After an amazing Euro 2012 tourney which contained a lot of surprises, least of which being the Azzuri’s inspired run to the final; club football, which quite frankly Is the bread and butter of soccer, returns. Pre season started at Milanello on Monday and most of the squad, save the Euro 2012 internationals and the Brazilian Olympians, started preparations for next season. When the absentees return, one who would pose a very interesting problem would be Ricardo Montolivo.
Montolivo is widely viewed as a maddeningly inconsistent player who turns in a class performance one week, and a pedestrian one the next. That might have been true once, but his performances at Euro 2012 might be the launch pad for what might be a successful tenure in Lombardy. Used mainly as a trequartista in Cesare Prandelli’s 4-3-1-2, Montolivo surprisingly turned out to be more of the Boateng type of trequarti than the Kaka type, with some impressive high line pressing and breaking up of play. He also served up some pretty good chances for the team, his sumptuous ball over the top led to Mario Ballotelli’s 2nd against Germany.
What this does is serve up an interesting tactical conundrum for Milan manager Masimilliano Allegri. Montolivo’s versatility means he fits every slot in the midfield diamond, and it’s up to Allegri to decide where he offers most value to the team.
To begin with, Montolivo could line just in front of the defence, a regista, if you like. For the Azzurri that’s where most people thought he should line up, as a replacement for Pirlo. Montolivo’s ball playing skills and range of passing suggests so, but over the past couple of seasons Allegri has shown that he prefers a destroyer type at defensive midfield; Mark van Bommel and Massimo Ambrosini shared the role last term. Putting Montolivo there would represent a shift in philosophy on Max’s side; not a huge seismic one, more like a miniature tectonic occurrence, but a shift nevertheless. Whilst Montolivo is a little more defensively adept than Pirlo ever was, playing him at regista would raise questions about why Pirlo was let go if a flair player could take that position; an interesting puzzle for Max.
Montolivo could also easily fit on either side of the midfield diamond. In many ways this might be the ideal position for Montolivo in the team. The side midfielder has equally distributed defensive and offensive responsibilities, and is vital cogs in shifting play from one phase to the other. Montolivo would thrive in one of these roles and would be a tremendous asset during offensive moves; he could also become an endless supplier of crosses to meet those sneaky cross field runs patented by Antonio Nocerino.
The final piece in this puzzle might be fitting Montolivo as the team’s trequartista. Allegri has shown an unconventional interpretation of the role, using Urby Emmanuelson and Kevin Prince Boateng in the role, ostensibly to add more bite to the midfield rather than the traditional duty of fashioning out chances.
Montolivo might represent the perfect compromise, not the best of either world but a competent blend. He would provide a bit of Boateng’s industry whilst retaining a tad of the creativity of say, a Kaka or Rui Costa. Allegri, clearly, prefers Boateng in the role but if nothing, Montolivo represents an intriguing back-up to the position, especially considering Emmanuelson’s travails in the role and Boateng’s injury woes.
It’s an interesting puzzle facing Massimiliano Allegri, one which requires a lot of thought and which he has pre season to sort out. What Montolivo’s versatility offers Allegri though, is the chance to switch player roles within a game and keep opponents guessing, a chance to put the accusations of his tactical rigidity to bed. The sense one gets with Montolivo is a jack-of- all-trades and master of none, but considering the rest of that Milan midfield, he is a welcome addition who opens up interesting tactical permutations for Massimiliano Allegri.
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