AC MILAN 2016/17 ROSTER

SERIE A AND ITALIAN SUPER CUP

The season started off with the arrival of Vincenzo Montella, the first Head Coach from Campania in AC Milan's history. The former Sampdoria and Fiorentina boss joined in the middle of an action-packed week that saw a preliminary agreement reached to transfer the ownership of the Club from the Berlusconi family to a group of Chinese investors headed by Li Yonghong. The change at the top - the deal was finalised in April 2017 - was accompanied by an intense season. The Rossoneri kicked off their campaign with an entertaining 3-2 victory over Torino (a Bacca hat-trick and a penalty save from Donnarumma) and, after two defeats to Napoli and Udinese, went on to collect 33 points from 15 games, finishing the first half of the season on 39 points. There was also the joy of winning the Supercoppa Italiana on 23 December in Doha: AC Milan beat Juventus on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time, with Mario Pašalić scoring the decisive penalty for the Rossoneri's seventh triumph in the competition. It was an AC Milan team that very much had a “Latin” touch: in addition to Bacca, there was the Paraguayan Gómez, the Argentines Fernández and Sosa, as well as the Spaniard Suso. This was only reinforced in January with the signings of Ocampos and Deulofeu, both of whom arrived on loan. 2017 started poorly for the Rossoneri, who, however had plenty of heart and displayed this on 8 February: in Bologna, AC Milan were down to nine men (against the Rossoblù's eleven) but still managed to come away with a victory thanks to a late Pašalić goal. The team - the youngest on average in Serie A - then found a bit more consistency, picking up some important points in the race for a European place. The derby that took place on Easter weekend was memorable, with Montella's side coming from two behind to secure a 2-2 draw. AC Milan finished sixth, qualifying for the Europa League preliminary stages with a game to spare and returning to European action after a three-year absence.