AC Milan's youthful future will lead the way

AC Milan, a team once known for being a team of legends and superstars, is no longer what it used to be.

The financial strain faced by the club meant that they had to make big decisions in regards to the club’s future and direction.

At the start of last season, they announced a new youth project for the club, mirroring the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona in a bid to produce top players within the club.

While many young signings, including Stephan El Shaarawy, M’Baye Niang and Gabriel, stimulated the project, Milan still needed a poster boy for their own academy and boy did they get one.

A young man by the name of Mattia De Sciglio had the season of a lifetime, becoming the most played full-back for Milan in the process. He was also called up to the Italian national team, where he made nine appearances and hence, became the favoured left back for the national team.

Even though many believed that the supply line from the Milan academy will end there, they were proven wrong.

This season, midfielder Bryan Cristante and forward Andrea Petagna have been promoted to the first team. Cristante is touted to be the replacement for departed club legend Massimo Ambrosini, while Petagna is penciled to fill in for Giampaolo Pazzini, while the latter recovers from a surgery.

Both players have previously played, for a few minutes, in the first team, but hardly enough to inspire any impact on the game.

During the 2013 TIM Trophy, both players were called upon to play against U.S. Sassuolo. Petagna snatched a goal, while Cristante helped dominate the midfield alongside Andrea Poli and Antonio Nocerino. Even though a win could not be secured and Cristante received a red card, the promise was there for all to notice.

The next game, against Valencia, saw Petagna start alongside Robinho. He was regularly in a good position but due to the poor assists, he was unable to score. Arguably, he should have taken penalty that Robinho missed but, knowing his place in the team,  the young lad stepped down. Cristante also played well during the match although, his impact was less profound.

Wednesday’s game against Manchester City was also an important milestone for both these young players.

Petagna played from the start but saw little of the ball as Milan conceded five goals in the space of 35 minutes. However, Petagna’s striking partner, Stephan El Shaarawy pulled two goals back in the second half to give the scoreline a respectable look.

Petagna had his shining moment too, as his run was picked out by Sulley Muntari, who sent a long, lofted pass to Petagna. Petagna’s run beat champion defender Joleon Lescott and his shot breezed past Joe Hart.

Later in the game, Milan introduced a few debutants, namely, Davide Pacifico, Marco Pinato and Kingsley Boateng, all products of the Milan youth academy. All players performed well, Pinato and Pacifico preventing the likes of Negredo, Nasri and Barry from scoring, while Kingsley Boateng showed his prowess as he almost scored.

Even though  all these games are just pre-season friendlies, young players being given a bit of game time signals towards bigger things for the youngsters.

Allegri’s gusty move to put two debutants in defence against one of the most notorious forward line-ups in the world shows that he is not afraid to put faith in young players.

It has been a while since Milan has put so much faith in such young players. The change of faith has been signified by new signings of younger players within the academy and the employment of former Milanese legends as youth coaches.

Filippo Inzaghi replaced Primavera coach of two seasons Aldo Dolecetti, and although we are yet to see how he will progress, his management of the Allievi Nazionali team was impressive. He has already marked a few players of his squad as future first teamplayers and is allowing other players the time required to reach that level.

The name on everyone’s lips last season was Hachim Mastour, the Class of ’98 superstar. Playing above his age and startling in the games, Mastour unfortunately suffered an injury last season and his recovery meant he is not playing for the Primavera team like many would have hoped.

However, other names have made the step up to the Primavera team whose names bare promise. Christian Maldini, the son and grandson of former club legends Paolo and Cesare Maldini, respectively, will play under Inzaghi this season, hopeful of making the jump to the first team within the next few years.

The promise of several players within the Milan youth sector is exciting for the future and could see Milan replicate the likes of Barcelona, who have created a world class team based around the players from their own academy.

While it may take some kind of sacrifice and Milan fans may struggle to see the light, the rewards in the future will see Milan return to the world class team it once was.