Yahoo Sports GdS: Few minutes, many struggles – questions arise over the help Milan Futuro can offer
The AC Milan first team and Milan Futuro have shared players but also something quite worrying in common: a bad position in the league.
La Gazzetta dello Sport begin a report by highlighting the problems within the squad: a striker is missing as goals are needed, a midfielder is required because Reijnders and Fofana have been working hard for months, and a right-back too because of the lack of guarantees.
The January transfer window can bring help to the new coach Sergio Conceicao, but a rather difficult question must also be asked: shouldn’t there have been the support of Milan Futuro?
Patience vs. necessity
The size of the squad officially assigned to the first team – 26 players, or 23 outfield players – is a topic that Zlatan Ibrahimovic had already spoken about last summer, when the U23 project was presented.
In short, the project envisaged a group that was not too large in terms of numbers (in previous seasons it was around 28-29 players) precisely because the intention was, as the months went by, to draw from the second team reservoir.
The problem is that that reservoir is not offering the fuel that one would have expected. Nobody expected miracles, because a new project needs time at levels: management, organisation and for the players themselves, most of whom came from the Primavera.
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There are a thousand variables at play, starting from the development of the talents in question. There could be a burst of energy from those you don’t expect, or excessive slowness from those who instead were in pole position for the first team.
Juventus have been able to call upon Mbangula from the Next Gen who is now a starter, while Milan have generally called upon Futuro players – with exceptions like Alex Jimenez – simply to fill the bench and get minutes with debatable usefulness.
Talents vs. numbers
Daniele Bonera’s team meanwhile are sailing in very dangerous waters in Group B of Serie C. There is an obvious risk of relegation – as per the new regulation of this season – and sinking into D would be a guillotine for the entire project.
The club are taking cover by seeking and signing experienced reinforcements in the January window, and increasing the average age of the team. The jump up to playing against fully grown adults has been a tough one for most players to digest.
The contribution of the second team to the first is therefore meagre. Numbers in hand: 170 minutes (10 appearances) for Camarda, 62 minutes (one appearance) for Liberali, 29 minutes (2 appearances) for Bartesaghi, two minutes (one appearance) for Omoregbe.
Jimenez has 498 minutes over eight appearances, havin been taken on a permanent basis from Milan Futuro at a certain point in the year. Kevin Zeroli has 12 minutes and one appearance, despite being ‘promoted’ at the start of the season.
Then there are the players called up who have never set foot on the pitch like Silvano Vos and Chaka Traore (in addition to the goalkeeper Noah Raveyre). The overall balance, in strictly statistical terms, is merciless: zero goals, zero assists.
Of course, going beyond the numbers, the contribution of Camarda is evident in certain matches, who was and remains a gem. Mattia Liberali is also a player that must grow the right way, Jimenez is a profile that must be defended from Real Madrid’s buy-back.
In the meantime, however, the weeks go by and the two Milans are struggling beyond what is permissible. Who knows if the last four months of the season will generate a synergy useful to everyone.
