A.C Milan midfielder Mark van Bommel is set to miss the 1st leg of the crunch UEFA Champions League quarter final game between AC Milan and Barcelona at the San Siro. The tough tackling anchor man picked up a caution in the early parts of the nervy second Round, second leg game against Arsenal in London thereby effectively ruling him out of the tie.
Obviously this is a very big blow to the chances of the Rossoneri surviving in this competition. Many fans were dismayed about the situation even before the quater final draw took place and insult seems to have been added to injury with the Italian side being drawn against widely acclaimed ‘best team in the world’, Barcelona.
Since joining Milan last January van Bommel has slotted seamlessly into the team and has established himself as the cornerstone on which the team is built; both in defence and in attack. His has become perhaps one of the few automatic choices on the teamsheet for manager Massimiliano Allegri, after Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, and Abbiati.
Allegri’s Milan is built on the industry of his midfield. He requires a tough tackling anchor man flanked by two energy guzzling, box-to-box midfielders (this shows why Sulley Muntari has fitted in so well despite being an outcast at Internazionale and why a supremely talented player like Andrea Pirlo was allowed to leave without much regrets). These two are supposed to help the fullbacks in defending but also to be capable of breaking forward at the speed of light to support the attack and make perfectly timed runs into the box. The defensive midfielder thus has to hover just infront of the the centre backs and be ready to act quickly in the event of similar braekaway by the opposition . His job is to be a brute detroyer of such attacks, using all means fair and foul.
Mark van Bommel is the master at this. His ball retention skills and superb passing range enables him trigger a quick transition from defence to attack, whilst his superb technique, strength, and intelligence enable him place himself in advantageous positions to stop attacks; the quintessential holder. Of course, there are times he is beaten for pace, then we see the other side of van Bommel; the master at underhanded fouls. All these combine to create a player very good at he does but with a reputation you wouldn’t touch with a pole. His importance to this Milan set-up cannot be underestimated, and his absence against the finely tuned machine that Barcelona is would be sorely felt.
In his absence, Massimo Ambrosini is likely to step into his shoes, but that is scant consolation. Although the skipper of this side and a battle hardened veteran himself, Ambrosini is obviously a step down from the Dutchman. The captain has not been at his best for the past three seasons or so and his performances have been largely inconsistent. One can only hope that the excitement such a big game brings would bring out the very best of Ambrosini.
Outside the skipper there aren’t many options; Clarence Seedorf excelled in the holding role at White Hart Lane last season, but that was in a game Milan expected to(and did), dominate. Against Barcelona there would be be tons of pressure, and seeing how defensively suspect he is, he’s not really a realistic option.
Prior to the second leg when it became clear van Bommel was only a booking away from suspension, Milanisti fervently hoped he would avoid a booking. We all knew that was impossible, as asking van Bommel not pick a card is quite like asking Messi not to score or Fernando Torres to; virtually impossible. That’s the situation now, and fans can only hope the skipper of the side would bring his A-game on the day and lead the side to victory.
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