Milan, 5 burning questions for Marco Giampaolo

A new Serie A season has started but there are still many questions that surround AC Milan and coach Marco Giampaolo.

Two months have passed since the appointment of Marco Giampaolo on the AC Milan bench, with Maldini and Boban at the head of the club management, and we still do not have some basic information available on the direction of the team for the new season. To orient ourselves we need to set some cardinal points. It is true, as Vincenzo Montella has recently argued, that there is need for time to get off the ground a team with the ambitions, history of Milan and the Italian coach’s ideas. He, Montella, had but recently declared that he needed additional time to deserve a different fate than the sacking.

Opinions, of course. What Giampaolo and all Milan know for sure is that from Sunday evening there is not much time left to complete the puzzle. The reason is very simple: the derby is looming and, as shown by the recent stories of the Rossoneri, it has oriented the season’s inertia in one direction (virtuous) or another (vicious). Since the coach’s orientations are not yet clear and well defined, I believe it is useful for the discussion between site visitors and the interested fans, to simplify the problem with a series of questions.

QUESTION 1 – Has Giampaolo defined which game system he intends to use in the league, except for occasions when suspensions, injuries or loss of form normally become an issue? Many coaches claim that it is not the game systems that determines the end result but the objection to which a relevant answer is not always found is the following: then why did you change it in the presence of negative results, like with Udinese?

QUESTION 2 – Since the experiment of Suso trequartista, lasted for 45 days, has been set aside, what role will be assigned to the Spaniard, who is considered one of the few top talents of the team?

QUESTION 3 – Ismael Bennacer has gained collective praise after his debut and, despite a rough physical condition, with Brescia showed to prefer the role of playmaker/regista. Well, so Biglia is out of the base formation?

QUESTION 4 – In the ideal midfield of Giampaolo, what role do Lucas Paqueta, Krunic and Calhanoglu have? I remember, just to refresh the collective memory, that Krunic arrived at Milan when it was decided, in order to respect the constraints of the FFP imposed by UEFA and the instructions of Elliot, to abandon the pursuit of Stefano Sensi after Sassuolo had established an asking price considered too high. Although the midfielder was booked by Leonardo in very large advance compared to Inter (more on that here).

QUESTION 5 – In attack, what is the role of Rafael Leao, who is considered, by a very large majority, critics and pundits of international football, the most interesting signing of AC Milan’s summer shopping campaign? A judgment also shared by Boban, an enthusiastic protagonist of Leao’s purchase. Will he and Rebic, obviously more ready and experienced, swap places or will he be Piatek’s replacement?

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