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A.C. Milan During The Week.
A.C. Milan During The Week.
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Fig.3
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EXERCISE No.4 (5 minutes): 1 vs 1. Wall pass
and go.
The coach, positioned on the side of the playing
Fig.1
area, passes the ball to a midfielder inside of the
center circle. The receiver executes a wall pass
with the forward inside of the playing area, then
EXERCISE No.2 (5 minutes): 1 vs 1. Control proceedes to beat the defender and shoots on goal
the pass and turn with the ball. (Fig. 3bis).
The defender, positioned on the side of the
playing area, executes a 40-yard pass toward a
player situated inside of the midfield circle. This
player rebounds it first-time to the forward in the
middle, who controls the pass, enters into the
playing area, dribbles around the defender and
shoots on goal (Fig. 2).
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Fig.3
Fig.3 bis
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Fig.4
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The players have only two consecutive touches in arrangement of the 4-3-2-1 system allows us to
the defensive half of the field, whereas there are best develop the attacking schemes. We have to
no restrictions in the attacking half. The exercise give up the coverage of some spaces, when we
should stimulate through runs and connecting defend, in that this system does not offer the same
deep passes beyond the defenders (see Fig.6) simple applications of the 4-4-2 on the defensive
mode. Our central defenders must be skilled in
one vs one and two vs two situations, since our
wing fullbacks cannot always offer adequate
support by pinching toward the middle.
Essentially, two factors impact considerably on
the work of our backfield: the frequent attacking
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moves, even simultaneous, of our wing fullbacks,
and the fact that the weak side of the action is not
guarded by the outside midfielder on that side. On
the other hand, the presence of five players (three
midfielders and two “mezzepunte”) in the critical
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zone of the field enables us to maneuver with ease
Fig.6 and variety not possible with other systems. Our
style, initially based on Pirlo’s ability of
changing rhythm and front of attack, has, as
EXERCISE No.3 (15 minutes): Team in ultimate goal, the activation between the lines of
numerical inferiority (9 + GK) defends vs team our two “mezzepunte”, capable to operate with
with 10 field players. uncommon creativity. The filtering passes for
On a full field, a team with numerical inferiority, Seedorf and Kaka positioned between the lines of
lined up first with a 4-3-2 system, then with a 4-4- the opponent’s backfield are our priority. Our
1, contrasts a team aligned with a 4-4-2 system. team gives priority to verticalize the attack,
The team with numbers down tries to intercept the whenever possible. When the midfield is well
ball and break down the maneuvers of the covered by the opposing team, it becomes
opposing team, which tries to go to goal. When essential to open the front of attack with the
the defending team steals the ball, the exercise is participation of our fullbacks attacking the flanks.
interrupted, then restarted with the ball in Didactically, we train situational attacking
possession of the team with numbers up. The moves, often utilizing exercises with even numbers
attacking team has no restrictions. At half time, between attackers and defenders or with
roles are inverted. numerical superiority. In our training sessions,
we dedicate equal time to attacking and defensive
MINIGAME (10 MINUTES): 9 VS 9 + 2 GKs. phases. The dynamic of the movements may vary,
Two teams of 10 players each (including GKs) depending, of course, on the tactical context of the
face each other in half field with two regular next opponent.
goals. No restrictions. Unfortunately, with a schedule that imposes a
game every three days, we have limited time for
At the end of the session, we meet with Mauro recovering and training. This slows down the
Tassotti, who provides us with additional ideas, growth progress during the season. I believe that
methodologies and insightful tips: “ I believe that the team could improve the defensive phase of the
one of the characteristics that distinguish the line- game. In particular, we would like to be more
up of A.C.Milan from the A.C.Milan’s past line- aggressive and effective in recovering the ball.
ups and from our opponents is the presence of a Often, we have a tendency to back off, in that we
playmaker in the back[ Pirlo] and two attacking are aware of our limitations in the negative
midfielders[Seedorf and Kaka]. Our 4-3-2-1 transition. This affects the distance and the space
benefits of a playmaker in front of the defensive that we have to cover, once we regain possession
line and two players able to operate between the of the ball. During our frequent retreats, we
lines of the opposing teams. This makes it possible spend quite a bit of time in reviewing videos, to
for us to control the possession of the ball and the become more aware of our mistakes and to study
rhythm of the game in general. The players our opponents.”
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Daily Diary. September 21, 2007. Friday Objective of each team is to go to goal. The first
part of the exercise has a 3-touch restriction, then
On the afternoon the team gets together on the the game proceedes without restrictions (see Fig.
field for the final preparation session before the 7).
match against Parma.
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Fig.7
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the maximum cardiac frequency means that we
can stimulate the aerobic capacity, whereas,
working at 70-80% of the maximum, we impact on
the strength. We prefer instead to stimulate the
body to go slightly above 80% of the maximum
cardiac frequency and activate what we call
specific aerobic capacity.
Through the interval training exercises we try to
obtain the build-up of sufficient quantities of
lactate (18-20 millimoles/liter), to be transformed
into energy by the athlete. From a practical
The session ends with the specialists taking direct standpoint, it is possible to stimulate the
free kicks from outside of the penalty box. production and build-up of lactate either, with
technical exercises conducted at very high pace
(i.e., 1 vs 1) or with the classical repetition runs
(i.e., 400 meters).
The work toward strength is also personalized,
and we try to fill gaps that may exist at the
individual level. Strength workout is done with
instruments (for the volume) and without them (to
stimulate the neuromuscular system). I consider of
fundamental importance an adequate training of
the upper body in order to avoid lack of balance
when working on exercises specific for strength.
We also give great importance to recovery
sessions. After abdominal, lumbar, stretching
exercises and the classical pool work, we finish
At the end of the session, we talk with Prof.
with strength workout with low loads.
Daniele Tognaccini, responsible for the physical
Speed is stimulated through classical exercises or
preparation, regarding the difficulties in training a
with the use of elastics (hyperspeed) and is
team of champions with limited time to work out.
measured with photocells. I give great importance
“ Obviously, the frequency of official games in the
to foot speed (exercised with skip, ladder, etc.).
schedule limits the time for training. Under these
We strive to lower regularly the reaction times to
circumstances, it is indispensable to favor the
stimuli.
quality of the work; therefore, our methodogy is
Another parameter that we train with great
based on high intensity. The technical/tactical
diligence is flexibility (not to be confused with
sessions directed by Ancelotti are monitored by
stretching), which we train with lunges, jumps,
reading the cardiac frequency, in order to
walking under hurdles, etc.)”.
identify the workload for each player. Our
fundamental principle relies on identifying the
In the course of the morning, we took advantage
athletic work during the exercises. Our objective
of the courtesy and competence of Dr.Bruno
is not much the expansions of the athlete’s aerobic
Demichelis (A.C.Milan’s psychologist and one of
potential in order to delay the production of
the creators of MilanLab), who admitted us into
lactate, but rather the stimulation of the athlete’s
his office and gave us an interesting animated
ability to convert the lactate accumulated into
presentation, highlighting MilanLab’s objectives
energy. We train for resistance at an intensity
and philosophy. “MilanLab’s primary objective is
greater than the upper limit (S4); our reference
to optimize the health (therefore performance) of
parameter is the maximum cardiac frequency.
the players, who are a fundamental asset for the
We try to train the aerobic system as a recovery
Club. The psychophysical integrity of each player
system and extend into the lactate zone during the
is protected by a series of advanced technologies
work. Training of the aerobic capacity is done by
that allow monitoring of the mental, biochemical
interval training on variable distances, with the
and neurological status. MilanLab’s task aims at
longest being 400 meters. Working at 60-70% of
supporting the “visual” evaluation of the coach
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with objective data compiled through a series of Kaka and Seedorf between the lines with filtering
tests. These data, of course, help the coach in passes.
making final decisions. In other words, MilanLab
provides information and evaluation parameters
to the coach, putting the latter in the best position
for making choices and guiding the team.
The awareness of the value of each player to the
club leads us to operate in a way that helps
preventing accidents and problems rather than
curing them. The player is seen as an entity
depending on the best equilibrium of three
different and correlated functional areas:
structural, psychic, and chemical.
The structural area relates to the
muscular/skeletal aspect.
The biochemical area considers the athlete as a
physical, chemical and biological entity, whereas
the psychic area analyzes and monitors mental
health and psychological status of the player.
To achieve the objectives of prevention that
MilanLab has set, we have developed the concept
of “systemic vision”: overall, a soccer player
includes a series of interconnected “gears”that,
together, determine the global performance. In
order to optimize the performance of each
individual gear, it is important to collect and
evaluate as many data as possible. All the data
are elaborated by a sophisticated computerized Obviously, the opponents try to block these moves
system that produces parameters related to the with close marking on Pirlo. In particular,
psychic-physical status of the athlete. Reginaldo pinches in from his right wing position
MilanLab is a research and development project to man mark Milan’s playmaker, whereas Pisanu
that uses data from past experiences to project on the left flank drops back to the line of the
factors that could lead to risky situations for the midfielders.
health of the athlete. When he receives the ball from the back line and
Because of this global vision, the Center of is unable to start the build up phase, because
Scientific Research of MilanLab plays a pivotal under high pressure, Pirlo in general dumps the
role at the Milanello center”. ball to one of the central defenders (Fig.8), often
free to operate and start the build up (Nesta and
Bonera are contrasted only by Corradi).
The Match: MILAN-PARMA 1-1
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When he is under pressing even before receiving
the ball, Pirlo frequently elects to shift position
with one of the outside midfielders (Fig.9). Fig.11
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Milan’s ability to manage the control of the ball at
Fig.9 midfield correlates not only with Pirlo’s class, but
also with the combined, well coordinated
movements of midfielders and “mezzepunte”
Another solution sees Pirlo move forward in order (attacking midfielders).
to free space for a central defender, who is then
able to start the attacking move (Fig.10). On the strong side, with the ball in possession of
the wing fullback, usually the corresponding
outside midfielder opens up toward the outside,
forcing the opposing team to make difficult
choices:
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Fig.12
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Fig.10 99
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the following options (Fig.11): 44
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2) deep pass for an advanced player , who attacks 99
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toward the strong side, the “mezzapunta” must
provide width or depth, according to the situation,
Fig.13
Fig.13 for the development of the attacking maneuver.
If, however, the center forward checks back, at
the least one of the “mezzepunte” gets closer to
receive the wall pass.
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Against Parma, the A.C. Milan team has not been
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able to do better than obtain a tie score, despite
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The careful protective action of the opposing
midfielders outside of their penalty box has
limited time and space for Kaka and Seedorf,
limiting the possibility of freeing a player for a
3) if the opening movement of the midfielder is shot on goal. Even the attacks from the flank by
absorbed by the opposing central midfielder, this Oddo and Jankulowski were not incisive enough;
creates space in the middle for the closer moreover, the crosses in the air did not find
“mezzapunta” (attacking midfielder), or possibly enough receivers in front of the goal.
for the other “mezzapunta”, in case the other In defense, A.C. Milan was rarely challenged.
opposing midfielder shifts much toward the strong However, when Parma was able to come forward
side (Fig.14). with rapid counterattacks, A.C.Milan encountered
difficulties in keeping the team’s sections close
together, with particularly uncovered spaces at
midfield.
Fig.14
Fig.14
In summary, we can say that the technical
superiority of the “rossoneri” did not produce the
expected results. The frequency of the games on
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the schedule may be in part the cause of blurry
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18 performances such as this one. Anyway, the
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Parma team has been able to take advantage of the
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weaknesses evidenced by A.C.Milan in the
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negative transitions and had more energies to
99 spend in the critical zone of the field.
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