AC Milan And Allegri – Headed For Splitsville?

By Amlan Chaudhury
12 years Ago

Will he leave? Will he be sacked? Questions have swirled thick and fast around Milanello since last week, and more often than not, most of them have been related to Allegriai??i??s probable departure or sacking. Two titles in three years is hardly a good return from the former Cagliari man, who was expected to usher in a new era at AC Milan. But then again, this is Milan and not Manchester City. Allegri did deliver a Scudetto in his very first year but since then it has been a barren run in domestic as well as European fronts.

An announcement which was ai???recorded and read outai??i?? by Biscardi seems to be the last straw in the ongoing saga over Allegri. Apparently, Berlusconi has had enough of him and after failing to win any relevant silverware for the second successive season, he is ready to sack him. Meanwhile, Milan came out strongly denying that the message which was read out on live television was indeed from Berlusconi, although the damage was done by that time. Over the course of this season, Allegri has been questioned by Berlusconi repeatedly over where he is leading Milan and it seems those meetings did not go to the Presidentai??i??s liking. Being the owner of Milan, Berlusconi has every right to sack any and every professional linked with the club, but his decision should not be borne out of lack of results ai??i?? it should be bounded by the determinism and the passion the person has for the club. At one point, he was even quoted as saying that he needs someone who will leave everything and come and coach Milan given the opportunity.

Last summer was probably the lowest point for Milan in quite sometime, with the club witnessing the mass exodus of young and experienced players, leaving the team a host of mediocre squad players. Needless to say, Milan started horribly and lost 7 of their 18 matches in the first half of the season. All in all, Allegri kept on changing formations to suit his team – some tactical while some were forced. Injuries have hampered Allegri for a long time, most notably during his second year at the helm when Thiago Silva was stretchered off against Roma. If he was not risked in that game, probably Milan wouldai??i??ve gone on to lift their second successive Scudetto. But things transpired differently and Conte was able to guide Juventus to their first Scudetto since 2002-03 season. This year too, he was hampered by injuries on more than one occasion with the most glaring one being De Jongai??i??s season-ending injury.

Bereft of personnel at key junctures of the season, Allegri has performed admirably well in guiding Milan to third place this season. Milan have been the best team in Serie A in the second half of the season, amassing 45 points out of a possible 60. Needless draws towards the end against Fiorentina and Napoli made it an interesting affair for Fiorentina, and no matter how much Sandro Mencucci insists that ai???Fiorentina finished third on the fieldai???, Milan claimed the third spot fair and square. Known as a manager who rarely changes his formations in a match, Allegri was a stout follower of the 4-3-1-2 formation during his initial years at Milan. The fact that he needed a defensive midfielder and not a creative player from the back was the main reason he forced Pirlo out of the squad. His need for a van Bommel far outweighed the natural set-up at Milan, and once van Bommel departed, he turned his attention to Nigel de Jong. Similarly, his penchant for a trequartista persisted till last season, but after the mass exodus, he had to remodel his thinking.

Allegri has been very flexible with his formation this season and has changed and remodeled it according to his players. A key dilemma faced by any manager is whether to make the players play according to a formation, or create a formation which highlights the playerai??i??s talents. Allegri has done both during his time at Milan. However, even after performing to the maximum with the limited amount of resources (read talent) at his disposal, he has excelled. Yes, often he has lived dangerously, but if you donai??i??t take a risk, you never learn, do you? Favoring only experienced players during his first two years, the youngsters were shunned and saw first team action on few occasions. However, that attitude too changed. The likes of Stephan El Shaarawy, Mattia de Sciglio and Mbaye Niang saw first-team action under Allegri as he gave the youth a chance to shine at the top level.

The rise of El Shaarawy and De Sciglio would not have been possible without Allegriai??i??s insistence and now both of them have also found some playing time with the Italian National team. From the center-back pairing of Nesta and Silva to the present pair of Bonera and Mexes, the degradation in quality is quite apparent. From conceding the least goals in his first season to leaking goals in the present campaign, Allegri still has kept Milan in the top three. One of the most interesting aspects of his tenure has been how he managed to keep the dressing room ego-free. Think of it ai??i?? a room full of the likes of Ibrahimovic, Cassano, Boateng, Robinho, Balotelli et al is likely to explode even without a word being spoken. But Allegri never let that happen. There have been no rumors of bust-up with any player till recently when Robinho clashed with him in training, which has got more to do with Robinho than Allegri.

Allegri has been through this transition period at Milan, and faced with this new-found focus on ai???only youthai??i??, he has changed his outlook considerably. It is this same reason why Curva Sud has come out in support of Allegri, brandishing a banner supporting him. Allegri has been a driving force for this change in attitude at the club. Milan, more importantly Berlusconi cannot afford to act like Real Madrid or Manchester City in a three-year timeline. For one, Milan do not have anything to spend in the transfer market and as Barbara said last time, Milan will need to sell its crown jewels if they are to survive. Given this scenario, how is it feasible for Berlusconi to sack Allegri after just three seasons? If this had been the scenario, the world would not have known a certain phenomenon called as Sir Alex Ferguson.

Continuity at the helm is the need of the hour and it is high time Berlusconi understood this and get off Allegriai??i??s back. Throughout the season, he has been constantly criticizing Allegri for the way he has managed the team. At a certain point of time, criticism, even healthy ones, becomes a poisoned fruit. Allegri has performed admirably well during his time at Milan, but perhaps it should be his decision and not Berlusconiai??i??s on whether he should leave.

And on a closing note, Milan might think of hiring Seedorf and replicating Ajax and Juventusai??i?? policy of hiring former players, but Seedorf is still a player; he is yet to earn his managerial badges! Gattusoai??i??s ill-timed managerial stint for FC Sion shouldai??i??ve warned Milan about doing anything like that, but from the ever-swirling rumors, it looks like Milan are headed towards that path. It is going to be another long and difficult year for Rossoneri fans, one which can make last summerai??i??s transfer activities look like a day in the park.

Categories: AC Milan, Features, Italia Serie A
Tags: Allegri Milan

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