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Fabio Capello believes that having Massimiliano Allegri’s winning mentality is a big plus for AC Milan, but has doubts about the forward department.
Capello knows exactly what it takes to win at Milan. In his first five seasons as the head coach, the Italian won four Serie A titles with Milan, and he also won the 1993–94 Champions League by defeating Barcelona 4-0 in a historic final.
After a disastrous 2024-25 campaign across the board, the Rossoneri decided to go with a winner in Allegri, someone who has lifted 15 major trophies during his managerial career in Italian football. He is the only coach to win five consecutive Serie A and four consecutive Coppa Italia titles.
Certainties and doubts
Capello published a column in La Gazzetta dello Sport on the eve of the Serie A opener against Cremonese and he focused on his former club Milan above all.
“What begins tomorrow night at San Siro against Cremonese must be a season of redemption for Milan. And by redemption, when it comes to the Rossoneri, one thing can only be meant: the Scudetto,” he began.
“Even more so if a winner has arrived on the bench, a coach with clear ideas and who knows the environment and who has already won with the Rossoneri, like Allegri. Max will start with a significant advantage: without European competition, he and the team will be able to focus solely on Serie A, a starting position inevitably reminiscent of Conte’s Napoli a year ago, and we all know how that ended.
“Antonio accepted the Azzurri challenge, taking charge of a team coming off a disappointing tenth-place finish and leading them to the Scudetto. Conte was positioned to compete for the title: targeted signings and a completely new central axis, from Buongiorno to McTominay to Lukaku, his key striker.
“With Allegri, Milan should do the same, but their moves for a new striker seem to have followed a different logic, because after a lengthy negotiation with Hojlund, the Rossoneri have opted for Boniface, betting on a technically gifted striker, yes, but too often sidelined by physical problems.
“Furthermore, the Nigerian arriving from Bayer Leverkusen will need time to acclimatize in our Serie A, while the Dane from Manchester United would have been a ready-to-use striker, given his experience at Atalanta.
“When I read that the reasons behind the choice are primarily financial – the Hojlund deal could only be concluded with a loan with an obligation to buy, while Leverkusen will accept the option for Boniface – I wonder: shouldn’t a club like Milan, which has earned close to €200m from transfers this transfer window, invest in a centre-forward, the one who will be responsible for scoring the goals for the Scudetto?
“Taking a gamble on such an important role could be dangerous, especially since I’m convinced Leao’s adaptation to a central striker will be short-lived: Allegri would lose the best of the Portuguese, who is devastating when he starts wide on the left.
“Incidentally, on that side, Milan boasted one of the best pairings, if not the best, in all of Europe: when Rafa and Theo Hernandez were at their best, they had very few rivals.
“I’m curious to see how and how much Estupinan, signed from Brighton to replace the Frenchman who went to Saudi Arabia, will grow: in his debut against Bari in the Coppa Italia he showed good things with the ball at his feet, but I also noticed some difficulties in the defensive phase.
“Of course, Milan’s transfer window can’t be reduced to just the center forward. It’s worth noting that sporting director Tare has closed several interesting deals, especially in midfield. I’m obviously thinking of Modric, a world-class professor who can light up the Serie A scene even at forty, but also of Jashari and Ricci, talented youngsters with AC Milan credentials.
“In the middle of the field, however, I get the impression that balance is lacking: the quality is unquestionable, but who will be responsible for protecting the defence? Fofana alone, in my opinion, isn’t enough.
“They lack, for example, the muscle of a midfielder who works to win back balls. At the same time, the defence needs a centre-back capable of leading the entire defence – a Bremer-like profile, so to speak. It will be up to Allegri to find the right balance, a job at which Max has always been among the best, but it won’t be easy.
“His influence is certainly already evident: Milan are taking far fewer risks than in the recent past, there’s more order on the pitch, and certain players seem revitalized by the arrival of the new coach, Leao above all.
“It’s a shame Rafa won’t be on the pitch tomorrow to lead his teammates to their league debut. However, Pulisic and Loftus-Cheek will be there, two certainties: the American is already fit and capable of constantly creating danger in the opposition’s penalty area; the Englishman, if healthy, is a world-class player.
“At the centre of the attack will be Gimenez, a centre-forward who seems to have lost the magic touch of his early days with the Rossoneri: if Max can recover it and relaunch him, he’ll be well on his way. Will it be enough?”
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