AC Milan Are Showing Roma How to Successfully Build a Team

Next Monday night's meeting of AC Milan and Roma means more than most football matches. The two clubs are not traditional rivals, but they are in direct competition with each other as the leading challengers to Juventus' Serie A throne. And they are also opposites in a strategic sense.

There are many ways to build a football team, though there are two very obvious methods. One is to utilise the transfer market to buy and sell players, aiming to generate profit that can then be reinvested in the team-building process. In complete contrast to that, another way is to focus on internal improvements with an emphasis on youth development.

Roma are building their team through the first method, by playing the market. Milan, meanwhile, appear increasingly determined to prioritise the incorporation of their own young talent.

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Finances and league positions 

The last five years perhaps don't tell the full story of the two clubs' team building strategies in the sense that Milan's net spend has actually been higher than Roma's in this period—£50.98 million compared to £24.59 million.

To many, this would suggest that the Rossoneri have placed comparatively greater focus on the transfer market to enhance their squad. However, the reality is that they have simply been far more wasteful in their pursuit of players.

2015-16 was Milan's highest-spending season in recent memory, though the £17 million paid for Andrea Bertolacci shows no sign of working out. The central midfielder has struggled to fit in and has also been hampered by recurrent injury problems. Meanwhile, the £6.8 million signature of Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano was a misjudgement—the 29-year-old has managed just four goals since joining last summer.

Roma have managed to ensure a greater semblance of financial balance through the frequent sale of their finest talent. Over the last five years, the likes of Marquinhos, Erik Lamela, Mehdi Benatia, Gervinho and Miralem Pjanic have been sold for substantial transfer fees, financing the purchase of new players.

While this has created a need to constantly alter the starting lineup, it hasn't had a detrimental effect on the Giallorossi's league form; they have finished in Serie A's top three in each of the last three seasons. By contrast, Milan have failed to reach the top six during this time frame.

But with a change in approach, the Rossoneri could turn this around in the near future.

Roma's expendable youth

One of the more contentious aspects of Roma's approach to team building is their willingness to sell academy graduates. This has been a common theme throughout the last half-decade, with a number of young players leaving the club only to thrive elsewhere.

Pescara earned promotion to Italian football's top flight last season, and while they currently lie 18th in the table and are plainly fighting to survive, they are being aided by two players Roma allowed to leave.

Valerio Verre has proven himself to be a versatile, hard-working and technically astute midfielder since leaving the Giallorossi for Udinese in 2013. After a successful loan spell last term, he joined Pescara permanently and has been an important player in their battle against relegation. He has also won seven caps for Italy's under-21 side since making his debut in 2015.

Alongside him, Gianluca Caprari continues to prove Roma wrong to sell him. The 23-year-old forward has scored three goals and set up one this season, making him by far Pescara's most productive attacking outlet. He is only building on good form in Serie B over recent years, form that saw Inter Milan sign him over the summer before loaning him back to the Delfini.

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GOAL @GianlucaCaprari in match #PescaraNapoli  #ForzaInter #FCIM pic.twitter.com/3jbtW63HC8

— The Interos Family (@TheInteros) August 23, 2016"

Sassuolo are another club to benefit from Roma's dismissal of youth-team products. Indeed, two of their best players came through the Rome side's academy only to be shunted on. At 20 years old, Lorenzo Pellegrini is a dynamic, durable and forward-thinking central midfielder with real promise, while 23-year-old Matteo Politano is a technically refined, cultured winger with genuine creative flair.

The duo's performances with the Neroverdi have been so impressive that they have even caught the eye of Azzurri head coach Giampiero Ventura. "Sassuolo's youngsters? I've been to see them: Pellegrini, [Luca] Mazzitelli, Politano, they made a good impression on me," he told La Stampa (h/t Football Italia). "Can they become internationals? For me yes."

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Just to clarify, Mazzitelli also came through Roma's academy but left earlier this year. He turned 21 years of age in November.

There are other examples of the Giallorossi's profligacy when it comes to nurturing their own, from Federico Viviani at Bologna to the aforementioned Bertolacci, but perhaps the most striking one is 21-year-old central defender Alessio Romagnoli.

Widely regarded as one of the best young centre-backs of his generation, Romagnoli left for Milan last summer in a deal worth £21.25 million. The transfer fee was sizeable, but considering his age, promise and current ability, it may one day be looked upon as a steal.

Already the youngster has established himself as Milan's most important defender, as well as a ball player of exceptional capability. His left foot carries a level of quality often seen in attacking midfielders, and his ability to break the lines with a pass has seen him earn four caps for the Italy national team.

Roma's continuous neglect of what is evidently a productive youth academy has seen them strategically strengthen domestic rivals in order to temporarily boost the coffers. Financially, this may work in the short term, but such a lack of foresight may cost them on the pitch in the future.

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Milan's new direction

Milan have, like Roma, allowed many a promising young player to depart without getting a first-team opportunity. However, unlike Roma, this has been more the result of poor judgement than a clear strategic plan.

Players such as Manchester United's Matteo Darmian and in-form Atalanta striker Andrea Petagna have slipped through the Rossoneri net in the last five years, though the club has recently adopted a longer-term approach to building their team. And, thus far, it is paying dividends.

Milan's youthful emphasis began with then-coach Sinisa Mihajlovic's selection of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma ahead of Diego Lopez last term. Now 17 years old, the agile shot-stopper has a string of match-winning saves as well as two Italy caps to his name.

And the performances of 18-year-old midfield director Manuel Locatelli this season have only confirmed the more strategic attitude taken by the club. Milan have won six and drawn one of eight league fixtures since the tactically intelligent teenager took Riccardo Montolivo's place in the side.

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Persistence with 24-year-old Mattia De Sciglio is now paying off, with the flexible full-back now performing well on the left of a back four and even standing in as team captain during Montolivo's absence. On the other flank, 20-year-old Davide Calabria continues to show real promise.

Meanwhile, others such as 16-year-old third-choice goalkeeper Alessandro Plizzari, 18-year-old midfielders Niccolo Zanellato and Mattia El Hilali, and 18-year-old striker Patrick Cutrone have also had some sort of involvement either on the substitutes' bench or during pre-season.

In taking notice and actively looking to include their own academy graduates, Milan are making use of their own youth system. They are also avoiding a constant need to buy players in order to fill the squad. And on top of that, they are putting together a team that can grow together for the next decade and beyond.

The real positive is that this long-term approach has been without drawbacks this season.

As it stands, Milan are level on points with Roma going into their clash next Monday. This is perhaps the greatest validation of their strategic form of team building. Regardless of the result, they can be justifiably confident of competing for years to come.

All transfer figures provided by Transfermarkt.co.uk unless otherwise stated.