Primavera, Futuro players

[will4li]

Cristante is listed 186cm and 82 kg,already grown up body for a 18 y/o.he's got MVB's built,if his skill set is similar to monty's,pretty scary to think of his potential,only sky is the limit. since we got monty as regista,I kind of hope cristante can develope into CB,he's got all the tools to be a legendary sweeper.

[WCmilan]

MASSIVE hype around Cristante in Italy and I mean MASSIVE. He was on Domenica Sportiva on RAI today along with Galliani, I happened to watch it and it's pretty much a show with seria a "experts" (some ex soccer players/coaches I believe) that analyze the weekends matches and also briefly go into other topics like transfers etc. here and there.

Anyhow, Cristante and Galliani were present on the show, all of them were saying great things about Cristante. One of the guys said that he knew since Cristante was 10-11 years old he was something way out of the ordinary. He was awarded golden boy of the viareggio(sp?) tournament as well. Regardless, this is only one instance and almost everyone is talking big things of Cristante.

My opinion on him, I've seen the great potential he has as well but not only that like will mentioned above^ he's got a good physique for his age and can instantly compete (on a physical level) in seria a. While sometimes his specialties are underrated (similarly to Pirlo) the reason soccer specialists rate him so incredibly highly is that for the same reason as pirlo, he can put the ball virtually wherever he wants to. While it may seem like many pro soccer players can give good lob balls (they should be able to at least), players like pirlo and xavi etc. that vision while sometimes underrated is probably the hardest skill to acquire in soccer, it's almost an inborn ability to those players who have it, to an extent.
So anyhow, with Cristante,Montolivo and the possible arrival of Verratti we'll have tons of creativity from midfield and I'm confident that Cristante will make fast and long strides into his potential like De Sciglio has.

This video is from this summer I believe in a friendly we played. It's worth the watch, especially to pay attention to Cristantes passing ability.. But keep in mind he should also have improved quite a lot since then as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRAlHIoimZY

[Aficio]

Cristante is listed 186cm and 82 kg,already grown up body for a 18 y/o.he's got MVB's built,if his skill set is similar to monty's,pretty scary to think of his potential,only sky is the limit. since we got monty as regista,I kind of hope cristante can develope into CB,he's got all the tools to be a legendary sweeper.

Oh man, why do you want to convert every player to CB

We are not Chelsea

Nice info, WCMilan. I think we don't really need Verrati as his price tag is high and our midfielder set with the addition Cristante and Saporano (and maybe Salamon) is enough for 4-3-3 formation.

[Siregar]

In my opinion Cristante is our most talented youngsters from our youth academy in the last decade or two. Kingsley I also rate very much similar like Cristante but injuries has been facts as big major problem for the development of young players.

There have been many speculations about why Cristante until now has not give any real chance to play with senior team even though many agree that he has shown at least enough to get playing times as a sub or in Coppa. From my perspective it seems that Allegri wants Cristante is REALLY prepared and ready for the game which means he should give more than what he has been giving now.

Btw thanks for sharing WCMilan, I only watched the youtube highlight about that program but do not understand what the details in it.

[Aficio]

Cristante is just 17 and we have Montolivo at his best so no need to rush. Next season, I like both play at the same time, one DM one L/RCM so the younger can learn directly.

I miss Kingsley, too. His best ability is his football brain, but in this period, too much injuries will hinder his physical progress, which prevent us from having a star.

[will4li]

Cristante is listed 186cm and 82 kg,already grown up body for a 18 y/o.he's got MVB's built,if his skill set is similar to monty's,pretty scary to think of his potential,only sky is the limit. since we got monty as regista,I kind of hope cristante can develope into CB,he's got all the tools to be a legendary sweeper.

Oh man, why do you want to convert every player to CB

We are not Chelsea

Nice info, WCMilan. I think we don't really need Verrati as his price tag is high and our midfielder set with the addition Cristante and Saporano (and maybe Salamon) is enough for 4-3-3 formation.

Coz CB is definitely our biggest weak link.like you said,we have monty,regista is not our urgent need,we need ball playing midfield more.since jorginho is rumored a done deal,our midfield is pretty set IMO.

[GeoTav]

Oh man, why do you want to convert every player to CB

We are not Chelsea

Nice info, WCMilan. I think we don't really need Verrati as his price tag is high and our midfielder set with the addition Cristante and Saporano (and maybe Salamon) is enough for 4-3-3 formation.

Coz CB is definitely our biggest weak link.like you said,we have monty,regista is not our urgent need,we need ball playing midfield more.since jorginho is rumored a done deal,our midfield is pretty set IMO.

Let's imagine Cristante develops quite quickly and becomes a very reliable, solid regista ...

We could simply play a kind of 4-2-3-1 formation ... You put Cristante and Monto on the same line, or you can also put Monto as a CM (I think he can really play as well as a "regista" as a "simple" CM).

IMO, there is no problem with Cristante being a regista or CM or DM or whatever position he plays in midfield.

[WCmilan]

I know I'm being greedy for what I'm about to say, but imagine a midfield of Montolivo,Cristante and Verratti!!!
You have three play makers all with their extra "unique" characteristics. Verratti is a fast all around midfielder who runs endlessly but also has immense creative ability. Monty can play virtually anything, and Cristante is already giving lobs a la Pirlo..

Killer midfield. Praying for Verratti!!
But, for now our interest is stronger in Quintero. Problem is, half of Europe is after the kid.

I believe Cristante just turned 18 btw ?
Anyhow, I have to agree fully with what Siregar said a couple comments above.. It seems like with all new players Allegri is getting them ready at 100% so that they explode on to the scene. I've mentioned this before, but it's great for their confidence and from our perspective. Anyhow, regardless of which Cristante has the physique to compete in Seria a already no doubt, and his passing and vision is immense.. Way to good for his age, seriously I don't think even Pirlo had this type of vision and passing when he was 18.

[ACMILAN1983]

Somebody can rate cristante's game? It seems everybody likes him,I got an impression that he is a regista,so I presume he is a montolivo / de rossi type of player.but I don't see his name on latest U18 NT,the only milan player is petagne.

I've not seen too much of him, probably similar amounts to others here. However, what I have seen he's a lot like Pirlo, but physically bigger and stronger. His passing is excellent and like Pirlo he can pick out players from distance and do similar lob passes. His vision is really excellent too, seemingly better than Montolivo's from what I've seen. However, what's really impressive is that like other decent regista, he always seems to find space to receive a pass, showing tactical maturity.

He's played in all areas of midfield, as well as CB for Primavera, but it does seem he's a natural regista. He reminds me a little of both Pirlo and Montolivo, though at this point a little less mobile than Montolivo.

I look forward to seeing him next season.

[Mystik]

I must say his range of passing for an 18 year old is quite excellent and I hope he gets a fair chance to impose himself next season similar to how De Sciglio has done this season. We have very few ball playing midfielders so it's good to be able to add one, especially from our youth system. I assume he'll be called up to U19 or U21 sooner or later.