The fall-out rages on after AC Milan’s 2-0 defeat to Napoli last night, and it has caused some sections of the media to question the summer choices.
MilanNews begin a piece by talking about how the number of important absences definitely weighed on the outcome of the game at San Siro, with the likes of Theo Hernandez, Matteo Gabbia, Tijjani Reijnders and Christian Pulisic not in the side.
Milan also played well for most of the game and created chances they didn’t take. However, the reasons for yesterday’s defeat – which puts them 11 points behind Napoli – certainly do not stop at the unavailable list.
Instead, Napoli showed what Milan perhaps should have done. They bolstered their squad by vigorously covering the shortcomings, perhaps making a couple of extra efforts (economic and otherwise, spending €150m in the summer) to improve and strengthen.
Aurelio De Laurentiis, after a failed Scudetto defence, knew that ambition was needed. RedBird’s Milan – after two seasons of disappointments, especially in comparison with Inter – did not. Rather, they continued to try and get the maximum result with the minimum effort.
Napoli hired Conte for €6.5m net per season so they could boast a winning coach to instantly raise the level, and he could have ended up at Milan. Fonseca meanwhile is on €2.5m net per year and is regarded as a good coach, but never a winner at the highest levels.
Napoli desperately a defender after Kim’s sale so they went and got Alessandro Buongiorno for €40m, while Milan – who had the same defensive need – chose to sign Strahinja Pavlovic from the Austrian Bundesliga, for less than half.
The Partenopei also listened to their coach and well all-out to get Romelu Lukaku. The Rossoneri, after having abandoned the Joshua Zirkzee battle because of a principle against commissions, chose Alvaro Morata for €13m and Tammy Abraham on loan.
It’s not just a question of money, the report adds. It is not a given that if you spend more you spend better, but Napoli’s business saw them get a top-level coach, a quality centre-back, two new starting midfielders and the ideal striker for the coach’s game.
At Milan, on the other hand, the modus operandi seems to be to make purchases spending little, but then realising that in a few months you have to spend that money again and the rest because the quality of what you bought has already gone to waste.
The Diavolo, before the end of October, are already needing a miracle to get back into the Scudetto fight. ‘You only reap what you sow,’ the report ends.