Blog: Patomania
The hype for an 18-year-old with spots and braces was crazy even by Italian standards, but Susy Campanale is happy to report Alexandre Pato did not disappoint
Serie A has seen far too many false dawns for the big new star, let alone a teenager who has not played a competitive club game in six months. Patomania was all over the country and beyond weeks before he finally stepped on to the field, so San Siro was packed out for his debut against Napoli.
All eyes were trained on the 18-year-old nicknamed ‘The Duck’ and his bright orange boots, while every touch of the ball prompted cheers from the crowd. For the first 10 minutes, anyway. Then the jeers started. After all, this is Serie A – nobody gets an easy ride here.
Slowly but surely, the pressure on Pato’s shoulders eased and he began to play like the talent that had been promised us all. Granted, he’s still a bit rough around the edges, but for a teen making his first appearance in European football it was more than an impressive performance.
He can turn like he’s on rails, shoot from any angle, use both feet and already shows an ability to link up with his teammates. In fact, Pato’s greatest strength may well be his birth certificate, because at that age you have the barely-warranted confidence to think you can do anything. And when you try, sometimes you’ll find you can actually do it. Pato is most definitely not afraid to try and he can scare defenders with his unpredictability alone.
Watching Pato, Ronaldo, Kaka and Clarence Seedorf combine made the mouth water, especially when you consider Milan have a packed schedule this January to prepare for their Champions League encounter with Arsenal. That is the match every lover of the beautiful game will want to watch and is lining up to be the perfect advert for the sport.
However, it remains to be seen quite how this is going to work against a team other than the less than solid Napoli. Seedorf has already complained he doesn’t appreciate being pushed back into right midfield, Gennaro Gattuso was suspended for that tie and will end up battling against Massimo Ambrosini for a place and Carlo Ancelotti’s love of attacking full-backs has to take a back seat to support this trident.
One option that has been mooted is a switch to a three-man defence, which considering the Rossoneri’s ageing back line sounds like a plausible alternative. Paolo Maldini can give his best in a central role as he nears retirement alongside Alessandro Nesta and Kakha Kaladze with Massimo Oddo taking right midfield and giving Seedorf more creativity. With so many games to play in three competitions, the ‘old’ system can be brought back with the likes of Giuseppe Favalli and Serginho filling in the gaps.
Ancelotti has proved himself a great Coach at building his tactics around players, so this is a fresh challenge that could bring us a brand new era at Milan. All because of a teenager with spots and braces.
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