Despite Huge Relief, Questions Persist for Milan and Allegri

Win...Montolivo embraces Mexes as Zapata looks on exultingly

Controversy, recriminations, and managerial departures--the Serie A season ended in typical fashion in Italy.

Except, maybe, for Milan, who found themselves in an unusual place of having to fight for a Champions League spot.

As the minutes wound down in the Stadio Franchi carapace--more hollow than usual because of the almost completely empty seats--Milan looked set for a dispiriting defeat to a Siena team that was already relegated.  The last Champions Leage spot was increasingly looking purple, as Fiorentina were busy carving up  Pescara.  They were cruising at 5-1; Milan sinking under the weight of one solitary strike delivered by Claudio Terzi in the first half, when the Milan defence froze to allow him to glide in and score a simple header.

Eighty-four minutes had gone, and Adriano Galliani's jowls hadn't even twitched once in the stands.  He sat there more lugubrious than Vicente Del Bosque, flanked by the ubiquitous pair of Ariedo Braida and his son.

To put it mildly, it didn't look good. CaptainMassimo Ambrosini had been sent off, Milan had come close thrice--once with Mario Balotelli crashing a header off the crossbar--but hadn't scored, and the midfield looked like they were allergic to passing.

Then, the intervention in the 83rd minute. For the rest of the Serie A, especially Fiorentina, there was nothing divine about it--it was a secular intervention of wickedness.  Referee Mauro Bergonzi saw a forceful enough tug on Balotelli and awarded a penalty. With Balotelli, penalties are a foregone conclusion (he hasn't missed one for Milan or in his career), and it was 1-1 with about ten minutes left (with injury time).  Three minutes later, Milan floated in a free-kick, and Philippe Mexes prodded it against the goalkeeper, and prodded again past him.  It was 2-1.  There was delirium in the Milan camp, as Galliani finally celebrated with the usual abandon.

The penalty, of course, was velvet-soft.  As the thin crowd chanted "ladri, ladri" ("thieves, thieves") in the stadium, you could sense what was to come.  Fiorentina defender Manuel Pasqual frankly said that Milan were "gifted" the penalty, while Gonzalo Rodriguez affirmed his simmering outrage by not affirming it: "if I say what I am thinking, I will not play in Italy again."

Milan were more than fortunate to scrape through, and Fiorentina have every right to feel aggrieved about yesterday.  But taken in the context of the season, Milan just did about enough to qualify for the Champions League, even if they made it as nerve-shredding as possible.

The credit and some of the discredit for that goes to coach Massimiliano Allegri.  Those who clamour for his dismissal--including the less-than-cerebral owner Silvio Berlusconi--would be advised to think how far he has brought a team that saw the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva amongst a host of other players who either retired or left Milan after several years.

I think Allegri should stay, but he has to improve the team in one chief area: how they approach crunch games.

Even in Allegri's championship-winning season of 2010-11, Milan pandered to the neutral's taste for drama far more than they needed to.  They let Inter get perilously close to them, before winning in a direct encounter, a game that saw them surge four points ahead at a decisive stage of the season.

Last season, Milan let Juventus surpass them right near the end, capitulating to a 1-1 draw to Fiorentina when a win was their only option.  And, of course, this season, let's not forget Milan redeemed themselves after an understandably tumultuous start, and they were, at one point, a mere point away from Napoli in second, and quite comfortable in front of Fiorentina.  That they needed a dubious penalty, and Mexes's toe-poke to get to the preliminaries of the Champions League hints at a lack of mettle when it was required most.

Notwithstanding all of that, Allegri still remains the right man for the job, even if he needs to fine-tune his approach.  The fans and players are all behind him, as was in ample evidence in their public show of support in recent weeks.  Berlusconi is capricious and self-obsessed, but even he should be dissuaded from the madness of appointing someone like Clarence Seedorf (as is being reported), who has no coaching experience and who spent not an insignificant amount of his latter matches at Milan peevishly sleep-walking in midfield, as coach!

But at the time of writing, it is still not clear where Allegri will be next season, with a meeting on Wednesday to decide his fate.  As I have said, I want him to, and I believe he will, stay, but he will also want some guarantees in terms of the transfer market.

Milan desperately need one who is able to deputize for, or even play with, Riccardo Montolivo, one current Rossonero who can actually distribute in midfield.  And in defence, though Ignazio Abate has been enterprising as ever on the right flank, Milan need someone who can actually cross.  Further, as Galliani has indicated, Milan's need for a central defender is also urgent, someone who can add to the fairly impregnable duo of Mexes and Cristian Zapata.

Lots of questions ahead during the summer, and it will be intriguing to see how, or if, Milan honour their commitment to bring in youth and important players for Milan.  There has been lots of talk of a fiscal revolution that allows for purchases, and no more painful sacrifices of players being sold--let's see how genuine it is.

The Young and Bold: Milan's Youth on The Verge of Making History Against Barcelona

The way forward: Milan's Stephan El Sharaawy

By now, you must know the feeling.  Deportivo, Eindhoven and Istanbul have made sure you do.  They have inscribed, indelibly, trauma on your psychology.  They have turned your head, and things on their heads.  Two-goal leads make you nervous; a cagey deadlock can be more assuring.  It's almost as if you would prefer things to be be precarious going into a second leg of a Champions League tie.

You listen to the commentators and experts talk about how Italian teams have been divinely--or naturally, depending on your preference--selected for survival, for getting a result, and for protecting it.  A 2-0 lead going into the Camp Nou should be a commanding position, and it can be, and maybe it is.  But that feeling still gnaws.

Tomorrow, Milan will find themselves on the verge of a Champions League quarter-final berth at the expense of a team that believes they were divinely or naturally selected-- for keeping the ball and winning, something they consider their birthright, or a biological imperative.

But three weeks ago Milan did the unthinkable for many.  They comprehensively beat that team.  Sure, teams have beaten Barcelona--Chelsea last season, for example--but the way Milan quelled the Catalonians was notable for its ease of manner.  Barcelona had one shot on goal, and it was hopeful.  Milan shunted Barcelona into bewilderment with a tactical setup that predicated itself on pressing constantly, and taking chances when they came.  They came, and Milan took them twice, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari scoring them, with Riccardo Montolivo and Stephan El Sharaawy creating them; this year's Milan, which is a team in transition, did what a team of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva couldn't last year.

Tomorrow's game will see a similar strategy of Milan trying to contain and capitalize, but it will be more difficult against a Barcelona team at home and now positively seething.  In the last three weeks, they have been vanquished by Real Madrid and Milan--twice by the former.

"It will be a heated environment, with a 100,000 people," said Milan CEO Adriano Galliani, about to depart for Spain from Milan's Malpensa airport.  "We must not think we're 2-0 ahead."

Galliani has cheerfully admitted in the past that he has often left his seat when things have gotten too tense for Milan.  Those with a tenacious memory will remember Galliani chose to flee in the final minutes of Milan against Liverpool in the Champions League Final of 2007.  It was too much for him to contemplate that Liverpool could somehow do what they did in Istanbul, or what PSV almost did days before that Final, or what Deportivo did a year earlier.

It didn't turn out that way that night in Athens as Milan held on at the end for a 2-1 win.  Yet, even sitting on a 2-0 lead, in the 88th minute, you feared, and when Dirk Kuyt scored in the 89th, you feared the worst.  The comebacks of Deportivo and Liverpool, in particular (despite the panic, Milan still got past PSV in 2005), desecrated Milan's interiority during those years.  It turned them inside out, and it showed teams that they were vulnerable.

After that Final in Istanbul, Carlo Ancelotti, pallid from nerves and nicotine, lamented that "six minutes of madness" had cost Milan the Final against Liverpool in Istanbul.  There was, then, something irrational about what had happened: the Liverpudlian goblins had hoodwinked Milan out of what they believed was their triumphant destiny.

The looming question is, do these destinies subsume subsequent ones?  That is, if a preceding group or generation of players failed, will successive ones too simply because they play for the same club? Is there a narrative, a guiding script, a sense of fatefulness that grips players and proceedings?

Do not England just fail at penalties because they are terrible at them?  Did not Spain underachieve for all those years merely because they didn't have a generation of players so comprehensively talented as the current one?  And did not Inter finally achieve in Europe with the right mentality under Jose Mourinho?

Admittedly, it is wrong to assume that the weight of history isn't onerous; that is to say, at some level England do indeed feel  the expectation to succeed on penalties quite acutely, but they need not be resigned to their demise.

Undaunted: Massimiliano Allegri

Why should Milan disintegrate like they did in Istanbul or the Riazor?  After all, what does Stephan El Sharaawy, a 20-year-old rising star, have in common with Andriy Shevchenko, other than Milan, the linchpin of success over the years? El Sharaawy's time at Milan will be determined by the peculiarly modern pressures of a perpetually changing football world, through which the youngster will have to negotiate his own way.

Captain Massimo Ambrosini may be the sole survivor in the starting XI from that surrender in Istanbul, but, more crucially, and decisively, the club's hierarchy, its philosophy of winning still endures.  Milan has briskly remodeled itself for relevance in a football world about to change profoundly--so we're told--with Financial Fair Play's introduction.

This young team--indecently young, and not just by Milan's standards--has a chance to inaugurate something, an era.  It was only last year that Milan came shockingly close to squandering a 4-0 first-leg lead against Arsenal, a brilliant save from Christian Abbiati denying a potentially crippling Robin van Persie goal in the return.  However, even that team contained many players who have departed--no fewer than thirteen players left Milan this past summer.

But critically, one man stayed.  Coach Massimiliano Allegri, the deceptively diffident operator, has transformed this group into a winning one after many labeled it a ragtag bunch not worthy of the Rossoneri shirt.  If Milan go through tomorrow, he will be supremely vindicated--and not just from a tactical point of view.   Under him, Milan have that which all managers privilege: the right mentality.  It is this mentality that has seen Milan surge up the standings from near the relegation zone into third.

The vista of Milan's future for Allegri is his prime motivation: his chance to continue Milan's success, but in his own way, one that plans to nurture a group of world-class players, rather than purchase them, and one that isn't irretrievably linked to the past.

When asked about Milan's near-capitulation to Arsenal last season, Allegri answered bravely: "I am not thinking about that match. Tomorrow we will have two players born in 1992 [El Sharaawy and Mattia De Sciglio] and one in 1994 [M'baye Niang].  If we progress, it will be a historic night for this young team."

Here's hoping.  Forza Milan!

The Scudetto That Took Seven Long Years

Campioni d'Italia--Milan win their eighteenth Scudetto

Finally,  Milan's seven year wait for the Scudetto ends with an anti-climactic, but immensely welcomed 0-0 draw against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

For not an insignificant part of the last seven years, Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has accommodated the Rossoneri's domestic shortcomings by changing the subject.  While journalists would be trying to make sense of another underwhelming performance in Serie A, Galliani would be talking about one of those positive mid-week European performances.  Milan fans remember them because there were so many of them, and for a long time.

For the three seasons following their last Scudetto triumph, Galliani's mantra of 'The Champions League is our natural habitat' had currency: Milan reached the final in 2005 (in which an epic collapse prevented them from winning), played the semi-final in 2006, and won in 2007.  The record was staggering and allowed Milan to scorn the Scudetto, an attitude encapsulated in Massimo Ambrosini's less than ambassadorial moment moment atop the 2007 Champions League celebration bus.

Of course, Milan's contempt for the Scudetto challenge during the 2006-07 season was also determined by their points penalty for their involvement in Calciopoli, but the sentiment that Milan use the Champions League as an excuse has been voiced on many occasions.  Four forgettable, indeed at times embarrassing, European seasons following 2007 systematically exposed an ideology and team in decline, and, most dismayingly, a management in apparent denial.

It was not until the summer of 2010 that club owner Silvio Berlusconi decided to ease his seemingly dedicated austerity.  Perhaps it was Inter's treble that rankled Berlusconi into action; whatever his motivation, Milan were reconfigured.  In came Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Kevin-Prince Boateng, and coach Massimiliano Allegri.  Out went Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Marco Borriello, coach Leonardo, and a counter-productive over-reliance on Senatori like Clarence Seedorf and Massimo Ambrosini.

The result has not been European success, but a much awaited Scudetto, won with a steady accretion of new ideas by Allegri and critical contributions from not only Ibrahimovic and Robinho, but also players like Ignazio Abate, Thiago Silva, and peripheral members like Rodney Strasser and Mario Yepes.  Even players like Seedorf, who looked cynical last season, have been rejuvenated by Allegri's method of distributing the burden of a season throughout his squad.  Indeed, Milan's Scudetto win is more telling than their 2007 Champions League win because it is a comprehensive assessment of the team throughout the season.

Allegri (right) led Milan with equanimity

Allegri's transition from Cagliari to Milan is laudable not just because he has landed a major trophy in his first season or because he could also achieve the double with a Coppa Italia win, but because he has assimilated in the peculiar glare of a big club so well.  Many raised eyebrows when he rather than a tried and trusted name was selected in the summer of 2010 to lead Milan, but Allegri withstood that scrutiny and also parlous moments throughout the season.  The way he handled a two-point lead going into the late-season derby against Inter was a definitive assessment of his Milan tenure.

His modesty throughout the campaign was edifying also.

"I'm fortunate to have come to Milan at a time when the club chose to invest," said a self-effacing Allegri recently.  Yes, certainly the investment has undoubtedly made his life easier, but it is under Allegri that Abate has become a marauding right-back that Milan have missed since Cafu, and under him Kevin-Prince Boateng was transformed into a convincing playmaker.

Milan's success was built on a defence held together uncompromisingly by Christian Abbiati, Alessandro Nesta, and Thiago Silva, who was even deployed in midfield in January to adjust for an alarming shortage in the middle of the park.  Further, when Nesta was injured, Yepes defied all expectation by ensuring that he deputized for him appropriately.  Milan's defence let in just twenty-three goals all season.  Today's 0-0 draw with Roma staged a microcosm of the defence's modus operandi.  Abbiati's point-blank save on Mirko Vucinic, Alessandro Nesta's crucial tackle to cut out Marco Cassetti's searching ball, Thiago Silva's unremitting attitude to prevent any danger, and Abate's indefatigability on the flank have been a feature all season.

During the last several months, the midfield was in constant flux due to injuries or suspension, but the level of application did not dip.  Gattuso, Ambrosini, Seedorf and Pirlo all contributed according to expectations, but so did  Mark van Bommel and Urby Emanuelson, the latter seldom used but bringing an urgency to proceedings when chosen for action.  Youth team products Strasser and Alexander Merkel also had memorable outings, which are promising signs for the future.

It was also in attack that Milan were tested all year.  Boateng deserves to strain superlatives for revealing his previously latent playmaking skill, but also the ability to be direct in front of goal.  Indeed, Boateng was more crucial in front of goal than he was in providing assists.  He scored three goals and assisted in two, but he was menacing throughout the campaign, drawing defenders to himself to allow others to do the damage.

The damager-in-chief, even if some may not like to admit it after his recent suspension, was Ibrahimovic.  The man, who has now won eight consecutive league titles in his itinerant career, managed eleven assists and fourteen goals.  He also regularly scored winners when Milan looked dependent on him: a lobbed winner against Genoa, the penalty winner against Inter in the fall, and an outrageous bicycle-kick winner  against Fiorentina stand out as his most memorable moments.  Petulant, yes, but never ever insignificant.

Ibrahimovic--moody but instrumental

The accusation that Milan were over-dependent on him proved somewhat unfounded in the second half of the season.  Without Ibrahimovic, Milan managed to beat Inter 3-0, and it was Alexandre Pato who stole the show that day.  Allegri took time to get the balance right, but he made sure that easy, critical labels would not apply to his team. Robinho covered ground all season, running forward with purpose, but also tracking back conscientiously.  Where his finishing well short, his tempo and skill in tight spaces compensated, and it is a credit to Allegri that he got a player who many consider to be erratic to play so assiduously.

Milan's glory also vindicates a carefully thought-out transfer strategy.  Galliani's decision to purchase Antonio Cassano in January meant that Milan did not miss the injured Filippo Inzaghi as much as they would have. Van Bommel's addition initially looked disastrous, as he earned card after card, but ultimately Galliani was proven right to bring in the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich player.  Van Bommel was finally able to channel his aggression productively in the latter part of the season.

Milan's eighteenth Scudetto ends Inter's hegemony over Serie A, which has stretched back to 2007, or 2006 if you consider that they were awarded that title because of Calciopoli.  It also puts Milan level with Inter in terms of Scudetti won.

For those who think that the Serie A this year was not as competitive as in recent times, and therefore think that Milan's win does not deserve plaudits, consider that Milan were playing in a league that consisted of the reigning European champions, a revived and possessed Napoli side led by Edinson Cavani, and a Lazio team that enjoyed the upper-reaches of the table all season.  Throw in teams like Udinese and Roma, both of whom gave not only Milan but the entire Serie A all sorts of problems, and people may be then able to contextualize Milan's emphatic win fairly and properly.

And now they must look to where they have always looked: the Champions League.  Galliani has already stated that the goal is to get back on top of Europe.  He has also added that the club's transfer season will be worthy of champions.  With a solid and capable team, tested over the rigours of a season, to build upon, Galliani may finally be able to see the value of winning not just in Europe, but also domestically.

After all, the Milan teams of Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello did just that.