Posted on Friday, 10th February 2012 by Rajath Kumar
Touted, hailed and proclaimed as the finest manager on the peninsula, lauded with plaudits by his contemporaries and likened to a Hollywood star by his boss, Massimiliano Allegri had it plain sailing until September, 2011. The turn of events ever since has placed the young tactician under the spotlight of heavy scorn and radical criticism, to the extent of Milanisti calling for his head. Has Max failed or is this a blip in an otherwise promising career?
On the Italian Football Fancast recorded on the 30th of January 2012, I backed Allegri as the best manager in the league for the season of 2010/11. However, even when I uttered those words of praise, I recalled my growing dislike for him given his inadequacies of 2011/12. His style of play, however mundane and prosaic, yielded results in the past. The pedestrian approach to games has not changed, but the results look somewhat different this season. Or shall I say, indifferent.
Milanisti look away when Max Allegri’s record against the top six flashes across their screens. In Milan’s seven Serie A games against the top six, four have resulted in defeats and three ended as draws. No wins. Yes, that’s right. No wins. In Europe, Milan were pitted against the world’s best team. But to balance the equation, Viktoria Plzen and BATE Borisov were thrown into the mix. Milan claimed nine points out of a possible eighteen, losing at home to a second string Barcelona side while grabbing a fortuitous draw at the Nou Camp. Milan picked up eight out of the twelve points available against the minnows. Allegri’s inability to stamp his authority in Europe should not come as a surprise as the man was tactically outclassed by Harry Redknapp in the round of 16 in last year’s competition. That should say a lot in itself.
His failure in big games stems from the tutorials he receives at the hands of Walter Mazzari, Edy Reja and Claudio Ranieri, who stifled Milan shrewdly and exploited Milan’s weaknesses astutely. While the trio were quick to pull master strokes through the games, Allegri remained on the sidelines shouting ‘Dai, dai, dai.’
His tactics are rigid, inflexible and highly unimaginative. Adopting a stereotypical 4-3-1-2 formation, playing a narrow, direct style of football with absolutely no width unless flanked by Djamel Mesbah and Ignazio Abate, a stubborn Allegri has come unstuck in many a game. Arguably, the arrivals of Antonio Nocerino and Alberto Aquilani increased the fluidity of the formation. But injuries should have forced him to innovate.
Milan are missing a battalion of midfielders. Why not attempt a 4-2-3-1, 4-1-2-3, 4-2-1-3 or a 5-3-2? True, Antonio Cassano and Alexandre Pato are nursing injuries, but Filippo Inzaghi is still fit as a fiddle. Stephen El Shaarawy, Robinho, Urby Emanuelson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and more recently Maxi Lopez are available to be experimented upon. How about trying the youngsters from the Primevera? Simone Ganz, Bryan Christante, Rodrigo Ely, Gianmario Comi and Simone Calvano are raring to fire for the senior squad. Yet, the manager chooses to play Massimo Ambrosini, Mark van Bommel and Urby Emanuelson in midfield.
Much of Milan’s struggles so far are due to the absence of a plan B. Max Allegri’s convenient dependence on Zlatan Ibrahimovic leaves Milan clueless when the big Swede disappears. Zlatan’s Houdini act against the big teams is world-renowned, but Allegri watches on helplessly at a hopeless Milan flapping around aimlessly when Zlatan vanishes. A glance at Juventus reflects the dynamism of Antonio Conte, who courageously experiments with his squad. Juventus’ league position is therefore no coincidence.
Allegri’s coy remarks and persistent belief in the strength of squad might have resulted in the lacklustre mercato for Milan. He knew the areas that required attention, everyone did. But he lacked the spine and the forthcoming attitude to press the head honchos to bring in able replacements. He is now stuck with pretty much the same squad and the same excuses, which he will repeat after every defeat. Pardon the rhyme.
Milan’s problems are attributed squarely to the list of injuries. Though that isn’t far from the truth, a manager is expected to maximise his resources. Has Allegri done enough? I think not. In such circumstances, offering an underperforming manager a two-year contract is foolhardy. Clearly, that reduces the pressure to instantly perform.
Milan won their first Scudetto under Allegri after seven years. But lest we forget, the winning year proved to be one of the least competitive seasons in recent Serie A history. Allegri’s true test lies ahead of him. So far, not so good.
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I am an Indian living in Melbourne, Australia with huge passion for football, Serie A in particular. I’ve been a fan of AC Milan since 2004 and have been actively blogging on the club for a few years. My favourite footballer is Kaka. I have studied from the University of Melbourne and possess work experience in Sports Management and church related activities.
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Tags: Alberto Aquilani, Alexandre Pato, Antonio Cassano, Antonio Conte, Antonio Nocerino, Bryan Christante, Champions League, Claudio Ranieri, Djamel Mesbah, Edy Reja, Filippo Inzaghi, formations, Gianmario Comi, Harry Redknapp, Ignazio Abate, Italian Football FanCast, Juventus, Mark van Bommel, Massimiliano Allegri, Massimo Ambrosini, Maxi Lopez, Mercato, Plan B, Primevera, Robinho, Rodrigo Ely, Scudetto, Simone Calvano, Simone Ganz, Stephen El Shaarawy, Tactics, Urby Emanuelson, Walter Mazzari, Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Posted in AC Milan, Features | Comments (7)
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February 10th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Very controversial article Rajath, no doubt will spark off much debate. Milan are second behind an unbeaten Juventus who look unstoppable. They have had lots of long term injuries and now they are without Ibra for a few games. All clubs have problems but Milan have had a lot to contend with and I think Allegri has probably exceeded expectation given the problems.
And despite this incredible Juve team – Milan are only ONE point behind them!! Come on lets not jump on any media circus bandwagon (like the English gutter press)and immediately come to conclusions that have no real basis.
But great article as always.
And no, my name is not Dov Schiavone…!!!
:¬)
February 10th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Hello mister. Thanks for reading the article.
I think Milan’s contention in competitions is overrated. They played in the UCL, but were in a relatively easy group. They played two games in the Coppa Italia. And yet, they are only one point above Lazio and three above Udinese. Both these clubs have shows erratic trends in form this season. Juventus also have had their share of troubles. They haven’t lost a game, but are quite inconsistent themselves.
I think the points I have raised are fair and address some key problems in Allegri’s tactics.
February 10th, 2012 at 5:57 pm
Enjoyed the article Raj, as always. One criticism though; what’s with the Harry Redknapp bashing?!
February 11th, 2012 at 12:08 am
I hear where you’re coming from but I think you’re bit harsh. Personally I don’t think (even with everyone fit) that there’s much variation in the squad to really change things considerably. Maybe switching things within a match but I don’t think there are too many ways for Milan to play constantly over course of a season. But you are right, his struggles to find a plan B during a match is annoying.
Also if Ancelotti struggled to get the hierarchy to do things his way, I don’t think that we should get on Allegri’s back from not being able to do so either.
Finally attempting to change way we play now would be risky as all games are important & we can’t afford to drop any more point with experiments IMO.
But again you say everything that Milanisti are thinking but are too scared/dishonest to admit & kudos for that Rajath
February 11th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
Rory: Thanks mate. I was not bashing him, was I? Harry Redknapp is not a man known for his tactical nous. That is all I’m implying.
Ogo: Thanks. You make fair points. But just because something was a trend, doesn’t mean it has to be continued. It might be a bit late to implement changes, but my point is he should have done something about it previously. And I do think we have similar players in the squad, but there are players who are quite versatile too. Allegri seems frightened to experiment.
February 11th, 2012 at 10:16 pm
I think he (Raj) has the inadequacies spot on and the inflexibility Allegri has shown should be a concern, but at the same time he is now top of serie a and should have the players to win/make a very good go of a title challenge.
Too many times this season Milan have been pedestrian and even tonight against Udinese the movement was woeful, and that might even be just a flaw in the coaching of the team.
February 13th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
Yes, due credit to Allegri for staying in touching distance of Juventus all along. Might might have been ugly, but have been effective. However, it’s fair to say that not the reason he was brought in. I think the depletion in the squad’s quality is particularly overrated. He can do more with the players available but inflexibility is a weakness in his tactical mindset.