Mnez arrived to Milan this past June for free in the hopes of lighting a fire under the rear of his career which seemingly started to decline a bit. PSG didn't have a place for him and when Pippo Inzaghi and management met with the player, Ménez instantly felt Milan was the right place to go to prove to the world that at age 27, he can still be a dynamic player. Of course, Milan had a few wingers already penciled in to be given ample time so Ménez would have to prove his worth both in training and in friendly matches leading up to the Serie A campaign. Ménez showcased himself at the summer tournament, International Champions Cup. This was his "tryout" for Pippo to see how much he could be relied on this season being as Milan lacked the amount of quality wingers needed for Inzaghi's 4-3-3 formation. Despite the club underachieving at the ICC as a whole, Ménez showed determination and energy which were two of the main concerns with him coming in. Still, most Milan fans wouldn't think much of just a few decent performances in friendly matches with little meaning. Milan is in a downfall and unless the club starts winning, individual performance don't really mean much. Postitive results are what Milan fans desire. Simple. We all wanted quality play in games with meaning and with the Rossoneri opening up the season with three tough opponents, one being the Juventus, this is the stage.
Match day one arrived and Milan opened up the season v Lazio. Ménez got the nod from Pippo to start up front in the false 9 position, a spot he typically doesn't play. Throughout the game, we saw the "grinta" and passion of not just Ménez but the entire squad. Pippo appeared to have instilled a different type of motivation into this squad that we haven't seen in some time. The club looked genuinely thrilled to be playing for Pippo and Milan. Ménez earned a penalty and scored it with ease, netting his first goal in his debut for the club. The result was a 3-1 win for Milan and Ménez, being asked to play out of position, performed extremely well and was Man of the Match in the eyes of most Milan supporters. At this time, Milan fans witnessed just a glimpse of what this player could provide.
On match day two v Parma, Ménez again played as a false 9 due to Torres not being active for the match. Again, it was the Frenchman providing the spark in the attack and even at times dropping into the midfield to retrieve passes. He was doing it all for Milan and the confidence Pippo instilled into Ménez paid dividends. He earned another penalty and punched it in but it was his second goal that caught the attention of not just Pippo, Milan and Serie A but also Europe. Ménez took advantage of apoor back pass by the Parma defender to Mirante and he took a delicate touch brilliance to beat the keeper before finishing off the play with a nifty, out of nowhere back heel goal that had the manager erupting on the sideline. Milan hung on to beat Parma 5-4, earning 6 points in two matches.
Through two Serie A matches with Milan, Jérémy Ménez has netted 3 goals from the false 9 position. Yes, you read that correctly but in case you don't believe me, rub your eyes and read again. 3 goals in 2 games and he has instantly earned the confidence of Pippo. His motivation to score, the drive he shows up and down the pitch and his immediate love for the crest has ignited the Milan fans already. With a huge contest this weekend v Juventus, Ménez will surely get the nod to start regardless of whether or not both El Shaarawy and Fernando Torres are fit. Currently, Ménez is clicking on all cylinders and if this is what he will bring to Milan week in and week out, he will no doubt be the best signing Milan had of the summer.
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