Can Allegri Go From Provincial Coach To King Of Europe?
When a coach isn’t deemed good enough to
coach one of ‘i big’ in Italy, he is labeled as a provincial coach, and for
a long time that title was handed to Massimiliano Allegri. However, with a Scudetto
in the bag and the possibility of getting his hands on a treble, let alone a
cup double, the perception of the Tuscan tactician has changed.
When Allegri arrived in Milan at the age of
42, his adventure in the fashion capital was met with much excitement.
In the Sardinian capital of Cagliari, Allegri
proved he could change the face of a team with limited resources all
while leading them to a highly respectable ninth place finish on the Serie A
log back in 2008/09.
His ability to transform the Rossoblu into an
exciting team that fought hard for a result saw him awarded the Panchina
D’Oro for the Best Serie A Football Manager, and he soon became a household
across the peninsula.
Naturally it came as a shock when he was
shown the door by the eccentric Massimo Cellino back in April 2010, but that
dismissal soon opened up opportunities for a dream move to Serie A giants Milan.
At first, it looked like a match made in
heaven… With two derby victories over cross-city rivals, Inter, who had
dominated Italy since the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, the Rossoneri were crowned
Italian champions for the first time since 2004.
However, it was in Europe where he failed to
impress. A UEFA Champions League Last 16 elimination at the hands of Tottenham
Hotspurs left many fans a bit despondent, while Allegri’s insistence in leaving
Andrea Pirlo benched for large parts of the campaign saw him criticized from
every angle…
The midfield maestro would leave Milan ahead
of the next campaign, but his exit as well as the European disappointment was
all brushed aside due to the Italian honours that was bestowed upon the Diavoli.
The following season (2011/12) saw Allegri
and Milan kick things off with a bang, even without their midfield talisman, as
they got their hands on some silverware, winning the Supercoppa Italiana with a
2-1 victory over Inter. But that was as far as the success would go for the two
parties…
A semi-final elimination at the hands of
Juventus in the Coppa Italia, followed by a quarter-final exit from the UEFA
Champions League by Barcelona (3-1 aggregate) meant that Italian title was all
that was left to fight for.
But the Little Shield (Scudetto) didn’t
remain in the City of Milan; as Antonio Conte’s Juventus triumphed by going the
whole season unbeaten, leaving Milan to accept a second place finish. Who was
to be the Bianconeri’s pivotal player that season? None other than Pirlo…
Failure to ensure that at least one of the
three major trophies arrived at Milanello was the starting point of whispering
doubts over Allegri’s coaching abilities, as rumours of a fall out with Zlatan
Ibrahimovic also started to generate headlines in the media.
To no real surprise, the big Swede parted
ways with the Rossoneri for a move to Paris-Saint Germain and he took with
Milan’s captain and best defender Thiago Silva.
The loss of the influential duo, which formed
a huge part of the spine of the team, meant that Allegri was left with just a
fraction of the quality he had when he first made the switch to the San Siro.
Nonetheless, he had the services of three of
Italy’s most promising talents in Stephan El Shaarawy, Mattia De Sciglio and
Mario Balotelli, but few could predict how things were to unravel.
Despite Milan managing to secure a third
place finish and qualify for Europe for the 2013/14, it wasn’t done without any
shortage of luck…
The Diavoli secured their European berth,
only via the play-offs, on the last day of the season and in the final few
minutes of the campaign too.
Despite Siena having already been relegated,
Milan made heavy weather of the encounter... After going a goal to Claudio Terzi,
Milan lost Giampaolo Pazzini to a horrific knee injury, were reduced to ten men
after Massimo Ambrosini was shown red in his last game for the club, and were
only saved by Philippe Mexes’ 87th minute strike after Mario
Balotelli converted a penalty to draw level.
That encounter had summed up Milan’s campaign
perfectly: erratic, laden with injury problems and a failure to get results
against even the most out-of-form clubs. It had begun; some fans were already
labeling the Livorno-born coach as ‘provincial’.
Still, despite doubts over whether or not
Allegri would be on the Rossoneri bench for the 2013/14 campaign, the former
Pistoiese player pitched for Milan’s first day of pre-season camp. But the
relationship wasn’t to last long…
Six months later Allegri was handed his
‘panettone’ by Adriano Galliani, as club legend Clarence Seedorf went into an
early retirement to try and salvage a broken Milan squad that were lingering in
mid-table.
Since then, the 47-year-old has found a new
lease of life, having taken over from Antonio Conte at Juventus.
Fast forward to present day and just like his
first season at Via Turati, Allegri hasn’t put a foot wrong at the Vinovo
headquarters…
He has already sealed Juventus’ fourth
consecutive Scudetto title with four games to spare and is still in line to win
both the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League. This is by no fluke...
Yes, Allegri inherited a perfectly built
squad from his predecessor, but he hasn’t stuck to Conte’s ways. He has moulded this Juventus squad into a team that plays to his vision and by his
philosophies, all while getting the best out of players that were brushed aside
by other clubs in Paul Pogba, Alvaro Morata, Carlos Tevez and Patrice Evra…
So if ‘Max’ had done so well with a quarter
of the talent in Sardinia, why did he ‘struggle’ in Milan?
It could’ve been that he has less egos on his books at his current team. The Old Lady only really have Carlos Tevez to deal with in his squad
and the boss has often taken the approach of letting the Argentine do what he
wants as long as he performs. Both Allegri and Tevez are hard-headed people and
they’ve realized its best to respect each other and give one another space when
needed, forming a winning recipe.
Meanwhile, even on a calm day at Milan Ibrahimovic’s ego was difficult to deal with, but we forget that Max had to try
and manage him as well as the Ghanaian rebel Kevin-Prince Boateng and the
troubled Mario Balotelli.
There were also underlining problems at
Milan. Berlusconi’s team was going through a huge transition behind closed
doors, while at Juventus the transition period had already been completed
during Conte’s reign…
Five years have passed since a young Allegri
was officially announced as Leonardo’s successor at Milan and those five years
have also seen him gain more experience and grow as a coach. Those calls of
being a provincial coach with small ideas on the field have been brushed aside,
as he proved he has tactically developed his game too... One just has to look at the way he outsmarted both Borussia
Dortmund and Real Madrid with finesse.
On June 6, the Tuscan will lead Juventus from
the bench in what will be the biggest game of his career against Barcelona in
Berlin for the Champions League final. Ninety minutes is all that stands in his
way from making history and should he go on to see Gianluigi Buffon swing aloft
the ‘Big-Eared’ trophy, Allegri will go from ‘provincial’ to ‘tactical genius’
in no time.
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