Milan Must Be Treated as Genuine Serie A Title Contenders

When Milan kicked off the 2020/21 campaign with a 2-0 victory over ten-man Bologna and two comfortable successes against newly-promoted Crotone and Spezia, many sneered at their seemingly flattering position at the top of the Serie A table.

Well, no one is sneering now. Seven games later, I Rossoneri sit five points clear of nearest rivals Inter, having secured their eighth win in ten matches with a 2-1 victory at Sampdoria on Sunday evening.

They have fought off I Nerazzurri and Napoli among this set of victories, while only dropping points to AS Roma and a stubborn Hellas Verona outfit.

All of this, while talisman and supposed team-carrier Zlatan Ibrahimovic has only featured in six of those clashes. So, now over a quarter of the way through the new campaign, it appears as if we must start taking Stefano Pioli's men seriously as genuine title contenders.

And why wouldn't we?

Serie A is wide open this season, thanks to a second transitional year for nine-time consecutive champions Juventus. The decision to employ rookie coach Andrea Pirlo remains a controversial one, with the 41-year-old only winning five of his first ten league matches (and one of those was awarded off the pitch).

Elsewhere, Inter have failed to capitalise on Juve's early spluttering form, while Napoli showed in their defeat to I Rossoneri that they still have plenty to learn. And as for the outsiders, Lazio, Atalanta and Roma have all endured inconsistent and troubled beginnings.

So, that just leaves little old Milan, leading the way under their unfancied coach and precocious group of starlets. The permanent summer appointment of Pioli was viewed by many as short-termism at its worst, after the hierarchy backtracked on a previously arranged deal that would have seen Ralf Rangnick rip up the club and start from scratch.

Pioli's good form in 2020 convinced the board that this was the project worth investing in, and while deemed short-sighted by many, it now appears to be paying dividends.

The Italian coach demonstrated his aptitude for working with young squads in need of nurturing during his two years in charge of Fiorentina, when he guided his team through the tragic and psychologically destructive death of captain Davide Astori in 2018.

He built an emotional connection with his team which developed into an unbreakable bond, as he took the players under his wing and coached them - both mentally and physically - through one of the most testing periods in the club's recent history.

Pioli has leant upon his fatherly presence once again, blooding through a group of starlets and placing his unwavering trust in their abilities to compete at the highest level. He can sense when a player is ready to become a first-team regular, with the summer's big-money signing Sandro Tonali being a prime example, and he has slowly but surely been introduced into the starting lineup.

Was the midfielder miffed at being left out of the team from the off, or for being made to wait for his moment to shine? No chance. Instead, he hailed his new coach (via Sky Italia), explaining that he is more a 'team leader' than a typical boss.

“Pioli is our team leader," Tonali said. "He is the first person who is showing us the right path, we are all following him together. You can spend hours talking to him, he can explain everything to you.

"He is open with us and we are happy to have such a coach. When you play like this, it's a birth more than a rebirth. A Milan like this hasn't been seen for a long time."

Tonali is right, too. A Milan like this hasn't been seen for an incredibly long time - for what feels a lifetime to some supporters. A title race hasn't been seen as a possibility since they last won the Scudetto in 2011, and a decade of mediocrity has badly affected the image and reputation of the club.

But they are back, and seemingly following Pioli on the path to greatness. He has assembled a group of hard-working, driven, hungry individuals who all understand what it means to represent this grand club, while welcoming back a symbol of the successful past to drill the required and expected standards into the youngsters.

That symbol, of course, is Ibrahimovic.

The Swede has suffered with injury and coronavirus issues this year, but he has still made more of an impact on the pitch than any of us could have imagined. His 10 goals in six games have inspired this crop of go-getters into believing the Serie A title is within their grasp, and his own endless self-confidence is clearly spilling over into their game.

Without the 39-year-old in the team, Milan are four wins from four. Maximum points without the man who many claim is the only reason behind their incredible start? The stats beg to differ.

What is undeniable is that this togetherness and belief has not been seen in these parts for a number of years. Pioli has breathed life back into the flatlining careers of Franck Kessie, Ante Rebic, Hakan Calhanoglu, Ismael Bennacer and Davide Calabria, while ensuring the rise to stardom of Gianluigi Donnarumma and Theo Hernandez.

There is a balance that has been missing for years, while the spine of the team, all the way from the back to the front, is one of the most consistent and reliable in the division.

The players are playing with pride, the coach is clearly honoured to represent such a club, and there is a respect and understanding between the two which can only harbour success.

Even in recent weeks, with Pioli housebound after testing positive for coronavirus, the players have battled for their leader, and made him their first priority at the final whistle. Heartwarming videos are spilling out of Milano, with Tonali, Kessie and Donnarumma greeting their boss on FaceTime, or singing 'Pioli's on fire' on the bus home from another victory.

Things couldn't be going better for Milan at the moment. I Rossoneri stand a great chance of solidifying their place at the top with a home game against Parma and a trip to Genoa, before a huge double-header versus Sassuolo and Lazio.

Positive results in all four of those contests would see the Italian giants maintain their place at the Serie A summit, and with the first meeting between themselves and Juventus on the horizon, Pioli's men are firmly in contention for their first scudetto in a decade.

Hold on to your hats folks, this could be the best Italian title race in over a decade.