When Vincenzo Montella took over the reins at AC Milan last summer, very few expected the Italian to bring about an overnight change in the club's fortunes.At a club this size, these changes can't really transpire in a blink of an eye. Recent campaigns have been hard to watch for the Rossoneri faithful, who will certainly be very happy with how Montella's opening campaign panned out. 
 

A number of players, including Carlos Bacca, Alessio Romagnoli, Mattia de Sciglio and Gianluigi Donnarumma were being linked with moves but Montella managed to hold onto all of them. Would-be Premier League champions Chelsea did storm in with a substantial bid for Romagnoli, but Milan were quick to resist and keep the Italian to make him a pivotal part of the defensive line.


 

The signings that were made were hardly headline making; Gianluca Lapadula ended up being the most expensive capture from Pescara. Gustavo Gomez was snapped up from Lanus, while ageing midfielder Jose Sosa was roped in from Besiktas. The loan acquisitions included those of Mati Fernandez and Mario Pasalic.
 

The way the 2016-17 campaign started saw some of the (long-forgotten) optimism linger back to the club. So much so that many delved into the illusion of the fact that the club could well mount an unlikely title-challenge and rival Juventus at the top of the league. The win over Massimiliano Allegri's men at San Siro played its part in igniting these hopes, but a 3-0 hammering at the hands of Genoa the following week brought the fans back down to earth.
 

The Italian Super-Cup saw Milan pick up another win over the Old Lady, albeit on penalties. Despite going a goal down, the desire to keep on going flowed through the players.The likes of Suso, Giacomo Bonaventura and Manuel Locatelli proved crucial to the campaign and it was during the early phase of the season that Montella fielded a side with the lowest average age. 


 

The 2-2 draw against city rivals Inter in the Derby della Madonnina proved that Montella's men weren't devoid of any fighting spirit  and the desire to keep fighting till the very end. And if there was a game that well and truly established this belief, it was Milan's 1-0 win at Bologna in the second half of the campaign, despite the sendings off of Juraj Kucka and Gabi Paletta. It was during this phase that Montella was forced into dealing with a host of injuries, mainly to his backline.
 

This led to a dip in form and the rossoneri fell to as low as seventh, below Fiorentina. The rotation saw Montella jumble around with the side and inconsistencies in the performances and this dented their hopes of finishing in the top four with the injuries to Giacomo Bonaventura and Ignazio Abate ruling them out for the rest of the campaign. 
 

The defeats to Roma, Udinese, Sampdoria and Napoli and draws against the likes of Torino and Lazio affected the campaign. The 2-1 win over Fiorentina showed signs of recovery and an improvement in form and coincided with the downfall of Inter's campaign.

The loan capture of Gerard Deulofeu from Everton in January came at a crucial time to add attacking flow to the side.
 

Montella admitted that they had achieved the objective of the season, clearly bringing to the fore that they will be satisfied with a Europa League spot. The 2-2 draw against Inter saw Cristian Zapata grab a last-ditch equaliser and once again proved that the side does have something special- the never say die attitude.


 

The change in ownership expressed satisfaction in Montella's work and only this week, the former Roma striker was rewarded with a new two-year deal at the club. The cash injection that the Chinese owners are set to provide will surely be an important part in their bid to return to the top both domestically and in Europe. With Mateo Musacchio already signed and Ricardo Rodriguez and Franck Kessie close to joining the team, the future looks bright indeed for this sleeping giant.




Kaustubh Pandey