Huntelaar and Pato in, Pirlo Up, and Seedorf Out for United

For the upcoming game against Manchester United, Leonardo has a couple of important decisions to make. Firstly, he has to decide who is to play up front in the central striking role, should it be Borriello or Huntelaar? Alongside whomever he chooses in this role, Leo needs to decide who will play in the wide right attacking role, Beckham or Pato?

But the most important decision that Leo has to make is who will play in midfield for it is in midfield that the game will be either won or lost. In making this decision, Leo has really only two options. Does he choose the experienced Seedorf to play in the attacking midfield role in front of Pirlo and Ambrosini or does he drop Seedorf in favour of a more combative midfield in the shape of Flamini or Gattuso.

The answer to this last and most important question is clear, Seedorf should be dropped and either Gattuso or Flamini should come in his place to help Ambrosini with defensive duties to allow Pirlo to play as the attacking midfielder. Why?

First of all, Seedorf’s form has been dreadful of late. His performances against Livorno and Bologna were not at all convincing and it came as little surprise that when he was excluded from the lineup against Udinese, Milan improved and got back to winning ways.

Second, and most important of all however, is that with Seedorf and Pirlo in a midfield alongside Ambrosini, the midfield lacks balance. For Pirlo is not an able defensive player, yet when Seedorf is included in the squad, Pirlo is forced to play deeper, rendering him less effective for, as we all know, Pirlo’s main strengths are his offensive abilities.

In addition, with Pirlo playing deeper in this role, Ambrosini, who is a true defensive midfielder, is left with a greater workload which sometimes is too much to ask of the captain. In addition, if Ambrosini has an off day, then there really is no one left to win the battles in midfield and when this happens there is little chance.

The matches against Palermo and Zurich in December were evidence of how much we struggle with such a system and when Ambrosini has an off day.

Furthermore, when Seedorf is included in the midfield diamond he contributes nothing defensively. So it is easily to see that a midfield comprised of Ambrosini, Pirlo and Seedorf severely lacks defensive capabilities. To go further, we must consider that Ronaldinho and whoever plays in the right attacking role, whether it be Pato or Beckham, contribute very little to defense.

With all things considered, it becomes very clear that in midfield we need at least two battlers who can win the ball. Because, after all, it is in midfield where most games are won or lost and if you can not win possession in midfield, then a team stands little chance of winning the game.

Seedorf should be dropped. There is no reason for him to stay in the side and there is every reason for him to sit on the bench. In Seedorf’s absence, Pirlo has been in fine form, and this is no coincidence. Pirlo is not at his best when Seedorf is in the team and against United we need Pirlo at his best.

Moving on to the next most important which is who should start up front, Huntelaar or Borriello? The answer is Huntelaar.

Sure, Borriello has had a fine season and has even convinced, to an extent, some of his biggest critics including myself. However, Borriello lacks quality. Though he may be stronger on the ball and his workrate is far superior to that of Huntelaar, the most important thing for a striker is to score goals and Huntelaar has superior ability in this regard.

Huntelaar may not do much else other than try to score but for a central striker I fail to see how this is a problem. The match against Udinese was a perfect example of this. Huntelaar was nowhere to be seen in large parts of the game yet he scored two goals still and this is exactly what a strikers responsibility is. Borriello just does not have the killer instinct that Huntelaar possesses.

In addition, Borriello has no European pedigree with little experience playing in Europe’s premier competition. As for Huntelaar, he has experience in Europe along with a relatively strong record of 19 goals in 32 European appearances.

Moving on to the final question which is you should start as our right sided attacker, Beckham or Pato?. The answer is Pato. 

At home against United we need to win. Pato presents a greater danger to United. With him, United’s left back will be forced to play deeper and this will help to put United on the back foot. We need to score goals in this first tie and Pato has the ability to do this. In fact, he has a prodigal talent to do so.

Moreover, with Pato in the side there are more options for the creative talents of Ronaldinho and Pirlo. Ronaldinho in particular shares a great understanding with his younger compatriot as the match against Udinese showed once again. The Brazilian attacking duo together pose a great threat and this needs to be taken advantage of against United.

Another reason why Pato should be selected instead of Beckham is because Beckham was atrociously poor the other day against Udinese. And though the Englishman will be much more motivated playing against his former club than he was against Udinese perhaps, this really is not enough of a reason to tip the balance in favour of Beckham.

Pato will be highly motivated also being the young, hungry and immensely talented player that he is. But, Beckham should get some playing time at least and should be one of the first ones Leo should call on if needed.

For Beckham’s ability at set pieces is undoubted along with his crossing ability. These such skills will come to good use if we need some extra creativity in the match.

It will be interesting to see what decisions Leo does make. This match is surely the biggest test of his short managerial career and the decisions he makes on Tuesday night and the effect they have may just decide whether Milan keep him come the end of the season.

For as we all know, the Champions League is what is most important to Milan and with this we need a manager capable of navigating Milan through matches like these. We wait with anticipation.