Back on January 29 after the 5-2 home defeat against Sassuolo it seemed that AC Milan were in a crisis that would likely cost them their place in the Champions League at the hands of Spurs.
The team couldn’t defend, they were leaking goals left right and centre, and yet slowly but surely they climbed out of the whole by restoring defensive solidity, compactness and then gradually building back the qualities that led to the Scudetto.
MilanNews ask the question: how did Milan overcome this crisis? Paolo Maldini – the technical director of the Rossoneri – gave some insight during his interview with Prime Video before the match against Tottenham.
“How these things happen, I don’t know. Because the first part of the season ends and you’re second, close to the top team. A training period begins, a new season, in the end it makes two seasons into one,” he began.
“You start very well against Salernitana, you start very well against Roma and then you get two goals in the last five minutes and there everything changes. The psychological aspect is important. The team, not being at that level yet, can have relapses.
“The coach tried to put things right by changing formation, trying above all not to concede goals because every attack we conceded goals, in January we conceded dozens of goals. Which didn’t happen before. From there then start again with the concepts that led us to be able to play these games: be aggressive, try to play with everyone, be courageous.”
Stefano Pioli also deserves praise for making the right tactical changes to overcome the storm that his young squad were experiencing, and Maldini believes that it was the right move.
“The idea of seeking unity in a difficult moment is logical. You can do it through a five-man defence, through a four-man defence with an extra midfielder, you can do it in a thousand ways. The role requires me to talk to the coach, to see what can be done to improve a situation that was becoming delicate,” he said.
“Naturally the ideas and decisions are his and are then supported. What is asked of a club like this is to be courageous and ambitious even in difficulties. We must always think about where we started and with what means we got here, we have to be proud of this journey. We got more ambitious with last year’s Scudetto which was unexpected, so it raised the bar. We’re there, ready.”
There were all kinds of stories doing the rounds in January during the tough run including possible differences of opinion between the management and the coach, and even players being unhappy with the way things were going.
Instead, the last month confirmed once again that there is maximum cohesion between Maldini, Massara and Pioli. Milan are on a path that saw them win the Scudetto last season and now they are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League this year, something which can’t be done without near-perfect synergy.
