AC Milan general spiel

[San Paolo]

killing or ultras?

[red]

Murder.

Ultras are, in general, a good thing.

[San Paolo]

i think thats debatable by the team

[p_maldini_3]

heres a question for the ages; has nesta ever had a bad game?

[RomaShield27]

ZAMBROTTA WANTS MORE OF THE SAME


AC Milan are determined to build on their positive run prior to the international break when they resume their Serie A campaign at home to Cagliari on Sunday. The Rossoneri are unbeaten in the last seven and have won four of the last five, but lie seven points off the pace set by city rivals and defending champions Inter Milan.

The run has been punctuated by the international break, which saw Italy draw 0-0 and a 1-0 defeat of Sweden, while Italy's rugby team hosted New Zealand at the San Siro in front of 77,000 fans. Football returns to the fabled arena on Saturday, with Milan eager to carry the momentum from their 2-1 defeat of Lazio in their most recent Serie A fixture.

"The club teams are coming back on the pitch and we want to continue the positive run after our last matches," defender Gianluca Zambrotta told the club's official website, www.acmilan.com.

Zambrotta insists Milan's attacking approach, which has yielded 10 goals in the last five games, will continue. He added: "We are playing in a system that allows us to create a lot, we attack with more men.

"Attacking play has always been Milan's philosophy. "For us wingers, also, it's very important having reference points on the same flank, like it often happens for me with Ronaldinho."

Gennaro Gattuso is battling a thigh problem, while Alessandro Nesta is suspended.

However, Kakha Kaladze has declared himself available for selection following injury to boost a defence which is already without Daniele Bonera and Oguchi Onyewu. Kaladze said: "I think it's important to always be ready. I'm coming off a serious injury, an operation, I also recovered a bit late compared to the start of the team's official cycle of games.

"Now I'm doing well, I'm available to the coach, he's the one who has to make choices on who plays. "It wasn't easy for me to come in against Napoli, Nesta's injury was unexpected, but in that circumstance I think I did quite well, as I did against Parma three days later. "Now for both me and the team it's important to play well, continue the positive series, on Sunday we have to win and earn the three points."

Zambrotta expects Cagliari to provide a stiff challenge to Milan's title aspirations. "Cagliari are having a good time at the moment, we know it won't be easy on Sunday," he said. Kaladze added: "We'll have to be careful on Sunday, it won't be easy but we will do everything to win."

Alessandro Matri admits it will be "special" to play the Rossoneri, but he and his Cagliari team-mates will not be fazed by the occasion.

"It's a special game for everyone, not just for me. One can not remain indifferent to Milan," the striker, who began his career at Milan, told his club's official website, www.cagliaricalcio.net. "How can emerge unscathed from San Siro? We will play our game, without awe. We want to do well."

[p_maldini_3]

[p_maldini_3]

[San Paolo]

[SuperPippo9]

Is it me or does Leonardo look MUCH MUCH healthier these past couple weeks...That smile after the Pato goal was classic

[vtec]

i had ronaldinho and pato as my men of the match. they were on song and were dangerous every time they had the ball. borriello was good, but not as good.

and yeah, leonardo is starting to win people over. i am a fan of his attacking approach. we are exposed badly at the back, but that has more to do with having incompetents there rather than intrinsic tactical flaws, but this is the right strategy against those smaller teams. we will have to find an answer when facing the likes of inter and rube.

[p_maldini_3]

[RobHood]

Kaladze will probably be decent in his next game though; the man's middle name is inconsistency. But even on his better days he's not going to be able to figure out how the offside trap works. Favalli was better for us last season but I suspect that was because he had Maldini by his side.

I take back everything I said about Seedorf last season; it seems the change in tactics has suited him to a t...he's not the Seedorf of old but he seems to have adapted his current set of skills very well for the good of the team. I honestly thought he was done and would've taken Deco over him last year but now I happily eat my words.

And again, props to Silva for coming back from two friendlies for Brazil (in which he played the full 90) and marshaling the defense in Nesta's absence.

[RomaShield27]

Ronaldinho credits fans for return to form
– By Soccernet staff, November 24, 2009

Ronaldinho has attributed his return to form to the support of AC Milan's fans ahead of the visit of Olympique Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday, where a win would put the Italian club through to the knockout stages. Milan endured a shaky start to the season in European and domestic competitions, partially because of poor showings from Ronaldinho. Pundits were questioning their ability to challenge for silverware with their star Brazilian misfiring.

But an improving Ronaldinho has coincided with a change in fortunes for Milan, who sit third in Serie A and have put their Champions League destiny in their own hands by taking four points from home and away ties with Real Madrid. Milan top Group C, on the same points as Real Madrid, with Marseille one point back with two games to play. Ronaldinho, now settled on the left of a front three, blasted in a penalty and produced some exquisite touches in Sunday's 4-3 win over Cagliari.

"For me it's easy to be able to play with intelligent players like Marco Borriello and Alexandre Pato who understand what I can do for them on the pitch," Ronaldinho said. "Right now playing at the San Siro makes me feel good, here I feel at home, the fans understand I needed their support and this makes me happy."

Forward Borriello was so impressive against Cagliari he could keep European specialist Filippo Inzaghi out of the lineup while coach Leonardo will have defender Alessandro Nesta back from suspension after shipping three bad goals on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Marseille boosted morale with a 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Paris St Germain on Friday. The former European champions, four points behind surprise leaders Auxerre in Ligue 1, have a doubt over midfielder Stephane Mbia (ankle sprain). "It's nice to have beaten Paris before going to Milan, it's good for our confidence," said Argentina defender Gabriel Heinze. "Milan are a different proposition but I believe we can win there. We have to if we want to qualify."

Midfielder Fabrice Abriel said the man to watch would be Clarence Seedorf, who set up both Inzaghi's goals in Milan's 2-1 win at Marseille in September. "Seedorf is their most important player and we'll have to keep an eye on him," said Abriel. "He's the one who gives all the good balls, he's very intelligent and he's real added value for Milan." If Marseille lose, Real can go through at their expense with a home win over Zurich.

[San Paolo]

[vtec]

Seedorf the example for Milan to follow

As AC Milan bid to confirm their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League by beating Olympique de Marseille, Leonardo picked out evergreen Clarence Seedorf as the man most likely to lead their advance.

'Example to follow'
In a topsy-turvy season for the Rossoneri, Seedorf has been a model of consistency; a major reason why Leonardo is looking ahead to the rest of the competition with optimism. "He is a master at being the deciding factor, even after so many years he has such an inspiring desire," the coach said. "He is the example to follow." The 33-year-old was a key figure under Carlo Ancelotti, but many expected his role to be reduced following Leonardo's appointment in the summer.

'Confidence'
The erstwhile Netherlands international, however, is proving as indispensable as ever. Seedorf has been a mainstay in midfield while the tactics and personnel have changed around him. Leonardo started the season with two holding midfielders, but as his side struggled he switched to a more attacking formation. "I had a great relationship with Ancelotti, but I have to admit that changing coach was a great motivation for me," the former FC Internazionale Milano player said. "Leonardo gave us confidence even when we were going through hard times at the start of the season. We grew thanks to some good performances and I think he played a key role in that development."

Hunger
Having won the European Champion Clubs' Cup four times with three different teams, Seedorf could be forgiven for resting on his laurels, but he is hungry for more. "We want to qualify for the next stage of the competition, and we are so close to doing that, but more than qualifying for the last 16, what we really want is to win the UEFA Champions League. I think we have the right spirit, a positive attitude: we believe we can do it."

Commanding performance
Milan beat Marseille 2-1 on Matchday 1, but face a real challenge to repeat the feat at San Siro where they have not won in four UEFA Champions League games. Another commanding performance from Seedorf could again make the difference. As he stakes a late claim for a recall to the Netherlands FIFA World Cup squad, it would come as no surprise should he do so. "I don't care about that at the moment, I'm totally focused on what is happening here in Italy with my team," he said. "I'm doing everything I can for Milan. Then we just have to wait and see. What I can say for sure is I will do my best."

©uefa.com 1998-2009. All rights reserved.

[RomaShield27]

Nice use of the bold there, 'tec, I like it.

[vtec]

thank you, shield. i forgot to complement you for the nice embedding of the original article link in your previous post

[p_maldini_3]

[RomaShield27]

What is Gattuso's problem? I would of thought he'd be type of man who, if been dropped and out of favour, he would of put his head down and bucked up in training and force his way into the first team. At least now you may finally buy a young, talented midfielder.

[red]

Like David Beckham?