Yahoo Sports CM: Why D’Ottavio has left Milan and the names being considered to replace him
Antonio D’Ottavio has left his role as the sporting director of AC Milan, and the management are now examining how to replace him.
As Calciomercato.com report – following the story that Matteo Moretto broke yesterday – only the official communication from the club is missing and D’Ottavio has indeed ended his time at Milan.
This choice is based on several disagreements with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. There were deep differences between the two on some strategic choices between the first team, Milan Futuro and the youth sector. The final breaking point came on the eve of the match against Atalanta.
D’Ottavio arrived at the Rossoneri in 2017 and held the role of chief scout for the first team and the youth sector. For years he was Geoffrey Moncada’s right-hand man with whom he shared ideas on signings and methodologies.
The now former Rossoneri sporting director had worked hard at the birth of the Milan Futuro project until the arrival of Jovan Kirovski. The first strong rift with Ibrahimovic had come precisely on the nomination of the U23 coach, because D’Ottavio strongly supported Ignazio Abate.
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Zlatan had decided to end the relationship with the current Ternana coach to focus on someone that he preferred, namely Daniele Bonera. Another case was that relating to the head of the youth sector, with Ibrahimovic wanting someone from Ajax while D’Ottavio pushed for Vincenzo Vergine to stay.
According to sources close to Milan, the appointment of the new sporting director will arrive shortly. Moncada and Ibrahimovic – with the help of Kirovski – will still be the backbone of the management structure.
We are moving towards an internal solution with two candidates above all: Roberto Carrario and Dario Audasio. Both have the qualifications necessary to become a sporting director.
