Ruben Amorim was forced to correct himself after making an awkward comparison involving an aeroplane accident during a press conference held on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.
The 41-year-old former Manchester United head coach, who was appointed AC Milan manager in June, was explaining how his players should learn from setbacks when he reached for the analogy.
"I think we should improve in every training session. I expect that my players understand, it's like when you have an accident with an airplane, you learn something from," Amorim said.
He quickly caught himself, adding: "It's not a good comparison, you understand what I mean. If something wrong happens, we take a lot of information and we put it in training sessions."
A pattern of controversial remarks
It is not the first time Amorim has courted controversy with his comments. In January, while still at Manchester United, he called his side the "worst team in the history of Manchester United" after a Premier League defeat to Brighton, a remark he later apologised for.
At the time, he explained the outburst by pointing to his inexperience. "I'm a young guy and sometimes I make a mistake," he said. "And that's why I don't (usually) talk after the game. This game, I needed to talk and maybe it was a mistake and then I get more nervous and go to the (news) conference really nervous and say things I shouldn't say, that's it. Sometimes I'm a young guy and I make mistakes."
A difficult spell at Old Trafford
Amorim's time at Manchester United ended with the club's lowest-ever Premier League finish, 15th place. He won just 38.1 per cent of his games in charge across all competitions, the worst win rate of any United manager in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
His tenure was also marked by a constant back-and-forth with former United players turned pundits, including Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, who regularly criticised his tactics as results deteriorated, drawing Amorim repeatedly into the debate.
Facing Milan's legends
Amorim's move to AC Milan appears to have brought a familiar challenge, with several of the club's former greats now holding influential roles in the media. Discussing their influence on Friday, he said: "I was in a club in the past with a lot of legends, and they have big opinions, and they talk a lot about things. They lived in a time that was completely different."
