Messias Redeemed, Milan Reborn
An immediate impact with goals in Champions League and Serie A
After back-to-back league defeats for Milan, Junior Messias delivered a statement of intent to guide Il Diavolo back to winning ways and Rossoneri fans are beginning to believe in their brilliant Brazilian.
On Match Day 15 at the Marassi against Genoa, Messias scored a brace to seal a 3-0 victory for Milan - the club he’s supported from a young age - to take his club to within a point of Serie A leaders, Napoli.
Since then, Milan has skipped to the top of the standings after a 2-0 win at the San Siro over Salernitana, a reunion for Messias and former Crotone strike partner, Simy.
“The moment I saw AC Milan written I was filled with emotion, this is my favourite club”.
While nothing has changed for Simy, Messias has quite literally turned his footballing world upside down. The Nigerian is still languishing down at the bottom of Serie A while in stark contrast, Walter Junior sits at the top of the pile.
Effectively, Messias is the replacement for Hakan Calhanoğlu, who acrimoniously parted company to join rivals, Inter Milan, after four seasons in the red and black.
On the final day of the summer transfer window, Milan welcomed the 30-year-old on board, joining on a €2.6 million loan deal from Crotone with an option to buy for €5.4m plus an additional €1m in add-ons.
And what a bargain that has turned out to be. After missing the first eleven rounds of Serie A and the first four Champions League group fixtures through injury, the former Casale hitman had struck 3 goals in 208 minutes of football for Milan.
That’s one goal every 69 minutes, on par with Dries Merten’s 2021/22 Serie A record to date.
Bequeathing inspiration to twenty-five-year-old former footballers around the planet, take a look at how Messias put away the winner against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League for AC Milan.
“Il Messias, vedo il cielo sopra di te”
“The Messias, I see the sky above you,” raved the Milan commentator before affording an uncontrollable play on words about blue skies being ripped open for il Diavolo’s new miracle-worker.
In fact, the word “messias” literally translates to ‘the anointed one’, a saviour of a group of people. I’ve written about this in depth in this earlier piece following Walter’s transfer to Milan.
When Hope Was Lost
Former Torino coach, Ezio Rossi, uncovered a diamond in the rough, spotting Messias at some random amateur match organised by South American immigrants living in Turin.
Rossi was subsequently appointed as Casale manager in 2015/16 and eventually convinced Messias to sign on. Twenty-one goals later, Chieri and Gozzano came knocking.
Four years into the faithful follower’s footballing crusade, then Crotone coach, Giovanni Stroppa, acquired Messias for €400,000 at the beginning of the 2018/19 Serie B season.
The Squali clinched direct promotion to the Italian top flight by July of 2020. I had the privilege of calling a couple of Messias’ nine Serie A goals during the 2020/21 campaign, including this one against Spezia and this clever finish away at the Maradona versus Napoli.
From the South to the North
In the footsteps of his brother, Walter Junior had come to Italy with his wife and children in 2011 to find work. A decade on, Junior has a UEFA Champions League goal to his name after just one appearance in Europe’s most challenging competition.
"I dedicate it to my family and friends in Brazil," he said. "But especially to those who have believed in me and who had the faith to bring me to Milan.
Since coming into the Milan side, Messias has added a spark of enthusiasm. Boasting a devastating burst of pace, Pioli has found himself a legitimate alternative to Rafael Leão, Ante Rebić, Daniele Maldini and Alexis Saelemaekers, not to mention the €25 million signing, Samu Castillejo.
In fact, Messias has scored more Serie A goals in just four appearances than the latter four.
At Crotone, he was often tracking back in defence under both Giovanni Stroppa and Serse Cosmi, mainly due to the lack of quality in midfield. Solid Pioli tactics and the 4-2-3-1 formation at Milan will suit the pocket dynamo’s natural game.
In what absolutely nobody else besides me would dub as a second coming for this devoted disciple, Messias delivered two goals in his debut start to rubber-stamp the win over Genoa in a late November contest at the Luigi Ferraris.
It’s taken the delivery guy just six years to get himself to the UEFA Champions League from Eccellenza.
And with a story as such, there will always be haters. It’s tough for some punters to accept that a struggling immigrant could earn his ascent to glory through natural talent and hard work.
Another Mighty Step
At this stage of 2020 (early December), Messias had scored just one goal in Serie A for Crotone. Fast forward twelve months, he's bagged a brace for Milan in the league and a Champions League winner to boot.
Born again after suffering early-season injuries, it’s only fitting that Junior’s first goals for Milan, in both Champions League and Serie A, were scored via the cranium, a fitting baptism of fire.
While these are still early episodes of the (potential) Milan-Messias docuseries, the Diavolo number 30 has showcased that he’s worth much more than his Poundland pricetag.
Serie A and Milan tifosi, I’m excited!
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