AC Milan's 12 Days of Christmas
The Christmas break ended a rough year for AC Milan. They have had three different coaches between January and December, and yet the results haven’t really changed.
Milan are still trailing that final Champions League spot, and they are still losing money—around the tune of €70 million, according to Tuttosport (h/t Rossoneri Blog). The defence is still an issue, the attack missing goals.
CEO Adriano Galliani continued to make free transfers this summer, but two have come good. Diego Lopez is saving games for Milan and Jeremy Menez is scoring the goals that the strikers are not.
So this Christmas, they better relax. The second half of the season is vital. Surely on their minds is a list of things they want accomplished. Much like the "12 Days of Christmas," let’s count them down.
A Striker Who Scores
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Fernando Torres and Giampaolo Pazzini have just one goal between them. They have not really played all that much together, but that is still a poor return.
Most of the scoring has come from non-traditional means—one of Menez or Keisuke Honda or some random midfielder (Sulley Muntari anyone?) getting a tally.
What Milan need is a reliable frontman, preferably one for the future too. Stefano Okaka fits that description, and he’s already been linked to Milan, per Forza Italian Football.
Okaka has bumped around Serie A, but he is still only 25. With a big frame, the Italian international can push around defenders and control the play. He's perfect.
A Loan Deal for M’Baye Niang
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M’Baye Niang has to go. Not necessarily for good. He just needs time to find his game, and that isn’t going to happen at Milan.
Niang recently turned 20 years old, and he has only made one start with Milan in 2014.
Earlier in the year, Niang was on loan at Montpellier, and at least he started the majority of the games there. What the player needs is some confidence, and he’s only going to get that if he’s playing.
A Steady Partnership in Defence
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A combination of reasons forced Milan to play with a different back four over the first half of the season. Injury was the main culprit.
Still, there were seven different centre-back pairings over those 16 Serie A games. That’s a problem.
On the flanks, it’s a bigger problem. Daniele Bonera has relieved Ignazio Abate and Pablo Armero has stepped in for Mattia De Sciglio. Neither has been really confident.
Milan must have a complete back line that plays game in, game out. The best lineup is probably a combination of Abate, Rami, Alex and De Sciglio.
They better rest up. All have spent time out injured.
A 4-3-1-2 Formation
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For the majority of the early season, coach Pippo Inzaghi insisted on playing with two wingers and a false nine.
It has worked to an extent. After all, Menez is the club’s leading scorer with a career-high eight goals. That’s worth something.
But that formation mainly favours him and only him. It’s Menez who is greater than the sum of the team’s parts.
Keisuke Honda and Stephan El Shaarawy do not look comfortable on the wings. They cannot continue to play there.
Sometimes Silvio Berlusconi is right. One striker has not worked out. Milan need to try playing with two. A 4-3-1-2 formation offers the chance to do that, and it gives Honda or El Shaarawy or even Riccardo Saponara—all natural attacking midfielders—the opportunity to play in the hole.
Time to try something different.
More Playing Time for Riccardo Saponara
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The poor kid needs a chance. In the few times that he has played—often out of position—Saponara has not done much harm.
Without Honda, who will join Japan in January for the 2015 Asian Cup, Milan could easily slot in Saponara. He could claim the position behind the strikers, where he is most comfortable.
No need for Alessandro Diamanti—the latest rumour in the Italian press (h/t Football Italia)—or some other older Italian to fill in for Honda. Milan have the answer right at home.
A First Start for Hachim Mastour
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Milan have called up Hachim Mastour to the first-team squad before. They have to give him the start that he deserves.
So far he has spent time doing commercials for Red Bull and others. He has wowed while playing with the Primavera, scoring outrageous goals, but Milan must give the 16-year-old a taste of what first-team action is like. Not a long string of games, just a start here and there.
The Real Stephan El Shaarawy
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Against Sampdoria in November, El Shaarawy broke the longest drought of his professional career. He had gone 622 days without a goal. An eternity.
He has the goal now, but he still doesn’t have the form. El Shaarawy has even lost his place in the starting line-up.
With rumours of a possible transfer emerging again, the 22-year-old has to start showing why he is worth so much and why he is the future of Milan.
A Fully Fit Mattia De Sciglio
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This year was a setback for full-back Mattia De Sciglio. He suffered injury after injury. When he did play, he did not look like much of a prospect at all.
Perhaps the burden of expectations in a position of prestige—Paolo Maldini, Cafu, Mauro Tassotti all played there—is weighing him down. Or maybe he is simply not good enough.
Sometimes he just coughs the ball, commits a foul to get it back and instead gets a yellow card.
We have to see who the 22-year-old really is. But he needs to get healthy first.
12 Points in February
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February is a lay-up for Milan. They play Juventus but also Parma, Cesena, Empoli and Chievo, four teams scrapping it out in the bottom heap of Serie A. That’s 12 easy points.
Milan drew both Cesena and Empoli earlier in the season. They cannot afford to do the same the next time around.
A New Contract for Nigel De Jong
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The waiting continues. Meanwhile, teams are circling for Nigel de Jong’s signature.
The 30-year-old’s contract expires in the summer, and Schalke are ready to pounce, according to many reports including Tuttosport (h/t Forza Italian Football).
What’s worse, Milan reject and fellow Dutchman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has told Schalke to sign up De Jong, per Goal.
What we know is that Milan have stalled on contract negotiations. De Jong wants a three-year deal at his current salary at €3 million, according to MilanNews.it (h/t Rossoneri Blog). But Milan are reportedly not ready to give him that.
The Rossoneri simply cannot afford to diddle-daddle here. De Jong is arguably the fulcrum of this side, and they could very well collapse without him. He is worth the money, and he deserves assurances.
A Coppa Italia Win
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It was 2003 the last time Milan won the Coppa Italia. It’s been over a decade.
And it’s time for Milan to take the competition seriously. It’s the only trophy they have a shot of winning this season.
“This year the Coppa Italia is our Champions League,” Inzaghi told La Gazzetta dello Sport in October (h/t goal.com). “This must be clear. Winning a trophy is always important, now more than ever.”
3rd Place in May
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This is the real objective: to play Champions League football again.
Milan are losing money, and they will only lose more if they don’t finish third.
It’s as simple as that.
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