Honda Loses Form!

Keisuke Honda, the revelation of the early season for AC Milan, is gone!

He hasn’t scored a goal for the Rossoneri since November. No assists, either. Coach Filippo Inzaghi has even played Honda in a more central position his preferred area of the pitch. Nothing has come of it.

The mystery started at the Asian Cup in January. Honda had joined his Japanese teammates for the tournament in Australia on the heels of a prolific first half of the season. Honda had six goals in the opening third of the Serie A season, right up there at the top of the scoring chart.

He had a strong enough start in the Asian Cup, too, scoring in three straight games for Japan. Then he missed a sitter against Iraq and then a crucial penalty in the knockout game against United Arab Emirates. Japan lost.

That’s when Honda went missing. He came back to Milan, and he went straight on the pitch the day of his arrival.

But his performances have shrivelled up. He is no longer dictating games. He is down to just 1.1 key passes per game with Milan, which is an average ratio for a player who is capable of pulling the strings.