After returning from the World Cup, AC Milan suffered four consecutive defeats and 14 goals in seven winless games. However, with the 21-year-old Jiafu in the start, the Rossoneri won four of their next six games and eliminated Tottenham Hotspur to reach the last eight of the Champions League.
Perhaps German boss Frick is lamenting why Pioli didn't use the talented youngster in the first half of the season. If he had appeared in the World Cup, perhaps Germany would not have been eliminated in the group stage.
01. From Schalke 04: AC Milan bought him for only 7 million euros
a. Grew up in the Schalke 04 Academy: became famous in the Bundesliga
Malik Jaff, born on August 8, 2001, grew up in Schalke 04's youth system. Because of the team's unfortunate relegation, he played in the Bundesliga at the age of 19 and followed the team to the Bundesliga.
Scoring two goals in 28 of his 31 appearances, the German Under-21 centre-back helped Schalke 04 win the Bundesliga title and return to the top flight stage.
In the first three Bundesliga games of the new season, Jaff, who has a steal success rate of 70.18%, was selected by AC Milan and came to the Apennines for 7 million euros.
However, manager Pioli did not trust him at the beginning, did not even give the youngster a chance to sign up for the Champions League group stage, and played only 2 Serie A games in the entire first half.
b. Grew up in the Schalke 04 Academy: became famous in the Bundesliga
The turnaround came from a seven-game winless run and a four-game losing streak after the World Cup, with Pioli then switching to a three-centre-back system, which gave Jaff the opportunity to partner with Tomori and Kalulu as the Redsoneri.
With four wins in a row, AC Milan are back on the right path. Eliminated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on aggregate over two legs to return to the last eight of the Champions League.
You must know that for AC Milan, who are financially strained, it is too important that the Champions League can come this far. The generous bonus will be of great help to the team's subsequent recruitment and construction.
In the World Cup, an important reason for Germany's exit is the lack of personnel in the central defender position. If Jaff can take the position half a year earlier and replace Schroedbeck, perhaps the team will not be out of the group stage.
In the upcoming European Championships, it is believed that the 21-year-old young centre-back will have a chance to become the hope of the German team's revival.
02. Two rounds clean sheet Kane! Jaffe made the England captain uncomfortable on his head and feet
a. Frequent defensive rounds: Kane can't get the ball when he pulls back
As you can see from the statistics, Tottenham, who played at home, were extremely pale in attack throughout the game, with an expected goal of only 0.46 (AC Milan reached 1.37).
The reason for this is because Jaffe completely sealed the point of Kane. Even when the England captain frequently retreats to ask for the ball, Jiafu can go around the front and keep an eye on the opponent, not giving the opponent a chance.
This time the Tottenham goalkeeper opened the goal with a precise goal, just to find Kane. As a result, Jiafu used his long legs to go around the front defense and directly destroy the ball.
Looking at the offensive and defensive rounds this time, Tottenham midfielders can't take advantage, they want to speed up their attack, so they will take a long pass to find Kane.
As a result, Jiafu followed Kane in the game, completing interceptions and breaking balls in front of him many times.
b. Head and foot, all make Kane very uncomfortable
From the statistics, Kane has 0 passes, 0 key passes, and although he has 4 shots on goal, only 1 shot is on target.
That only shot on target, a free-kick opportunity late in the second half, finally left the opposite of Jaff, and Kane found a chance.
This kind of cross from the wing finds Kane, and Kulusevski's passing quality is very high.
As a result, Jiafu in the middle of the penalty area pushed Kane and completed a clean clearance at the first time, clearing the ball out of the danger zone.
With a height of 1.91 meters, Jiafu's foot movements are not flexible, but they can also save lives at critical moments.
This time Kane pulled out to get the ball and saw that the forward Hoibel could find a solo chance, only to be destroyed by Jaffe.
Emerson moved the ball to Hojbel with a stroke of genius, and the deficiencies of AC Milan's undercover midfield were exposed.
Kalulu headed forward, leaving room for depth behind him, and seeing that Hojbel would have a golden chance, it was Jaff's key interception to turn the AC Milan defence around.
03. It's still a little bulky on the move: there's a lot of room for growth in the future
a. A little bulky is a minor flaw: the header advantage is obvious
Jaffe's tackle is very efficient, with 13 of 15 steal attempts in Serie A this season, while playing only 5.6 90 minutes of games, contributing the team's third-highest 32 sapasses.
Compared to Tomori and Kalulu, his advantage is good physique and high success rate against him.
In this wave of defense, Jiaff completed four consecutive header battles, including two defeats against Kane, which was impressive.
He can go up to the top and fight high, which makes Kane very uncomfortable.
The reason Pioli didn't use Jaffe before was "a bit bulky", but it can be seen that his foot movement has improved a lot after polishing the details of Serie A defensive training.
This time, the opponent's cross was too low in the arc, and Jiafu, who was 1.91 meters tall, didn't know how to handle it well. Fortunately, this time Kane also had a hard time handling the ball, leaning back and deflecting the top.
b. Mobile needs to continue to improve: progress has been made
In this match against Tottenham, Jaff contributed 1 tackle, 4 interceptions, 1 block shot and 4 clearances, not only to prevent Kane, but also to crack Tottenham's conventional attacking system.
As you can also see from the heatmap, Jaffe is not just an air defense in the box, he is more valuable when defending in front.
Under the regular routine, Kane can't shake off Jaffe's defense. For Tottenham to find opportunities, they need to be transposed and moved on a large scale.
This time Emerson, Kulusevski and Kane worked well together, using Emerson to cut inward, allowing Kalulu and Jaff to overlap their positions, and Kane was given space to meet on the flanks.
Emerson's catch in the middle was important, attracting Kulusevski, who flanked the ball after Fikayo Tomori, followed by going to the front of the box to pick up the ball and let Kane go to the flank.
Jaffe wanted to move sideways with Kane, but was afraid that Emerson would cut the middle of the penalty area, causing him and Tomori to end up overlapping back and forth. Fortunately, Jaffe had the advantage of leg length, but still interfered with Kane's cross, and after goalkeeper Meignan blocked the ball, Jaffe completed the clearance.
Looking at this wave of defense, Jiafu directly followed Kane out, but the latter protected the ball very steadily and was not broken.
The ball then moved to the flanks, and Jaff's position was quite timely, and from the movement of his feet, he was clearly better than in the Bundesliga.
Tomori stepped forward to solve the siege, and Jaff's move may be overlooked by many people.
It is clear from the picture below, the front top is against Kane, who is still out of the picture, and Jiafu has returned to the penalty area while blocking the potential pass line of Son Heung-min on the flank.
Conclusion:
At the age of 21, it is also a good opportunity for central defenders to raise the ball. Choosing the Serie A platform is also the most conducive place for defenders to improve.
Jaff's growth is not only an asset for AC Milan, but also a blessing for the German national team. Although there are still some minor flaws, I believe that this young man with huge room for growth will be very worth looking forward to in the future.