Rade Krunic’s importance to Stefano Pioli’s system has been stated many times, and a big test for the new-look midfield is coming up in the derby.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall how Christian Pulisic was asked who the smartest player in the squad is during a pre-derby interview with the paper yesterday, and his answer was emphatic: “Rade Krunic”.
The winger’s response is probably the same as Stefano Pioli would give. Krunic in this Milan is becoming a cult figure step by step and while he is not the best with the ball at his feet, nor the most eccentric or present on social media, he is a silent but effective cog.
He helps the team with many small plays. With his intelligent movement he closes passing lanes, something that Pioli notices, while he is often tidy and efficient in possession allowing the creativity and dynamism to be done by those further ahead.
Pioli collaborated with Giorgio Furlani and Geoffrey Moncada in the summer. He is a man of common sense, certainly not a coach who loudly calls for reinforcements or complains publicly.
In mid-August, however, in dialogues with the club he asked not to accept any proposals from Fenerbahçe, who he called to ask for information on Krunic. In an almost entirely new midfield, losing him too would have been a terrible blow.
Pioli had been testing the midfield conceived at the beginning of the summer for weeks: Ruben Loftus-Cheek on the centre-right, Tijjani Reijnders on the centre-left, Krunic in the middle.
The remote comparison with Hakan Calhanoglu is prohibitive but curious. The position is the same, the function certainly not. Krunic is not a playmaker – if anything, Reijnders is Milan’s playmaker – and he has mainly defensive tasks.
Instead, the Bosnian is a great balancer. He ended the 2022-23 season as an attacking midfielder, a year and a half later he plays 30 metres further back and he’s fine with that. Krunic himself thinks that this is the best position he can play.
In the defensive phase, Pioli asks him to read the situations, to not unbalance the team and to solve problems. Against Torino, Krunic watched Vlasic closely and made his evening a lot more difficult. He anaesthetised their key attacking midfielder.
When Milan have the ball, however, Krunic is one of the five players with build-up duties. Sometimes he drops between the centre-backs, sometimes he goes further up, almost always plays with two touches and so far he hasn’t made a grave error.
With Leao’s rap albums and Theo’s pink hair, Krunic is the antithesis of the modern footballer. He speaks little but when he does he is heard, something that Zlatan Ibrahimovic – controlled the dressing room – respected.
After three games, the criticisms of the fans who see him as Milan’s weak point are less noticeable. It may not be the Champions League, but this is a victory too.
Oli, you’re just trying to start another Krunic war on here. 🙂
Theo’s pink hair LMAO
We are experiencing another version of rade K
Krunic is not just important to Pioli, he’s important to the team.
But wait until he gets his first really bad game of the season.
Nice article, and showed some point that show Krunic importance to us. He is not the best, undoubtedly, but he can do the job. Right now he is the only 6 we have, so He should not be sold except we buy a really good 6 Pos and the backup.
But alas, Countdown to mandatory Krunic hater/basher in 3… 2… 1…
Lord Krunic!!!
the Reliable
Man we really should have sold him lol 😂
The irreplaceable Rade Krunic. Nobody could possibly fill his shoes. Must be a slow news day. Isn’t this the same writer that a couple weeks ago said Krunic was “a limited player and not starting level quality for a team like Milan. ”
Even in an article praising him the best they can say is “so far he hasn’t made a grave error.”
Krunic is the new Tonali, as long as he doesn’t fall on his face or kick the ball into his own net he gets a 6.5
I enjoy seeing Krunic eat at your soul 😁
It lifts my day up by 300% 🤣🤣🤣
Btw, all jokes aside, I agreed with u on the pass accuracy comment from the other article. U should check it out if u haven’t done so 🙂
Believe it or not, I actually don’t hate Krunic. I think he is a valuable player to have on the team as he can play multiple positions in the midfield if needed. I just don’t think he is talented enough to be a regular starter if we want to compete with the best teams in Europe.