Three players who could captain Milan next in Fonseca’s ‘shared leadership’
New signings Alvaro Morata and Youssouf Fofana, alongside Mike Maignan, could be the next players to wear Milan‘s captain armband in the upcoming game, as coach Paulo Fonseca tries to build a ‘shared leaders
Davide Calabria, Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez and Fikayo Tomori have all been picked as captains at least once during this opening stretch of the season, but as the Rossoneri coach explained before their Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen he believes Milan have at least ‘five’ possible options for the captaincy.
or Fofana: who’ll be Milan’s next captain?
Theo Hernandez was picked as Milan’s captain in their latest Champions League fixture at Bayer Leverkusen, a charge he was already tasked with against Venezia and city rivals Inter in Serie A.
Calabria also captained Milan three times this season, with Tomori and Leao wearing the armband once, against Lazio and Lecce respectively.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Fonseca is willing to extend such a list of names in the upcoming matches, as goalkeeper Mike Maignan and new signings Alvaro Morata and Youssouf Fofana are all considered ideal candidates.
The Italian sports newspaper reports that Maignan is deemed a ‘natural leader’ and will be included in Fonseca’s rotations, while Morata’s ‘experience’ and ‘penchant for work and sacrifice’ also make him a perfect pick for the captaincy.
Despite his younger age, Fofana could also be selected as captain as a player who is always at the heart of Milan’s midfield and game, which allows him to easily communicate with his teammates.
The Rossoneri got two of their three seasonal wins so far with Theo Hernandez wearing the armband, against Venezia and Inter, while Leao captained the Rossoneri during their 3-0 win over Lecce.
Focussed on changing captains than systems and formations during a game when you really need it. Musah, Okafor and Calabria all needed to come on especially when the dutch and English misfits in midfield were horrific.
More important than ability on a football pitch is mentality. This team doesn’t have right mentality to truly challenge in these games. We’ve seen that over the years vs Liverpool 3 times, Atletico Madrid, the home and away games vs Chelsea, away and home with dortmund, the away game at psg and even the home game vs Newcastle. Many games involving small margins that always seem to tip towards the opposition.
They used to talk about ‘Milan DNA’ in the champions league. They don’t have it in this ‘new era’. They’re nice players. Lovely guys who mean well. But they don’t have that edge to get over the line in critical moments.