Santiago Gimenez was AC Milan’s big splash in the winter window and was meant to fire them towards the top four, but after a bright start he has fizzled out.
Calciomercato.com begin a report on Gimenez’s situation by pointing out that two months without a goal is too long for a striker like him. His last goal came in the victory against Hellas Verona nearly eight weeks ago, so at present the €30m+ investment is not paying off.
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The Rossoneri’s trust in the former Feyenoord man remains intact. Sergio Conceicao’s trust is down though, as he has started the on-loan Tammy Abraham in the last three games and even brought Luka Jovic on before the Mexican during the draw with Fiorentina.
Moving from the Eredivisie to Serie A is not easy, i.e. swapping a league where there are always a lot of goals to one where the details make the difference. Gimenez certainly needs time to understand how he can do damage, something he admitted, but he has already had plenty of opportunities.
Gimenez played against the likes of Como, Lecce, Lazio, Bologna, Napoli and Fiorentina but failed to score. The he competition became tougher, with Abraham finally decisive and Jovic in much better physical condition.
Conceicao, at this stage of the season, is going straight ahead on his path. Abraham is certainly in very good physical and mental condition at the moment, much better than Gimenez, but at the same time the Portuguese coach is doing little to help Gimenez grow.
There has been ‘no spark between the two’ and a discussion that took place in training before the Inter game certainly did not help to resolve the situation. It is a difficult time for everyone, and now the important thing is for the striker to try finish strongly, perhaps giving signs to a new incoming coach.
What can the coach do if the player doesn’t have quality? He’s given him a lot of chances and kept him in games even when he’s done next to nothing. That should have been enough for him.
You have no job but to have it out personally for Gimenez.
I see you everytime Gimenez is mentioned, you don’t hesitate to put him down or come out criticizing him. Especially in favor of Abraham. Where I come from, when a player or coach is bought fans support that player and especially give them a grace of a full season in a working environment to succeed before grabbing torches and pitch forks.
But not you. I always am amused at fans that constantly attack certain players. You take it upon yourselves to always bash that particular player when they are brought up. Ffs give the man a full season and a much better less toxic Milan environment to okay and then judge him.
One would think this is a “no brainer”. Did Gimenez cost you a huge sporting bet or something that you always have it out for him. It’s not like he hasn’t scored at all, he has a few goals. And it’s not like the team plays to his strengths, services him or the team plays any better.
Heck Abraham had this problem some few months ago. 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️ Gimenez has become the new Calabria courtesy of you.
This guy is an African football expert, doesn’t know what he’s talking about
He is a racist. He doesn’t like the white player.
This isn’t the players fault, Giminez has proven himself in Europe and for his previous squad in the league. This is squarely on Conceicao
I’m sorry but it is known Gimenez is weak in his national team in Concacaf. Especially in big games.
That said the number of players who have dropped off after the first encounter with Sarge also cannot be ignored.
I suggest there are two factors at play. Gimenez was not right for Serie A and Sarge erodes players’ confidence and efficacy.
Exactly. He has proven himself in European comp. If we say eridevisie is poor, he has Europe to silence is naysayers.
At this point, I believe it’s more than just poor form excuse. There is actually an agenda against Santi.
Ah yes, it’s the players fault. Not the bad coaching, the lack of service (passing a ball is SO difficult) or the useless tactics. No, its all on the player. Cant wait for this season to be over….
I think it’s too early to judge Santi. New league, new language, new team, new coach and CHAOS at Milan. And to be fair he doesn’t even look 100% since his arrival.
The whole team is struggling. Singling out Santi is pointless. Reorganize the team, bring in a structure, improve morale, get a better coach who can man-manage and watch them all play better.
I see this differently.
To start with, Gimenez is NOT Haaland, but he is a good poacher of goals. The problem is, we have him playing in a single striker setup where he is expected to be responsible for hold-up play, which he’s not good at, and he gets very little service. The setup is diametrically opposed to his skill set.
Frankly, as a team, we play MUCH better with two strikers. I don’t care if it’s Tammy and Jovic, Gimenez and Jovic or Gimenez and Tammy, we should play two upfront, and work-out the rest of the formation (I’m a fan of 3-5-2, which might help our incompetent midfield, but I’m not sure we have the players for it).
My personal opinion would be to start Tammy (he’s the only one of our three strikers capable of decent hold-up play) and Jovic (our best No. 10 option), and bring-on Gimenez as a replacement for whichever one tires-out, gets a yellow card, is having a poor match, etc.
Just my two cents. I’d hope we’ll get an improvement at No. 9, over the Summer, but we need to finsh-up this season, first.
I agree on all points here.
I must add though that Gimenez needs to work on his first touch and how he carries the ball cause it’s happened time and time again that he has stumbled on the ball. Last game it lead to him running into the goal keeper.