Patience is a virtue, especially in the case of Milan Midfielder Yacine Adli who finally seems to have earned the trust of Stefano Pioli after 15 months, so Christian Aquino analyses how the Frenchman has convinced the Rossoneri coach.
Adli’s journey was anything but easy and it began in the Parisian suburbs. He was born on 29 July 2000 in Vitry-sur-Seine to Algerian parents and is the youngest of three children. The suburb he was raised in was once the home of a previous Milan player, Jeremy Menez.
Growing up, Adli was a Paris Saint-Germain supporter and an admirer of Roberto Baggio, Juninho Pernambucano and Zinedine Zidane. His full name, Yacine Zinedine Adli represents the admiration his parents had for the legendary Zizou who, like Adli, was born to Algerian parents and is of Kabyle descent.
An academically gifted student at school, Adli stood out from his classmates and he was incredibly competitive in all sports, including swimming and judo, but it was football that became his passion and eventually, his father took him to a successful trial at a local club called US Villejuf where he established himself as the best player and was signed by PSG in 2013.
Despite being a highly-rated member of PSG’s academy and Thomas Tuchel blocking his sale to Arsenal in 2018, opportunities for Adli were sparse at a club that were able to sign Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in the same Mercato. The French midfielder only made one appearance for the French giants before being sold to Bordeaux in 2019 for €5.5m with a 40% sell-on clause.
Adli made a name for himself at Bordeaux, becoming one of the most exciting young footballers in Ligue 1 and earning a transfer to Milan in August 2021 for €8m. He was then loaned back to Bordeaux for the remainder of the season. Notable moments for Les Girondins included scoring against PSG in November 2020. In the second part of the season, after another impressive performance against his former club, even Thierry Henry was singing his praises.
Despite excitement amongst Milan fans about Adli, his first year at Milan did not go to plan. Stefano Pioli preferred Brahim Diaz as a Trequartista and even Rade Krunic given that Adli was not deemed physical enough and struggled defensively. His first start for the club against Verona disappointed Pioli, so Adli only made six appearances for a total of 140 minutes on the pitch in 2022-23 and was excluded from the Champions League squad, watching his teammates march to the semis from afar.
It felt he was even further away from San Siro when, on the first day of the 2023-24 pre-season, Adli was told he would be sold, as he told Sky Italia a few weeks ago. “The first day, I spoke to Pioli and he told me that we would change the way we played and that I wasn’t in the plans. Fikayo Tomori asked me what I would do and I told him that I’d stay and prove I could be involved”.
Adli committed himself to Milan, changed his position from a Trequartista to Regista – a deep-lying playmaker – and after convincing Pioli during the summer, the club decided to keep him. An injury to Rade Krunic allowed the Frenchman to seize his chance and Pioli rewarded him with a start against Cagliari in his new position. The hard work paid off and despite making a mistake leading to Cagliari’s goal, he recovered well and impressed combining technique with his newfound defensive ability.
He started again against Lazio the following week, showing great maturity in a comfortable 2-0 victory. Adli was at the heart of it all and showed his commitment with a passionate celebration after Milan’s second goal. The Frenchman also earned a standing ovation and praise from Pioli.
The French midfielder has become an important cog in Pioli’s side as in just three Serie A games, he is second for passes into the final third and most impressively, he has the most progressive passes in the top six European leagues for under 23 players.
Adli’s former Bordeaux Manager Paulo Sousa has called him “the new Zinedine Zidane for his technical qualities” and although Adli has a long way to go to emulate his idol, things are finally working out for him at San Siro after being seen as an oggetto misterioso in his first season at the club.
Off the pitch, he is a credit to Milan. In 2019, he founded the Yacine Adli Association, which helps disadvantaged children in Paris. He continuously supports his teammates on social media and hosted a lunch for the entire Rossoneri squad and their families last season. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the piano, violin, guitar and watching Basketball.
In a generation where footballers seem to give up at the first hurdle and blame everyone else, Adli proved by working hard and being patient that good things can happen.