GdS: Less passive, more combative – how Milan’s summer business shows mentality shift

Massimiliano Allegri and the AC Milan management hope that the summer signings will help bring a bit of fight back to the team.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, when a season ends in a sporting failure, the club is called upon to conduct an in-depth analysis to identify the causes and prevent a repeat. It’s necessary to dig deep, without limiting oneself to the superficial triviality of a striker not scoring or a goalkeeper error.

Studying the vast amount of available data also helps define a better strategy for the next transfer window: a new signing must be selected not only based on individual ability, but also on the potential benefits within the overall structure desired for the team.

In other words, Milan had to consider whether the goal is to build a more play-oriented team, more counter-attacking, more aggressive, more physical, and so on. In this context, Igli Tare and Allegri, among the various evaluations, identified a fact that prompted reflection.

Milan finished last season in third-last place for the number of fouls committed: 415, only Roma (406) and Parma (405) were ‘cleaner’ than the Rossoneri, with Verona (579), Empoli (570) and Udinese (543) on the podium of those with the most fouls.

Images: AC Milan

The need for combativeness

Looking at last season, however, it certainly offers some insight into one of the reasons for their struggles. How many times have we seen a Milan side that lacks conviction, lacks combativeness, almost accustomed to the pace of others, incapable of inspiration?

Of course, teams that try to play more effectively are unlikely to be known for their tenacity. But aggression – both collective and individual – has been an essential ingredient in football for years. The club has gone in this direction to acquire players to help that.

Ardon Jashari, Pervis Estupinan, Koni De Winter and Zachary Athekame are known for winning duels. It applies to the strikers pursued too: Rasmus Hojlund, while not a typical attacker, is naturally inclined to approach opposing defences aggressively, while Dusan Vlahovic is bigger physically.

This is a guideline that obviously doesn’t apply to everyone. Luka Modric is definitely a different type of player, but the squad already had excellent representatives of the category like Youssouf Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Strahinja Pavlovic. Milan want to get tougher, and the business shows it.