Theo Hernandez put another brilliant performance in during AC Milan’s 3-0 win over Empoli on Sunday as he continues to make the switch to centre-back look straightforward.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (as seen below) recalls how Theo Hernandez crossed paths with Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the match in Empoli and the Swede patted him on the head as if to say ‘job well done’.
Those who watched on TV or in the stadium had similar thoughts, because Theo on the field gives you that impression. Stefano Pioli sent him out to play as a central defender and, after some initial errors, he adapted.
He is often among the best and after all, talent cannot be taught, at most it must be awakened. There is now the distinct possibility that Milan have awakened the Frenchman with the most unlikely of moves.
This is how Theo Hernandez became central defender in a quarter of an hour. Pioli prepared for the Milan-Frosinone on 2 December with Jan-Carlo Simic in the middle of the defence together with Fikayo Tomori.
In the final session on the eve of the game, right at the end, he tried Theo centrally and evidently was convinced. After the match, he said: “Theo central? The idea came from him. He spoke to me telling me that he could do well in that role too. I would say that he did very well in the defensive phase and in the build-up phase.”
He did so well that today Pioli starts training with Theo in the middle. If anything, he will talk about it again when Malick Thiaw, Pierre Kalulu or Fikayo Tomori return, rather than playing Simon Kjaer together with Matteo Gabbia for example.
Theo in the centre wasn’t always perfect. On the contrary, against Frosinone he ducked out of the way of Brescianini’s free-kick while against Atalanta he allowed Lookman to score the first goal by moving, then from De Ketelaere’s cross to make it 2-1 he left Lookman alone.
Since that day, however, a month has passed and Theo has handled it well. Pioli’s words help to understand why it is working: “Theo is applying himself as a central defender with an intensity and attention that sometimes he didn’t show as a full-back.
“He was impeccable from a defensive point of view and very good in the setting phase. It’s true that we lose a bit of his push forward, but we have Leao and it’s not bad to leave him space for one-on-ones.”
There are three reasons that it is working well. The first: Theo is more concentrated at the back than as a full-back. With banal psychology, on the left he knows he is stronger than 99% of the players on the planet and sometimes he drifts away, but in the middle he has to evaluate the danger, prevent the risks and erase the mistakes.
Second reason: the No.19 has a quality of approach that is clearly superior to Tomori – a natural right-footed player, not the best for building out from the left – and to normal centre-backs. The third reason (the most mysterious): Leao, without Theo, can gain freedom.
Theo as a central player clearly increases the number of tackles won and interceptions, while he reduces those on touches in the opponent’s half of the field and on opportunities created.
Two details are more significant: the average rating which, despite a few sample games, improves significantly in the middle, then the mechanisms with which Milan protect him.
After the first somewhat experimental match, Pioli clearly studied a protection net for Hernandez’s forward escapes, which Milan cannot lose. When Theo starts with the ball, a full-back or central midfielder stops.
From a tactical point of view, this is the most interesting aspect, because no one has a central defender with Theo’s ability to dribble and accelerate the ball at his feet.
All this, in any case, has an air of déjà vu. Lucas, Theo’s brother, plays both in the middle and on the left. Paolo Maldini, his legend, followed the same path: like Theo he was one of the best full-backs in the world, if not the best, like Theo he moved into the middle.
The difference is that the mutation occurred in 1998-99, with Maldini at 30 years old in Zaccheroni’s three-man defence. Hernandez is still 26 years old, he is in the prime of his career and the change was neither expected nor imaginable. Sometimes though, it happens.
We saw it with David Alaba, another wild card, another full-back moved into the middle. We saw it with Sergio Ramos, who at Sevilla and at the beginning of his life at Madrid was mainly a right-back.
With other prospects, we saw it with Giorgio Chiellini, who played in an Arco Tournament with Milan as a full-back left winger. It was his role (and Milan was his favorite team). When he moved to the middle, he understood that he could become strong, much stronger than as a wide player.
At the end of this story, a phrase from Theo remains in the air: “When the players we miss return I will return to full-back… I hope!”. The soul of a free runner on the wing cannot be erased.
It has worked against lower-placed teams. It did not against Atalanta, and it remains to be seen how he holds up against Lukaku, Dybala and Pellegrini.
What exactly is the big surprise here?
Full backs, including his own brother, have covered at CB for years.
It’s literately one of the most common things ever in football.
Does this great surprise stem from the fact that the media are constantly pushing this narrative about the need for massive squads and the associated massive number of transfers?
I mean all we ever hear about Milan is the need for DEPTH. And the idea that a full back might play on both sides or cover for CB, or a midfielder might be able to play in more than one midfield position, or winger as a CF, seem like completely alien concepts.
Real Madrid have a squad of 24 (which one can immediately see because they also wear squad numbers 1-25). Milan have used 31 players this season so far (in fairness injuries have played a part) but we still have this massive squad.
The thing is though… Real Madrid has quality. Milan don’t so they have to resort to quantity.
Even RLC could play at CB against weaker teams. It works because of that, the quality of opponents.
I liked seeing this conversion from Theo. Its great to watch. He’s more attentive to his defensive duties. I hope he does the same when he goes back in to being a full back. Also, some of Leao’s effectiveness relies on a pacey wingback to take some pressure off. It’s probably why his numbers are slightly lower this year.