put forward to me ...

View attachment 197395

Getafe of Spain offering me an interview for their vacant managers position.

They'd struggled last season, finishing 14th and only avoided relegation by 4 points!

View attachment 197394

This wasn't really anything I was interested in after missing out on Champions League 2 years running now (despite qualifying with Milan).

I declined the interview in the hope I got somewhere with Arsenal or Liverpool.
​

Meanwhile ...

View attachment 197393

Ac Milan appoint Marcelino as manager after spending last season with Villareal.

This isn't really an appointment that will get the fans out of their seats. He only finished 7th last season with Villareal which is hardly setting the world alight.

I would have thought with them sacking me that a big name would be coming in !​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Back
Top