Capello's Tactics with Milan

I would like to learn more about Capello's tactics with Milan back in the early 90's when he had the services of the great players Van Basten, Rijkaard, and Savicevic. I know he had some difficulty fielding the latter, however I'm not quite sure of the reasons why.

I would like to know what sort of formations Capello used in his days with Milan, everything from specific lineups to different styles of play. Moreover, I would like to get some information on how Capello won the Champions League in 1994, running up to the great 4-0 victory over Barca in the Final.

I am of course a Juventus supporter and I'm trying to see if there are any similarities between Capello now and Capello a decade ago, trying to get a grasp of his tactical choices throughout his career. Any help would be very much appreciated.

And by the way, good luck in the Scudetto hunt this season and quest for the Champions League.

Hi pavel,

Capello is the same great coach he always has been. no matter which team he is coaching he will win trophies ( except this season ). but to be honest i can't compare juv with milan simply cuz juv's mission has always been how to do the maximum with the minimun. Capello in the old days had a great squad that could make two different great teams (for example in the final against barca we played without baresi and billy). his formation has been pretty much the 4-4-2 formation and sometimes it would kind of become a 4-5-1 formation.

In the period 1991-93 this was a typical Capello formation.


--------------------------Rossi---------------------------

--Tassotti---------Baresi-----Costacurta------------Maldini--

--Evani----------Albertini----Rijkaard---------------Donadoni

-------------Van Basten-----Gullit--------------------

other players available, F.Galli, Ancelotti, Simone, Massaro, Cudicini, Boban, Savicevic, Papin, Laudrup, Raducio, Nava, Lentini.

1993-95

----------------------- Rossi----------------------

---Panucci---------Baresi-----Costacurta------------Maldini--

--Boban----------Albertini----Desailly---------------Donadoni

-------------Savicevic-----Massaro--------------------

Other players, F.Galli, Sordo, Tassotti, Eranio, Simone, Lentini, Ielpo, Orlando


--------------------------Rossi---------------------------

--Panucci---------Baresi-----Costacurta------------Maldini--

------------Boban------Albertini---------Desailly------------

--------Savicevic-----Weah-------R Baggio--------------------


other players, Ielpo, F.Galli, Sordo, Viera, Di Canio, Simone, Futre, Eranio, Tassotti

In these periods Capello won 4 Serie A titles 1992, 1993, 1994, 1 champions cup 1994, 3 Italian super cups, 1992, 1993, 1994 and a european super cup 1994.

vs Barcellona in 1994, we where without Baresi and Costacurta because they where supsended and Barca had Romario and Stoickov the best players at that time. The biggest mistake Barca made is that they where overconfident.

Our formation.
Rossi
Tassotti-F Galli-Maldini-Panucci
Donadoni-Albertini-Desailly-Boban
Massaro-Savicevic

the barcelona game was legenrady in the European Champions Cup (not Champions League then) because of the way Milan decimated a great Barcelona team which fielded players that would, later in that year, become legends themselves in World Cup 94. Barcelona were pumped full of talent - Zubizarreta Andoni, Ferrer Albert, Koeman Ronald, Nadal Miguel Angel, Sergi, Bakero Jose, Guardiola Jose, Amor Guillermo, Beguiristan Aitor, Romario, Stoichkov Hristo (last name, first name). Their coach was boasting all week about how Arrigo Sacchi's milan was the REAL Milan and capello was just a poseur.
Cryuff had no doubt they would crush Milan without Baresi and Billy. Capello had other plans. During the game, they played full pitch defence with Desailly playing the Gattusso role and fighting for every ball in the midfield and sending it up to the creative players like Savicevic and Donadoni. Milan didn't really give Barca any time on the ball THROUGHOUT THE GAME. this was basically the match winner. No Barca player really had time to think about what to do with the ball before someone closed him down. The goals also came at a very crucial time - middle of first half and end of first half. That second goal was the knockout punch essentially because Barca really could not find an answer. When Savicevic scored that magical goal, all hopes of a comeback erased. Desailly not only put the nail in the coffin with his goal, he sent them 6 feet under. It was game, set and match at that point. Cruyff was seated throughout the game and didn't bother yelling out instructions to the team after Milan scored 2 goals.
------------------

Back to the regular season - Capello's tactics were simple - score one goal and defend, defend, defend. He valued his defenders more than his creative genius Savicevic. And because the attackers were rotated, there was heavy tension in the background because all the attacking players wanted to get more time on the pitch. The only reason Dejan wasn't sold off was because he was Silvio's personal favourite. Capello and Dejan just didn't get along very well because he always played him out of position and Dejan always had to prove himself EVERY GAME to guarantee he gets to play the next game. That was just too much pressure for any player - but Dejan was not any player. He was Il Genio

Milan still hold a record from the Capello era - fewest goals conceded in a title winning season and most unbeaten games in a row. The reason they were unbeaten was because opponents just couldn't score against that wall of a defence. You think Stam, Nesta, Maldini was tough? Imaging Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta!

In essence, Capello's tactics were - score early, and once the goal is scored, DEFEND DEFEND DEFEND DEFEND DEFEND.

Great stuff guys, I appreciate it.

I always knew Capello and Savicevic never saw eye to eye, and obviously Fabio's main objective was to keep the defense as tight as possible. Those sort of tactics do not allow for much creativity and I can see why Dejan would be a bit upset with those restrained roles. It was also interesting to see Boban playing on the right flank, a very adept natural playmaker who enjoyed the free role more than any other. It would have been cool to see how that team played out their campaign.

It's obvious Capello has no need for natural playmakers and his track record leads me to believe that he will be building his usual straight 4-4-2 for the next coming years at Juventus. That's something I'm not too pleased about because natural playmakers are the best players in football IMO, and we will be playing boring football for years to come. I could just see us getting a player like Mozart who is safe and not that flashy instead of a playmaker like David Pizarro. I think it's safe to say you won't have to worry about much creativity from us in the coming years.

Other interesting facts:

*Savicevic was always mysteriously "injured" in key games under Capello. Most famously the 1995 Champions League Final against Ajax. Milan fans in the know seethed at the fact that Capello left out Il Genio and Lentini in this game where their skills would have made the difference.

*An interesting fact about this team under Capello is that Boban, a Croat, played alongside a Montenegran, Savicevic, at a time where the Yugoslav war was raging. Boban was famously involved in that on-the pitch fracas in Yugoslavia when he played for his old club Dynamo Zagreb (correct me if i am wrong), which happened during a time of high tension in the country. Boban was thereafter became part of Croatian folklore,

* Rossi still holds the record for most minutes without conceding a goal in SERIE A.

* Ruud Gullit famously left the club because he wasn't getting enough games and went to Sampdoria, after which he happily celebrated scoring AGAINST Milan (to the chagrin of many a Milan fan - but clearly his glee was scoring against CAPELLO and not the Milan team). Then he returned to Milan and was a total flop and finally he left Milan for good.

* Papin also famously said he would love to come back to the San Siro and beat Milan, after he left to join Bayern Munich. As you can tell, all the creative players were very stifled by Capello which caused them no end of frustration. Papin was later seen in Athens among the Milan guests (like Van Basten etc..) cheering the Milan win agaisnt Barcelon in the 1994 champions league final.

Originally Posted by Nadir

the barcelona game was legenrady in the European Champions Cup (not Champions League then) because of the way Milan decimated a great Barcelona team which fielded players that would, later in that year, become legends themselves in World Cup 94. Barcelona were pumped full of talent - Zubizarreta Andoni, Ferrer Albert, Koeman Ronald, Nadal Miguel Angel, Sergi, Bakero Jose, Guardiola Jose, Amor Guillermo, Beguiristan Aitor, Romario, Stoichkov Hristo (last name, first name). Their coach was boasting all week about how Arrigo Sacchi's milan was the REAL Milan and capello was just a poseur.
Cryuff had no doubt they would crush Milan without Baresi and Billy. Capello had other plans. During the game, they played full pitch defence with Desailly playing the Gattusso role and fighting for every ball in the midfield and sending it up to the creative players like Savicevic and Donadoni. Milan didn't really give Barca any time on the ball THROUGHOUT THE GAME. this was basically the match winner. No Barca player really had time to think about what to do with the ball before someone closed him down. The goals also came at a very crucial time - middle of first half and end of first half. That second goal was the knockout punch essentially because Barca really could not find an answer. When Savicevic scored that magical goal, all hopes of a comeback erased. Desailly not only put the nail in the coffin with his goal, he sent them 6 feet under. It was game, set and match at that point. Cruyff was seated throughout the game and didn't bother yelling out instructions to the team after Milan scored 2 goals.
------------------

Back to the regular season - Capello's tactics were simple - score one goal and defend, defend, defend. He valued his defenders more than his creative genius Savicevic. And because the attackers were rotated, there was heavy tension in the background because all the attacking players wanted to get more time on the pitch. The only reason Dejan wasn't sold off was because he was Silvio's personal favourite. Capello and Dejan just didn't get along very well because he always played him out of position and Dejan always had to prove himself EVERY GAME to guarantee he gets to play the next game. That was just too much pressure for any player - but Dejan was not any player. He was Il Genio

Milan still hold a record from the Capello era - fewest goals conceded in a title winning season and most unbeaten games in a row. The reason they were unbeaten was because opponents just couldn't score against that wall of a defence. You think Stam, Nesta, Maldini was tough? Imaging Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta!

In essence, Capello's tactics were - score early, and once the goal is scored, DEFEND DEFEND DEFEND DEFEND DEFEND.

I will always remember that game. What amazed me too was that even without Baresi and Billy, Mauro Tassotti and Filippo Galli did really really well against the likes of Romario and Stoichkov. Panucci did well for being a little green at the time. Donadoni just humiliated his nemesis Amor as well as assisting in the strikers goals. I think we will show Chelsea a repeat and not the other way around.
Let's beat PSV first.

Legend has it that prior to the Barca game, Milan played a friendly against then-Serie B team Fiorentina (still with Batistuta, though). Fiorentina beat us 2-0 and in the dressing room the first words of Capello were: we will definitely beat Barca.

Barca were coming from a triumphant season, very often they scored plenty of goals, sometimes even 6 and 8. incredible attaching force. they also trounced Man Utd 4-0.

Barca were clearly favourites that year. Milan ended up winning.

Similarly, the year before, Milan were favourites to beat Marseille since thye were coming from 12 wins in 12 matches. But Boli had other plans. Sadly, that was van Basten's last game with the side.

Originally Posted by savicevic

Legend has it that prior to the Barca game, Milan played a friendly against then-Serie B team Fiorentina (still with Batistuta, though). Fiorentina beat us 2-0 and in the dressing room the first words of Capello were: we will definitely beat Barca.

Barca were coming from a triumphant season, very often they scored plenty of goals, sometimes even 6 and 8. incredible attaching force. they also trounced Man Utd 4-0.

Barca were clearly favourites that year. Milan ended up winning.

Similarly, the year before, Milan were favourites to beat Marseille since thye were coming from 12 wins in 12 matches. But Boli had other plans. Sadly, that was van Basten's last game with the side.

We really can't count Marseilles' win against Milan as legitimate for many reasons - we all know about how Marseille bribed their league opponents to give them an easy time before the Milan game. Also that team under Bernard Tapie got humiliated and relegated and there was even talk of stripping their Champions Cup and handing it to Milan. If it was a level playing field, Milan would have beaten Marseille.

Originally Posted by savicevic

Legend has it that prior to the Barca game, Milan played a friendly against then-Serie B team Fiorentina (still with Batistuta, though). Fiorentina beat us 2-0 and in the dressing room the first words of Capello were: we will definitely beat Barca.

That's interesting.

Capello stated after we beat Atalanta in February that we would have a bad spell in the coming weeks, and sure enough we lost two matches in a row. Perhaps he has this sixth sense where he can predict what his team will do in the near future.

Thanks for the other information guys.

Just to add my few cents to this thread:

Capello is all for work ethic, less for creativity, hence Del Piero´s constant substitution, and while Nedved is also to some extent a creative talent, he is much more work horse like, and his creativity is usually limited to incisive runs down the pitch, or an awesome shot when least expected.

Zlatan, though quite creative, is really selfish in his creativity, as he seldom makes a good pass, but can dribble past an opponent or two and score. Hence as long as he is fit, he has a game in Capello´s eyes.

Look for more of the same under Capello, and as unlikely a statement as this is, I am glad we have a coach that understands the necessity for a creative player, as opposed to 11 workhorses.

PS Welcome Pavel! And thanks for your wishes of good luck...I wish you the same, though not in next Sunday´s match vs Milan!!!

Originally Posted by Warro Bantan

PS Welcome Pavel! And thanks for your wishes of good luck...I wish you the same, though not in next Sunday´s match vs Milan!!!

Thanks, we'll need luck.

Hopefully if we are beaten it will inspire Moggi to do something other than look for cheapskate bosman players in the summer transfer market.

for all i care, capello can F... off. he did great for milan but of all the milan coaches over history, i have the least respect for him.

Damn, trust me to be in exams and thus, really busy. I would have loved to have posted about Capello's Milan in detail.

Oh well, anyway, welcome Pavel