From AC Milan’s speed demon to Serie A’s best

Date: 25th October 2014 at 8:00am
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Ignazio Abate AC MilanOn November 3, 2010, AC Milan welcomed Real Madrid to the San Siro in the second leg of their Champions League group stage clash. It would be the second straight year that the Rossoneri and Los Blancos, the two sides who at that point had earned 16 Champions League titles between them, would face off at this point of European football’s premier competition.

Yet, unlike the previous encounter which ended in a 3–2 win for the hosts, this time around Massimiliano Allegri’s men were facing an uphill battle to come back from 2–0 down.

For anyone who watched that game on that evening, Real Madrid’s attacks were stifled by a rather young defender: Ignazio Abate. The young fullback had only started to break into the first team following five straight seasons with a quintet of different clubs. Cristiano Ronaldo is often heralded as amongst the speediest players in the game, but with Abate’s performance on the night, AC Milan fans were soon becoming aware of their very own speed demon.

Flash-forward a few seasons, and as he approaches his 28th birthday, he has undoubtedly established himself as the top right-back in Serie A today thanks to his tactical nous, clear reading of the game, versatility, and of course, his fleet-footed nature. However, it’s interesting to note that Abate, the son of former goalkeeper Beniamino Abate, initially started his career as a winger before being slowly converted to his favored position. Not surprisingly, this led to some severe growing pains at first as Allegri attempted to install him as part of his back-line.

Ignazio Abate - AC MilanEven after nailing down a starting position over the course of the next few seasons, anyone who watched AC Milan in action could count the number of times Abate sprinted up the wing to fire off crosses as if on auto-pilot or being controlled by a novice on FIFA…only to find no-one home. Yet like several of his teammates — Japanese international Keisuke Honda comes to mind — Abate has been going from strength to strength under the leadership of his former teammate Filippo Inzaghi, and the statistics don’t lie.

He has already grabbed four assists in just seven games, including two crucial ones for Honda and Fernando Torres to salvage a draw against Empoli. Last season, with Allegri and then Clarence Seedorf as a coach, he did not manage a single one in his 27 appearances (in all competitions). Granted, fitness and form issues definitely played a big part in his failing to productively support the team’s attack in what was one of their most disappointing campaigns in recent times.

But a big part of his improvement this season simply comes down to a general feel-good atmosphere that has arrived at Milanello with the departure of Seedorf and the subsequent appointment of Inzaghi.

Indeed, Abate himself has spoken about the trust and faith placed in him by the legendary striker, who has started him in every single one of the Rossoneri’s games thus far this season. By contrast, his relationship with Seedorf, by his own admission in a recent interview, was nowhere as transparent and despite not “questioning [his] exclusion” as reported in La Gazzetta dello Sport, he did worry about his position within the Azzurri for the World Cup due to his reduced playing time.

Ignazio Abate AC MilanAnd now, with the uncertainty and doubt from the Seedorf era a distant memory, AC Milan fans now have a more mature and assured defender who is as comfortable performing his duties as he has become efficient moving forward to support the attack.

Gone are the days where wayward crosses would fly in left and right with neither target nor purpose; instead supporters now see an excellent growing understanding between him and his colleagues, in particular with Honda for whom he has set up two of the attacker’s six goals so far.

Hence, thankfully, in a time of uncertainty for the team and its legions of supporters, one thing is absolute: they can certainly count on Ignazio Abate, who has grown from a raw talent into a pillar of confidence on his right-hand side… and even Serie A’s best fullback so far this season.

Follow Michelle Bonsu on Twitter: @MichelleB289

 

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