Do you remember AC Milan’s number 9 curse?
After Pippo Inzaghi retired, a series of forgettable players arrived, or became forgettable, even after some promising performances. Perhaps the curse was cast by Inzaghi himself, along with the negative aura he carried, mixed with goals and a certain taste for the paranormal.
Olivier Giroud was the one who dispelled the myth, more mental than real. Between 2021 and 2024, Milan fans could sleep easy, confident that the striker’s shirt was safe on the Frenchman’s shoulders. Once Giroud left for America, the curse returned. Last year, Luka Jovic wore the number 9 shirt, but it was as if no one had worn it. This year, no one is wearing it at all. Santiago Gimenez, who doesn’t have the shirt but certainly has the form, was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the past Milan season. Christopher Nkunku is not a classic number 9, but for now Allegri is playing him there, and he is proving to be a disappointment.
While speculating and waiting for Niclas Fullkrug to make an impact with the Rossoneri shirt, some fans have turned to distractions like Bitcoin Dice, a fast-paced crypto game with provably fair rolls.
As for head coach Allegri, the absence of a clear offensive reference may have been an opportunity to find new resources and expand creativity, but it remains a problem. That’s why, in recent hours, talk has emerged of a possible signing from the Premier League: Niclas Füllkrug. He is not a name that immediately suggests a major leap in quality, or even a long-term solution, but there is something about Füllkrug that cannot leave us indifferent, something tied more to his limits than his strengths.
A year and a half ago, Füllkrug decided a Champions League semi-final between Borussia Dortmund and PSG, and Marco D’Ottavi wrote: “He is a striker who forces a one-dimensional game because he has few nuances. He cannot drop back and play as a number 10 like Kane, he does not have Haaland’s progression or goal instinct, and he cannot stretch wide to receive on the flank.” He even scored in the final against Real Madrid, with a header, but VAR disallowed it for offside. Soon after, West Ham purchased him for €27 million.
His Premier League experience proved disappointing. After just three games, he suffered an Achilles tendon inflammation, sidelining him for two and a half months. Lopetegui reinstated him as a starter at the end of December 2024, but his condition was far from optimal: “It’s true he is not at his best, but he also needs minutes to reach the level we need,” the coach said.
Hope quickly faded. Around January, the German got injured again, and Lopetegui was sacked. Graham Potter replaced him, and Füllkrug even clashed with him publicly. A new managerial change in September, with Nuno Espirito Santo taking over at West Ham, did not resolve Füllkrug’s issues, and another injury limited his playing time.
The move to Milan represents a need for a fresh start. Füllkrug would arrive to perform tasks that current Milan forwards struggle to execute. This is not new for his career. In a modern football world favoring versatile players, Füllkrug has carved out space through his canonical, almost 20th-century interpretation of the striker role.
There is something reassuring about Füllkrug. He is big but not overtrained, missing a tooth and not caring. He has the air of someone who does not sweat the small stuff. Some of his goals, in particular, reconnect us with a classic, perhaps slightly conservative, idea of a number 9.
Milan have scored only two headers this season, a curious stat for the league’s second-best attack. Füllkrug could also fill this gap, his nickname is “the hole.” His heading ability was praised by one of the best-ever exponents of that skill: “If I had to name a player I see myself in, it’s Füllkrug,” Oliver Bierhoff said in an interview with Dario Saltari. “He’s like me: maybe not the most agile, but in the box, he’s very good at finding the right moment.”
Füllkrug’s timing matches his courage. For those who claim modern strikers lack the necessary fearlessness, watch his goal against Leipzig in December 2023.
Brandt’s corner is too soft for a near-post run, too close to the keeper for a far-post flick. Füllkrug chooses a solution reminiscent of a basketball third jump: the run is longer, but the principle is the same. The only way to challenge the defense is to attack the ball from behind.
He anticipates the keeper’s exit, fists extended, risking a punch to the face. Brandt’s raised arm suggests it was planned, but Füllkrug’s approach is precise and measured: the goal is to get from point A to point B, obstacles only partially matter. He curves his run slightly, like a crescent, to avoid offside, which also helps him take off, jump from inside the small box, and head the ball into the net.
Some past strikers, like Joe Jordan, needed constant physical contact to direct their headers. Füllkrug seems to follow the same principle. In his goal against Union Berlin in October 2023, he misjudges everything, not only the technical execution, but also the selection. The ball descends slowly and accurately; he has time to place it on the far post but chooses to power it. Off-balance in a tangle of defenders, he is lucky that keeper Rönnow only deflects the ball with his chest.
Leonardo Bonucci was also in the box, scoring his only goal during a forgettable stint in Germany; he falls in front of Füllkrug in this play.
For a true striker, the most important quality (beyond accuracy and timing) is predatory instinct. Füllkrug reacts instantly, and even if he loses balance after the header, he delays his fall to strike with a scissor-like motion.
When we see a striker score a tap-in, the feeling is relief. How often have you said or thought, “I could have scored that”? Rationally, we know it’s not simple. A tap-in may be easy technically, but it presupposes prior movements leading to a final touch. Much of what we ask of a striker is to give the illusion that a goal can be effortless, that their job is simply to be in the right place at the right time.
In 2022-23, Füllkrug began drawing attention. Breaking free from the positional hierarchy that often confines forwards, he scored 10 goals in the first 16 Bundesliga games with Werder Bremen. Hansi Flick called him up for the winter World Cup in Qatar, telling Stern magazine: “We see that Niclas has qualities that can enrich our game. Generally, a tall, athletic striker makes our attack more varied.” Füllkrug seems destined to arrive and fill the gaps in the team that welcomes him.
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Speaking of Fullkrug again, and against Borussia Mönchengladbach in October, he scored a significant brace. The first, more elegant, saw him attack space, beat the defender to the ball, and stretch to strike while falling, a specialty of true strikers. The second illustrates predatory instinct: Bensebaini attempts a reckless back-header, and Füllkrug seemingly strolls. He doesn’t rush, waits calmly, and when Ducksch challenges Friedrich, Füllkrug finds himself free a meter from goal; exactly where needed. The predictability is reassuring.
Few headers are as satisfying as diving ones. Against Bochum in 2022, Füllkrug extends every inch of his body to strike the ball with perfect timing and force. If I had to illustrate a manual on heading, I’d choose this goal, not Van Persie’s 2014 effort. It’s not spectacular, but executed with maximum precision.
We want certainty from a striker. Füllkrug is consistent even on an elite stage like the Champions League semi-final. He attacks space, controls, and shoots hard. No flair, no fancy dribbles. A bureaucratic vision of football that answers the question: what is the simplest way to score in a given situation?
What do we blame modern strikers for?
Superficiality, laziness, affectation. What do we want from number 9s? Ruthlessness. Against Spain at the 2022 World Cup, Sané threads a ball to Musiala, who fires at the keeper. Ten minutes later, Sané repeats the attempt. Musiala and Füllkrug nearly collide, yet the striker ends up in the same position. The keeper positions the same way, but the difference is how the striker strikes.
Füllkrug doesn’t even look at the goal, focusing on striking with maximum power. Close range and force leave Simon no time to react; the ball fires into the top corner.
Striker play demands instinct. We overuse “feel the goal,” as if metaphysical. It’s grounded, partly innate, refined over time.
Take the post he hit against Spain in the 2024 European Championship quarter-finals. He moves alongside Wirtz, careful not to go offside. As the cross comes, Füllkrug positions alongside Le Normand. Again, his normality shows: he physically reads the defender as a reference. Striking while falling, nothing awkward, a functional movement.
Style is irrelevant; efficiency is key. He hits the ball while falling, not looking at the ball or goal. He knows where it will go. The goal doesn’t move, as Batistuta said. Had it gone in, it would have been a memorable goal, potentially changing the quarter-final outcome, writes Ultimo Uomo.
In short, a Füllkrug signing should bring qualities rarely found in modern forwards. His interpretation of the role is so classical it has few equals, a number 9 in the most old-fashioned sense. His nickname, "the hole", honors his missing tooth, but he represents a larger absence: that of true finishing strikers.
Physically fit, Füllkrug can fit into Allegri’s system, taking on the hard work Leao, Pulisic, and Nkunku struggle with. He already scored one goal against Lecce with a wonderful header. Now, the fans are looking forward to many more goals soon.
His role could make him indispensable. He comes from a difficult period, one of the players Serie A must restore before maximizing, but in theory, his qualities seem tailor-made for Italian football and Milan in particular.
