AC Milan fires Mihajlovic, names Brocchi replacement until end of season
AC Milan fired manager Sinisa Mihajlovic on Tuesday with six games to go and a Coppa Italia final still to play.
Cristian Brocchi assumes command of the first team until the end of the season. The 40-year-old - who won two Champions League titles, a Serie A crown and the Coppa Italia as a midfielder for the club between 2001 and 2008 - had been coaching Milan's youth side.
An encouraging performance in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Juventus wasn't enough to convince owner Silvio Berlusconi to keep Mihajlovic on the bench for the remainder of the campaign.
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"The club would like to thank Mihajlovic for the dedication and hard work carried out this season," a brief Milan statement read.
The 47-year-old Serbian leaves the Rossoneri in sixth place, seven points behind the final Europa League qualification spot. They could yet qualify for Europe's second-tier competition if they manage to beat Juventus in the Coppa Italia final on May 21.
After spending more than €80 million on signings this summer, however, Berlusconi apparently grew impatient once more.
Brocchi, who has no senior management experience, becomes the fifth Milan coach in just three years. He will have until June to convince the club's hierarchy to grant him a second season in charge, according to Italian reports.
The fallen Serie A giant did appear to make some progress under Mihajlovic, going on a 12-game unbeaten run that included wins against Champions League hopeful Fiorentina and city rival Inter. Milan also secured a first Coppa Italia final appearance since 2003.
Prior to that, Mihajlovic made the bold decision to start teenager Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal over experienced 34-year-old Diego Lopez. At 16 years, eight months, and six days old, Donnarumma became the youngest goalkeeper to start a Serie A match. He has featured in 23 more matches since his debut against Sassuolo on Oct. 25.
But Milan lost momentum over the past two months, and a five-match winless skid ultimately cost Mihajlovic his job. He had one more year remaining on his contract.