Rafael Leao should return in an AC Milan shirt this weekend, and Massimiliano Allegri has given his star some instructions.
The debate about Leao is a difficult one. In the past few years, every coach has tried something different, but last year was the most extreme case of it. Paulo Fonseca and Sergio Conceicao both wanted different versions of him, even themselves.
Leao was a team player, someone who tracked, pressed and defended. However, he was also the star. There was little clarity, and that is what caused it to be such a poor season in most people’s eyes. However, he still contributed 20 times, scoring 11 goals in Serie A and the Champions League.

Allegri’s version of Leao
For Allegri, clarity had arrived before the job was even his. Leao will be his striker, the focal point of Milan, the star. This version of the Portuguese is more mature, according to reports, and the coach has now given his own demands to him, per Carlo Pellegatti (as MilanNews relays).
“Sometimes you’re too generous, and so being generous doesn’t mean you’re being clear-headed. In fact, last year, they asked Gimenez to move and move back. I’ll tell you what Allegri will ask of Leao: ‘You have to try to get to the first ball carrier, and that’s fine, but I never want to see you move back to help the team. Stay there. You have to be clear-headed. I don’t want you to move back. You have to try to disrupt the opponent’s play, and that’s it.’ This, I assure you, is what Massimiliano Allegri will ask and has asked of Leao.”