GdS: Milan to choose sporting director after Easter – Sartori takes pole position

SempreMilan

·11 April 2025

GdS: Milan to choose sporting director after Easter – Sartori takes pole position

AC Milan are slowly narrowing down their options for who could be the next sporting director, and now a new name has taken pole position.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, today’s Milan have only the Coppa Italia left as a target to try salvage a dire season. Tomorrow’s Milan want to have much more ambitious goals, namely being able to fight for the top in the league and return to the Champions League as a protagonist.

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The idea of distributing the skills of a ‘classic’ sporting director in several figures – the CEO Giorgio Furlani, the technical director Geoffrey Moncada and the advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic – has not worked. The question marks about the mercato and the two wrong coaching choices were their calls.

Thus, Milan will return to using a ‘traditional’ sports director, i.e. figure to be placed at the top of the sporting hierarchy, who discusses with the others takes responsibility for the choices, from the coach to the transfer window.

They will be stationed at Milanello too, requiring the kind of charisma needed to manage the squad on a daily basis, and it must also be someone who knows the dynamics of a unique league like Serie A.

The new No.1 target

After the talks with Fabio Paratici fell apart, Milan now seem more oriented towards Giovanni Sartori than Igli Tare, with Giovanni Manna an outsider. Of the three, Tare is the only one without a contract meaning he could start working immediately.

The fact that Milan are taking their time seems to be a sign to the contrary: the choice is unlikely to happen in the next week, more likely after Easter. Tare remains a strong option and people continue to talk about him also because of the misunderstanding of two nights ago.

Having appeared as a guest on an Albanian TV show to comment on the Champions League matches, the former Lazio man apparently responded to the Milan rumours, and named Max Allegri and Antonio Conte as the best Italian coaches.

A few hours later, Tare then denied these rumours, stating to an agency: “I never talked about my future in the Rossoneri.” Logical diplomacy in such a delicate moment for the final decisions of the Rossoneri.

The circle tightens

In percentage terms, Sartori is the 51% favourite. Milan’s apparent patience matches up with the fact that the 68-year-old is currently under contract with the Rossoblu, which he extended this season until the summer of 2027.

The Rossoblù are in the running for a second straight Champions League qualification and it is unlikely that any call will be made until the season is done. Sartori’s career includes only three teams: Chievo, Atalanta and Bologna, and if he arrived then the choice of coach could be Vincenzo Italiano.

Last, not in order of preference but of appearance on the scene, is Giovanni Manna. The 36-year-old went from Juventus Next Gen to Napoli, starting a new project with Aurelio De Laurentiis led by Conte.

The consideration made for Sartori is also valid in this case: would he arrive from Napoli paired with Conte? And what would ADL think? Tony D’Amico has removed himself from the race: he will remain at Atalanta.