"We are not ready to compete on two fronts. We need to work on the way we see football and how we approach matches. There are no excuses tonight; there is nothing I can say. Usually I have plenty to say in defence of our team, but not tonight. We need to be more humble and understand what happened. I need to understand how to change this provincial mentality. Everyone has to train like Pavlovic. He is ready to die in training. He is a good example." Amorim's assessment of Milan's humiliating display against Ferencvaros was blunt. The 0-2 scoreline arguably flattered AC Milan, as the Hungarian side feasted at San Siro while the hosts turned in a performance that bordered on embarrassing. After a perfect performance against Inter, the Portuguese manager must ask himself how his team could take the field five days later with so little enthusiasm that it failed to respect the club's history in Europe.
IPA SportAC Milan, Amorim deeply disappointed by another European embarrassment: who risks falling behind
Europa League snubbed
If three clues amount to proof, Milan are not aiming to win the Europa League, despite being one of the favourites on paper. The heavy defeats against Benfica, Bornemouth and Ferencvaros came down to two factors: the attitude of the squad's star players and the shortcomings of several reserves. Rabiot dominates in the league, but when the Europa League anthem plays, he looks like a different player: lazy and defeatist. The Frenchman captained Milan on this occasion because of Maignan's suspension. He is not the only example, but he is certainly the most obvious.
Not up to standard
The thin squad Cardinale, Amorim and the integrated working group assembled last summer has a strong starting XI capable of competing with anyone, as it showed in the derby. But it lacks alternatives, and several players are not up to the task. Pietro Terracciano is a case in point. The previous management had already rejected him, but he stayed at AC Milan because Amorim wanted him to. His season has included 45 poor minutes against Benfica before he came off at half-time, a straight red card after coming on as a substitute in Salzburg, and a poor performance against Ferencavaros that drew boos from the San Siro crowd. Doubts are also growing about Jashari. After a few performances that were at least passable, he continues to show all-too-obvious technical, tactical and tempo limitations. The money spent on him (over 40 million) has proved a complete waste.
Hutchinson is inconsistent and has obvious limitations, but he always shows an attitude befitting the importance of the matches. That's why Amorim has been using him fairly regularly.
Down the pecking order or out of it
Bartesaghi's excellent performances against Salzburg and Udinese suggested AC Milan had their brave, strong academy product back. But he had yet to face a real test. He has since shown the same shortcomings in character and concentration as last season. Meanwhile, the player who seems to have disappeared from the radar altogether is Estupinan. He spent the entire match against Ferencvaros on the bench. Both left-sided players have plenty of work to do if they want to avoid slipping down Amorim's pecking order.
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