Several individuals appear to have improved under the new coach Massimiliano Allegri, and one of them is Strahinja Pavlovic.
As Corriere dello Sport (via MilanPress) report that it was clear from day one that Allegri was banking on Pavlovic. However, what was unclear was whether the new boss could refine some of the rough and raw edges, to turn him into a complete defender in a tough league.
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The ‘Allegri cure’
The paper highlights the improvement that Pavlovic has made above all in possession. He may never be an elegant player, nor will he excel in technical polish, but he needed to improve his effectiveness in progression of the ball.
The answer to whether this has been achieved was evident in Christian Pulisic’s goal during the 2-1 win for Milan against Napoli. The former Salzburg man drove forward to disrupt Napoli’s block, cutting back to Youssouf Fofana who then teed up the American. It was a ‘hockey assist’, if you will.
Pavlovic is far from complete and his characteristics will make him difficult to mould. He’s an aggressive marker, but he struggles when it comes to defending one against one or knowing where to be in certain moments in transition.
It’s no coincidence that against Napoli too he was involved in two or three moments where he stepped up or slide over at the wrong moment, but the Azzurri failed to punish it. Allegri’s greatest mission will be to get that positional discipline right, though the switch to a 3-5-2 has helped.
Defenders don’t need to be pretty. And in a 3-5-2, the center backs are not required to bomb up and down the field. When they do, the CDM shifts back to cover the spot if needed. This allows those defenders focus on their main goal — defending. Having such an intelligent midfielder like Modric, crates the confidence to the entire back line to move forward and progress the ball when appropriate.
I concur…
To burstress your point,People like Nesta,Cafu,Maldini and Co… Have lapses in one way or the other before they are expert in their fields…