A Sad Day for Milan: Crouching Peter, Hidden Harry

Yes, yours truly is a proud AC Milan fan. And I make no apologies about it: not all true American soccer/football fans automatically defer to the English Premier League just because it’s crammed down our throats via the major media giants Sky Sports and ESPN. Now let’s get on with it shall we…

AC Milan, the 1^st place Serie A (Italy’s top professional soccer league) team with tons of Champion’s League experience (and titles) should have easily taken down visiting Tottenham Hotspur, a 5^th place English team. In my mind, Milan was the superior team on paper, boasting more superstars (Robinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pato,  Allessandro Nesta, Clarence Seedorf, etc.), playing at home in the San Siro, and having what I thought (erroneously) a better tactical strategy having played in a more intelligent and tactical league in Italy. Let’s be honest folks, England is all about brute strength and speed and if there is an intelligent play made during an EPL game, particularly from English groomed talent,this American would be shocked. Long story short, Milan in my opinion should have had significantly more experience and intelligence to deal with the visiting Spurs easily….but I suppose that’s why they play the game.

The sad truth is this: Milan lost the game before it was started. And of course the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of none other than Massimiliano Allegri, who apparently was out-coached by Harry Redknapp, England’s finest manager (who I hope will one day coach England’s National Team). Let me repeat to those Sir Alex Ferguson worshipers, Harry is currently England’s finest tactician and deserves all the credit for destroying Allegri.

Let’s start with formations: Milan (4-3-1-2) with Ibra and Robinho supported by Seedorf as the central attacking midfielder (CAM); Spurs (4-4-1-1) with Van der Vaart supporting Peter Crouch upfront.  The tragedy occurred in Milans midfield, where Allegri chose to start two defensive midfielders (Gattuso/Flamini) and a converted centerback (Thiago Silva). A converted center back playing a central defensive midfield role, in a Champions League knock out stage!?! Are you kidding me Mr. Allegri????? This tactic may have been ok for Serie A matches, but certainly it’s not acceptable in the Champion’s League. Neither of those (2+1) midfielders is known for their passing abilities nor any offensive magic at all for that matter. Gattuso and Flamini are defensive bulldogs known for their toughness and ability to disrupt offensive attacks; oh and the occasional utter brutality on opposing players (and coaches I suppose). So it begs the question: how in the hell were Seedorf, Ibra, and Robinho supposed to get the ball when the 3 defensive midfielders had no ability to make decent passes in areas where the front 3 offensive players could make a play? How was Milan supposed to link the defense with the offense with this tactic???

So of course, Mr. Redknapp with his brilliant analysis (similar to yours truly), responded by dropping Van der Vaart deeper into midfield, essentially playing a 4-5-1, pressing the 3 Milan ‘midfielders’ into poor passes and back passes that were not creative, inventive, nor offensive. So naturally, Spurs dominated possession and consequently all offense in the first half. Ibra nor Robinho were involved, Seedorf was getting pressed into submission, and Silva looked like a deer in headlights.  I won’t even discuss Gattuso and Flamini’s antics yesterday, as they were downright DISGRACEFUL. Why did Milan’s midfielders think they could dribble out of the pressing Spurs defense…?

So what did Allegri do to solve the issue of the midfield being over-run during half-time break, when the score was 0-0 and the game still to be won?? He decides to drop Seedorf, and put on Pato. (Essentially doing NOTHING to address the midfield situation and switching Pato for Seedorf.)WRONG MOVE! Why not put Seedorf in the back three midfielders and take off Silva; at least he can make more intelligent passes and start offensive plays from a deep playmaker position similar to what Pirlo does…? Or why not drop Silva for the young German Merkel, again, a natural midfielder who could make more sense of the midfield quagmire?? So again, it was more of the same in the second half for Milan. Spurs clogged the midfield and played on the counter attack. And what a counter they orchestrated to score the all too valuable away goal. Aaron Lennon, England’s best attacking winger, best winger in North London, and better than the over-rated Theo Walcott, made a spectacular run, leaving Milan in his dust……once he broke Yepes’ ankles, it was nothing left to do but lay the pass off to Peter Crouch, who neatly put the ball in the back of the net….Spurs 1-0 over Milan…a win for Spurs, a win for Harry, a win for English football. Well done Spurs, you earned the world’s respect. Milan, you broke my heart. Allegri, you should be ashamed……


Written by,
Sabre Wolf