Great managers are remembered for their innovations, tactical prowess, bravado, personality and aggression. I’m sure there are other attributes as well, but none of these resonate from a certain Massimiliano Allegri.
During Max’s appointment as Milan manager, Silvio Berlusconi described Allegri as being Hollywood star-like in his appearance. Thereon, few words of praise have left the lips of the owner, and perhaps rightly so.
Allegri’s ‘provincial mentality’ approach rarely gathered any love from fans, players or the management. He was constantly outclassed by more experienced campaigners and perennially cut a sorry figure after big games. However, Allegri’s naivety is predominant even as he enters his third season at the club. Many have left, but the style of play remains. Other top clubs in Europe are constantly transitioning towards flair and creativity breaking free from dynamism and brutish football. Not Milan, not Allegri.
Chelsea invested exorbitantly in flair players this summer, trying to break away from a more physical style of play. In Manchester, Roberto Mancini’s initial experiment of an all-brawn midfield suffered greatly in his first season at Manchester City leading to the purchase of David Silva and Samir Nasri. Milan of course don’t possess similar purchasing power. But the recruitment of Sulley Muntari, Kevin Constant, Antonio Nocerino, Nigel de Jong, Bakaya Traore and the retention of Massimo Ambrosini along with Mathieu Flamini sends out a clear message. I’m not conveniently dismissing Riccardo Montolivo, but he is not necessarily a creative player. He too is a box-to-box midfielder capable of keeping the ball rolling.
The problem with such a midfield is its predictability. Every opposition facing Milan know of the threat (whatever that may be) and how to counter it. This midfield is limited in what it offers. It stacks up a pile of bullies who hound the opposition for the ball, but on receiving it, don’t know what to do with it. Additionally, these bullies are not particularly good either! The opponent, irrespective of stature, walks away the winner.
The match against Sampdoria in Round 1 of Serie A amply demonstrated a more athletic, dynamic Pedro Obiang and a more skilful Andrea Poli dominate Milan at the San Siro. Allegri’s men rarely know what do to in such situations, as they are limited in their skill set.
The limited midfield contributes to the impotency of Milan’s attack as well. Without service, the forwards cannot score, forcing them to drop deeper to get involved in the play, thereby defeating the very purpose of forwards playing closer to goal. And being defensively dubious, Milan’s midfield-trio don’t shield their defenders either. For instance, Mattia de Sciglio received little or no support from Montolivo against Sampdoria, resulting in increased crosses from that left flank. Reflects poorly on a very good defender, does it not?
Allegri’s decision to start with Kevin-Prince Boateng is beyond baffling too. Boateng has largely failed in the role of a trequartista and is simply not good enough to play behind the forwards. Allegri fanboys invented the word ‘forward destroyer’ to flatter Boateng’s mediocrity, but why would you employ a ‘forward destroyer’ against weaker oppositions? Quite frankly, Boateng doesn’t win too many balls close to goal. Instead, he concedes plenty of opportunities by instinctively shooting miserably every time he gets a sniff of a chance.
Allegri added a world-class player to the midfield by signing Nigel de Jong; a superb acquisition no doubt, but one that reinforces the system. What Milan desperately need is a player quite contrary to the system. But that alone might be insufficient if Allegri is adamant about his tactics. A change of system is required. Perhaps it comes at the cost of Allegri’s job.
Follow Rajath Kumar on Twitter: @rajathkumar and be sure to check out his AC Milan blog as well
