Dev, it was a great post with great points. I don't have much to add.
It is also very interesting (but not surprising) to see that you gave Balotelli no mentioning at all in your 3-5 year plan, seeing that he is very young and very talented, and is (allegedly) a Milan fan. :d
Thanks Xu. I'm sure you know my feelings on Balo and how unimpressed I am by him. Mostly I left him out because I don't ever see him being part of the spine, or a leader in the group. Mentally I don't think he's strong, responsible or mature enough to be one of the flag bearers on the pitch. Those guys need to have the personality and ability to take responsibility for the team, good times and bad. De Sciglio has always been a strong professional since he joined the team and has had some tough matches (i.e. his first derby) to cope with and usually came through pretty strong. El Shaarawy has shown he's capable of stepping up when trusted last season during an extremely tough phase, something we've missed this season. Cristante has yet to prove himself at senior level, but there are a lot of comments about how much he gives at youth level. He was thrown into the action this year when we were at our most vulnerable and came out positively, that says a lot about him. Finally, Mastour's far too young to know whether he can be relied on, but there's no doubt about his talent, which is why it's impossible not to see him becoming invaluable in the future.
Mystik thanks for the update.
I feel that Balotelli will never become a Drogba or Weah in the sense of carrying a team on his shoulders through rough time. If well coached, Balotelli can be like a Anelka, a relatively prolific scorer while not a leader. I guess that's why Maldini said that Balotelli could achieve success if he went to Juventus and get surrounded by strong teammates.
It does concern me that some observes and claims that whenever Balotelli is on the pitch, el Shaarawy becomes far less effective. The data seem to support this hypothesis, but I am no expert, so I wonder if you guys share that opinion. While I certainly don't mind Balotelli, I know I would take el Shaarawy any day before Balotelli, if I was ever forced to pick only one out of them.
Balo tends to slow the game down way too much whereas I think El Shaarawy would benefit from a lot faster transition game. I think in this regard, their styles are a little incompatible. It isn't impossible for them to coexist though..but Balotelli has to play more like a target man and less like a...Balotelli. The Balotelli from Euro 2012 is a completely different player. I don't know why he can't play like that for club as well.
^ Because our club is shit. He didn't have ELS to play with and therefore until Taarabt came he probably didnt even want to pass the ball because he was better of trying on his own. Over exagerating a litttle I guess, Balotelli is lazy, but I can see part of that laziness being because he's fed up and frusturated.
With Italy he's dealing with a much better squad, and more important tournaments, he already knows that slight mistakes with the national team could get him a whole new world of negative media attention as if he didn't have enough. Plus, I would always give that extra 10% for Italy than I would for Milan if I were a player. He was still our top scorer, even though I didn't think he was that great this season.
All of your posts essentially confirm my point as to why Balotelli can't be part of the spine of the team. Going back to the Maldini comment from Xu, it's hard to disagree. While I have little doubt he's not a leader in any side, in a strong side he could be the cherry on top. Even then I have doubts, as his abrasive personality is one which often leads to issues in dressing rooms, whether it be because he's arguing/fighting or he's not working enough.
Interesting news. All our legends are turning into coaches, barring Paolo.
Costacurta became a coach a while back, but struggled at a lower league team for a relatively short stint. Not to say I think he's going to a be a bad coach, I know nothing about that situation or him as a coach.