GdS: ‘Milan’s certainty’ – why Amorim will put faith in Cisse again vs. Lazio
Ruben Amorim has made it no secret that he ‘loves’ Alphadjo Cisse, and he is ready to renew his faith in him on Saturday.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write, it is unusual for a coach to single out one player from the squad. Diplomacy usually prevails, but not with Amorim who stated: “The player who has amazed me? Cissé. I love him.”
It is a mutual affection: Cisse started against Torino and scored his first goal of the season, a decisive strike that broke the deadlock in the league opener. He was in the starting lineup again for the victory over Venezia: six points out of six.
“Young players need to be managed carefully,” Amorim noted, opting to spare him the pressure of starting the match against Juventus. Coming off the bench in that game, Cissé struck again to double his personal tally and become the team’s top scorer.
With his shooting boots on and the right temperament, Alpha looks set to start at the Olimpico. It is a hypothesis for now but a likely one. Amorim does not adhere to a fixed pecking order, choosing his players instead based on current form and their work during the week. Cissé has been working hard.
Positive numbers
While playing against Torino, Cisse scored to end a 253-day drought since his last goal, scored against Avellino while with Catanzaro, on December 13 of last year.
There are comparisons with Patrick Cutrone, the youngest Milan goalscorer. He scored at 19 years and 236 days old, whereas Cisse was 19 years and 305 days old on that opening Sunday of the Serie A season.
As for an Italian player scoring on his first start for the Rossoneri, the previous record-holder was Daniel Maldini. Turning to the Bianconeri side of Turin: no Milan player had scored at the Stadium since 28 May 2023, when Olivier Giroud found the net.
At 19 years and 319 days old, Alpha became the youngest player to score in his first two away games for the Rossoneri since the introduction of the three-points-per-win system in the 1994–95 season.
The story
Before Milan came his Serie A debut with Verona: 14 minutes of Serie A action, spread across three substitute appearances for Hellas. In between, there was also an unsuccessful pursuit by PSV, who were ready to take him to the Netherlands.
At the end of last February, with Catanzaro, Cisse suffered an injury that led to the operation in Finland. It was needed to repair the rupture of the right adductor tendon with the consequence of a season that ended already in winter.
Alpha turned out to be an attentive observer: “At first, I was sidelined for a while, but I watched every training session to get to know the coach, so it was easier when I finally returned.” His integration happened naturally.
“He’s sharp and attentive; he’s also losing weight after being out of action for a few months,” Amorim had said about him. An interesting fact: Cissé’s sister, Aminata, is a university student at the University of Padua, studying Food Science and Technology with the goal of becoming a nutritionist.
Eyes on the Azzurri
Catanzaro, Milan, and who knows, perhaps the national team. Cisse is on the extended squad list for the upcoming Nations League matches. He is making the same climb in Serie A that he did in the youth ranks, having played for the Under-16, Under-18, Under-19, and Under-21 teams.
Now, Roberto Mancini has his eye on him. His start to the season has been surprising, and the credit is shared: it goes to the player; to the club, which stood by him and guided his recovery from injury. It also goes to Amorim, who blocked a loan exit because he saw the value in the teenager.
Big-money signing Goncalo Ramos has worked hard for the team but remains stuck on a single goal in the scoring charts, a great strike against Venezia. That puts him level with Adrien Rabiot, who scored against Torino.
There is no shortage of attacking talent elsewhere: Alexis Saelemaekers has distinguished himself with an assist, while Samuel Chukwueze has provided two. There has been little impact so far from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Diego Moreira.
Francesco Camarda and Omari Hutchinson are minute-less, as is Christian Pulisic. “Pulisic is coming back from an injury; I’m managing his workload. For now, Alpha is playing in his place,” Amorim explained after the draw with Juventus.
Cisse has made more of an impact than the star Pulisic, who has remained in the shadows. Alpha is shining bright, and Milan will look to him to light up the night at the Olimpico.
