Rafael Leao should return in an AC Milan shirt this weekend, and Massimiliano Allegri has given his star some instructions.
The debate about Leao is a difficult one. In the past few years, every coach has tried something different, but last year was the most extreme case of it. Paulo Fonseca and Sergio Conceicao both wanted different versions of him, even themselves.
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Leao was a team player, someone who tracked, pressed and defended. However, he was also the star. There was little clarity, and that is what caused it to be such a poor season in most people’s eyes. However, he still contributed 20 times, scoring 11 goals in Serie A and the Champions League.
Allegri’s version of Leao
For Allegri, clarity had arrived before the job was even his. Leao will be his striker, the focal point of Milan, the star. This version of the Portuguese is more mature, according to reports, and the coach has now given his own demands to him, per Carlo Pellegatti (as MilanNews relays).
“Sometimes you’re too generous, and so being generous doesn’t mean you’re being clear-headed. In fact, last year, they asked Gimenez to move and move back. I’ll tell you what Allegri will ask of Leao: ‘You have to try to get to the first ball carrier, and that’s fine, but I never want to see you move back to help the team. Stay there. You have to be clear-headed. I don’t want you to move back. You have to try to disrupt the opponent’s play, and that’s it.’ This, I assure you, is what Massimiliano Allegri will ask and has asked of Leao.”
Along the lines of what he told CR7 to do and I said he’d ask Leao to do as well.
You let the team do the rest of the work and have a reference point when possession is recovered, then he gets a split second with the ball he will try to tear up defenses. He has the power and turn of pace to do so. I am excited to see how it turns out.
He has the pace and dribbling ability to torment on the counter.
Sure, but not only on the counter, I expect him to be very dangerous on Modric balls behind the defense.
Those he will be deadly. Aerial balls to Leao will almost always be intercepted. That is not his game. He needs balls where he can either turn fast or run to towards goal. He will be constantly double teamed by CB’s
“Leao was a team player, someone who tracked, pressed and defended. However, he was also the star. ”
😂😂😂
Why was he getting benched by both coaches if he was doing that?
“but I never want to see you move back to help the team.”
You don’t have to ask him to do that, he has always done that.
What is this nonsense?
Sinxe Allegri showed up, Leao for once actually pressed and tracked back and he has been out injured for almost 2 months because he wasn’t used to pressing, tracking back and defending.
Milan has been solid and compact because everyone puts in the work defensively, no one acts like a diva. If he wants to play, he is going to have to do what Pulisic and Gimenez even Nkunku are doing or he can sit on the bench.
Just look at Dembele. He won the Ballon d’Or and he was PSG first line of defense because of his relentless press.
Another dumb Pellegati article.
“he has been out injured for almost 2 months because he wasn’t used to pressing, tracking back and defending”……..How smart is this statement?
When you called an article written by someone of Pellegati’s caliber dumb, that shows your level of IQ and disrespect for his profession, you don’t have to agree with his professional opinion, you can say your own version.
However I wasn’t expecting any better from someone that thinks the 2 Portuguese clown were right about Leao. A good coach must recognize the strength of his player and should be able to turn it to his own advantage, and so far Allegri has done that.
Your hatred or biased for Leao is unspeakable
“A good coach must recognize the strength of his player and should be able to turn it to his own advantage, and so far Allegri has done that.”
Leao has played a total of 17 minutes this season, so what has Allegri recognized about Leao?
Milan has done just fine without Leao because everyone runs. If Pulisic has to run and defend and he is the best player on the team, Leao must run and defend or he can sit on the bench.
When it comes to your first statement, if you are actually smart and can read you can see that the article said that Leao last season tracked back and defended. He didn’t, that’s why he wasn’t getting played by coaches who were all praising him before they started working with him.
Leao in a couple games in pre season actually tracked back and pressed and because his body isn’t used to it it led to injury. So the nonsense by Pellegati isn’t true because just going off from the very little we have seen from Leao under Allegri it’s totally opposite from what Pellegati thinks Alllegri wants from Leao.
It’s also nonsense that Allegri viewed Leao as a striker even before he got the Milan job because Milan was trying to sign Vlahovic and several other strikers during the summer. Why would they do that if Allegri viewed Leao as a striker? Vlahovic wasn’t going to be signed to be Leao’s backup.
Get out of your feelings and use your brain more. This whole article is full of nonsense.
“Leao in a couple games in pre season actually tracked back and pressed and because his body isn’t used to it it led to injury”………this is just laughable and this is the actual nonsense. During pre-season who was the best Milan player?
Definitely not Pulisic, and against Cremonese was Leao not missed? The real tactical approach has no been unleashed because Leao is injured, Like or hate him, He is the point man for this team, he is that missing weapon of mass destruction the team is lacking.
U don’t know what u are saying
I will sale leao for 175m
And keep
Tonali
Kessie
Reidjnad
Theo
Add
Ricci
Rovella
Rabiot
Cheisa
Victor osimeh
Calafioli
Leoni
Kean
Fazzini
His sale will unlock this transfer
U have seen what Milan can do with him
I love leao as a player and he did not improve like other young stars out there
But I believe in allergri he will get the best out them all
I wish allergri had last season team wit jovic
no u cant get this team becasue tonali 70m kessie 5 m reindeers 70 m + unsellable by man city rn theo 40m ricci 25m rovella 35m rabiot 10m chiesa 25-35m victor – 85m calafiori 40m leoni 40m kean 65 m and fazzini who? this and leao wouldnt go far more than 90m unless he drops a top 10 balon dor this season