“Wine with the grapes you have” – Capello critical of Milan’s performances under Amorim
Fabio Capello has some worries about the way that AC Milan are playing under Ruben Amorim, and about some individuals within the squad.
There has been a lot of criticism levelled at Amorim and the Milan squad after their 2-0 loss to Benfica on Wednesday night. Not only did they lose their first Europa League game, but they were beaten rather comfortably by a team that made nine changes.
It was an alarming display of how far off the levels the Rossoneri are currently, all while the head coach continues to come under fire for his selections and his comments in the media that have raised some eyebrows.
Capello spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published this morning and he offered his take on current events at Milan, from the first defeat to Amorim’s work so far.
If you wanted to rank the horrors, was the attacking phase worse or the defensive one?
“Both. The defence was flawed in the last ten games of last season and hasn’t improved at all this year. The midfield never gets through sufficiently after losing the ball, and there’s a lot of slackness both in open play and on set pieces.
“As for the attack, there are many players trying to carry the ball in a slow game, with few crosses. They try to get inside centrally with through balls that don’t land properly and end up benefiting the opponents.
“And then they always end up blaming the centre-forward, who, poor thing, can’t receive a decent ball. By playing like this, you can’t find any space against organised opponents like Benfica.”
If we had to isolate one, what is the worst factor right now?
“Not having found the core team yet. Those 12-13 key players on which to build the rest. And yet, it’s clear that this squad has some players capable of making a difference. Instead, I’ve seen too many different line-ups.”
And when someone carries the ball, he only sees immobile team-mates…
“No one’s looking for depth. Maybe they know the ball isn’t coming to them… They see the ball moving, but in a way that puts them to sleep. That’s why Milan is preaching so much about quick ball recovery in attack, but so far we’ve only seen it against Torino on matchday one.”
The ‘style’ is also completely missing…
“There’s never anyone looking for a one-on-one to cross, or a run in deep. And then there’s another problem: even when they get the ball into the middle, there’s never anyone to fill the box. Ramos receives the ball surrounded by opponents and is not helped by his teammates.”
How much is courage lacking, and how much is the idea of the game?
“I’d say 50 percent of players are afraid to try a move, and the other 50 percent still haven’t figured out the tactical plan. The players know and understand each other by playing together: if you keep changing, you won’t achieve this goal.”
What about Modric?
“It’s obvious to everyone that he’s not in great shape, but I’d be very careful about shelving a player of this calibre, especially given how the team is playing now. I’m all for quality. I’d keep in mind that he’s one of the few players who brings verticality to the game.”
Meanwhile, Amorim has just said that the squad isn’t entirely suited to his idea of football: a heavy sentence…
“On the one hand, it means the club hasn’t done everything he asked for. On the other, a coach can’t always be completely satisfied. The problem is that this shouldn’t be stated publicly. These are issues that need to be discussed within the club.”
The starting XI fielded against Benfica raised more than a few doubts…
“I haven’t really figured it out yet. I’m starting from the assumption that the coach fields the team he thinks is best for winning. But Amorim is still searching for that.”
The Portuguese coach is not at risk, but it still seems like Milan are obliged – for a thousand reasons – to continue with him…
“There’s no point in continuing to change. He needs to be given the opportunity to continue with his project. And it’s not a contractual issue. He needs support because he’s looking for a solution and we need to wait for it to be found.”
Is the figure of the sporting director missing alongside Amorim?
“The sporting director has always been important, but he or she needs to bring added value. It’s not enough to just fill a desk.”
Let’s go back to the partially unsuitable squad mentioned by the coach: who do you think the Portuguese was speaking about?
“No, that’s not the point. The point is that you have to know how to make wine with the grapes you have. There’s no single game system, you have to put the players in the position where they perform best.”
Is Amorim too outspoken in speaking publicly?
“Basically, I find him very polite, he says a lot. But we need to be careful: the squad issue, I repeat, wasn’t a good thing for the club.”
Some consider him a presumptuous coach, even in his playing style…
“No, not yet. I’d wait a little longer before calling it that.”
