Two wins, three losses and four draws, the simple description of a squadsai??i?? results against the current top seven teams in the Serie A standings. A horrible showing if this team plans on qualifying for next years Europa league, let alone winning the Scudetto. And yet when you look at the current standings, one thing stands out from the rest, that the current team in first place is A.C.Milan and yes, that is their record against the top seven teams. How are they in first place? How can they play so badly against the top-flight teams and still be in first and how do they plan on winning it all with this type of team?
From the beginning of the year and still up to now, Milan have been riddled with problems; from injuries to suspensions, all have contributed to their current state of mind. The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho getting injured before the start of the season, to losing Pato on a consistent basis, Antonio Cassano with his heart condition and just about the whole midfield at one point has been out with an injury. It is almost impossible to look beyond this as a string of fluke injuries. Two of the big injuries were out of the control of the team and the players, with Cassano and Gattuso going down, but the others, one tends to think, if something could have been done.
.
For years the ai???Milan Labai??? has been hailed by the team as something that helps the players stay fit and come back from injury quicker, yet this year has been a horrific display of this. On average, we are missing three or four people per match. In last match against the team Milan is battling for first place, Juventus, Milan were without 11 members with only one being suspended. Among those 11 players, six of them were first team players at some point in the year either with Milan or another squad and four of them were midfield players. This is a lot to overcome for a number of teams, let alone just one team trying to win it all.
But injuries aside, there are a lot more to blame on. Silly play on the pitch during the game and directly after them game has had a huge effect on the team as well. Ibrahimovic getting suspended for three matches didnai??i??t really hurt the team too much in the standings, but he wouldai??i??ve come in handy against Juventus. And for the next three matches, Milan will lose Philippe Mexes to suspension as well for a punch on a Juve player during a corner kick. This lack of discipline and lack of conditioning can all stem from one thing – their coaching.
.
Massimo Allegri last year proved his worth by winning the Scudetto in his first year coaching the squad and was loved by many. Yet as the summer came and went and so did one of the greatest playmakers in Milan history. When Andrea Pirlo went to Juventus, their major rivals this year, many started to wonder Allergiai??i??s true worth. If he could mishandle the current play-making midfielder from the Italian national team and give him away to a rival, then how can he be capable of winning the Scudetto? Well somehow, they are still in it, but this outcome is not in their hands.
Thirteen matches remain for Milan in this season. They are up against Juventus by one point in the standings while Juventus has one game at hand and hold their own destiny. If Juventus can win out all of their matches then they will be crowned champions for an Italian best 28th time. While many believe Juventus can do this with ease, as they have yet to lose a match this campaign, it may be tougher than what we may think, as they have tied a league record of eleven times so far! A loss-less campaign is a great accomplishment by any team, in any league and should lead to the title every time. But eleven ties to go along with those lack of losses will only leave one to wonder who will take over the lead from them. Will it be Milan? Do they have what it takes to overcome the ai???Old Ladyai??i?? of Italian soccer?
The upcoming months will prove to be very tough for Milan. Not only do they have their 13 league matches, they have a Coppa Italia second leg match against Juventus once again as well as the Champions League, which it seems as though they will be moving on to the next round. These matches will force Milan to put their best team on the pitch at all times.
Over a period of time, this could wear out some of the players, not to mention the ones who are already hurt. Take the 13 league matches, add in the Coppa match, throw in a possible 3-5 Champions League matches and sprinkle on top a number of key injuries and you just made yourself a cluster what we now know as the A.C.Milan future. Many questions are out there. Some will be answered while some may not. But one thing can be for certain, this 2011-2012 has yet to see a fully healthy Milan and if at some point they do get healthy, the Scudetto is theirs for the taking!
Written By Guest Author Eric J Farino.
Follow Him On Twitter: @ejfarino
Follow him on his blog : http://ejfarino.blogspot.com/
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