Terracciano and the faith of Fonseca: Litmus test awaits in Verona-Milan

Filippo Terracciano is expected to get his sixth start of the season in AC Milan’s clash against Hellas Verona tonight. However, he won’t play on the left-hand side of the defence, but rather in the midfield tandem. 

The decision, which was reported by Gazzetta dello Sport this morning, might seem like a shock to Rossoneri fans. In the five games Terracciano has started this season, he has played as a left-back four times and a right-back once.

Out of those five games, Milan won three, drew one and lost one. As for Terracciano’s individual displays, he passed the test with a 6/10 rating in four of these games, while he got a 5.5 in the narrow 1-0 win away at Monza.

In any case, returning to the role in midfield tonight, this is actually something we have seen signs of this season. Indeed, in many of the games when he played as the left-back, he had an inverted role in possession and often found himself in the middle during the build-up.

Furthermore, against Sassuolo in the Coppa Italia, he moved to the midfield after Davide Bartesaghi was subbed on by Fonseca. Speaking of the manager, it’s clear has a lot of faith in the young Italian and it all started with the pre-season tour in the US.

In Fonseca’s eyes, Terracciano is a player who works hard for the team – both in training and during games – and this is something he currently needs. The versatility certainly doesn’t hurt either, being able to play on either side of the defence and tonight as a midfielder.

Having said that, there is no doubt that tonight’s game is a litmus test of sorts for Terracciano as he hasn’t really had a great game for Milan yet. He has looked okay in spells but in terms of making a real difference, he has been lacking a bit.