Yahoo Sports GdS: ‘Heir to Saelemaekers’ – how Musah’s role at Milan has evolved
Yunus Musah has taken up a rather interesting and at times varied role in Paulo Fonseca’s tactical plans, with another intriguing test awaiting tonight.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, Musah played made 13 starts last season, but in the current campaign under Fonseca the starts against Real Madrid, Juventus and Empoli show he has a more prominent role.
Now he plays on the right, an area of the pitch already frequented in his career, especially in Valencia under Gennaro Gattuso. Against Los Blancos, Fonseca prepared the plan around him: Musah on a special mission to limit Vinicius Jr. and help Emerson Royal. It can be argued that it worked.
The first try
Musah played as a fifth defender in the Spanish capital, in a line that from right to left read: Musah-Emerson-Thiaw-Tomori-Hernandez. Milan defended deep in many moments of the game and the American was needed to stop wide overloads.
He stayed back, doubled up on Vinicius and – when the situation allowed – moved up to play on the wing or in the midfield, with Emerson wider. It was an idea that worked for Fonseca, giving him conviction to try it again.
Between September and October the coach used Musah very little, but he always considered him useful to the cause. It was just a case of finding a role for him, though even that has evolved in the starts since.
The follow-ups
The Real Madrid game is a one-of-a-kind so far, because in the matches against Juve and Empoli – his last as a starter in Serie A – Yunus played as an attacking winger, high on the right, in the position that in the summer was assigned to Christian Pulisic or Samuel Chukwueze.
If he dropped back a lot more against Real, his average position was much further up against Empoli, despite the fact Fonseca spoke about him being part of the defensive line again. He was used not only as a balancer but as a disrupter, with an unpredictable position forcing opponents to react.
He is an ideal complement to Rafa Leao, who on the other flank has much more quality and much less predisposition to sacrifice in terms of running off the ball. Thus, Musah could well be ‘an heir to Saelemaekers’, who performed a similar role in his time at the club.
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The biggest test
Musah has climbed a couple of hills already, but Atalanta is naturally Mount Everest. He will have to play a very different game than the one in Madrid and it will probably be more difficult.
Atalanta play man to man and the American will often meet Daniele Ruggeri up close: the ideal for him would be to win that duel and give a hand to Emerson Royal, who in turn will have to try halt Ademola Lookman.
It would be a big step for Milan’s season and Musah’s career if tonight were to go well. An American who grew up in Italy and still has a lot to improve, but with a desire to work and do his best for the team.
As a character away from the field not much is heard from him. He has a close relationship especially with Malick Thiaw but leads a very quiet life and lives 20 minutes from Milanello together with his wife, far from the areas most frequented by footballers.
