TOPSHOT - AC Milan's Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (L) and AC Milan's Italian coach Stefano ... [+]
Stefano Pioli’s managerial work at AC Milan has not gone unnoticed.
The 56-year-old head coach, who brought Milan back to the UEFA Champions League and boasts a 10-2-2 record in the 2021/22 Serie A season, has just inked a new deal that will keep him on the Rossoneri touchline for another two years.
“AC Milan is delighted to announce that Stefano Pioli has signed a new deal with the club lasting until 30 June 2023, with an option for a one-year extension,” reads the statement on Milan’s official website.
Pioli joined Milan in October 2019, taking over from Marco Giampaolo as the club was struggling to pull off convincing performances in Serie A.
Pioli, who has coaching experience at prestigious Serie A clubs like Fiorentina, Inter Milan and Lazio, preaches a modern brand of soccer based on continuous off-the-ball movement, players’ rotation and the importance of one-on-one duels.
To implement his innovative ideas, Milan scouted young, talented and somewhat unproven players that over the last two years have risen to the role of protagonists in Pioli’s system, such as 22-year-old Alexis Saelemaekers, Brahim Díaz and Rafael Leão.
The arrival of charismatic Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimović in January 2020 provided that kind of leadership that helped one of Europe’s youngest sides express its potential on the field: Last season, Milan finished second in the league, earning a UEFA Champions League spot that had been missing since the 2013/14 season.
Pioli boasts an enviable Serie A record while at the helm of the Rossoneri, averaging 2.02 points per game. To give some context, that would be equal to 77 points in a full, 38-game season.
Juventus' Italian head coach Massimiliano Allegri (L) and Roma's Portuguese head coach Jose Mourinho ... [+]
Pioli will now collect an annual $3.4 million salary at Milan, according to estimates by SkySport in Italy.
The new deal, which runs until June 2023 with an option to extend it into 2024, represents a $1.1m bump from his previous $2.3m wage.
It also positions Pioli as the Serie A coach with the fourth-largest paycheck, tying Napoli’s Luciano Spalletti and Lazio’s Maurizio Sarri.
Featuring on top of the list of Serie A’s highest-paid coaches are Juventus’s Massimiliano Allegri and AS Roma’s José Mourinho, both of whom are bagging a net $7.9m annual salary at their club. Inter Milan’s Simone Inzaghi is at the bottom of this podium with a $4.5m paycheck.
MILAN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 28: Alessio Romagnoli of AC Milan scores the opening goal during the Serie ... [+]
After remaining unbeaten for 12 consecutive rounds in this campaign, Pioli’s men have suffered two consecutive Serie A losses, which caused them to drop vital points in the Scudetto run.
Last week, Milan fell at Fiorentina in a spectacular 4-3 game that also featured a brace by Ibrahimović, while yesterday, the Rossoneri got defeated 3-1 at San Siro at the hands of mid-table Sassuolo.
Milan are now sitting in second position, three points below Serie A leaders Napoli and one point above the arch rivals of Inter Milan.
