Struggling Serie A giants AC Milan sacked coach Massimiliano Allegri on Monday, a day after a 4-3 league defeat to league newcomers Sassuolo.
Milan are 11th in Serie A, 30 points behind leaders Juventus and 20 behind Napoli who occupy the third and last qualifying spot for the Champions League.
A statement on Milan's website said: "AC Milan announces that it has dismissed as coach of the first team, with immediate effect, Mr Massimiliano Allegri and his staff.
“AC Milan would like to thank Mr Allegri and his staff for the work done and wishes them the best professional success. The team will be run on a caretaker basis by Mr Mauro Tassotti.”
For the second successive season Allegri’s side has struggled to keep pace on the domestic front as Juventus, Roma and Napoli lay early claim to Serie A’s three allocated places in the Champions League.
Sunday’s defeat to Sassuolo, who scored four goals thanks to 19-year-old sensation Domenico Berardi, appeared to seal Allegri’s fate when he came under attack from club vice-CEO Barbara Berlusconi.
Berlusconi, the daughter of club owner and president Silvio Berlusconi, had launched a scathing attack on club CEO Adriano Galliani prior to Christmas which prompted the official to offer his resignation before eventually backpedalling.
On Sunday Berlusconi pointed the finger directly at Allegri and said an “urgent change” was needed at the helm of the seven-time European champions.
“A disappointing night, just like others, which confirms that a change is necessary and urgent,” Barbara Berlusconi said.
“We can no longer tolerate the fact that our fans have to put up with performances like these.”
Allegri, who ironically played a pivotal role in leading Sassuolo into Serie B, took over Milan in time for the 2010/2011 season and won the title in his first season in charge.
Milan finished runners-up the following season but Allegri saw his side decimated as a host of key players – among whom Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Clarence Seedorf – all left the club.
Milan bought Mario Balotelli from Manchester City on a four-year deal last January in a bid to boost their forward line and scraped to a third-place finish at the end of the season.
Galliani, credited with bringing in major signings that steered the club to huge success over the past two-and-a-half decades, pulled off another coup in signing Ricardo Kaka from Real Madrid on a free transfer in time for this season.
However, under Allegri Milan have failed to gel as a team and began this season, like last, failing to play to their full potential.
Allegri stated two weeks ago this season would be his last at the helm of the San Siro giants but Sunday’s reverse sealed his departure earlier than expected.
Italian media reports on Monday claimed Milan could call on youth team coach and former striker Filippo Inzaghi to step in as coach until the end of the season, when former midfielder Seedorf could take over.
Seedorf is currently under contract as a player with Botafogo in Brazil but has been championed as Milan’s future coach by Italian sports media.
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Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
