Filippo Inzaghi is on the brink of becoming the third AC Milan coach to be sacked in little more than a year, after Wednesday's 3-1 humiliation at home to Genoa.
Filippo Inzaghi is on the brink of becoming the third AC Milan coach to be sacked in little more than a year, after Wednesday's 3-1 humiliation at home to Genoa.
Italian media were reporting on Thursday that youth team coach Cristian Brocchi could take over for the final five matches of the season, in an attempt to save the club from further embarrassment.
Brocchi would follow in the footsteps of Inzaghi, himself promoted from the same role to replace Clarence Seedorf last June, despite having no first-team coaching experience.
In any case Inzaghi is expected to be replaced at the end of the season by a more experienced coach, but defeats to Udinese and Genoa in the space of five days have left Milan in 10th place and in danger of dropping into the bottom half of the table, making his position almost untenable.
Inzaghi said on Wednesday night he wanted to continue, but that he was expecting to learn his fate "by tomorrow."
He said his team had lost their way following a goalless draw with neighbours Inter Milan on April 19. "The light went out after the derby with Inter and it's hard to switch it back on," he said.
"This squad is worth more than the number of points collected, but we should have done more. In training I think the players have always given their very best. I think the problem right now is a mental one."
Milan have 43 points from 33 matches -- 33 fewer than leaders Juventus.
Wednesday's defeat came as former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was meeting Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol to discuss the sale of the club, which he has owned for almost 30 years.
In what has become a familiar routine, Milan's season has been a story of crises, false dawns, injuries and new signings who have failed to settle in. Fernando Torres came and went, scoring one goal in four months, and forwards Alessio Cerci and Mattia Destro have managed three goals between them since joining in the January transfer window.
Inzaghi has been going through the same process as his predecessors Massimiliano Allegri, dismissed in January last year, and Seedorf, who followed him at the end of last season.
Both fell victim to a combination of unrealistically high expectations and a lacklustre squad, and were eventually fired.
Allegri is now with Juventus, who are 14 points clear of the field with five matches left and have reached the Champions League semi-finals.
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