AC Milan appointed Marco Giampaolo as their new coach on Wednesday, handing him the job of trying to end their eight-year trophy drought and take them back to the Champions League after a six-season absence, reports Reuters. It is the first time the 51-year-old, previously in charge of Sampdoria for three seasons, has coached at one of Serie A’s big clubs and he will also be looking to land the first trophy of his well-travelled and somewhat chequered career.
He replaces Gennaro Gattuso who quit the job in May with two years on his contract after Milan missed out on next season’s Champions League by one point after finishing fifth. Milan said in a statement that they had handed Giampaolo a two-year contract with an option to extend for a further year.
Milan, seven-times European champions and 18-times Serie A winners, have suffered a series of midtable finishes in the last few seasons, their fall from grace coinciding with Serie A’s own loss of prestige.
