Adani: Amorim is top-class, Milan must avoid Juventus's mistakes

In an analysis on Goal.com, former player and pundit Lele Adani made notable comments about AC Milan's current situation, particularly regarding coach Ruben Amorim. Adani believes Amorim is a top-class coach and a complete break from Massimiliano Allegri's outdated approach. He also warned Milan must avoid repeating the mistakes Juventus made in the past. According to Adani, Milan's problem is not the formation but the involvement and engagement of the players in the system. He emphasized: "The issue is not so much formation as involvement." Adani cited Milan's use of two full-backs simultaneously, maximizing Bartesaghi's attacking drive. This is a modern structural choice, showing Amorim is building a style based on connections between the lines and ball progression. However, Adani also implicitly acknowledged that pushing two full-backs high exposes the wide channels, an inherent risk of any back-three system with aggressive wing-backs. Milan are currently on an eight-match unbeaten run in Serie A, with five wins and three draws, collecting 18 points and sitting four points behind leaders Inter. That is a respectable record, but Adani concedes the campaign is "difficult to assess" because the sample is too small. Notably, Milan fans are still unhappy despite the team being unbeaten. Adani believes the pressure from supporters is real and reflects a divergence between results and sentiment. The three draws in an otherwise unbeaten run are likely the origin of the unrest: an unbeaten run built on draws feels like stagnation, whereas a win-loss sequence with the same points total feels like momentum. Adani particularly praised Amorim's ability to understand players' minds, hearts and qualities. He argued this is exactly the competency needed to handle the injury crisis Milan are experiencing. According to Adani, a system dependent on wing-back intensity and coordinated pressing degrades disproportionately when rotation is forced. Connections between the lines break first, and "involvement" — the very thing Adani praises — is the first casualty. Therefore, an unbeaten eight-game run under those conditions, if accurate, is a better signal than the raw points suggest. Another notable point is Adani's mention of an unnamed centre-forward, described as "exceptionally good" and "will soon show it again." This is a forward-looking, falsifiable claim. If the striker's output normalises, the "involvement" thesis gets its finishing evidence. If not, the pressure narrative returns within weeks. Adani also mentioned Milan have invested heavily in the squad, but the team still has major injury problems. He believes Milan are trying to get the most out of a squad in which a great deal has been invested, and the marginal return now comes from coaching, not from the market. On management, Adani pointed out the inconsistency in Milan's decision-making. Fonseca was given very little time. Conceição was sacked after winning a trophy and reaching another final. The previous coach was kept on until the very last minute despite failing to qualify for the Champions League. Adani remarked: "Patience, trust and time must be earned on the pitch." However, he also noted that others received seven years and enormous investment "probably without having done anything to truly deserve it." This is a critique of asymmetric standards, a governance issue dressed as tactical analysis. Adani also touched on the financial aspect. He recalled that the previous coach was retained until the last minute despite missing Champions League qualification. This shows the importance of Champions League qualification to Milan. Heavy squad investment plus a missed-UCL scenario is the classic amortisation trap. If a large outlay is being amortised against a squad whose valuation depends on European participation, then missing out forces either player sales at a discount or an impairment. Adani does not directly address this, but the two facts he supplies sit on opposite sides of the same ledger. Regarding the league landscape, Milan are in a title-race periphery but also a top-four core. A four-point gap to Inter after eight matches is a title-race position, not a crisis position. However, fan pressure is high. Adani believes Milan must avoid Juventus's mistakes. Juventus held onto Allegri's outdated approach for too long, and Milan should not repeat that by failing to give Amorim time. At the same time, Milan should not make the mistake of inconsistent decision-making. On personnel, Bartesaghi is a positive signal. His integration into the first team is not only a tactical decision but also a squad-composition decision. A club-trained player is disproportionately valuable for domestic and European squad-list quotas. Bartesaghi's rise is simultaneously a tactical and a compliance asset. Additionally, Milan risk having core players poached, especially the underperforming high-value striker. However, Adani believes Milan are in a consolidation phase rather than an acquisition phase. On compliance, there is no compliance story in this article. The regulatory dimension enters only indirectly through Champions League qualification, a financial-eligibility issue dressed as a sporting one. The use of Bartesaghi is the only genuinely governance-relevant tactical detail. "Patience" has a compliance edge that the article misses: multi-year projects are only viable if they do not collide with squad-cost or break-even monitoring. A patient sporting project financed by heavy investment requires European revenue to remain compliant. In conclusion, Adani believes Amorim is a top-class coach and Milan need to be patient with him. However, patience must be earned on the pitch. Milan must avoid Juventus's mistakes by not reverting to an outdated approach and not being inconsistent in their decisions. The coming weeks will be crucial: if the striker normalises, the involvement thesis gets its finishing evidence; if not, pressure will return. Milan are in a position to compete, but they need stability from the board and patience from the fans.