A lot has been said and spoken about the inability of Allegri to form a squad out of whatever was left of the Milan team since last summer’s mass exodus. And yet, here we are in 2013 with Milan still unbeaten. Allegri has faced a lot of flak this season from almost everyone of importance at Milan and yet he has managed to forge a team capable of fighting for the Champions League spot, which was the ONLY realistic target that Milan could have set for themselves at the start of the season.
Looking back now, it almost seems magical how Allegri has turned this season around and from the threat of being relegated at the start of the
The Milan side was stripped of almost the last shred of creativity and the best thing now for Milan is Montolivo at the center of the field. For obvious reasons, the pressure on Montolivo to deliver something from the middle of the park is pretty huge and till now he has performed admirably, more so after being given the captain’s armband by the President himself against Juventus last year. But coming back to formations, Allegri has used as many as 5 formations this season for Milan, even experimenting with a back three once. But those experiments gave mixed results and Allegri was forced to revert to his back four.
However, at the end, the formation that seems to have worked the most is the 4-3-3. Last season too Allegri deployed the 4-3-3 sometimes, but then it was due to the absence of van Bommel. With no defensive midfielders in the side currently, the protective blanket just in front of the central defensive duo has been removed. As was predicted earlier, Allegri did use 4-3-3 for Milan and he has stuck to it. The comfort of having an extra man for defensive duty has been replaced by the insecurity of a possible hole in the middle of the park and this is where the position and the movement of the central midfielder becomes crucial for the present Milan side. Needless to say, this lack of defensive cover has cost Milan dearly Ai??and presently they have the worst defensive record among the top six teams in Serie A. Whenever Montolivo moves forward to attack, it leaves a potential hole in the middle which often leads to either the left or the right midfielder to move in that place, albeit temporarily.
This in turn leaves one of the flanks open to counter attacks and given that Milan are not playing a high line nowadays, it leaves lots of space in-between midfield and defence. However, the lack of creativity has been replaced by grit and determination to fight for every inch of the field. Although the passing from the defence line to the midfield occurs mostly on the ground, Milan still seem to favor the long ball going in the final attacking third, as was seen in their most recent match against Parma. Even though Milan had possession in midfield with no apparent pressure from the opposition, instead of trying to play the ball on the ground and move forward, the focus was more on playing a long ball into the opposition box. That ploy can work as long as Milan have a target man inside the box who can either take a shot himself or provide a lay off for other players to pounce on.
Repeatedly fouled by defenders with Coda taking a special liking to him, Balotelli could have exploded but he did not. And that led to the second goal for Milan on the night. Hitherto, Balotelli had failed to score from any free-kicks but when an opportunity presented itself against Parma, the fans knew that he was up for it. Niang was the first to the ball but it appeared that he stepped down after Balotelli made his intentions clear that he was the one taking the shot. Later he clarified his stance – “I told Niang that if i missed this one, he could have a go“. A superb free-kick later, it was clear for all to see that the new buy was indeed brimming with confidence and not arrogance. It showed that Balotelli was eager to prove himself to the Milan faithful and work towards getting Milan to play in Europe next season.
Coming back to Allegri, he should be praised for all that he’s done to turn around this season for Milan and more. With repeated calls from ex-players indicating their desire to coach Milan, it was extremely difficult for him and add to that the pressure from Galliani and Berlusconi. Yet, in spite of all shortcomings, Allegri has stood like a rock and proved once more that he can lead Milan the right way. Never the one to shout at players or portray himself as a passionate coach like Conte, Allegri has dealt with far worse in the dressing room and yet come out unscathed. Surely, he is the right man for Milan to move forward.
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