From the initial praise to the reproaches in the locker room after the mistakes against Juve: the coach struggling with the management of the number 10. The objective is to bring out the best in Rafa
Leao’s very first Rossoneri coach was Marco Giampaolo who introduced him to the general Rossoneri public in the derby in September 2019, Rafa’s first as a starter. The Portuguese, who then wore a more anonymous shirt, number 17, was the center forward Piatek’s support in the area, with Suso in the attacking midfield. The parenthesis was too short to judge the feeling between the coach and the twenty-year-old Leao. It is Pioli, who arrives immediately afterwards, who makes him one of the references of his team: Rafa was the absolute protagonist of the championship season, his contribution recognized by the award of best player in the championship, and then a driving force in the Champions League race of the following season, which ended in the semi-finals. Rafa becomes number 10 in the 23-24 championship where, however, unlike the previous two years, he does not reach double figures in terms of goals. Support for the team becomes increasingly intermittent. Not even his compatriots Fonseca and then Conceiçao find a fruitful dialogue: three Portuguese who seem to speak two different languages.
New course
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Finally, here we are with Allegri, the most experienced coach of all and used to managing players of different personalities. Max immediately focused on Leao, with public statements in which he extolled his qualities. Thus on the day of the presentation of the Allegri encore: “I believe, or rather I am convinced, of Leao. He is approaching the age of maturation, I think he is more responsible and there are all the conditions for us to do well together”. To enhance his skills in front of goal, Max centralized him in the penalty area: on the first occasion Rafa scored with a header against Bari, his debut in the Italian Cup, with a twist like a true center forward. Shortly thereafter came the injury and the slow recovery: Rafa appeared again without being noticed in the final twenty minutes against Napoli, and then in the half hour that the coach gave him as a substitute at the Stadium against Juve. Here Leao instead stood out, and it wasn’t a good thing. He missed two chances and beyond the technical errors the usual limitation re-emerged, the soft approach to the match. Without depth and without grit, with an easily readable attitude in running and recovering the ball: soft and without fury. For this reason Max had put his hands forward even before the substitution (“Rafa don’t piss me off…”) and then made himself heard in the locker room once the match was over. Max scolded him in front of witnesses (some teammates): a moment that can be read as a normal coach-player confrontation, or as a turning point. Either Leao does what the coach asks of him, or he will lose his privileges: the guaranteed starting place, the possibility of concentrating on the offensive phase without too many retreats to help the team, the status of the best player on the team.
The company with the technician
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Rafa was left free to think about it during the trip with which he responded to the call from the Portuguese national team, while the coach and club reflected on their own: the club fully supports Max’s strategy, who is obviously responsible for managing the group and the individuals. Leao has always been a special case: a discontinuous talent who has been the creator of great successes and equally great regrets. Milan also believed in Allegri for this reason: only he can guarantee the definitive consecration of the talent. Either with Max or with no one else, is society’s belief. For this reason, whatever tone he uses, Allegri will always have the support of the management. There remains only one tactical doubt, which is independent of the rest: will removing Rafa from the comfort zone of the flank to centralize him in the area really enhance his characteristics? Can Leao be a cynical attacker waiting for his moment in front of the opponent’s goal or does he need to free up his running on the flank? In this too Max has carte blanche.
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