AC Milan's Scudetto triumph is a team effort that was masterminded by Massimiliano Allegri
On May 7, 2011, Serie A giants AC Milan won their 18th Scudetto. The recent success came after seven years of suffering and underachievement on the domestic front. It was the 2003/04 season when Carlo Ancelotti guided the Rossoneri to their 17th Scudetto.
Few can argue that AC Milan deserved to win the Scudetto. Since November 2010, AC Milan had been the most consistent side in the Italian Serie A. In a season where the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roma-c31603, Juventus and last season’s champions Inter Milan faltered, AC Milan made winning a habit. Granted, there were the usual hiccups, such as the club’s failure to impress in this season’s UEFA Champions League, but in Italy, l Davioli had been a modicum of consistency.
Whatever the critics might say, the fact is that AC Milan were always a step ahead of the rest of the Scudetto contenders, almost throughout the campaign. Initially, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lazio-c39775 threatened to shift the balance of power in Serie A, when they led the standings for more than five weeks. Juventus also made a bold attempt to revive themselves after the Calciopoli scandal but could not maintain their ascendency.
Shrewd business in the transfer window
For seven years, the AC Milan faithful waited for their side to lift the Serie A title and last summer’s spending in the transfer market showed that the Rossoneri meant business this season. Winning the Scudetto was the primary objective set for Massimiliano Allegri’s first season with the San Siro giants. Why else would AC Milan spend so much money to buy http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-c38029 – a man who had been winning domestic titles for the past seven years? This was the Swede’s eighth consecutive title and fourth Scudetto in Italy.
Barcelona offloaded the former Ajax man and Milan took full advantage of the opportunity. In the early months of the campaign, ‘Ibracadebra’ was the man Milan heavily relied upon, and the Swede never disappointed. Milan traditionally struggle to break down resolutely compact defences. Just like for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 a few season ago, Ibrahimovic snatched victories even when the overall performance of AC Milan left the supporters disappointed.
This season, the former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 man has scored 14 goals and has 11 assists to his name. However, saying that only Ibra won AC Milan the title would be unfair on the team. It’s true that Zlatan missed many crucial games in the campaign. The Swede played non-stop football for months so fatigue naturally took a toll on him and his notoriously short temper reared its ugly head in the final furlong of the season; Ibra missed five games due to consecutive suspensions but the squad depth came to the rescue.
To top Ibra’s suspensions, AC Milan were simply robbed of their creativity due to injuries to midfield lynchpins, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Massimo-Ambrosini-c24579. The duo was absent for months – something that could well have led the club to a total collapse. However, Allegri still had a few tricks and aces up his sleeve.
At San Siro derby in March, it was http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Clarence-Seedorf-c9275, rolled back the years after the winter break, making sure his legendary status at the club remains intact for the years to come.
Singling out individuals misses the whole point of AC Milan’s Scudetto triumph. The team played as a unit and it is all down to manager Allegri, who ensured that everyone in the team contributed towards the club’s first domestic title since 2004.
Tags: