‘Without a soul’ – Leonardo criticises Milan for ‘mistake’ of sacking Maldini | OneFootball

Leonardo believes that AC Milan are a ‘soulless’ club at the moment, and that they made a mistake in letting Paolo Maldini go.

It would be fair to say that Leonardo has a complicated relationship with Milan. Following his retirement, he was the coach of the Rossoneri but then defected in 2010 to become manager of Inter, though Milan would win the 2010-11 title.

The Brazilian then returned to Milan as sporting director in 2018, when Paolo Maldini also came back to work alongside him. However, he did not last long and left under a cloud of expensive flops. In 2019, he returned to PSG as sporting director, until he was sacked in 2022.

Leonardo gave an interview to Quotidiano Sportivo and as expected he was asked for his thoughts on how things are going at his former club Milan. His comments have been relayed by Calciomercato.com.

What is it like playing at San Siro?

“Playing at San Siro creates anxiety, it’s a pressure that’s not easy to handle. But as a coach or manager it’s up to me to understand how the player can free himself from it.

“And in any case the pressure is not only at San Siro but everywhere. There are even players who prefer to start from the bench to be more relaxed.”

Do Milan need more Milanismo?

“But there was one, his name was Paolo Maldini and as a manager he won a title and reached the semi-final of the Champions League. Then he was fired, and with him a great piece of passion.

“Today everyone has noticed, Milan are empty, without a soul. But these are cycles, it will pass. Also because I think that the club has understood that they made a mistake.”

What was your experience coaching Milan?

“I have experienced certain situations, even though I have been a coach for very little. I started with Milan at a particular time: Kakà had been sold, Maldini had retired. In short, a lot of changes.

“I started the year without winning for 5-6 games. Everyone urged me not to share choices or playing systems with the players and instead I went to the gym and said… ‘let’s play recklessly and take risks’. In reality the defenders didn’t want it (smiles) but over time they digested the idea.”

Then came the ‘4-2-fantasia’…

“True, it was a gamble, but many said that the “4-2-fantasy” was nice and fun. It all started in the third Champions League match in Madrid, we had fielded a team that was very unbalanced up front and we won 3-2. It had never happened at the Bernabeu…”