Defense has been the weakness of AC Milan for several years. Throughout the team's decline since winning the Scudetto in the 2010-11 season, a leaky defense has been their Achilles' heel.
After trying to use a clutch of stop-gap players to shore up the back line, Milan finally started to build their defense for the long term. Following a long saga, 21-year-old Alessio Romagnoli was signed from Roma to be the team's long-term anchor in the center. Academy product Davide Calabria, 19, has impressed when pressed into service, and Luca Antonelli returned to his boyhood club last January and has been impressive on the left flank.