Complete Report Card for AC Milan in 2014
Happy New Year!
The 2014 calendar year has come to a close, and it's time to analyze Milan's players by position and see where the Rossoneri need improvement and where they're stacked with depth.
Optimism is certainly brewing in the air after the club managed two consecutive clean sheets against Roma and Napoli to close off the Serie A year before the winter break. They continued their fine run of form with a convincing 4-2 win in a friendly against Real Madrid on December 30.
The grades will be given by an A to F basis, with A standing for excellent, B for good, C for mediocre, D for poor, and F for failure.
Without further ado, here's the complete report card for Milan in 2014.
Coach: B
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It's never easy being a first time coach in professional football for a once proud organization looking to rebuild.
Filippo Inzaghi's coaching role would definitely be scrutinized in the opening months, but he seems to have finally settled in and Milan are playing the best football at the moment under the new regime.
Milan sit only two points behind third place in the Serie A standings and have all the tools needed to mount a serious run for the third and final place—which is good for a Champions League qualification spot.
Inzaghi seems to have settled on a 4-3-3 as his favored formation, switching away from the unbalanced 4-2-3-1 used by Clarence Seedorf which often put too much stress on the back line. Inzaghi will continue to grow with the team, and it'll be interesting to see how his tactical shrewdness continues to grow.
Goalkeeper: B
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After years of fielding mediocre goalkeepers, Milan have finally found a game changing player to operate the area between the pipes.
Diego Lopez has taken up the role of being Milan's primary goalkeeper and has been making vital saves since suffering a few setbacks earlier in the season.
It also helps a defense to know that the person behind them is sure-handed, allowing them to play a more aggressive style of football, especially in anticipating passing lanes and making risky tackles.
Lopez has shown a penchant for making spectacular reaction saves and stopping one-on-one goalscoring opportunities. Also, his distribution out of the back is superior to what we've seen from Christian Abbiati, which adds another element to the position.
Full-Backs: C
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The grade would be higher had Milan's usual starting pair of Ignazio Abate and Mattia De Sciglio not gotten injured.
According to WhoScored, Abate has the highest overall rating out of any full-back on the team, and he was the Serie A assist leader before getting injured.
Milan haven't had the same level of production from the rarely used Colombian Pablo Armero and makeshift right-back Daniele Bonera.
Bonera has had his most mistake-filled season in his long career, making blunders usually reserved for a teenager making his first professional appearance.
De Sciglio seems to have taken a dip in form since last season. He doesn't seem quite as sharp defensively and looks a bit more hesitant going forward. Remember, this is the same player who was touted as the new Paolo Maldini several years ago.
Central Defense: C
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Despite Philippe Mexes boasting the highest overall rating of any other player on Milan's squad per WhoScored, the central defense as a whole has been mediocre at best.
The biggest problem has to do with Inzaghi not quite knowing who his centre-back pairing is. He has often rotated between the likes of Mexes, Alex, Adil Rami and Cristian Zapata, often interchanging them and hardly ever using the same pair two games in a row.
There's no other position on the field that needs perfect symbiosis with a partner quite like a center back, so once Philippe Mexes returns from injury in a month, we'll have to see if a clear pair emerges as the best one and if both are finally able to build chemistry together.
Alex has battled injury problems alongside Adil Rami, while Cristian Zapata has been shaky and mistake-prone throughout the season. So far, Mexes looks like the best option. His aggressiveness is never doubted, and he's managed to keep his cool much better than he has in the past.
Considering all these factors, it's no wonder that the defense has often suffered from communication breakdowns and have made it relatively easy for the opposition to find space in between the gaps.
Midfield: C+
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Milan's midfield gets a big boost with the return of Riccardo Montolivo, who put on his best Xabi Alonso impersonation during Milan's 4-2 win over Real Madrid.
The biggest problem with this unit earlier in the season was the lack of creativity. The likes of Nigel de Jong, Sulley Muntari and Andrea Poli had a hard time linking up and stringing together more than a few passes, and the attackers rarely saw a perfectly placed through ball put right on their foot as they were making a run into space.
Inzaghi identified the problem and started using Giacomo Bonaventura in the center of the park to add more flair. Bonaventura was often a left midfielder or winger at Atalanta, but has been used as a jack-of-all-trades at Milan.
With De Jong being the best defensive midfielder at Milan's disposal, expect Riccardo Montolivo and Bonaventura to occupy the other two roles in the 4-3-3 formation. Montolivo makes the side much more vertical while also being a threat going forward, while Bonaventura's clever movements and tricky dribbling make him a great choice to link midfield with attack.
Wingers: B+
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Perhaps Milan's deepest position, the wingers certainly haven't disappointed so far this season.
Keisuke Honda finally became acquainted to his new right-winger role and cherished it by scoring six goals so far in the new campaign and repaying the faith shown in him by Filippo Inzaghi.
Meanwhile, Stephan El Shaarawy hasn't been able to find a consistent scoring touch domestically but definitely showed signs of promise against Real Madrid, where he netted a brace and made a case to his coach that he should start regularly on the left wing.
El Shaarawy's directness and hardworking demeanor make him a threat even if he's not bagging goals.
Jeremy Menez has also flirted with the winger position in the 4-3-3, especially when Fernando Torres was deployed in the middle. The Frenchman, who joined Milan on a free transfer from PSG during the summer, is the team's highest scorer with eight goals in Serie A.
Adding to the already potent mix, Alessio Cerci was brought in from Atletico Madrid in a direct swap with Fernando Torres. Cerci loves playing on the right wing where he can cut in with his left foot, so it'll be interesting to see how Inzaghi juggles both him and Honda.
Keep in mind that Cerci played often as a second striker behind Ciro Immobile at Torino, so he could theoretically fill the false No. 9 position along with Menez.
Striker: F
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Note: I'm not counting Jeremy Menez in the scoring (see previous slide).
Simply put, Milan's strikers have failed. The duo of Fernando Torres and Giampaolo Pazzini have combined for one goal between them.
Many expected Torres to find his second wind in Serie A after stinking it up with Chelsea. We had hope that he could do it considering how the likes of Miroslav Klose were able to find success again after being bench warmers at their previous clubs in different leagues.
As he has been throughout most of his time at Chelsea, Torres simply lacked that searing pace that gave him an edge against defenders earlier in his career with Atletico Madrid and Liverpool. More importantly, his final touch seemed to be coated in cobwebs, and he never came close to establishing himself with the Rossoneri.
There is a bit more hope for Pazzini now, who has played a total of 98 minutes so far this season. He's the only real striker Milan have in their entire roster and the only one who can offer a different dimension to the others up front. Pazzini is a capable goalscorer in Serie A who can reach double digits if given the chance.
His hold up play allows the wingers to make the runs down the flanks and he's proficient in the air, as he showed in the friendly against Real Madrid.
With Torres gone, the No. 9 role will be given to a winger or Pazzini.
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