Milan's season ended in the worst possible way and perhaps unimaginable on the eve of it. Champions League qualification that seemed clear, but then a sensational collapse in recent months complicated everything and the defeat suffered on the last day against Cagliari proved fatal: the Rossoneri fifth, destined for the Europa League.
Having failed to pass for the top European competition (an objective declared by the club) led to consequences, or rather a total revolution carried out by Gerry Cardinale. Furlani, Tare, Moncada and Allegri fired with immediate effect: a complete restyling is therefore expected in Via Aldo Rossi, starting with the coach.
Il Milan pensa a Iraola
RedBird is called to a complicated choice, that is to choose the new coach to replace the sacked Max Allegri. In the ownership notebook, there would be several names including a very hot one, Andoni Iraola.
The Spaniard will leave Bournemouth in June, moreover he would have already had contacts with the Lombard club, but the Devil is taking time because he would like to have uniformity of thought in the management (Ibrahimović would prefer to focus on Xavi). If you decide to focus on Iraola, you would have to beat the competition from two other teams interested in the 43-year-old, namely Crystal Palace and Bayer Leverkusen.
L’identikit di Iraola
After the Allegri experience characterized by poor play, the Milanese changed direction, deciding to focus on the exact opposite, a modern and offensive coach: all characteristics seen in the former Rayo Vallecano.
The '82 class is making itself known thanks to the intense pace required of players during matches, made up of continuous pressing and verticality. Not only that, the Basque coach, making use of excellent ball possession, insists on the individuality of individuals capable of creating dangers in the opposing midfield. Among the often used formations, the 4-3-3 or the 4-2-3-1. Not to be forgotten is the excellent development of young players who allowed the Cherries to make huge capital gains: Dean Huijsen sold to Real Madrid for around 60 million euros in 2025, or Milos Kerkez who moved to Liverpool for 47 million in the same transfer window (among other things, the Hungarian full-back had grown up in Milan's youth system).
I numeri
During his three-year period at the helm of Bournemouth (2023-2026), Andoni achieved prestigious results culminating in sixth position in the current Premier League, allowing the English team to qualify for the Europa League. 57 points in 38 games deservedly won and sometimes at the expense of the big teams: for example the 2-1 win against champions Arsenal, or the 3-2 against Liverpool were heavy. In the two previous years they had achieved a ninth and a twelfth place.
His coaching career began in 2018 in Cyprus with AEK Larnaca, where he won a National Super Cup, and continued in his homeland first on the bench of Mirandés and then Rayo Vallecano. In both cases he left his mark, so much so that he led Mirandés (militant in the Spanish Segunda División) to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey in 2020, while in Madrid (Rayo's side) he obtained promotion to La Liga, maintaining the category in the following seasons.
Iraola dreams of the big leap and who knows if it will be Milan. In the meantime, the owner Cardinale knows he can no longer make mistakes, considering the flops Fonseca, Conceição and Allegri.