Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Gennaro Gattuso backs Galliani as AC Milan chief puts faith in coach Inzaghi

Gennaro Gattuso believes Adriano Galliani's voice is the one which should count the most at AC Milan as the club's general manager issued a vote of confidence to coach Filippo Inzaghi.

Gattuso spent 13 years with the Rossoneri, winning the Champions League and Serie A title twice. It was common for club president Silvio Berlusconi to issue tactical suggestions and, at times, orders to the coaches, but according to the former Rangers midfielder, his opinion did not necessarily have any influence.

"I think Galliani [understands more about football]," Gattuso told Radio 24, adding that the current arrangement which sees Galliani share his general manager duties with Berlusconi's daughter Barbara is destined to fail.

"In a company, you need to have just one person in command," he said. "When I was at Milan, I was used to there being only one person giving the orders and that's how it should be."

Galliani did just that on Monday, backing Inzaghi after a meeting with the coach and a phone call from Berlusconi after Hellas Verona gained a last-gasp 2-2 draw at the San Siro on Saturday. 

"On Saturday evening, Milan were beating Verona and had it stayed that way, it would have drawn positive reactions," Galliani is reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport to have told the squad at their Milanello training facilities.

"That didn't happen because of what happened in the final 40 seconds of the game. If only there had been four and not five minutes of added time, which considering the events in the game would also have been justified, there would have been a completely different conclusion. And with those extra two points, we would now be seventh with 37, and still in the running.

"That's why I would ask for those final seconds to be forgotten. We've now got 12 games to go and each one of them will be a final. Our aim is to finish seventh, which could potentially give us a route into Europe."

For that to happen, either Fiorentina, Inter Milan or Torino would have to win the Europa League this season and finish either fourth, fifth or sixth, assuming that the winner of the Coppa Italia also finishes in the top six.

"This is why we want the maximum effort and no fear, Galliani added. "We're confirming our faith in Inzaghi. We've taken a blow, but now we've got to show we can recover from it."

Milan travel to Fiorentina next Monday with seven points separating the sides in the Serie A standings.

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