Last season, Milan scraped into the Champions League qualification places with a last-gasp victory at Siena on the final day of the season, requiring the sensational transfer of Mario Balotelli to ensure their resurgence lasted through until the end of the season, and fighting off Fiorentina for that highly coveted final Champions League place.
With rumors rife that Massimiliano Allegri would be sent packing, Adriano Galliani has instead moved to confirm that the former Cagliari tactician will remain as the manager for next season. However, it has been widely reported that there was a certain degree of dissatisfaction regarding the style of play that Allegri produced, and hence one of the conditions that he stays is that he alter the way he sets up the team.
Galliani will now be working meticulously to provide Allegri with some new players to bolster the squad and help propel Milan back into the Scudetto race. So how will Allegri choose to line the team up next season?
4-3-3
This is the formation that Milan used for much of last season, and barring any major signings this season in the attacking midfield, one can expect this to remain Allegri’s formation of choice. Christian Abiatti would remain in goal, while Ignazio Abate and Mattia De Sciglio would be the two attack minded full-backs, with Christian Zapata and Philippe Mexes completing the four-man defense.
The three-man midfield would comprise of the dual screen of Ricardo Montolivo and Nigel De Jong, while Ghanaian Kevin-Prince Boateng would provide the drive from midfield. While Italian football is obsessed with fielding a trequartista, Milan does not necessarily need to play one when there is the electric pace on the wings and wonderful distribution from deep. Boateng will bring lots of energy to be able to burst into the penalty area and score plenty of goals.
El Shaarawy suits this formation perfectly, dashing inside from the wing and linking up like a dream with Super Mario, while M’Baye Niang has raw pace and power and the ability to slice open the opposition’s defense with his directness. The 4-3-3 appears to suit Balotelli perfectly too, and may very well bring out the best from the maverick Italian striker.
4-3-1-2
This seems to be the most likely formation that will be used by Allegri if either of their transfer targets, CSKA Moscow’s Keisuke Honda or Argentinian Ricky Alvarez is brought in. The defense and midfield would virtually remain unchanged, while the new signing would slot into the trequartista role.
That would mean that the young Frenchman Niang would lose his starting berth, and El Shaarawy and Balotelli would start as the two central strikers in this system.
4-4-2 Diamond
In this formation, while the defense would remain unchanged, the midfield would undergo a major reshuffle to accommodate this formation. De Jong would be tasked with the role of the defensive shield in the system, while Montolivo would play as a regista, controlling and dictating the play from deep, a role which will undoubtedly bring the best out of his ability on the ball.
Kevin-Prince Boateng could move back into a more familiar role, as the Ghanaian struggled to cope with the creative responsibility placed on his shoulders as the team’s trequartista. Milan will look to acquire some talent through the transfer window with vice-president Adriano Galliani always good at producing quality at a reasonable price. Milan is short of creativity and somebody capable of playing in the hole, tucked in behind Balotelli and El Shaarawy would be an ideal acquisition.
The idea of a swap between Milan and Inter has been floated again, this time involving Antonio Nocerino and Ricky Alvarez. Alvarez led the team with some attractive displays and showed a great combination of technical skill to go with his burst of pace that bears some resemblance to Kaka in his pomp. CSKA attacker Keisuke Honda has also been linked, and could be the other option to fill in the trequartista role, especially following his excellent showing in the Confederations Cup.