12 months ago today, Olivier Giroud officially signed for Milan. In the space of a year, his strong work on and off the pitch has seen him become a fan favourite.
The 35-year-old Frenchman joined the Rossoneri in a deal worth around €1m from Chelsea last year, and he was expected to play a similar role to Zlatan Ibrahimovic – that is, another veteran winner who could be a reference point for the young talents in the squad.
Giroud did not disappoint. On the pitch, he continue to show off his qualities as a hard-working, tactically flexible forward with a keen eye for goal. He scored 11 goals in 29 Serie A games and a number of these won vital points for Milan, who only finished top two points ahead of rivals Inter.
Off the pitch, Giroud has been a key leader in the dressing room, helping the young squad stay grounded and focused, even when the pressure was on. Teammates from Chelsea to France have underlined what a joy it is to play alongside the Frenchman and the fans are now seeing that again in Lombardy.
I obviously have a huge appreciation for what Giroud did last season in key games, but he is a great example of the bias against youth team players in the media and at clubs. Giroud scored some absolutely crucial goals last season. But he also missed some crucial one v ones and he also gave the ball away in his own third. When he did commentators glossed over it. Had a player like Cutrone done that commentators would have used it as an example of their lack of experience.
Now before people say look at Cutrone now, the point of Cutrone is what he represents. He’s one of a number of strikers who came through the youth team having scored bucket loads at every level. None of them made it in the senior team. Prior to he basically being forced out by Milan, he had done more than enough (and more than some of the expensive signings) to justify his place. It’s impossible to know what would’ve happened had he stayed but it cannot have done anything for his confidence or his development. Even Messi struggled when he went to PSG. .