The silence coming from the San Siro after AC Milan’s 3-1 defeat to Fiorentina suggests that the era of Massimiliano Allegri might well be coming to a close.
After the match Allegri insisted that his team was “not inferior” to Fiorentina saying:
“Fiorentina played well and kept possession, but we gifted them two goals from throw-ins. We did not react well and that is unacceptable.
“The Viola ran hard and pressed us around the field, but we were too deep and feel regret because they didn’t really have many chances aside from the ones we gave them.
“It was a fairly balanced encounter. Fiorentina kept possession, but it is chances that count in football.”
The normal process for Milan this season has been for Allegri to lament after the match about how unlucky the Rossoneri were and then for Vice-President Adriano Galliani to come out and publicly defend Allegri.
But this time Galliani did not do that. In fact, Galliani did not speak to the media at all, which is an unusual move. It is rumoured he is waiting to speak with President Silvio Berlusconi before giving any more statements on Allegri’s future.
Milan are in 13th place, just five points clear of the relegation zone and 12 points adrift of the Champions League spots.
Milan are in real financial trouble, even after their summer clear out, and they cannot afford not to be in the Champions League next season and the financial windfall that brings.
The question is how much longer will Berlusconi give Allegri? Twelve points is a lot to make up, especially considering the number of teams that Milan would have to leapfrog to get back into Champions League contention. If he waits much longer to make a switch, Berlusconi runs the real risk of leaving it too late to get back into contention
