Allegri hits jackpot at first go

Milan clinched their 18th Italian league on Saturday night following a scoreless draw with Roma at the Olimpico.

The point was good enough for Milan to make sure they’ll finish top of the standings as second-placed Inter can only match the 78-point tally of the leaders but the Rossoneri enjoy a better head-to-head record with the outgoing champions.

Following the league success of 1999, Milan had to wait five years to claim their 17th scudetto.

The 1999 title was supposed to herald a new era for the club after two years of huge disappointments.

Alberto Zaccheroni did, in fact, emulate his illustrious predecessors Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello in winning the scudetto in his first attempt. But, other than that, the current Japan coach failed to live up to his billing and was shown the backdoor towards the end of the 2000/01 campaign.

Eventually, it had to be former club hero, Carlo Ancelotti, who led Milan to yet another championship in 2003/04. However, in his eight years in charge, that was Ancelotti’s only Serie A title success as Milan shifted focus on Europe and reached three Champions League finals in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

With Ancelotti as coach, Milan were hardly ever in the race for the domestic league after 2004 as he transformed the team into a successful cup outfit.

In those years, Milan used to reserve their best for their Champions League commitments only.

This season, their success was thoroughly deserved as they led the standings from the word go. Milan’s scudetto was only in jeopardy during a short span, in which Leo-nardo’s Inter were going from strength to strength at a time when Massimiliano Allegri’s team drop-ped crucial points in a 1-1 draw at home to lowly Bari and a 0-1 away defeat to Palermo.

The international break in March, ahead of a make-or-break fixture with Inter, could not have come at a more opportune time for Milan.

Inter started the match as favourites. But the derby soon became a non-contest as Milan, despite having to do without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, rose to the occasion and were the uncontested winners on the night with a defiant 3-0 win.

That victory was considered by many pundits as the one that balanced the knife’s edge in favour of Milan. Eventually, they threaded a streak of five wins in a row to widen their gap with respect to Inter and the other pursuers.

The rest is history.

Although many were the players who contributed towards Milan’s ultimate triumph, Allegri deserves a word of mention.

The 44-year-old former Cagliari coach has won the scudetto in his debut season with Milan and it was not by sheer coincidence.

In particular, the unassuming Allegri did succeed in assembling a title-winning squad based more on substance rather than style, even if this meant that the club had to part with schemer Ronaldinho.

Now, Allegri’s career at Milan is at a crossroads as he has to emulate Sacchi, Capello and Ancelotti and sew together a string of successes and avoid the ‘one-hit wonder’ show of Zaccheroni.

Milan already possess a valid squad but need to sign more key players, particularly in defence and midfield, to sustain their challenge in Europe as well.

They have already signed Philippe Mexes, from Roma, and Marseille full-back Taiwo but these two acquisitions alone may not be enough to put Milan at a par with European greats Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Statistics

1st away win for Catania, who conquered Brescia’s Mario Rigamonti Stadium to make sure of safety. Cesena, too, made a giant step towards extending their stay in the top flight thanks to their fourth away win of the term at Cagliari. For the Sardinians this was their third straight defeat.

3 defeats in a row have hampered Lazio’s quest for a top-four finish. For Udinese, who were Lazio’s latest executioners, this was their first success after two defeats. Bologna-Parma shared the spoils in a slow burning encounter. For Bologna this was their first positive result after five straight defeats. Parma have collected 10 points in five games since Franco Colomba took over.

5 players – Giandomenico Mesto (Genoa), Davide Lanzafame (Brescia), Gabriele Angella (Udinese), Edinson Cavani (Napoli) and Daniele Corvia (Lecce) – received marching orders. Meanwhile, referees ordered four penalties last weekend. Alessandro Del Piero and Lecce’s Daniel Corvia were both successful from the spot but Mauro Zarate (Lazio) and Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo) both had their attempts blocked.

18th scudetto for leaders Milan, who held on to a goalless away draw against Roma on Saturday. This was Milan’s first draw after five straight wins. Bottom side Bari suffered their fourth defeat on the trot as they threw away an early lead to finish on the losing side against Palermo.

25 goals were scored on the 36th day: 14 coming from the hosts and the remaining 11 from the visitors, who managed two wins. Antonio Di Natale, scorer of a brace on Sunday, is the leading scorer with 28 goals.