AC Milan's players will spend the next five days sequestered at the club's training centre after Gennaro Gattuso ordered a ritiro, with their place in next season's Champions League is in serious jeopardy. The decision will see the entire squad stay in the Milanello training ground until the next Serie A match, at home to 14th-place Bologna on Monday. A disappointing run of results has led to intense speculation that manager Gennaro Gattuso will leave his post before the start of next season. Milan had been on a run of five-straight Serie A victories going into March's local derby against Inter where a win would have seen them climb above their neighbours and into third place. However, they were beaten 3-2 and have registered just one victory in the six subsequent league matches -- with Sunday's 2-0 defeat top four rivals Torino seeing them drop to sixth. Meanwhile, they were also beaten by Lazio in the Coppa Italia semifinals. Antonio Conte, who has been mooted as a potential replacement for Gattuso at Milan, was in the stands for the defeat at Torino. A ritiro is a fairly common reaction to a poor run of form in Serie A. Roma were on lockdown in December, while Inter Milan underwent the same process after a poor run of form in April.
|