Breaking Down How Alessio Cerci Can Turn the Jeers into Cheers at AC Milan

Alessio Cerci’s 2015/16 season began with the sound of boos ringing in his ears. The winger, coming on for the last 10 minutes of AC Milan’s season opening Coppa Italia win over Perugia, was subjected to whistles by his own fans, discontented at his introduction.

Before Cerci had even touched the ball, a section of Milan fans had made up their minds that his presence in the team was unwelcome. It was a harsh reaction, one that makes Cerci’s recent uplift in form all the more impressive.

Under such difficult circumstances, other players would shrink, make their excuses and leave, but not Cerci. Instead, the winger has taken advantage of tactical change to force his way back into the starting lineup.

Now, months on from that harrowing season debut, he is a fixture in Sinisa Mihajlovic’s resurgent Milan side. And the sounds greeting his selection are far more amiable.

Cerci’s first six months at San Siro were underwhelming, to say the least. His performances during the last half of Filippo Inzaghi’s one season in charge of Milan led to frustration for everyone involved.

The source of the frustration was primarily that Cerci simply did not resemble the player Milan fans were used to seeing. At Torino, he was a passionate playmaker, an incisive dribbler and a fairly frequent scorer all rolled into one, though he displayed none of that in his beginning to life in Milan.

Many heads were scratched as to what could possibly have gone wrong in his six months in Spain with Atletico Madrid for Cerci to devolve so quickly. He was a shadow of the player Milan fans thought they were getting.

Nonetheless, Cerci’s loan spell with the club was to last another season. That was the original agreement and, in spite of Inzaghi’s sacking, Mihajlovic’s appointment, the heavy investment in new players and the renewed sense of ambition within the club, the disappointing Cerci remained.

However, Mihajlovic supported Cerci from the very beginning; staunchly defending his player in the wake of those boos in Perugia, telling RAI (h/t Football Italia):

“I don’t understand how fans can whistle a Milan player. If you’re at the stadium, you have to cheer, whistle after the match if you’re not happy. It’s unacceptable, the players gave everything for the shirt.”

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Cerci was limited to appearing from the bench as Mihajlovic tried, with little success, to implement his favoured 4-3-1-2 system, but after a humiliating 4-0 defeat at home to Napoli, the coach altered his tactics.

Switching to a 4-3-3 for the away match with Torino, Mihajlovic decided to start Cerci on the right wing against his former club. Booed this time by his old home crowd, Cerci made little impact on the game, but nonetheless he had his first start of the season as Milan earned a valuable point.

Since then, Mihajlovic has persisted with the 4-3-3 and Cerci has continued on the right wing, appearing more confident and improving his performance with each passing game. His WhoScored.com ratings testify to this.

In Milan’s last three games—wins over Sassuolo, Chievo and Lazio—Cerci achieved a score of 6.88, 6.97 and 6.9 respectively. These are a marked improvement on his previous displays.

It’s yet to be seen if Cerci’s recent run is a flash in the pan or the start of something bigger, but there are three ways he can keep up this current vein of form and continue to aid Milan’s resurgence.

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1. Foster a positive relationship with Carlos Bacca

A big part of what makes Cerci so effective on the right wing is his connection with Bacca. The Colombian striker’s tendency to play on the shoulder of the last defender allows opportunities for Cerci to find him with penetrative through balls.

Cutting in onto his left foot, Cerci operates well as an inverted winger, and if he and Bacca can continue to develop their partnership, Milan will be scoring a lot more goals in future.

2. Believe in his technique

Cerci has cut a forlorn figure at times since moving to Milan, but in recent games, he has shown a passion and confidence that had not been witnessed since his time with Torino.

He appears a rekindled force with self-belief restored, and it’s imperative that he continues to fuel that fire with each match by taking on his opponents and trusting in his own technical abilities.

3. Keep working in defence

Another aspect of Cerci’s game that has impressed of late is his willingness to track back and get himself into good defensive positions. 

There were times during the 3-1 win over Lazio that he and his left-sided opposite, Giacomo Bonaventura, formed a midfield five by dropping deeper when out of possession, helping to stifle Lazio.

Even if his attacking play isn’t quite coming off, Cerci’s propensity to work hard without the ball at feet will see the fans view him more favourably.

The last few weeks have shown that Cerci still has a part to play in Sinisa Mihajlovic’s Milan revival. At 28, he is in his prime playing years, and if he continues to perform as he has been doing, those who jeered him previously will begin to cheer his name.