El Shaarawy and the great AC Milan midfield experiment
The career of Stephan El Shaarawy has been a modest one to date. For a lot of AC Milan fans, the first time they laid eyes on his distinguishing hairstyle was outside his high school.
He was living what could be considered a normal life, featuring for Padova and representing his country at U19 level. In the build up to his final exams he was made aware of interest from Italian giants AC Milan, who had been impressed with his performances in Serie B.
Already on the books of Genoa, it represented a step up for El Shaarawy which he took, but little could he have known the intense scrutiny and analysis that would await him at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
About to begin his fifth season since arriving in 2011, ‘il Faraone’ has scored 27 goals for the Rossoneri and firmly cemented his image in the world of football, featuring in Nike advertisements and even making his way onto the front of FIFA 14. However, as much as he has marketing value, his performances for Milan have left a lot to be desired.
Plagued by niggling injuries and struggling for consistency, he managed just three goals last season in 18 matches. Now with Sinisa Mihajlovic in charge, this could be a vital campaign for El Shaarawy and his AC Milan career, with action being taken to ensure his stay.
Mihajlovic wants to accommodate his two star strikers Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano up front, which would leave El Shaarawy at a loss.
However, the former Sampdoria boss is looking to play the Italian international in a deeper role as part of the midfield-three. Impressed with his work rate and ball control, Mihajlovic is hoping to get the very best out of El Shaarawy and safeguard is career at the San Siro. This is something that’s been voiced by owner Silvio Berlusconi.
“For me, El Shaarawy is a left-sided midfielder, I’m convinced of this,” Berlusconi told reporters at Casa Milan.
The statement will no doubt have registered as an instruction to Mihajlovic, who will need to accommodate one of the club’s few Italian internationals in the first team. Last season Giacomo Bonaventura occupied the left side of the midfield with some distinction; scoring seven goals in total.
It’s not a position fans can’t imagine El Shaarawy suiting, but it will still be very demanding of the 22 year-old. Though it may relax the pressure to score goals, ball retention, assists and winning back possession will be key.
From a mental aspect, it could be damaging for El Shaarawy as it denotes a lack of faith in his abilities up front. Having scored 19 goals in his second season for the Rossoneri, it seems outlandish to disregard these statistics.
For a player that’s sustained plenty of injuries, a role in the midfield could be catastrophic. Although there has been a noticeable physical improvement since his arrival, El Shaarawy still isn’t strong enough to last it out against the powerhouses of the game. For as long as he’s played for Milan, the player that’s drawn the strongest comparison with El Shaarawy has been Brazilian star Neymar.
Neither noted for their physical build but instead relying on their skill and pace on the ball, both of them play up front. There are positives to this idea of course. The space afforded to El Shaarawy would allow him to beat the defenders in his path with greater ease, but this somewhat defeats the object of having him in the midfield.
As far as passing is concerned, his vision and pass execution has always been somewhat underrated, as his 14 assists for Milan often go unnoticed.
When El Shaarawy has played for Milan, it can’t be said he’s looked exclusively to score. His position on the wing has always allowed him to run and create space for team-mates, in fact his very first action of last season was to create a goal for Keisuke Honda. In this sense, it could be perceived that playing El Shaarawy in the midfield would tap into this desire to create goals.
To suddenly decide to play El Shaarawy in midfield does risk alienating quite a few players.
First and foremost there’s Bonaventura, who looked completely at home in the midfield having transferred from Atalanta. Andrea Poli is another first team hopeful, as is Suso and club captain Riccardo Montolivo. New signing Andrea Bertolacci will need playing for the price Milan paid for him, and with Jose Mauri joining, to say the midfield is overcrowded would be an understatement. To deny any of these players a place in midfield in favour of El Shaarawy seems like a poor application of resources.
The clock is ticking for El Shaarawy. Either he makes a statement this season, or his AC Milan career could be over.