In the horrible 2023 of the Devil, the coach’s responsibilities are evident between unsustainable game systems, zero defensive attention and new signings who still fail to make an impact after six months
Milan has denied itself. Where the word Milan can be replaced verbatim with Pioli. A sort of tactical, mental and athletic abjuration. As if over three years of work had been canceled in one month. Which, for the record, have in any case been tough because a handful of randomly hit matches are not enough – a rather popular thesis on the other side of the canals – to get your hands on the Champions League and the Scudetto. The creature is lost, the toy is broken and Pioli appears confused. Definitely confused.
Obviously, we can’t not start from yesterday evening and from the 3-5-2 formation which was the Rossoneri’s great tactical surprise in this derby. The problem, however, is that, from what has been clearly seen, it was not a move to shuffle the cards and make oneself less readable with the opponent, but a “self-protective” choice. That is the game system considered most suitable for limiting the opponents, cage them, and not to put them in. Density in the midfield, as the coach explained before the match, and a double striker who, due to the conditions in which Giroud and Origi find themselves, could be easily defused. In other words, the concept that passed to the team was “first: don’t take them”. And, as we well know – Pioli first and foremost – this is not a team capable, due to its characteristics and mentality, of managing a result. To follow a race plan where the order is to wait, trying to stem the damage.
How many goals in line-up
At the moment nothing is working, but there is one aspect in particular that takes sleep away from the coach: the defensive phase. A horror film that seems endless, with the sequel of the sequel of the sequel. It’s a decidedly boring plot, since the mistakes are often always the same. Defective – euphemism – in particular the management of set pieces, as demonstrated by Lautaro’s goal, but also the goals conceded in the Super Cup, or those with Roma (when all the troubles began). Milan concede goals on the counterattack when they lose their balance (hence Pioli’s “conservative” choice in the derby), but they also score in line-up defence. Just think of Berardi’s goal in Sassuolo’s 5-2 draw at San Siro: another corner, another total lack of attention from the defence. Situations that must be trained and tested throughout the week, and on which we obviously still need to work a lot. In the eight games of 2023, the Diavolo conceded 19 goals.
There is no longer an identity
The game, very simply, is no more. The causes? In part, there is a lack of key men – from Maignan to a playmaker capable of really playing the part –, the infirmary has been a thorn in the side since the season began, those returning from the World Cup arrived at Milanello with flat batteries, but none of this explains the total inconsistency of the current Milan. Regardless of the game system, the team is dull, cumbersome, slow in reasoning and fearful in insertions. The full-backs no longer push, the trocar has lost its imagination, even Tonali has been sucked into the maelstrom. Milan had a clear, brilliant game identity which, looking at the team now, seems to have never existed.
Terror with the ball at your feet
Once upon a time there was a team that defended by attacking. Milan won the Scudetto with prerogatives of courage and attitude, just like Italy won the European Championship. Now players can read the terror of having the ball at their feet. The consequence is logical: you don’t go further than the homework, you support your closest partner, you tend to play it backwards, you no longer try to jump the man. The coach’s job is also to manage the psyche of his players, which Pioli has done perfectly for three years. And now that he can no longer get into their heads, one wonders if the process can be reversed. The key to enter, of course, the technician has it because he has often used it in the past. Meanwhile, on the pitch there are frequent blatant quarrels between teammates: last night Calabria blatantly took it out on Tatarusanu after three minutes of play.
New faces with little involvement
The summer market has so far been a flop, the numbers speak for themselves. From the luxurious – in terms of expense – De Ketelaere to Thiaw, Vranckx, passing through the impalpable Origi. In many cases it was those directly involved who were not up to par, in others it is reasonable to think that Pioli could have made different rotations, trying to trust some newcomers. Thiaw, for example, certainly didn’t disfigure when he entered yesterday. And if, for some, Milan seems to be too heavy a shirt, among the tasks of a coach there is also that of making the most of the transfers from the transfer market. However, this is slippery ground, because the line between the manager’s unquestionable choices and a pool of players of a not excellent level is very thin.
February 6, 2023 (change February 6, 2023 | 12:30)
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