The game between AC Milan and Juventus on Sunday will see Massimiliano Allegri and Luciano Spalletti renew their rivalry, two winners with opposing philosophies.
As reported in La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) the battle between the two coaches will also be one of ideas. There are three points between Milan and Juventus in the table, but the way the two teams have got there is very different.
Substance versus style
Allegri is obsessed with results over style, as everyone knows by now. He is one away from Trapattoni’s record number of Scudetti and is the coach with the most Coppa Italia wins. To get there he has often used a defensive-oriented game.
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Spalletti loves movement to take control of games. He first set foot in the Champions League in September 2006, at the helm of Roma. Almost 20 years has passed, and in the Champions League he has played with the Giallorossi, Zenit St. Petersburg, Inter, Napoli, and this year, with Juventus.
As Napoli coach, Lucio never lost against Allegri’s Bianconeri: four duels, three victories. As Inter coach, the former Azzurri boss never won against Allegri’s Juventus: four meetings, two defeats and two draws.
Milan under Allegri have climbed from eighth place last year to second place now. Not only that: he’s turned the slack defence of their previous campaign into a nearly insurmountable wall, because with 27 goals conceded, the Rossoneri are the best in the league and they’re using the same players.
gazzetta dello sport 22 april
Pavlovic, Tomori, and Gabbia remain present and important, with the introduction of De Winter the only real change. On a solid foundation, Allegri has rebuilt an ambitious Milan, one that had set a Champions League spot as its objective from the start of the season.
Last summer, the club turned to a specialist, and Max is just that. In his first three years at Milan, he always qualified for the Champions League. In his fourth season (2013-14), he was sacked in January and the team finished eighth.
At Juventus, he always reached the finish line, at least on the pitch, with only one exclusion, but for reasons far removed from the verdicts on the pitch.