Vibrant AC Milan Search For End-Of-Season Stamina Reserves

As one of the best and most physically demanding football seasons in the world enters its final stage, many teams have started to release signs which invite us to think they are at their limit in terms of exhaustion.

It happened to Serie A leaders Inter in their Napolitan journey at Stadium San Paolo, last Sunday.

To their usual lack of creativity, they added, to our utmost surprise, a heaviness of legs in the second half of the game. This was something quite unusual in a team habituated to rely almost entirely on their portentous physical condition to beat their rivals.

As can be inferred, they lost to Napoli, granting the San Paolo side their first victory in 14 matches, and a very prestigious one at that.

The same syndrome has also taken hold of title-contenders Juventus, who have claimed only three points out of 12 available in their last four matches. They snatched barely a unit in their visit to last-placed Reggina, and even this was only thanks to a referee's special grace, given by virtue of an non-existent penalty at the beginning of the second half.

The Bianconeri haven't won a game since their brilliant victory 4-1 over Roma a month ago. While there are some unmistakable signs of fatigue in the team, we shall add that injuries and some ill-disposed rumors which place Lippi in charge of the team next season instead of current coach Rainieri, have probably played some role in this sudden slump.

Add to this list AS Roma, a team that have so far lost all the decisive games they needed to win in order to keep the faith in themselves. This is part of a campaign that has turned into a bitter disappointment, after the great expectations they had when it started.

Roma’s problem is not only with the lack of decisive figures in the first team, but also the poor form of many of them. Now that the race for fourth place is practically over, they should focus on at least securing a ticket for the UEFA Cup.

But even such a task looks imposing if they don’t find a way to boost their wounded moral.            

Who are the greatest beneficiaries, for now, of this end-of-season situation?

Despite not being up to the task of disputing Inter’s supremacy this year, and trailing  in the shadow of Juventus during most part of it, AC Milan have recently emerged to grab Juve’s second place with a 3-0 victory over Palermo, extending their run of games without defeat to seven.  

It is something which unveils them as a dark horse to deliver some suspense to Serie A, perhaps turning the season finale into something less monotonous.

Many factors have contributed, in my opinion, to this renaissance:

Apparition of Key Figures

Inzaghi, Beckham, and Ambrosini must take a lot of the credit for Milan’s surge in the second half of the season.

Inzaghi has added the goals which the doomed Schevchenko-Borriello duo once promised, Beckham has provided the assists which Kaka’s poor form until the last two matches didn’t provide, and Ambrosini has delivered the big heart that has been lacking since Gattuso’s injury.

Further good news is that Kaka himself seems to be gradually recovering his former shape.

A Quiet Agenda

One of Milan’s problems in previous seasons was the number of matches that a gradually over-aged squad was forced to play.

Having exited early this season—to my bitter disappointment, I must say—in the UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia, they have focused exclusively on Serie A, and mainly on grabbing that fourth place which grants them access to the Champions League.

Setting a Moderate Objective

The objective fixed after their shock UEFA exit, to this day, remains the same; secure at least fourth place in Serie A, in order to return to Europe’s elite club competition. It is something which they have under control now, and helps to ease a lot of the pressure on the team.

Reinvented Defence

Milan’s endemic problems at the back have been palliated for now (I think it has something to do with Kaladze’s absence really) and Flamini’s selection at right-back  has been an unexpected success.

Now, does all this mean it is time for Milan to sit back and enjoy?

It would be reckless to do so, considering the fixtures they have to face before the end of the season; Catania, Juventus, Udinese, Roma, and Fiorentina.

I swear this isn’t a joke. As you can imagine, their main rivals got a much easier schedule. That’s why I really hope they have kept some sort of hyper-stamina package for this turbulent end of season, and that the points mercilessly wasted against Napoli and Reggina don’t come back to haunt them.