Milan sets sail tonight from San Siro, and they must not underestimate Cremonese, their opening-day opponent. Max Allegri’s first warning to his men is about patience; the second, valid for the whole season, is to maintain a “cruising speed, not too fast but steady, without ups and downs. Inside our group, balance must reign. Next year we must return to the Champions League, and we can only do it by working with desire and focusing on every detail.”
Allegri won’t have his best “wave rider,” the surfer Leao, but he is likely to hand the helm to Modric. A group, he says, “I’m very happy with technically, but above all morally. It’s a group that wants to become a team.”
Leadership
San Siro will be sold out. For the first time since his Rossoneri return, Allegri will be on the bench: he was suspended against Bari. “I hope I don’t cause too much damage,” he joked with a smile. Given the warm weather, the jacket might not be part of his outfit, so no risk of him tearing it off and throwing it in the air in frustration. That tends to happen when Max loses his cool, whereas yesterday he was calm and smiling. “I’m very excited and happy to be back on the bench after a year off, and to be doing it with Milan.”
The squad follows him, and tonight they’re expected to put his instructions into practice with patience and determination. Modric will be crucial in setting the tempo of play: “There’s no need to talk about Luka’s technical quality, his career speaks for itself. He plays the ball more with the outside of his foot than the inside, something very few do. On top of that, he’s an incredibly humble guy. Of course, he doesn’t have the physicality of ten years ago, but together we’ll manage him in the best way. He’ll be very useful off the pitch too. He’s been very available and physically he’s in great shape.” For this reason, he is ahead of Ricci in the pecking order.
Just twenty-five minutes in his Coppa Italia debut were enough for Luka to win over the Milan faithful, and now comes his real Serie A debut: a former Ballon d’Or winner, thirteen seasons at Real Madrid, a record six-time Champions League winner. With the support of the staff, Modric knows how to manage his energy. For now, Modric and Allegri remain Milan’s biggest guarantees, a far cry from last season’s turbulence. And San Siro’s second consecutive sellout (75,000 tonight) is proof of this renewed enthusiasm. The atmosphere greeting Allegri is also very different from his last Milan appearance at San Siro: January 6, 2014, 4,247 days ago, with fewer than 35,000 fans in the stands, a Kaká brace and a Cristante goal.
This year too, Allegri expects goals from midfield: “At least 15 between Fofana and Loftus-Cheek,” who will complete the midfield tonight.
Milan priorities
Today, Allegri resumes command of a team tasked with climbing rapidly from eighth place back into the top four that guarantees Champions League football, without ruling out the dream of the Scudetto. “There are at least eight teams competing for the top spots. As always, the favorite for the title is the reigning champion. We need to work well and reach March in the best possible condition.”
The transfer market has already helped, and may yet help more: “The club has done a good job with both departures and arrivals. Every day we’re in contact with management to define objectives and see what could happen. There are still days before the market closes, but right now the priority is the match against Cremonese.”
A strong start is necessary, taking advantage of the schedule (away to Lecce next, then back at San Siro against Bologna) before the massive showdown with Napoli. This week, dedicated solely to Serie A, must be maximized, before European competitions begin for others in September. Even without Leao’s bursts, Milan will look to Gimenez up front, supported by Pulisic’s quality.
Waiting for Boniface and Rafa’s return (“No new updates, he’s doing well, and hopefully we’ll have him for Lecce, otherwise after the break,” Max’s medical bulletin), the journey begins tonight. It will be a long voyage, but the Milanisti trust a captain with Allegri’s experience.
The objective: leave Italian shores and once again sail the great European seas.
Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper in today's print edition.
