At the beginning of the year, the 2.7 million Euro transfer fee AC Milan paid to get Antonio Nocerino was laughed at by most Milanisti. The former Palermo man was merely a replacement for the injured Matheui Flamini, who has yet to play well for Milan, and would likely ride the bench for the majority of the season. On-loan midfielder Alberto Aquilani was suppose to be Milan’s Mr. X; however, Nocerino is the one controlling the Milan midfield and quickly become a fan favorite in Milan.
While most would call Nocerino a hard working midfielder like Massimo Ambrosini or Gennaro Gattuso, the 2008 Toulon Tournament Champion for the Azzurri is much more. Nocerino does work tirelessly like the previously said Milan greats, but he also has a knack for scoring goals and is a more polished skill player. It is Nocerino’s willingness to make countless runs into the box that makes him a threat as a goal scorer.
The combination of Nocerino’s always hustling attitude combined with a goal scoring presence in the box is that makes him so dangerous. Opposing defenses are too worried about marking Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kevin-Prince Boateng, and Antonio Cassono, when he was healthy, so they forget about Nocerino, leaving the midfield wide open in the box. Five of the seven midfielder’s goals have come by purely working harder than anyone else on the pitch.
Nocerino has an ability to make deep runs from the midfield into the box, which is why he is so dangerous. Defenders are too worried about Ibrahimovic in the box and most opposing midfielders are too lazy to mark Nocerino’s deep runs into their own 6-yard box. When this happens Nocerino makes his opposition pay with his goal-poaching gift usually reserved for strikers.
Nocerino has the same type of goal-scorers mindset that makes Mario Gomez so dangerous for Bayern Munich. It is just extraordinary to think that five of Nocerino’s seven goals have come inside the six-yard box, which is usually unheard of from a midfielder. The Milan man can also score outside the box, and he proved that against Parma when his perfectly struck volley from outside the box found the top left corner. The goal will likely go down as one of the best from the 2011-2012 season.
Without the complete package that Nocerino provides, Milan might not be where they are now- tied with Juventus for the most points in Serie A. The man from Naples is quickly becoming a world-class player to go along with Thiago Silva, Ibrahimovic, and Boateng at Milan. If the Rossoneri are going to make a push for a second straight Scudetto, they will need Nocerino to be just as stellar in the second half of the season.
An excellent second half of the season would also mean a starting spot for Nocerino with the Azzurri this summer in Ukraine and Poland. It would go down as a testament to how well Nocerino has played this year, and his skill-set would be perfect for Cesare Prandelli’s system. Time will tell what will happen with Nocerino and Italy, but for now the Milan man deserves all the praise for the Rossoneri’s success in the second half of the season.