Capello reminisces on 1994 Champions League victory: “I had Massaro”

The present for AC Milan is not fantastic, but reminiscing on previous successes is always nice, and today Fabio Capello has done just that, looking back to his Champions League success in 1994 when he had to ‘compensate for a lack of a striker’. 

With Milan’s current situation, the topic of compensating for a striker is very understandable. Alvaro Morata is at the end of his injury recovery and should be present for the game against Venezia this weekend, and Tammy Abraham is in line to start the game.

Aside from the new pair, though, there is no stability, so to speak, in the Rossoneri’s frontline. Luka Jovic signed a new deal over the summer but was nearly sent away from the club due to overcrowding. Francesco Camarda is another option, but the Rossoneri are unwilling to throw him into the deep end, at least not yet.

The question then is posed, Who can be the best third striker? It seems the answer may be outside of the traditional No.9s and Capello has looked to the past when he was successful without a striker. His words to Gazzetta dello Sport have been relayed by Milan News.

“How do you win without 9? With the game. If the centre forward doesn’t score a lot it is important that he participates in the manoeuvre, that he goes into the action to create space for his team-mates. In this case, if you have attacking midfielders who are close to him and have an easy goal or centre-backs capable of inserting themselves, you can compensate for the absence of a striker.

“In 1994 I had Massaro who was not a centre forward, but a right winger: he was good at kicking at goal and creating space. In addition, we had many players who were good at dribbling or inserting themselves and finishing. When you have a dynamic squad, it’s easier to fill a gap in the forwards.”