When Milanismo meets a ‘fire inside’: Abate reaches crossroads with decisive meeting imminent

AC Milan have a decision to make regarding the future of Ignazio Abate, and not just because his contract is set to expire in less than two months.

As our colleagues at SempreMilan.it write, Abate’s contract with Milan is close to expiring and the two parties will soon meet to define what the future might look like, hoping that it will be together but with nothing excluded.

The coaching topic has been the hottest one at Milan in recent days. On the one hand – in the first team – the dismissal of Stefano Pioli now seems imminent and therefore also the arrival of a new coach. On the other hand, there could also be some changes in the Primavera.

A promising start

Abate is about to conclude his third season on the Diavolo bench and – after being promoted from the U16s – his time in charge can be considered a success.

He reached the Scudetto final with the Allievi Nazionali in 2021-22, the UEFA Youth League semi-final with the Primavera in 2022-23 and the final this year, and there is still a chance of reaching the play-offs this year.

Abate’s profile fits well in Milan’s project. He is 37 years old which makes him a young coach not far removed from being a player himself, and he is someone that knows the club inside out given his path from the youth sector to being the senior captain.

In addition to that, the former right-back has drawn praise for the way that his team sets up, something that we highlighted a couple of weeks ago when looking at the idea of him potentially becoming interim head coach of the first team.

Focusing on a purely tactical point of view, was can start to trace how the team might luck. First of all, the formation – the 4-3-3 or sometimes the 4-2-3-1 – would be the same as Pioli’s, however the ways of interpreting it change.

When not in possession, Abate’s Milan tends to line up with a narrow 4-4-2, thus giving greater coverage in the central areas while allowing them to strike quickly on the counterattack with two strikers ready to attack the depth.

This is a way of pressing that even inspired Stefano Pioli against Fiorentina in the recent 2-1 victory at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. The coach had his players line up in such a way off the ball and frustrated the hosts for large parts.

In build-up, Abate tends to deploy a three-man midfield with a regista flanked by two more physical midfielders. The front three sees the wingers tend to attack the space in behind by cutting infield, meaning full-backs move up to provide width, then the centre-forward is the focal point.