Why Alessio Cerci Is the AC Milan Player with Most to Prove by End of Season

Moving to Atletico Madrid was a mistake. Alessio Cerci admits it.

He started the season off all wrong: no pre-season training, no solid playing time, nothing he really wanted. If it was up to Cerci alone, he would have joined AC Milan much earlier.

“I wanted to come here over the summer, but obviously I needed everyone to be on the same page for that to happen,” he told Milan Channel (h/t Football Italia). "I made the wrong choice and going back I’d do things differently.”

Cerci still has a lot to do in the final 10 matches of the season with the Rossoneri. Despite moving to Milan on an 18-month loan deal, with Fernando Torres going the other way, Cerci’s future with the team is far from safe.

He has not scored once for Milan since January. Cerci also had an argument with coach Filippo Inzaghi, apparently demanding more minutes on the pitch.

“Don’t ever try to get me to play when the game is already over!” Cerci reportedly said in February, according to Sky’s Sandro Sabatini (h/t Football Italia).

Inzaghi has continued to play Cerci as a substitute—not as late in the game but still off the bench. 

It’s not just on the coaches. There is something wrong with Cerci. Atletico manager Diego Simeone did not like the way Cerci complained to the press before leaving for Italy, per Football Espana, and Bleacher Report’s Matteo Bonetti confirms the coach’s dismay:

"

@semo33 Simeone also said a few times through press that he wanted and expected more in training from Cerci. Motivational moreso than injury

— Matteo Bonetti (@TheCalcioGuy) February 26, 2015"

It’s true that Cerci did not arrive at Atletico until the end of the transfer window, giving him little time to gel with his new teammates.

“I always made myself available, but I arrived on the last day of the transfer window and I wasn't in top condition," he told reporters.

“I blame myself. I tried to change the coach’s mind, but I didn’t succeed.”

Cerci is ready to take responsibility for his poor form, but what is he really doing to change Inzaghi’s mind? The 27-year-old cannot rest on one good season.

Yes, last year, he was the assists king in Serie A with 10. He lit up the league alongside Ciro Immobile at Torino. But those days are gone. Cerci has failed to make an impact anywhere since.

Cerci may have always wanted the move to Milan, and maybe he would be a starter by now if he had joined them in the summer. But the fact remains that Cerci plays at an overcrowded position. Milan have enough wingers as it is.

Cerci has to find a way to break through the traffic and claim the few opportunities he can get.

He won a penalty in the 3-1 win over Cagliari last weekend—even though he was actually fouled outside the box—but also missed a great chance to open his scoring account at San Siro. It's moments like these that change the reputation of a player. Just ask Torres.

Despite all of the frustrations, Cerci received a call-up from Italy coach Antonio Conte. He keeps on getting more breaks.

At some point, he has to prove that he is not a one-hit wonder.