24th June 2015
The 2014 2015 season was AC Milan's worst since 1997 1998, ending in a 10th place finish in the Italian Serie A. Unsurprisingly, the poor performance led to the sacking of coach Filippo Inzaghi, who just took over the reigns at San Siro a year ago. Last week it was announced that Sinisa Mihajlovic had been appointed as manager. With Sinisa Mihajlovic appointed AC Milan manager he will take over Inzaghi's position with the goal of rebuilding the club to its former levels of glory.

Will he be able to do that? It's too early to make any sort of call, but Sinisa Mihajlovic is at the very least an interesting hire for the Red and Blacks. This past season, he coached Sampdoria to a seventh place finish in the Serie A. The year before, in his first season at the club, Sampdoria had only finished in 12th place. The team's improvement under Mihajlovic's guidance was evident. Sampdoria will even participate in the 2015 2016 Europa League-a tournament the football club has not taken part in for many years.

Not the First Choice

Despite his successes at another Serie A soccer club, though, Sinisa Mihajlovic was not the first choice to take over the coaching spot at San Siro. AC Milan officials wanted Carlo Ancelotti, recently sacked from his job at Real Madrid, to lead the Red and Blacks to a new era of success. But an exhausted Ancelotti opted to take a break from football, and Milan were left to look for another replacement. Vincenzo Montella, the now-former manager at ACF Fiorentina, was also linked to the job opening at AC Milan.

Sinisa Mihajlovic's status as a second or third-choice appointment, along with the fact that he will be AC Milan's fourth coach in less than two years, puts a good deal of pressure on the Yugoslavian manager. The Red and Blacks want to get back into the winner's circle, and a coach who can't accomplish that feat in the space of a year is a coach who will be looking for a new job.

Big Stakes, Big Reward

With that said, if Mihajlovic can pull the wearers of the AC Milan home jersey 2015 2016 out of their tailspin for a top four or five finish in next year's Serie A, then he will become one of the most sought after
managers in football. Milan's downfall has been one of the most talked about topics in professional soccer over the past few years. Between 2009 and 2013, the club landed in the Serie A top three every year. In 2011, they won the title and in 2012, they finished second to Juventus by just four points.

However, since 2013's third-place finish, the Red and Blacks have been a shell of their former selves, falling to eighth place on the Serie A table in 2014, and then even further down in 2015. Turning things around and rebuilding the legacy at San Siro would be a career-defining accomplishment for virtually any soccer manager.

Mihajlovic's Career so Far

For his part, Sinisa Mihajlovic brings an impressive list of credentials to AC Milan. Since ending his playing career in 2006 (as one of Serie A's best defenders and free kickers), Sinisa has assistant managed at Internazionale and held the head coach position at Bologna, Catania, Fiorentina, and Sampdoria. He also managed the Serbian national team in 2012 and 2013.

On numerous occasions, Mihajlovic has been linked to the head manager job at Inter-where he closed out his career as a player and got his first taste of coaching. He was rumored for the role in 2010, following the departure of Inter coach Jose Mourinho, but he ultimately ended up at Fiorentina. Now, in an interesting twist, Sinisa is coming back to Milan to manage Inter's rivals.

Mihajlovic's coaching career absolutely peaked at Sampdoria, where he was able to turn an average squad in a Europa qualifier. That ability to work with the resources at his disposal and to not worry about previous season performances makes Sinisa an intriguing hire for AC Milan. If anyone is going to rebuild the Red and Blacks, they need to look at the team for what they are now-not for what they used to be.