Di Canio examines Milan’s ‘devastating’ collapse: ‘Zero identity and personality’ | OneFootball

Former Serie A and West Ham star Paolo Di Canio blames Milan players for their ‘lack of personality’ arguing that ‘many players do not have the stature suited to wearaing such a heavy shirt.’

Milan lost their second consecutive match in Serie A on Sunday against Atalanta, seeing Juventus overtake them in the third spot and, even more worryingly, Roma catch them in fourth.

The Rossoneri still have their fate into their own hands as two wins in the final two games of the season would give them Champions League qualification, having a better head-to-head record than Roma this season.

Milan, however, have only won one of their last seven league matches, losing three of the last five.

Last night, they went 3-0 down at home before scoring twice in the dying minutes.

MILAN, ITALY – MAY 10: Strahinja Pavlovic of AC Milan scores his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Atalanta BC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on May 10, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“Zero identity, zero personality, zero enthusiasm. It was painfully obvious, despite the effort,” Di Canio, a former Milan, Juventus and Lazio striker told Sky Sport Italia.

“They lack personality, courage and extra willingness to take responsibility and give something of themselves. There was none of that at all today. That’s the aggravating factor. I’m not fooled by the final minutes.

“Until their scored, it was absolutely devastating and some players in these conditions showed they do not have the stature to play in the Champions League,” the former striker continued.

Paolo Di Canio

“The substitutes did well, but even there it’s a matter of personality. Maybe the came on knowing they had nothing tlo lose. The others were being booed, so they came on and ran. It’s easier that way. The five substitues came on welland but if they had played like that all season, Milan would have solved their problems.

“In situations like these, you can see more clearly that many players do not have the stature suited to wearaing such a heavy shirt in front of 70,000 fans at San Siro.”

Milan legend Alessandro Costacurta, a five-time Champions League winner with the Rossoneri, added: “It’s not the first half alone. It comes from the games Udinese, Juventus and Sassuolo. It’s four games out of six played like this. I think they even had commitment, but they’ve lost mental clarity and ended up exhausted at the crucial part of the season.”