AC Milan’s Corner – Mark van Bommel’s Brilliance Makes Andrea Pirlo Look A Distant Past

By Parth Pandya
12 years Ago

The 2010-11 season ended on a highly positive note for Milan after a long nurtured dream of re-establishing the domestic supremacy was realized in the very first season under the charge of Massimiliano Allegri. The vibes therefore, of Andrea Pirloai??i??s parting away were hardly felt in the aftermath. The dearth of creativity from the midfield was not something fans did not see coming post the departure of the Maestro but the tactical flexibility of the manager was one attribute everyone felt confident about and quite frankly, Allegri did not disappoint with the change in shape and mentality that he introduced in the post-Pirlo Milan.

The initial dilemma of whether to field a player of Pirloai??i??s qualities at the deepest point in midfield or to continue with Mark van Bommel who promised to shield the defensive line, was something that did not help the matters much and quite apparently, Milan were not off to the greatest of starts in the new season. Apprehensions and agitations from the Rossoneri faithful were not completely unjustified since Pirloai??i??s start to the Juventus career was nothing short of the rediscovery of his 2006 version, when he was quite unequivocally, the best deep-lying playmaker in the world.

The fans did have their case in questioning the decision to let the teamai??i??s most priced weapon fall at the hands of the fiercest rivals but Pirloai??i??s consistent drop in form over the last two seasons is not something that went unnoticed to anyone even remotely associated with Milan. The chief architect of Italyai??i??s dream run during the 2006 World Cup was clearly heading towards being a mere shadow of his original self and his ball holding abilities and susceptibility against being too easily marked out were becoming a major bottleneck to the general fluidity of the teamai??i??s game since his was the most crucial role in Carlo Ancelottiai??i??s much celebrated Christmas Tree.

Unlike couple of his predecessors, Max Allegri was quick to realise the need for a change in this midfield design that heavily relied on Pirloai??i??s effectiveness from deep. Moreover, Pirloai??i??s presence required to play a defensive midfielder alongside him, who entirely shields him and makes up for his lack of running, tendency to lose the ball at crucial positions and uninterestedness at tracking back. Offloading what was becoming almost a liability to the teamai??i??s ambitions to compete against the neo-rich clubs in Europe, Allegriai??i??s replacement for the genius was a player with completely different set of attributes.

Mark van Bommel, the captain of the Dutch national team, has never been a loveable figure in his entire career, largely due to his proneness to engage into worst of challenges. Having created an impression of a disruptor rather than that of a playmaker, the ex-Bayern Munich skipper hardly seemed to fit the bill considering the way Milan played football for nearly a decade under Carlo Ancelotti.

But this is the beginning of the Max Allegri era that we are referring to here, where strength and solidity appear to be outweighing a dragged insistence on flair and beauty in the game. No longer do the modern successful teams ignore the importance of outmuscling the opposition too alongside outplaying them technically and outwitting them tactically. You need ai???that one manai??i?? to boss your midfield who ensures to guard your central defence, liberates your full backs to roam around the entire length of the pitch on the flanks by adding a third dimension to defence and yet promises to distribute the ball to the more attack-minded players in an equally effective manner, though not with the most imaginative eye for ai???thatai??i?? pass.

Even if the aforementioned qualities in a midfielder are read in a context entirely independent of this discussion, one of the first players you may envisage personifying them will most certainly be Mark van Bommel. Essentially, upon his arrival during the winter transfer window in the previous season, he was immediately expected to add the much required solidity and that extra muscle in the midfield that was struggling to find a permanent shape. His natural game pretty much suited that kind of role which was something he had been carrying for some time on the national duties, despite playing in a slightly advanced position in the centre midfield for Bayern.

Living true to his reputation, he managed to be sent off against Cesena during his very first start but his contribution since can be undermined by no means in the run to the title for the eventual champions of Italy. Along with Antonio Cassano, the more flamboyant of the winter acquisitions, van Bommel completely reinvigorated the midfield that looked pretty out of sorts from the day Andrea Pirloai??i??s downslide began.

The dotted lines here indicate the players' movement off the ball while the complete lines indicate on it. Image clearly shows the lateral range of van Bommel and how he lets as many as three players focus more on their attacking instinct by providing them the required cover

The initial concern among the fans and pundits was the lack of options that the Dutch man offered on the creative front which to a great extent was justified since even today, he is not even half the visionary that Pirlo is. During his early days, these anticipations even strengthened after physicality and endurance were the only apparent additions that he brought on table and his compatriot Clarence Seedorf is almost deemed not to have the legs anymore to engineer the linkage between the deep midfield and the attack that tended to position a half a yard too forward.

It effectively cut off a major channel of supply from the midfield which compelled the forwards (Ibrahimovic in particular) to drop down even further deeper and participate in the build-up. Gennaro Gattuso was an absolute revelation during the season and his reassuring presence let the likes of Abate contribute much more offensively. Hence, a number of alternatives, though not permanent ones, were exercised to adapt to the design level change and these pretty much reflected into stats since Milan scored a reasonably good 30 goals during the post-winter phase in the league.

The turnaround during this season however, could not have remained unnoticed to anyone. The summer additions to the midfield have been immense speaking the least and have added enough movement and variations to the midfield for van Bommelai??i??s weaker side of play to even come into the picture. Antonio Nocerino and a fit Alberto Aquilani perfectly compliment him and more importantly can heavily rely on him to cover up for the lack of defensive dimensions to their game. One must remember here, Pirloai??i??s reliance on Gattuso and Ambrosini was so great, he looked terribly perplexed on the games one of the two had a bad day in the office and in the prolonged absence of Gattuso, van Bommel becomes arguably the second most important player to the team after Ibrahimovic, sharing the place with Thiago Silva in defence.

His improvement too is for everyone to see as heai??i??s been ranked among the top thirty players in the league this season so far on a performance index. His number of key passes across the half-line, exceeded range for an accurate long ball and ability to spray the play both laterally and linearly has helped Milan sustain even during the worst of the times on injury front, when virtually half the squad was unavailable. His heroics during the latest win over Lecce that made an otherwise disjointed and languid midfield look good enough deserve a special mention here. Seven successful tackles and as many as 13 ball interceptions which were followed by 16 decisive long passes more than explain his impact on the game.

Come Summer, Will He Still Remain A Milan Player?

As things stand, Milan seem to be cruising towards the successful defence of the league title and have just about managed to enter the last eight in the Champions League after failing to do so since 2007. Mark van Bommel must maintain the high standards to ensure the smoothest possible sail for Rossoneri and for that to happen, the coach must apply the rotational policies smartly to provide the Dutch beast the much-required breather ahead of the big games. Massimo Ambrosini has not disappointed of late during the injury crisis when he did start a number of games from various roles in the midfield. The club captain may well be presented more starting places in few of the perceived easy fixtures in the remainder of the season.

The most important question, though, remains to be answered at the end of the season once van Bommel becomes a free agent. There have been rumours of him parting ways to go back to Eredivise next season and the news linking Montolivo to Milan has only fuelled up the speculations of this being his last season in the Milan colours. Subject to his fitness levels and clubai??i??s immediate and long-term future plans, his contract may or may not be extended but there is no denying he has played a pivotal role in making Allegriai??i??s Milan so instantly successful and that Pirloai??i??s magical moves only remain memories of distant past for the Milan faithful ai??i?? extremely pleasant ones, though.

Categories: AC Milan, COVER STORY, Editor's Pick, Italia Serie A
Tags: AC Milan Andrea pirlo Mark Van Bommel

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