The Italian giants have suffered the loss of key personnel this summer, making it unlikely they’ll compete for domestic or European titles.
Looking at the players AC Milan let go this summer it perhaps isn’t surprising to see them struggle over the opening weeks. Their loss to Atalanta at the weekend was their second 1-0 defeat at home in the two games they have played at the San Siro this season. Their squad had needed refreshing but to let the experienced players leave en masse that they did was a recipe for disaster.
Seedorf, Gattuso, van Bommel, Nesta and others were still featuring regularly in the first team and replacements have been understandably hard to come by, given the stature of the departing players. Making matters worse Milan also sold three of their very best players; Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic went in an astonishing package move to PSG, and Cassano was part of the deal that saw Giampaolo Pazzini come the other way.
Financial concerns have been prominent at the club for some time, but the enormous scale of the problem has been shown this summer. The club have signaled that they will not be able to compete at the highest level this year by selling the players they have. There have been some good signings, Nigel de Jong will help fill the void left by van Bommel and Gattuso.
Harder to replace is Thiago Silva, a player reckoned by many to be the best defender in the world. As for Ibrahimovic, he is irreplaceable, as he would undoubtably agree. The Swede scored his 100th Serie A goal last season, one of the 28 that made him the division’s top scorer. Milan have signed Pazzini, M’Baye Niang and Bojan Krkic on loan in the centre forward position, adding to Robinho and the injury magnet Alexandre Pato. But few would argue they are stronger in that position than they were with the talismanic Ibrahimovic leading the line.
Milan’s problems are one of the reasons why predicting the winner of Serie A will be no mean feat this year. Juventus, invincible last year, will have to try and retain their title with their manager, Antonio Conte, consigned to the stands for 10 months following a conviction for failing to report match-fixing. With AC Milan at sea, and Inter still nowhere near the side they were as recently as 2010, teams like Roma and Napoli will perhaps be able to mount a serious challenge for the Scudetto.
Whilst the league may be exciting, it may lead to a year of disappointment in the Champions League. Milan in particular may struggle to get out of their group, with Zenit St. Petersburg spending the kind of money the Italian club cannot live with anymore. Juventus stand a better chance of progress, but winning it?
Strong Italian sides are an integral part of the Champion’s League history so hopefully Juventus will be a force this year, but even if they are, it is sad that their return to prominence may coincide with Milan’s fall from grace.
image: © olaszmelo
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