The omens are certainly good for Massimiliano Allegri. In 24 years under Silvio Berlusconi every Italian tactician that he has shrewdly appointed has tasted instant success, winning a piece of silverware for the trophy cabinet back at the club's offices on Via Turati.
The likes of Arrigo Sacchi, Fabio Capello and Alberto Zaccheroni all delivered the Scudetto in their first full season at the helm, while Carlo Ancelotti arguably went one better and lifted the Champions League.
Throughout the same period, each of the four foreigners who sat on the bench at San Siro - Nils Liedholm, Oscar Tabarez, Fatih Terim and Leonardo - left without making a long-lasting impression on Il Cavaliere.
Such a trend is perhaps nothing more than a mere coincidence. After all, Sacchi, Capello, Zaccheroni and Ancelotti were similar in nationality but different in style and one can hardly accuse Liedholm or Leonardo of not possessing an in-depth appreciation of the club and its traditions.
A cursory glance at their respective pasts reveals that they are at least superficially more intrinsically Milanista than Zaccheroni or Allegri could ever claim to be and were perhaps victims of the club being in a phase of transition during their respective spells in charge under Berlusconi.
Please note the disclaimer at the end of that sentence lest we forget Liedholm did actually win the Scudetto as Coach of Milan in 1979.
And yet the curiosity remains. Milan lead Serie A at Christmas for the first time in eight years and in each of the last 16 occasions that they have done so since the end of World War Two, the Rossoneri have gone on to win the title.
Only during the 1992-93 season has a bigger gap separated Milan from the chasing pack at this stage of a League campaign. So the hype surrounding this team is understandable and the credit must go to Allegri for balancing a team that initially reminded one of the top heavy Galactico sides at Real Madrid in Florentino Perez's first term as President.
Nicknamed 'acciughina', which means anchovy, simply on account of his slim build and dry sense of humour, the 43-year-old has proven Adriano Galliani right by showing that he has the physique du rôle for the Milan job.
Indeed, it's hard to think about Allegri without the word unflappable coming to mind. He had to go back to the drawing board when Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho arrived late in the transfer window and then deal with the added weight of expectation from the owner that all four of Milan's so-called aces should be on the pitch at the same time.
Allegri reluctantly entertained the notion, but when it didn't work, notably against Real Madrid in October, he had the courage of his convictions to drop Ronaldinho and re-calibrate the team, switching from a 4-3-3 to a 4-3-1-2.
“This formation seems more adapted to the players' characteristics,” Franco Baresi told Il Corriere della Sera. “The three central midfielders are good at imposing themselves, but also in covering the defence and robbing the ball from their opponents. And this is an enormous advantage.” While Allegri claims he hasn't yet “squared the circle”, he has found a way of maintaining solidity without losing quality.
The evolution of this tactic, seen against Bologna, is the creation of a diamond with Kevin-Prince Boateng at the tip ostensibly to press the opposition defence, Massimo Ambrosini screening the Milan backline and Andrea Pirlo starting left of centre in a new role. “This way he guarantees us greater attacking quality because he doesn't give our opponents a point of reference and he is freer,” Allegri explained on Sunday.
Reworking Pirlo's game has been one of Allegri's priorities since his arrival at Milanello. He has made a point of advising the playmaker against the long and laborious horizontal passing that has come to typify his style in recent years in favour of much quicker vertical balls direct to the team's attack.
The fruit of that conversation was evident in Milan's third goal against Bologna on Saturday when Pirlo picked up the ball in his new position, looked up and instead of hesitating wasted no time in playing Ibrahimovic through to score.
Nurturing creativity has been central to this Milan side whose goal-per-game ratio after 11 games was the worst at the club in 10 years. Since the change in system, however, the Rossoneri have averaged nearly two every game and a lot of that is down to Ibrahimovic.
The Sweden international was Photoshopped pulling on a Marco Van Basten mask in this morning's Gazzetta dello Sport, suggesting that they are in fact one and the same.
The comparison is as divisive as Ibrahimovic's marmite personality, especially when one considers he is 30 next year, the age at which Van Basten was forced to retire having won the Ballon d'Or three times and the European Cup twice.
Yet the impact he has made at Milan in just four months has been staggering. His 13 goals in 21 appearances tell only half the story. After all, Milan have won just three times in the nine games in which Ibrahimovic hasn't scored.
Such a statistic would appear to suggest that he is as much a soloist as ever, but even Arrigo Sacchi who Ibrahimovic fell out with on exactly this topic earlier this season claims to have seen a marked change in the player's willingness to sacrifice himself for the team. “He collaborates in the defensive phase and doesn't just exploit his technical and physical ability in attack, but moves in time with the team,” Sacchi wrote in his column. “Marco was perhaps more elegant and until this year more capable than him of linking with the team.”
What Sacchi would probably term Ibrahimovic Reloaded was on display in Bologna on Saturday when he laid on an assist for Boateng and combined with the Ghana international again in a neat triangle for Robinho's goal.
Incidentally, the three summer signings have now been responsible for Milan's last 11 in all competitions, so talk of a dependence on Ibrahimovic has it caveats, especially in light of Alexandro Pato's continued absence as well as that of Pippo Inzaghi.
It must be said, though, Milan do have frailties. They had the worst record in terms of points and goals scored among the teams who qualified for the Last 16 of the Champions League. But their weaknesses would appear to weigh less than their rivals if put on a scale.
There is still an aura about this Milan side if not in Europe then definitely in Italy where they also have the best defence, one that has recorded five clean sheets in its last seven games.
Thiago Silva's knee injury and subsequent arthroscopic surgery, is of concern, but fortunately it coincides with the upcoming winter break and such luck often has a hand in the making of champions. Milan fans aren't the only ones who think so. Their six-year wait for a Scudetto could well be over.
, Galliani better start working for a strong young squad that plays sexy football
