As reported by Tuttosport in today’s edition, Strahinja Pavlovic has been reborn under Conceição.
The Serbian defender, who joined the Rossoneri in the summer for €18 million from Red Bull Salzburg, had struggled to establish the expected technical understanding with Paulo Fonseca. In fact, the coach—now at Lyon—had spoken about him in a press conference, saying:
"This is a different reality for him because the style of play here is different from what he was used to at his previous club. I think in the first few matches, he did some good things and others that he needs to improve on defensively. We’ve been working on it, and I believe he has grown. Against Udinese, he was more balanced. Pavlovic is a physical player; he always wants to step in and anticipate. We need him to become more balanced, and I think on Saturday he did better than in previous matches. However, he still needs to grow. He didn’t have a flawless game, even though he played well overall. There are things he must improve on."
These words nearly condemned Pavlovic, who ended up on the fringes of Fonseca’s selections, as the coach’s positional play style did not align well with the defender’s characteristics. Pavlovic—the only left-footed center-back in the squad—was more accustomed to man-marking, with the ability to cover large spaces behind him, using his speed and physical strength in duels.
Under Sergio Conceição, however, Pavlovic has earned a starting spot, and it is now difficult to imagine him being left out of the starting lineup. Even if he were to be benched tonight, it would only be for rest and not due to a shift in hierarchy. Against Feyenoord, he was one of the few players to salvage his personal performance and is becoming a key figure in Milan’s back four.
It is a technical resurgence that few believed in—but only those unfamiliar with Pavlovic’s qualities made hasty judgments. Not to mention that this transformation took place during the intense month of January, when offers from Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray were evaluated by the club. But “the animal,” as Ibrahimovic called him during his introduction press conference, chose to stay at Milan.
