Summer friendlies give us a first look at our changing
squad, our first impressions. Luckily for our team, our squad will get a second
chance to make a first impression… and a third, and a fourth, and so on
throughout the summer friendly
schedule. But having played three incredibly meaningless friendlies so
far, winning two and losing one, I thought I’d share some random thoughts about some of the players we’ve
seen so far. So I give to you my first impressions:
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| Sitting on an empty bench... symbolic of this Milan team? Or symbolic of his amazing leadership? |
The Mister: Mihajlovic: I'm quite impressed so far. After his press conference, where he showed himself to be very intelligent, his coaching seems to follow suit. He has made excellent decisions with the lineups to give opportunities for individuals and pairings, and likewise excellent substitutions with excellent timing. Plus, he basically called the team pussies by saying they were not used to this intense of training. Bonus points for that. Working the team hard, providing much needed discipline, and then buying them all dinner, he really is a class act. I really trust him to come up with a starting eleven that could be dangerous. Except for his fascination with Cerci. No excuse for that.
Best player so far:
Niang. He is a warrior. Never gives up, playing these friendlies like they
are tournament finals. Had some nice linkups with a few players the first two
matches, struggled a little more to get any service vs. Lyon. But of course,
Luiz Adriano and Bacca have only just arrived in Milano, so paired with either
of them, he might become unstoppable. Or he may be loaned back to Genoa,
depending on which rumors you believe. That would certainly be the most stupid thing Milan have done in this mercato, yes, even ahead of re-signing Mexes. Keep him.
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| Worth a fortune |
Young and exciting:
While it is normal to give youth some time in these friendlies, I’m kind of
hopeful that Mihajlovic is looking to give some of these younglings some actual
playing time come the start of the season. And several are giving him good
reason, too:
Suso: I’d heard
Mihajlovic likes him, and in the first two games, I really saw why. Not quite
as dominant against a professional team in Lyon, but really seems to want a
starting spot and is willing to work for it.
Mauri: Strong,
tough, and quick, apparently no one has told him that Milan’s midfield was formerly made
of molasses and couldn’t hold the ball if they tried. Love his determination
and work ethic thus far, hope to see plenty of him.
Ely: I’d heard he
was good, but he has really impressed me, especially in the Lyon match. With
our dismal selection of center backs right now, he could very easily become a
starter. And how refreshing that would be, too.
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| Loads of talent |
Calabria: The
only youth player to be promoted to the first team this year, and with good
reason. Abate’s injury was his opportunity, and he seized it vs. Lyon, being
named man of the match. Works hard, has plenty of speed, and seems to really
read the game well. Not afraid of the opposition, he took a beating and kept on
running. Very exciting, indeed.
Mastour: was not
called up for Lyon, but played quite well against Legnano, and scored a goal,
too. After being told by Berlusconi that he was too young for the first team,
he seems hell bent on either proving otherwise or impressing enough to get out
of Milan. Hoping it's the former.
Poli: Not sure if
he still counts as young, but has scored a goal in each friendly thus far and
was close to scoring a second vs. Lyon. I thought the new players would send him
to the bench, but under Mihajlovic’ watchful eye, he could just be an important
starter.
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| His hard work has paid off with a goal in every game |
Old and washed up:
For as many players have impressed, there have been at least as many who have
been underwhelming. Or downright bad. If they are not listed above or below,
they have played well enough, but not particularly well enough to mention.
Alex: While he
reads the game quite well, he cannot respond in any kind of real time to help
out or make use of his game reading
skills. Did get a goal vs. Legnano, but painfully slow to watch and needs to be
benched or loaned or sold.
Zaccardo: He
should spend less time basking in the glow of his World Cup medal and more time
on Twitter. I had forgotten how horrifyingly terrible he can be until the Lyon match.
And last year, he actually played well in a few games. But no, he is washed up.
#GetOut
Mexes: as usual,
went between being Lopez’ BFF with some acceptable clearances to trying to
murder Lyon players to assisting Zaccardo on the second Lyon goal. Maybe he has
changed his attitude, but nothing else has. This one’s on you, Silvio.
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| One goal against Legnano does not make up for a constant lack of pace |
Bertolacci: How
much did we pay for this guy? I’m trying to be patient, hoping we see something
great from him, but so far I have not been impressed at all.
Montolivo: same
weasel who sullies the captain’s armband and contributes next to nothing on the
pitch, it was particularly thrilling to see him benched for 70 minutes against Lyon, his debut after returning from NT duty,
let’s hope he cries and calls his agent and gets the hell out of here before
August kickoff.
Cerci: I don’t
know what kind of spell he put on Mihajlovic, but I hope it wears off before
the transfer market closes. Just pitiful in front of the net, I think he’s
missed sitters in all three games so far. But hey, at least Poli capitalized on
his incompetence today.
Matri: What would
€11m buy that is better than Matri? €11m worth of toilet paper would be way more useful than him. You could
stock the bathrooms of a third world country for the duration of Matri’s
contract and still see less crap for your money. Seriously, get out. Do the
right thing and know where you don’t belong.
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| I don't even think his wife can defend his blunders, he's just been terrible |
Okay, I’m sure I was quite harsh given that we’ve only seen
three matches, and useless friendlies at that. But to be fair, most of the
disappointments have been disappointing us for much longer than three short
games. And perhaps those who I heaped praise on will prove to disappoint in the end,
we’ll see. Players are still returning, some have just returned, and it’s an
all new coach, all new system, and so many new teammates to adjust to, as well.
Only time and 38 competitive matches will tell, but after all, these are just
first impressions.
This post inspired by the music of
AC/DC’s “Back in Black”
Our next match is
The ICC Tournament
AC Milan vs. Inter
Saturday, July 25 • 20:00 CST (8:00am EDT)
Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center, Shenzhen