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AC Milan have found themselves within two points of top spot in the Serie A table, and there are reasons for everyone to dream.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall, Milan finished in eighth place last season, an unacceptable campaign which meant they missed out on European football. To climb the ladder, the club brought in experienced leaders, more accustomed to such heights than anyone else.
Milan also wanted a coach who knows the route to the top: and Massimiliano Allegri knows what it takes to win, having lifted the league title with the Rossoneri already. If he climbs another step, he’ll join Giovanni Trapattoni on seven Scudetti.
Modric’s mentality
It takes training to survive at such heights. Last season’s Milan team breathed easier at lower altitudes, free of responsibility and the burden of lofty ambitions. Today, it’s a different story.
Nobody has won more Champions League titles than Modric (6) and no Croatian player has earned more World Cup appearances than him (5) and all from the height of his 192 caps for his country.
In the mountains, he would be a champion mountaineer: Luka has seven league titles to his name, three won in Croatia with Dinamo Zagreb as a young talent on the international stage and another four in Madrid as a Ballon d’Or-winning champion.
Once they’re up there, great champions struggle to come down, and that’s what Modric demonstrated by accepting the Rossoneri’s offer and burdening himself with hard work and a sense of duty. He wants to stay at the top, and he wants to help Milan up.
A gift for Max
Adrien Rabiot also wants to add to an already impressive trophy cabinet: he’s won six league titles, five in France with PSG and one in Italy with Juventus.
Allegri knows Rabiot well, a player who began his personal climb at 18, with 25 appearances and two goals in his first French title win in Paris. In 2019, when he left Ligue 1 for Serie A, he was 24 and already had five national titles under his belt.
At Juventus, he added another with Maurizio Sarri on the bench. He wants a title to share with Allegri, the coach who understood and valued him more than anyone else, and subsequently badly wanted him with him at Milan.
A chance for redemption
Christopher Nkunku also contributed to Rabiot’s successes in France, playing a supporting role. He also won three domestic titles, having then found personal glory at RB Leipzig (Bundesliga top scorer), only to slip again with Chelsea.
He brought experience and little else to Milan. The Rossoneri represent an opportunity for redemption that has so far been under-exploited, as he remains stuck on just one goal and zero in the league.
The French colony stationed at Milanello also boasts Mike Maignan’s titles: one with Lille in 2021, breaking PSG’s dominance. The other, immediately after, at his first attempt for AC Milan.
Thanks to his saves, he led Milan to first place in the league table in May 2022. He also led the Serie A goalkeepers in terms of performance, thus earning him the title of best goalkeeper of the season.
Previous winners
Others also contributed to the 2021-22 title-winning season, and each had a different role. Matteo Gabbia started only six games, while Fikayo Tomori was the cornerstone of the defence. Alexis Saelemaekers was the surprise package, while Rafael Leao was the league MVP.
Each has an extra reason to try win again: Gabbia to finally be a key figure after rising to head the winning goal in the September 2024 derby; Tomori to regain international status, perhaps even rewarded by a call-up from England.
Saelemaekers to prove that his first title was no fluke and that loans to Bologna and Roma have provided a player worthy of AC Milan; Leao, of course, for the definitive confirmation that he is a champion.
Minor victories
The squad includes other winners: Strahinja Pavlovic triumphed in Austria with Salzburg and Santiago Gimenez in Holland with Feyenoord (15 goals in 32 appearances in the tournament he won). These victories are worthy of putting on a CV, but perhaps less significant than others.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has won two Premier League titles with Chelsea but made nine appearances without a goal. A decidedly modest contribution: he believes that he can give more to Milan.
Possible firsts
The youngsters Davide Bartesaghi, Koni De Winter, Zachary Athekame, Samuele Ricci, Ardon Jashari, David Odogu and the older Pervis Estupinan (who boasts a Europa League title with Villarreal) and Youssouf Fofana all want their first big joy.
Fun fact: Milan’s top scorer this season, the leader of the attack and the match-winner in the last derby, Pulisic, has never won a league title.
He won the Champions League with Chelsea, but hasn’t yet experienced the same impact he has in a league. Where, as Max teaches, you need to maintain a constant cruising speed. Pulisic seems like the perfect commander.
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