How AC Milan Can Get the Best out of Stephan El Shaarawy in 2015/16
Stephan El Shaarawy has been the subject of a lot of debate among AC Milan fans over the last few years.
The sticky question being debated: Which player is the real El Shaarawy? The dynamic forward who scored 14 times before the winter break as a 20-year-old in 2012? Or the oft-injured facsimile of that player they've seen over the last two seasons?
The first half of that 2012-13 season was certainly an epic time. Coming so soon after the sale of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the emergence of Il Faraone was a tonic to the Rossoneri. His goals allowed the team to survive a terrible start and ride the wave of Mario Balotelli's incredible second half to qualify for the Champions League.
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It was Balotelli's arrival that winter that started the puzzling spiral that El Shaarawy's career has taken since then. Some blamed Balotelli for El Sha's drop, but to do so is a mistake. The two young forwards had begun to develop a chemistry with each other in call-ups to the national team under Cesare Prandelli, and the signs of El Shaarawy's impending decline had already started to be seen in the month before Balotelli arrived.
The most likely explanation is that El Sha was simply exhausted. He had never experienced the rigors of a full Serie A season, let alone one that included the added workload of European competition. Massimiliano Allegri had been forced to run him into the ground simply because he did not have any other option. The result was an exhausted kid and likely the beginning of an injury problem that hasn't gone away.
El Shaarawy returned from yet another foot injury late last season and put in mixed performances. His impressive performance in the penultimate game of the campaign against Torino saw him score a brace and look every bit the young stud he was two years ago.
His next performance, against Atalanta, was more pedestrian. His subsequent games for the national team were also a mixed bag. He started brightly against Croatia before fading and never really launched during the friendly against Portugal.
It's clear, though, that the team needs El Shaarawy in top form to help rebuild and reclaim their customary place in the upper reaches of Serie A. For him to do that, however, he needs three things: health, service and support.
Health is obvious. El Shaarawy hasn't had a fully healthy season since his breakout campaign, and given how often he's on the shelf, it's probably safe to assume that these injuries had their genesis—or were maybe already there—in the late part of 2012-13. The vaunted Milan Lab, which is credited with extending the careers of players such as Clarence Seedorf, Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini, has started skipping a beat.
The club needs to be certain El Sha will be on the field for a full season so he can take advantage of the next two elements.
Service is tied directly to the club's midfielders, particularly creative ones. Unfortunately, those have been in short supply in Milan the last few years.
The team's top midfielder last season was Nigel de Jong, who is more of a hard man than a ball wizard. Marco van Ginkel had his moments but is unlikely to have his loan with the club extended.
The team will likely have Riccardo Montolivo back healthy after he needed the better part of a year to recover from the leg injury he suffered before last year's World Cup, but he hasn't been the replacement for Andrea Pirlo Milan thought they were getting when they signed him from Fiorentina.
If he had one or both of Bryan Cristante and Riccardo Saponara playing behind him, the possibilities could be limitless. Unfortunately, Milan allowed both of those talented youngsters to slip through their fingers.
Barring new signings this summer, the brunt of the creative burden will likely fall to Giacomo Bonaventura. He could potentially handle such a load, but to put such an onus on one player for the entire season is a big ask. It's also possible that Keisuke Honda will be dropped back to his more natural attacking-midfield role under new coach Sinisa Mihajlovic.
One way or the other, Milan needs someone who can get the ball to El Shaarawy and other forwards in good positions. If he doesn't get the ball, he can't put it into the back of the net.
Finally we come to support. This area involves El Shaarawy's fellow forwards.
El Shaarawy is a winger, but the images that word evokes—speedy players driving to the byline and crossing the ball to a man mountain of a center-forward—are outdated. If you want a full explanation of just how that happened, read Jonathan Wilson's magnum opus Inverting the Pyramid.
Today's wingers don't drive for the boundaries—they drive for the center, cutting inside of the fullback to either unleash a shot on goal or lay the ball off to supporting forwards or onrushing midfielders. Cristiano Ronaldo is the exemplar of this type of winger, and in full form, El Sha's skill set can be described as Ronaldo lite.
His play, then, will be affected by the forwards with whom he plays. A traditional target man such as Giampaolo Pazzini, for instance, doesn't complement him. El Shaarawy has never been a good crosser and can't provide the kind of service a forward like that needs.
Pazzini is also a relatively static player. El Shaarawy could thrive with a forward who moves off the ball and pulls defenders along with him, creating gaps in the back line for him to exploit. The best example of this kind of attacker is Carlos Tevez. He pulled defenders out of position for Alvaro Morata to exploit last season, either to take his own shots or capitalize on rebounds.
El Shaarawy can best utilize his skill set when playing with a forward who can produce similar results. This is something reported Milan transfer target Jackson Martinez can provide. Unfortunately, the Rossoneri may end up missing out on the Colombian. Reports in Portugal's O Jogo and Spain's AS (h/t Football Italia) suggest Milan's delay in conducting a physical examination could lead to Atletico Madrid pipping them to the striker, even though they've already agreed to personal terms.
If they do lose out on Martinez, the Rossoneri need to rebuild the forward line to include such a player in the center so that El Shaarawy is provided with the space he needs to shine.
El Shaarawy's long injury nightmare is hopefully over. He is still a player Milan can build around, but they need to set him up for success. They need to keep him healthy and put the players around him who will allow him to truly unleash his considerable talents in the biggest way possible.
If they do that, Milan fans will see the old Faraone again. If they mismanage him, though, we'll continue to see the uneven play that has characterized his career to date.
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