AC Milan And Ruben Amorim: The Fresh Start Everyone Needs | OneFootball

A year ago, both AC Milan and Rúben Amorim appeared to be moving towards better days. Milan were beginning a new chapter under Massimiliano Allegri, while Amorim was leading Manchester United through an ambitious rebuild. Unfortunately, both relationships soured and eventually deteriorated.

AC Milan dismissed Allegri for failing to qualify for the Champions League and for not winning a domestic trophy, while Amorim was dismissed after poor results, concerns about his tactical rigidity and a breakdown in his relationship with United’s football hierarchy over recruitment, authority and the direction of the team.

Milan therefore entered the summer searching for a manager capable of giving the team a clearer identity. Amorim also needed to choose his next step carefully. After his dismissal in early January, he indicated that he was open to returning to club management and rebuilding a reputation damaged by his time at Manchester United.

Milan contacted him about the vacant managerial position, and he agreed to join the side this summer on a two-year deal to get Milan back to their best and compete properly in Italy and Europe. But it is worth examining why both parties find themselves needing each other to get the best out of one another.

AC Milan’s Previous Strategy

Milan aligned their recruitment last summer with Allegri’s preference for a highly organised defensive structure and controlled attacking play. Adrien Rabiot, Luka Modrić, Ardon Jashari, Koni De Winter, Pervis Estupiñán and Christopher Nkunku arrived during the 2025 summer window. Tijjani Reijnders, Malick Thiaw, Theo Hernández, Noah Okafor and Pierre Kalulu were among those who departed after Milan missed out on European qualification in 2024/25.

They sat third after 20 league games and looked to bolster their attacking numbers with the loan signing of Niklas Füllkrug, but Allegri’s pragmatic approach failed to make Milan look like a side that could challenge for a top-two finish. Their 3-5-2 lineup mostly featured mixed attacking combinations of players ill-suited to a two-man forward line, with Nkunku, Santiago Giménez, Rafael Leão, Christian Pulisic and Füllkrug all sharing the responsibility of creating their own chances.

Milan staggered and faltered in the closing weeks of the season, and their performances were bleak enough to spark serious discussions within the club’s hierarchy about its direction. After a loss to Cagliari on the final day, with Champions League football within their own hands, AC Milan decided to part ways with Allegri shortly after, thus the search for a new voice at the San Siro commenced.

Amorim’s Complicated Rebuild

Amorim took over Manchester United in November 2024, trying to rebuild the squad with a new football philosophy across both the senior and youth teams. United were enamored with the free-flowing, organized football he had built at Sporting Lisbon and wanted him to recreate it, giving him assurances that the right profiles would be found to play his favored 3-4-2-1 system.

United were massively underwhelmed that season, finishing 15th in the 2024/2025 Premier League season and missing out on Champions League football after losing the Europa League final to Tottenham. During that campaign, United had a lot of cleaning up to do to be able to build the team in his vision, with key departures including Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, André Onana, Jadon Sancho, Antony, Rasmus Højlund, Victor Lindelöf and Christian Eriksen, and the arrivals of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Šeško, Patrick Dorgu and Senne Lammens filling the void.

He also had to change player positions across the squad: Luke Shaw moved to left centre back given his injury record, allowing Patrick Dorgu to take the left wingback role; Amad Diallo shifted to right wingback, similar to what Amorim did with Geovany Quenda at Sporting; and Bruno Fernandes became a deeper playmaker alongside Casemiro in the double pivot.

In the 2025/26 season, United’s attacking firepower was evident as they scored 34 goals in 20 Premier League games, but many pundits and fans still questioned his tactics, as he stayed true to his football philosophy in games that arguably needed a tactical change.

Reports suggested that there was internal pressure from the hierarchy to switch from his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation to a more traditional back four, creating a conflict of interest between the two parties over tactical ideologies, not to mention his decision to freeze out academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo from the starting lineup for tactical reasons, given the defensive and offensive demands of the double pivot, as Amorim mostly favored Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes. This, with a draw away to Leeds United at Elland Road in the Premier League, led to his departure in early January 2026.

Tactical Look

Assurance in Goal

Amorim arrives in Milan with work to do, though not a lot. First, the goalkeeper: Amorim wants someone assertive, vocal, and organized at the back, a leader of men. Mike Maignan will be the starting goalkeeper and undisputed number one. The 31-year-old started all but one Serie A game last season and will be expected to play out from the back, providing long passes to midfield or to the wingbacks when facing teams that sit deep. Experienced goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano and youngster Lorenzo Torriani will serve as his deputies, although the latter is highly rated at the club as his eventual successor.

Defensive Structure

Milan’s use of a back three under Allegri should reduce the structural adjustment required under Amorim, although the two coaches use the system differently. So there is common ground to build from. Amorim encourages his wide center-backs to advance with the ball, while the central defender provides security and helps circulate possession, as he favors a high line and their ability to carry the ball into free zones against low blocks, or to ping accurate long passes to the attackers when facing man-marking scenarios or a high press.

At right centre back, Fikayo Tomori looks the clear choice, as his comfort on the ball is well ahead of the alternatives, while new signing Mario Gila Fuentes and Strahinja Pavlović should fill the centre and left centre back roles respectively. Koni De Winter, Matteo Gabbia, and young prodigy Davide Bartesaghi are players to watch as rotation options in the Europa League and Coppa Italia.

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The wingbacks are instructed to provide width in attack and act as pressing triggers. Amorim used Quenda and Amad Diallo at his previous clubs as the attacking outlets in build-up, with most wide-area attacks coming through them, and both were dangerous on the counter. On the right, Alexis Saelemaekers looks the obvious pick, having played right wingback the year before; although not his preferred role, he can do the job and likes to invert inside when teams sit deep. His deputy, Swiss defender Zachary Athekame, provides good cover and a more defensive outlet in games where Milan’s backline will be tested.

At left wingback, Pervis Estupiñán should be the first choice, but the 28-year-old Ecuadorian has been rumoured to leave, which would open the door for the young Davide Bartesaghi, a promising option but still only 20 years old.

Midfield Depth

The midfield pivot is one to watch, with a host of options available, something Amorim never had at Manchester United. Although Luka Modrić’s future has not yet been officially confirmed, recent reports indicate that he is expected to extend his Milan contract for another season.

The new manager will have plenty of alternatives. Adrien Rabiot, Ardon Jashari and Ruben Loftus-Cheek look like the more central options, while Yunus Musah and Youssouf Fofana can be considered the clean-up crew, more athletic, off-the-ball midfielders.

Musah, in particular, went out on loan to Atalanta and started only five games in the 2025/2026 Serie A season there, so he will hope for a clean slate under Amorim. Loftus-Cheek and Rabiot lean more toward an offensive central mindset than defensive, so the nod likely depends on form. Jashari, meanwhile, could have a big season if he is to replace Modrić, while Samuele Ricci looks more like a squad rotation piece.

Attacking Outlet

Milan have a variety of attacking profiles. Christian Pulisic, traditionally used as a winger, was deployed more centrally, and in that new system and has performed well there. He can drift wide in build-up and open play but has a strong track record of finding teammates in the box as well as scoring goals himself. Christopher Nkunku will partner him in attack, bringing the box presence he showed during his flourishing spell at RB Leipzig.

Newly signed Portuguese forward Gonçalo Ramos will be the side’s main man. He scored 27 goals in 81 Ligue 1 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain, though he mainly came off the bench as understudy to Ousmane Dembélé. At Milan, he will lead the line. He will be deputised by Santiago Giménez, who has found life at Milan difficult so far, as he has scored only once in the entire 2025/2026 season in all competitions. Samuel Chukwueze and Rafael Leão are the club’s wingers, and with rumours suggesting Leão could leave, the team risks losing some of its bite in attack.

Key Areas To Address

Not everything is settled at Milan; the squad still feels imbalanced in certain areas.

In goal, the 31-year-old Mike Maignan has suffered injuries during his time at Milan since 2021, and last season was the first time he played more than 35 games in the league for the club. A significant injury to Maignan would leave Milan choosing between Terracciano’s experience and Torriani’s potential. Against the league’s biggest sides, could prove crucial to how the season unfolds.

Centre-back depth feels adequate in numbers but will need to provide cover for Fikayo Tomori on the right-hand side. A busy Europa League schedule will stretch the squad thin if Amorim persists with a three-man defence.

Wingback cover is thin if Estupiñán departs, leaving Davide Bartesaghi as the only left-sided option, so the club may need to look to the transfer market should the Ecuadorian leave. Should Amorim shift Saelemaekers into midfield, the right side would also be exposed, meaning the recruitment department may need to act there too.

Attacking output will also be under scrutiny, as Milan scored only 53 goals in the 2025/2026 Serie A season, with Rafael Leão being their top scorer with nine goals in the competition. Ramos may need time to adjust, and there is a further concern that Leão and Chukwueze do not fit Amorim’s system if he sticks with his usual formation. Both are considered wingers, and but could operate as narrow attacking midfielders, although they would need to adapt their positioning and defensive responsibilities. But if Amorim does opt to use wingers, the depth behind them is thin and will need serious attention.

A Fresh Start, With Conditions

Both parties enter this partnership carrying scars from the season before. Milan need a coach who can turn a squad built for pragmatism into one capable of matching their ambition, while the Portuguese tactician needs a club willing to trust his system without the boardroom interference that derailed his time in Manchester.

The pieces are largely in place. A back three and attacking wingbacks all suit what the 40-year-old wants to build, and the squad Milan assembled last summer is closer to his blueprint than United’s ever was.

The gaps, though, are not small. Cover at wingback, depth behind Maignan, and a winger crisis that could leave Leão and Chukwueze without a role are all questions that will define whether this fresh start becomes a genuine rebuild or another false dawn. What is clear is that Milan finally have a manager whose philosophy matches their spine, and for a club that spent last season searching for an identity, that alone is worth something.