Welcome to Calcio Square, an email newsletter dedicated to Serie A and Italian football. Every Monday, I cover the biggest talking points from the weekend of action. Today's issues focuses on AC Milan's identity crisis.

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Now, onto today's issue.

Not for the first time, and most likely not for the last, the 75,000 or so who packed San Siro on Saturday night whistled AC Milan off the pitch. The hosts had just wasted an hour and a half of their time, giving them nothing to cheer during an utterly soulless 0-0 draw with Juventus.

The visitors could at least walk away feeling somewhat satisfied. They were missing a number of players due to injury and had to manage the game without a true center-forward. There was no such excuse for Milan. A point did nothing for them. It just reminded fans that the Scudetto is well and truly out of reach. If you're not going to go for the win against a vulnerable rival, what's the point?

Since Milan won Serie A in 2022, they've floated through time without any purpose or direction. They lost key members of their squad and staff. They've turned a profit for two years running, but who really cares?

It's obvious Milan aren't going to win anything this year. Their best players aren't performing, and the coach has yet to give the team a clear identity. Every week, the lineup changes. There's no continuity and no way for these players to build any confidence. Paulo Fonseca has coached Milan like a provincial side, setting them up to blunt opponents' strengths instead of imposing Milan's own. His approach has yielded a couple of good results — namely against Inter and Real Madrid — but has prevented players from growing into a greater collective. It has prevented Milan from being Milan.

Little by little, the club is losing its essence and becoming more of a commercial enterprise. Games feel more like North American events, complete with their T-shirt launchers, pump-up jams, and hype men. The crest has been massacred by mashups with international brands. Upscale merch sells at prohibitive prices, and ticket cost more.

These gimmicks are acceptable when you're winning. But Milan most certainly are not. They're in seventh place, 10 points behind leaders Napoli, and in a dog fight just to qualify for the next round of the Champions League. Who knows if they'll even get there next year?

But they continue to ask millions of their fans to back a listless team with no concrete ambition or entertainment value. They have gutted the team of its soul, moving on from Paolo Maldini, one of the club's greatest icons, and Sandro Tonali, whose grinta epitomized everything Milan used to be. San Siro could be next on the list.

If you can't win — and let's face it, 99% of teams don't — you absolutely must have heart. Right now, Milan don't even have that.

Key observations 👀

Developing storylines that deserve your attention.

• Inter are back in their groove. A month ago, Inter were conceding multiple goals a game to teams they'd usually have no issue beating. Since allowing four to Juventus in a ridiculous eight-goal thriller, they've returned to their roots, collecting clean sheets in four of their last five matches across all competitions. Inter haven't even been at full strength. But that's the beauty of the system Simone Inzaghi has created. A bit part like Joaquin Correa can come off the bench and contribute to three goals, as he did in Saturday's 5-0 bonanza at Hellas Verona.
• Como's season is unravelling. Back-to-back 3-2 wins over Atalanta and Verona added some much-needed credibility to Como's Hollywood act in September. Now it looks like an illusion. Como are winless in seven matches and down to 17th in the table. They've scored just four goals in that time and conceded as much as five in one contest. Nico Paz and Gabriel Strefezza can do wonderful things with the ball. But they may not be enough.
• Atalanta's Ederson is going places. Ederson revealed himself in two ways during Saturday's 3-1 win over Parma. He was first on the scene to score Atalanta's second goal of the night, making a sneaky run toward the back post for an easy tap-in. Later, he sprinted back 30 yards or so to retrieve a ball in Atalanta's end, preventing Parma from building momentum when they were gaining confidence. His two-way play helps facilitate Atalanta's high-energy system, and he's drawing attention for it.

Reader Mailbag 📬

The best comments and reaction from the community.

With Hellas Verona set to become the ninth Serie A side to fall under American ownership, I want to know how you feel about the rise of U.S. investment in Italian football. What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks? How will this end?

Longtime Milanista Francis Obità chimed in with a passionate take on the uptrend.

Roma is the perfect example of the way foreign ownerships have ruined calcio. Somehow they go after the identity of the clubs and destroy their Italian icons — except for Inter who have no Italian icons. Once that is done, chaos ensues. Ownership starts to change hands like dice on a roulette table. It's the fans who have suffered. (Former Roma owner) Rosella Sensi must be sad to see Roma like this after her family had taken so much good care of the club. Their season might be truly over. Another American-owned team, (my) beloved AC Milan, might follow suit soon.

Share your thoughts with me on X or via email.

Parting shot 💥

Final remarks about the current state of Serie A.

It's refreshing to see so many teams within touching distance of first place. Napoli, Atalanta, Inter, Fiorentina, and Lazio are separated by a point, and all of them won on the weekend. It's an interesting collection of teams, too. While Inter have by far the largest payroll in Serie A, Napoli rank fifth, Lazio sixth, Fiorentina seventh, and Atalanta eighth.

You could expect Inter and Napoli to continue fighting at the top, but how much staying power do the other three clubs really have? Atalanta have never won Serie A before, Fiorentina haven't finished higher than eighth in any of the last eight seasons, and Lazio are an historically unpredictable team.

What they all have in common is good coaching. Inzaghi, Antonio Conte, and Gian Piero Gasperini are elite managers who have complete buy-in from their players. Raffaele Palladino is a modern coach who makes players happy by putting them in their best position. Marco Baroni is a journeyman who has brought calm to Lazio's usually chaotic surroundings.

If these teams have a shot at taking this thing to the wire, it's because they have the right coach at the right time. It's not only because of one player. Systems are at work here, and that bodes well for the long haul.