Deborah Akinyosoye
Massimiliano Allegri vowed Monday to rekindle AC Milan’s former glory as he returned as manager to the faltering Italian giants for a second spell.
The Rossoneri had turned to serial winner Allegri after the club slumped to its worst league finish in a decade, leading to Sergio Conceicao’s axing after five miserable months in charge.
“The goal for this season is to return to the Champions League as a club like AC Milan has to play in Europe,” Allegri told reporters in Singapore, where his team will face Arsenal on Wednesday in a pre-season friendly.
“This is the sole objective for me from the get-go. These are the games the team lives for. We’re not going to look back, but we are looking forward to the future now,” added the 57-year-old Italian.
Milan ended the 2024–25 campaign in eighth place, missing out on European qualification and fell short in the Coppa Italia final against Bologna.
In the aftermath, Allegri was brought in to replace Conceicao at the helm at the club, which he previously managed from 2010 to 2014.
Allegri won the Scudetto in his first season in charge of Milan, the club’s first since 2004, before enjoying a dominant spell at Juventus, where he clinched five straight Serie A titles.
“It has been more than a decade since I first took charge of Milan. The situation is obviously different now. A lot has changed, not just in Milan but in the world of football,” he said.
“But the overall goal remains the same, and that is to get this club back to where it belongs, and that is the Champions League,” said Allegri.
He said he will look to the recent signing of Luka Modric from Real Madrid to restore Milan’s status among Europe’s elite, where they are the seven-time European champions.
At 39, the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner still has plenty to offer, and Allegri will be counting on his wealth of experience and leadership to inspire the team.
“Modric is a proven champion who does not need any introduction. He is a role model not only from the discipline but technical perspective,” said Allegri.