As you all know, this summer has been crazy busy, both in soccer/football but also for me personally. While I haven’t been able to write much this summer, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been tracking what’s been going on and it’s been a big motivation of mine to make sure I comment more in the comment section because it’s been my only outlet.
But summer trips and Disney World and college tours are just about behind me now and the season is just a couple of weeks away. So, let’s dive into a few items before the season preview post next week because the season really is around the corner.
Current News
There’s been a few friendlies so far but we’ll get to those below. Here I want to talk about a few things around the team, namely the mercato and how things are shaping up around team composition.
As you all know, after last season concluded Rafael Leão gave a couple of interviews where he said he was ready for a new challenge and name dropped the EPL. You also surely know that no EPL teams have come knocking, or if they have we don’t know about it. A lot of people, including regulars here have said Leão no longer has it, while I have made it clear that I still think he does. Regardless of who’s right here, the bigger issue is should Milan have offloaded Leão last year or the year before?
The answer to that depends on really one central question and it’s one Milan appears to have never asked itself: since bringing on a new coach was already determined, were they going to bring in someone who played to Leão’s strengths or not? If the answer was yes, they should have kept him. If the answer was no, they should have moved him. As we all know, Leão stayed and all 26 coaches who have come through the last 2 seasons did not structure the team and philosophy around him, so we got a mismatch of characteristics and a decrease in production. Now that Milan wants to move him, and he seems willing to move, they can’t get what they want because the production hasn’t been there for the last 2 seasons and he’s no longer 21 years old.
The Leão situation is right on par for this ownership and management, namely that they’ve completely botched it and have their perpetual foot up their perpetual ass.
Speaking of player movement, Milan has really only had two summer signings, Gonçalo Ramos, an expensive one but for a desparate position (striker), and CB Mario Gila. Since there’s been so few players leaving, no other ones have really come. Luka Modrić for some reason decided to come back, which is great?…I kind of want to see Ardon Jashari though. I’ll run through what’s happening in the transfer section but what I want to say here is that we appear to be getting the same incompetent offseason since Gerry & Co. took over. No signs things have changed even with, on paper anyway, a decent hire in Rúben Amorim.
One last thing to say on this current news front is that Mike Maignan and Adrien Rabiot are now not expected to join the club until August 16th as opposed to August 12th. Not a huge difference there I suppose but the first game of the season is on August 23rd. So are both players leaving? Just not expected to play until Friday August 28th or even later? Really strange and something to keep an eye out for moving forward.
Friendlies
I’m never really excited for these things, this summer even less so. Sure, the time they’re on isn’t as ideal for me as when they’re here in the states, but really what it is that’s decreasing their already low-value for me the viewer is that they’re trying to play these friendlies when they’ve had like zero time to train with the World Cup taking up a big chunk of the summer. Throw in getting a new coach and I’m like, what exactly should I be expecting or looking for in these?
Needless to say, what we got was a bunch of meh. I generally am looking for small flashes of players finding their form and when there’s a new coach, glimpses of what the new coach is trying to implement. With so little time to train and prepare, all I’ve seen in the Milan-Celtic and Milan-Inter highlights (I didn’t watch these games) and the Milan-Cheslea game I watched were disjointed pressing and a team that looked like it had never played before in attack (because they really haven’t???). I didn’t really see any of the supposed preferred tactics Amorim is known for playing.
So far in 3 games, Milan have 3 goals but two of those came on a penalties and all 3 have come in the second half of their respective games. I’m not saying this will be how inept their offense will be all season, but usually carving through opponents in preseason friendlies is easier than this. To me this is more a lack of playing and practice time, which ok, sure, but the season starts in two weeks and the last thing Milan needs is a slow start out the gates. Something to watch for in the next friendly vs Manchester United on Saturday August 15th is can Milan get on the scoreboard early and through some actual build up.
Training News and Other News
As I alluded to above, there hasn’t been a ton of time for training, so what I’d rather spend time on here is Paolo Maldini and the FIGC and that whole debacle.
Maldini gave a pretty detailed interview with Corriere della Sera, recalling the events that led to him accepting the job and what ended up forcing him to resign after promises were broken by the FIGC. You can choose to believe him or not believe him (I will always believe Maldini), but these aren’t the words of pundits or arm chair experts, but the man himself.
The parts below are the ones that stuck out to me. Here’s some about when he was approached about the job:
“He asked me to become President of Club Italia. It wasn’t just a matter of relaunching the national team, we had to rebuild Italian football.”…
“I told the Lega about our project, which focused on two different paths. The refounding of Italian football takes time. Training new players and bringing in a new mentality is a long journey. It required a new movement involving all parts of the FIGC: Serie A, Serie B, Serie C, the amateurs, the coaches’ association, the players’ and referees’ associations.
“Then there was the other path, which had to travel much faster because we will have to play against Belgium, Turkey and France in the Nations League in less than two months’ time. We had to prepare for tomorrow while also doing well today, and start winning again.”
This is exactly right and what was needed but also realistic about how long things would take and how they could try to tackle immediate winning needs while also fundamentally changing Calcio.
Here’s what he said about Pep, what was discussed, and if he was a real possibility:
“He’s the coach who best embodies the technical and attacking part of the game. He had expressed the idea of wanting to coach a national team to a few friends of his. We went to visit him in Barcelona, we had lunch together, we talked for a whole day. He was very tempted. He came very close to accepting. He even started writing formations down on pieces of paper.”
Reports in Italy claimed that Guardiola wanted a salary of €20m per season to take over as head coach of the national team, which Maldini strongly denies: “Absolutely not. Money was never an issue. Pep told us clearly: Give me one euro less than what the previous coach took and I’m fine.”
So, why was Maldini unable to get Guardiola over the line, then?
“Because of exhaustion,” Maldini insists. “Guardiola is coming off the back of 10 gruelling years in the Premier League. He’s had back surgery, he wants to rest. But it was a very serious discussion, we studied the squads from the U17s upwards.
As I’ve mentioned a bunch of times on the site, Pep isn’t my guy but he’s undoubtedly one of the biggest coaches in the world. And there’s nothing wrong with kicking the tires, like he also did with Carlo Ancelotti.
Building on changing Calcio and why he landed on Andrea Pirlo:
“Our idea was linked to technique, to the attacking part of the game. We’d fallen behind on many things in Italy. We wanted to train youngsters on technique, one-on-ones, attacking mentality rather than just tactics. And we wanted a young coach who had a history in the national team. There were three names.”
So, who were those other names?
“Daniele De Rossi and Fabio Grosso,” Maldini revealed. “Three world champions. But, the President told us that according to the agreements that led to his election, with the support of all clubs apart from Lazio, we couldn’t touch any coaches from the Serie A teams.
“At the end of July, teams are already starting pre-season and it’s difficult to change paths. Malagò told us it couldn’t be done, so we went ahead with Pirlo.”
Again, spot on especially the part about training technique and not just tactics. I read elsewhere that Italy needed to play youngsters more and this would undoubtedly would’ve helped there too.
On the push back regarding landing on Pirlo for the job:
“We wanted a young coach who would embrace the project and someone who had a career at a high level. Whenever I talk to Pirlo, I think he’s very well prepared. If accompanied by a technical director and an advisor, he would have been the ideal coach.”…
“What CVs did the two previous World Cup winning coaches have? (Referring to Lionel Scaloni and Luis De La Fuente). If you think everything is linked to the coach that is on the bench, then you’re looking at things today, not for tomorrow. And we’re coming off the back of three missed qualifications.”
I could quote more but I encourage all of you to read the full article linked at the top of this section. It’s a wonderful read and my god what a missed opportunity.
The FIGC changing directions and not bringing on Maldini doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t turn it around…but they do appear to be doing the same thing and expecting a different result…which we all know is the definition of insanity. I know if I was a betting man, I’d be going all in on Paolo Maldini…
Summer Signings/Transfer Activity
Signings
– CF GONÇALO RAMOS (PSG, €74M + potential add-ons) – Signed until June 30, 2031 (€7M per year)
– CB MARIO GILA (Lazio, €27M + €3M in bonuses) – Signed until June 30, 2031 (€4.5M per year)
– CM LUKA MODRIĆ (Re-signed) – Signed until June 30, 2027 (€3.5M per year + add-ons)
– CB SANKHOUN DIAWARA (Troyes, €2M) – Signed until June 30, 2031 with option for 2032 (unknown per year)
– CF FRANCESCO CAMARDA (Lecce, €1M – Lecce triggered buy option for €3M, Milan exercised buy-back for €4M with net difference of €1M) – Signed until June 30, 2031 with option for 2032 (~€1M per year)
Departures
– RB ZACHARY ATHEKAME – Lyon, dry loan with no option to buy
– RB ÁLEX JIMÉNEZ – Bournemouth, €18.5M (previous loan option/obligation)
– CF ÁLVARO MORATA – Como, €12M (previous loan option/obligation)
– CM TOMASSO POBEGA – Bologna, €7M (previous loan option/obligation)
– CF LORENZO COLOMBO – Genoa, €7M (previous loan option/obligation)
– DM ISMAËL BENNACER – Contract terminated by mutual consent
Total Outgoing: €104M/possible €107M
Total Incoming: €44.5M
Total Overall: -€62.5M
Rumor Mill
Some names with a sentence or two on each. Listed in order by the completely objective and scientific method of my loosely informed opinion of most likely to arrive:
CM/CAM/RW BRAHIM DÍAZ – You don’t have to ask me twice about him arriving or about putting him at the top of my transfer wish list/rumor mill!
You all know I love the little guy and as many of you have pointed out, he is exactly the type of player who would thrive behind the striker in Rúben Amorim’s system. His rumored value is about €35M, which would be fine with me if Milan is dropping €40M for Nkunkus, but I think the realistic range for Milan to bring him back is probably between €27M-€30M.
Sign him Gerry and all is forgiven!…(ok, not really but it would make me very happy)
RB ZAKARIA EL OUAHDI – So, the rumored Zachary Athekame replacement is another Zachary…Zakaria El Ouahdi. As for the player and his characteristics, he’s on the smaller side at 5’7″ (1.75m), but is pacy and can score, having gotten 7 past the keeper last season with Genk. Based on what I read about Amorim and the characteristics he wants in his wingbacks, El Ouahdi definitely fits the bill…but so does Athekame and they just sent him out on loan. Hmmm.
For around €15M, not back breaking of a fee but again, an upgrade over Athekame? I’m skeptical.
DM LEANDRO PAREDES – The Argentinian has popped up here and there and with Fofana departure rumors picking up some steam, maybe this could be his replacement. A regular on the Argentinian National Team with 84 caps, the 32 year old would be a nice depth piece but not sure if more than that. Valued at €5M, not too high to take a flyer on a one-year deal but as a general concept, I like younger players to take these roles.
DM PIERRE-EMILE HØJBJERG – Amorim needs more DMs for his preferred 3-4-3 formation and the Danish national could be a good fit. At 6’2″ (1.87m), he looks like he could be more of a 1:1 replacement for Rabiot (who could very well be leaving too) than the rumored departure of Fofana, but he is better suited for the role in the double-pivot and therefore would be the Fofana replacement. The problem for me with this is, (1) he’s older like Paredes (Højbjerg is 31yrs old) and (2) costs 3X as much at €15M. No thanks.
Wrap Up
Not a lot in the rumor mill as Milan need to make some moves, but I shared what I thought was somewhat plausible. There’s been some left winger names thrown about as replacements for Leão but Amorim isn’t running a winger formation so not sure how much teeth those rumors have. Plus, as mentioned at the start, Leão would need to leave and that’s anything from certain.
Anyway, just wanted to discuss some things that have been on my mind and get somewhat caught up on the summer silly season. Let me know your thoughts below including any rumors you’re hearing/reading about and who you might like.
Forza Milan
gillis