The new version of the "Fantastic Four" will be launched by Marvel in July, but at Milanello, someone is planning to do it sooner...
Thanks to the explosive transfer market moves by the club, especially in the last three or four days of the window, Sérgio Conceição now has a team with immense attacking potential, featuring four star players that many would love to see on the pitch together. This excitement grew particularly after the intriguing flashes seen on Wednesday night against Roma in the Coppa Italia.
On one side, the already present USMNT star Christian Pulisic and Portuguese winger Rafael Leao; on the other, the new arrivals Santiago Gimenez and João Félix (who scored on his debut against the Giallorossi, assisted by the Mexican striker).
In his first month and a half at Milan, coach Conceicao has encountered a team that has struggled with balance for years.
He has shown his frustration and hasn't held back criticism of the squad, but his determination to impose his vision of football as soon as possible remains firm.
At Porto, the system he preferred—alongside 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3—was primarily 4-4-2. He reiterated this on Wednesday night in his post-match interviews:
"We are working to be a more compact and aggressive team, not allowing opponents to get close to our goal. With the players that have arrived, we can work better to move in the direction I like. Playing with two strikers, for example… scoring goals and not conceding them."
The 4-4-2, also adaptable into a 4-2-4, evokes memories for Milan fans. The first thought naturally goes to the "4-2-Fantasia" coined by Adriano Galliani to highlight the lineup chosen by Leonardo on October 21, 2009, to win 3-2 at the Bernabéu against Real Madrid. Back then, however, the creative quartet did not play in a straight line but in a diamond shape: Seedorf as the deep-lying playmaker, Pato and Ronaldinho on the flanks, and Inzaghi, later replaced by Borriello, up front
More recently, Paulo Fonseca experimented with a similar approach, and on September 22, 2024, it produced excellent results. With a 4-2-4 formation, he surprised Inzaghi and won the derby against Inter 2-1, fielding Pulisic and Leão on the wings with Morata and Abraham in the center. Now, the challenge falls to Conceição: making all the stars coexist on the pitch, as relayed via Tuttosport in this morning's print edition.
The Portuguese coach has occasionally deployed four forwards, often when chasing a comeback in the second half. (Incidentally, Milan’s long half-time breaks have proven costly, with the club fined €10,000 for late returns in both the derby and Wednesday’s match against Roma.) However, as he himself has stated, his goal is to establish a Milan that always plays with two central strikers. Naturally, aside from Abraham's competition, the main candidates for those two spots are Gimenez (strongly desired by the club) and João Félix (suggested by the coach).
Then there is Pulisic, a reliable presence on the right who can also provide balance by dropping deeper alongside Fofana and Reijnders (who is anything but a defensive midfielder), and Leão, once again urged by the coach to give more.
Milan fans, however, will have to wait to see Milan's "Fantastic Four" in action. Tomorrow against Empoli, Conceição is likely to stick with the 4-4-2 but rotate the squad, as Milan will face Feyenoord in Rotterdam on Wednesday, February 12, for the first leg of the Champions League playoffs.
It is in Europe, somewhat surprisingly, that the decision to field all four stars could materialize, if only because Musah will be suspended against Feyenoord, and Loftus-Cheek remains sidelined. With only two natural midfielders available (as Bondo is ineligible for the Champions League), the new "4-2-Fantasia" might just become a reality in Rotterdam.
