3 Christmas Wishes for AC Milan Fans

2016 has been a year of stoic endurance for AC Milan fans.

After watching their team miss out on European competition for a second successive season, they have had to sit through six months of inconsistency and underperformance since Sinisa Mihajlovic took charge in the summer. 

In spite of two consecutive wins to close out the year, Milanisti are in need of some Christmas cheer with their team lying sixth in Serie A, and there are several possibilities that would lighten the mood.

1. A new centre-back

Going into this season, Milan were in desperate need of defensive reinforcements. Their 50 goals against in 2014-15 was their worst rate of concession since Serie A was restructured to include 20 teams, the result of years of neglect and poor decision-making in the transfer market. 

With Philippe Mexes and Alex both beyond their best and well into their 30s, Cristian Zapata failing to establish himself and Rodrigo Ely lacking any top-flight experience, the feeling was that Milan required two centre-back additions. 

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However, only one addition was made as the hugely promising Alessio Romagnoli signed from Roma after a long, drawn-out pursuit. 

As the January transfer window approaches, Milan should have their eye on a long-term partner for Romagnoli. In October, Tuttosport and Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia) suggested one potential target to be Inter’s Andrea Ranocchia, but Milan should aim higher. 

The Rossoneri have kept just three clean sheets in 17 league games this season and, if they have serious ambitions of returning to the top of Italian football, they need to sort out their defence.

2. The safe return from injury of Mario Balotelli and Jeremy Menez

During Filippo Inzaghi’s one-year tenure as Milan head coach, Jeremy Menez was the club’s most productive player by quite a distance. His 16 goals last season were the one reliable source of attacking output.

Menez has been unavailable through injury since August, and the Frenchman’s exuberant dribbling and unpredictability was missed. That is until Mario Balotelli returned to Milan on loan from Liverpool. 

Wounded after a spell in English football that saw him chastised and victimised, the 25-year-old appeared determined to prove himself all over again in the formative stages of his second spell with the Rossoneri. 

Bad luck was to strike once again, however, as after a sparkling substitute appearance against Inter and a superb display against Udinese, he found himself joining Menez on the treatment table. 

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The injuries of both players have had a tangible effect on Mihajlovic’s front line. Without Balotelli and Menez, the under-pressure coach has had little to work with in terms of ingenuity, often relying on Giacomo Bonaventura to open up opposition defences. 

If the creative duo can get back to full fitness in early 2016, they can play an integral role in propelling Milan up the league table.

3. Greater tactical consistency

One thing that Milan fans didn’t expect to see so much of in the latter half of this year was tactical uncertainty. Inzaghi never seemed to fully settle on any one tactical system, but his successor has had the same difficulties.

Mihajlovic started the campaign with the steadfast ambition of instituting the 4-3-1-2 that he had used to elevate Sampdoria to seventh place in Serie A in 2014-15. However, after a humbling 4-0 loss at home to Napoli in October, he abandoned his systematic preference. 

Opting for a 4-3-3 brought greater stability to Milan from a defensive perspective, though the formation’s effectiveness decidedly petered out with a goalless draw at home to Atalanta that was followed up by a 1-0 defeat to Juventus. 

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At that point, Mihajlovic brought in a 4-4-2 shape and Milan have used the old-school formation ever since. The new tactic started promisingly, wielding a stunning 4-1 thrashing of the coach’s old employers Sampdoria, but successive draws against Carpi and Verona left the Serbian scratching his head. 

There’s nothing wrong with a hint of pragmatism and willingness to adapt the system to the prevailing circumstances, as Roberto Mancini’s Inter have proved, but if Milan are to perform consistently on the pitch they will need more consistent tactical direction from the coach.

Milan may have struggled throughout much of 2015, but they are only a few tweaks away from being a seriously improved force. 

One quality centre-back, a shorter injury list and greater tactical consistency can see the team edge closer towards the top of Serie A once again, and that is the ultimate Christmas wish for all Milanisti.