It’s almost as if Milan's young talent, 18year-old Manuel Locatelli and 17-year-old Donnarumma are constantly trying to one up each other.
In Milan’s stunning win over Juventus last week, Locatelli scored a goal of the season contender to put the Rossoneri in front and to deliver Milan a victory over Juventus for the first time since November of 2012.
Locatelli's amazing goal. #MilanJuve #ForzaMilan #ForzaLoca pic.twitter.com/0wgSS5ydz1
— Milan Fans (@MilanEye) October 22, 2016
Not to be outdone, Donnarumma made what will surely be one of the best saves of the season as extra time expired in the 96th minute:
Just in case you wanted to see Gianluigi Donnarumma's last minute save to win the game pic.twitter.com/E1cw55auc4
— Saint West (@GinoGranzella) October 22, 2016
This week saw a strange feeling in Milan fans: hope. Since 2012 Milan fans haven’t had a whole lot to smile about, but the familiar feeling was once again warming Rossoneri fan’s hearts as the side led by two teenagers stunned the top team in Italy.
And it isn’t just the continued progression of 18-year-old Locatelli and 17-year-old Donnarumma that fans have to look forward to. The team overall is one of the youngest in Italy. It’s attacking trident includes both 21-year-old Niang and 22-year-old Suso, with 21-year-old Romagnoli bossing around 24-year-old De Sciglio in the back line.
What is exciting about the Milan youngsters is that they aren’t just playing well for youngsters. They are playing well in one of the more competitive leagues in the world, among players of all ages. After nine games, the project team find themselves just two points from the leader, and sitting in a Champions League spot.
So who deserves praise? In the midst of a Chinese takeover, recently appointed manager Vincenzo Montella has done an outstanding job. After going through six managers since Allegri’s departure in 2014, it took serious guts to start an 18-year-old midfielder, especially in the role previously occupied by Milan’s long term captain. Moreso, Montella has the team believing in the project, evident by Niang’s contract on the verge of renewal:
Niang is set to extend his contract with Milan until 2021 worth €2M+bonuses. He should sign a few weeks after the closing. [@FabrizioRomano] pic.twitter.com/VIJ0XM6900
— TheMilanBible (@TheMilanBible) October 24, 2016
The new Chinese ownership have also done a great job so far, and do not even entertain the idea of selling Romagnoli and Donnarumma, players they have deemed as “unsellable”.
Though Milan is still set to play in the San Siro for the foreseeable future and they are still not playing midweek in European football, the Milan side finally has the players believing again, something that has been missing for years. As Saturday’s game showed us, this Milan side is not afraid to test their youngsters, and their youngsters are not afraid to test their skill.
Maybe the tides have finally turned for the Rossoneri.
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