There exists now at AC Milan and in Filippo Inzaghi’s mind, a delusional sense of optimism. Adriano Galliani, the man who delivered Fernando Torres (albeit 7 years after he was initially targeted) is brimming with confidence and pride. Both men appear to be oblivious to the former Chelsea forward’s barren spell at Stamford Bridge however.
Torres has scored 32 goals in 140 appearances for Chelsea since joining The Blues in 2011. He etched his name as one of the most expensive transfers in English Premier League history. Expectations were high and Torres was greeted with enthusiasm. What followed, over the next three-and-a-half years was nothing short of a train wreck. In hindsight, many argue that Torres is possibly the biggest flop in transfer history, and it is indicative of the risk AC Milan are taking by recruiting the Spaniard to lead their line of attack.
AC Milan have brought Torres as a replacement to Mario Balotelli. There were many who complained about Balotelli’s temperament and consistency. Yet, Balotelli scored 26 goals in 45 appearances for AC Milan. He was largely responsible for AC Milan qualifying for the Champions League ahead of Fiorentina in 2012. He played a fundamental role in spearheading AC Milan’s attack. The distressed voices of fans urged the club to rid themselves of an undependable striker and pursue the signing of a dependable goal-scorer. AC Milan thus sent Balotelli packing and studiously followed some of Europe’s finest forwards before narrowing their search down to a globally unwanted striker.
The signing of Torres is a public relations nightmare for AC Milan. He is a universally derided for his profligacy in front of goal and poor decision-making. Having been under the spotlight for the last few years at Chelsea, the world has witnessed the meteoritic fall from grace of a striker, who in his prime was undeniably the best centre-forward in the world.
The club’s coffers will be lighter by €4 million this season and will remain so for the next two seasons at least. At 30 years of age, Torres does not fit into Galliani’s much touted “youth project” either. The club has reacted out of desperation and demonstrated sheer incompetence to plan for life after Balotelli.
The Spanish hitman has won everything there is to win. At 30, legitimate questions can be raised about whether he is motivated enough to climb the heights which he once scaled and conquered. Complacency seems to have set in as he appeared rather content sitting on the bench and drawing his wages at Chelsea. Inzaghi, a prolific centre-forward himself, might just be the right person to extract the right qualities from Torres.
This acquisition also strongly implies a dysfunctional transfer strategy. Club rejects are becoming cogs in AC Milan’s machinery. For some years now, AC Milan has become a destination for players rejected by other teams. For instance, AC Milan’s roster currently comprises of three former Chelsea players including Torres: namely Alex and Michael Essien.
In the heart of all this gloom lies a quiet hopefulness that Torres might benefit from the change in scenery. The slower Serie A league might also benefit him. Inzaghi has suggested that AC Milan will play 4-3-3 with Torres as the focal point. In the event of Torres not adapting to the formation, Inzaghi will be open to trying out alternative formations.
AC Milan’s prime objective is to return to Europe. It would be normal to be apprehensive on whether Fernando Torres is the man to lead the club back into Europe or not. Torres had some of the finest no.10’s in world football assisting him at Chelsea and still struggled to put the ball in the back of the net. AC Milan’s squad is depressingly rife of that kind of quality by comparison.
Torres’ problem isn’t that he is a bad player. Quite the opposite. He is simply missing confidence. Only time will tell if Torres rediscovers that at AC Milan.
Follow Rajath Kumar on Twitter: @rajathkumar. You can read his work on his AC Milan blog “Milan and Me; The Love Affair” — http://rajaththemilanista.wordpress.com/
