AC Milan general spiel 2.0

[The MAN]

MILAN - The day after the triumph at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic recalled the moment in December in Dubai when he met Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Both were in the UAE for warm-weather training. On that occasion, Djokovic had hoped to win Wimbledon while predicting that Milan who he supports, would win the league. Today, the world's number one said: "We have to repeat a meeting with Milan and Ibra because I want to repeat my successes and Milan must win the Champions League. This is my wish!"

Thinking first and foremost about Champions League already, now this is how I know he's a true Milanista

[vtec]

[The MAN]

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slu ... alcoentrao

30 million for a fucking fullback? is this a joke? I mean the guy is good but Galliani would probably commit suicide first before agreeing such a deal like this and rightly so. I'm just waiting for the day when all the debts catch up to these dickheads, it's ridiculous.... I hate to quote the idiot who first coined this term but in footballing terms, Real, Man Shitty and Chelsea are the axis of evil IMO

Apparently the 30 million is his buy-out clause, these arrogant fucks dont even bother negotiate it seems

[DavidP]

how much do you think dani alves costs, The MAN?

[The MAN]

Oh, don't get me started on that guy. He's grossly overrated IMO. Solid offensively but a clown defensively. He's not much different than his idol Roberto Carlos, same shit, different flanks.

I still think 30 million is an insane amount for a young and relatively untested fullback. Hes not even established. For a fullback, unless you're as good as Paolo Maldini in his prime, I don't think any fullback is worth it. I would there's maybe around 10 players or so in all of Europe that I would value at or over 30 million.

[RomaShield27]

I agree with the Man, €30m for a full-back is ludicrous, especially for one who is by now means the finished product and still has a lot to prove. Last time I checked Madrid had a couple of decent left-backs, too, so its not like its a crucial, must-do signing.

[The MAN]

Yeah, common sense and names like Real, Chelski and Man Shitty don't get along well...these idiots ruin it for everybody else with their insane spending

In other news, Serie A sides are allowed to get 2 non-EU, so we get Ganso now if we want though January seems more likely at this point

[maro]

Money well spent for Real, I should say.

[red]

On Coentrao?

Doesn't seem a necessary signing.

Marcello has developed into a very good player; excellent in attack, but still decent in defence.

I'm not going to say Coentrao isn't a better player, but LB shouldn't have been a priority for them.

A really good partner for Carvalho, or a RB and moving Ramos to CB, should have been their priority.

Anyway, my gut reaction to the Coentrao move is that a Marcello-Maicon swap looks a distinct possibility.

[DavidP]

I agree with Maro. 30m or not, I think Coentrao is one of the best left-backs in the world.

[vtec]

i think real pretty much had no choice if they wanted to compete with barcelona. there aren't that many fullbacks at dani alves' level, but cointreau is one with that potential. miguel's a good player and maybe they should have stuck with him, but they need to upgrade if they're to keep up with barça, who have not wasted any time in strengthening.

[maro]

That swap deal might well happen, red. Equally, I don't think they see really Marcelo as a left-back - I think they see him as a left-winger (who also has the ability to play as a mezz'ala, probably). Marcelo has a lot of technical quality which is slightly wasted at fullback.

[red]

I would say the same thing about various attacking fullbacks, including Coentrao.

[The MAN]

Irrespective of the fact that this is a totally unnecessary signing by Real (like red mentioned, RB or CB would've made a little more sense) but I still don't know how you can justify spending 30 million on a fullback who's relatively untested at the big stage. I really hope shit like this doesnt happen starting next summer when FFP rules come into effect. It won't totally prevent it but will make it harder for clubs to spend that much on a single player.

At any case, its seems these idiots now realize their starting XI can never match that of Barca's so their main strategy is to basically outlast Barca over the course of a season by having a ridiculous amount of depth. They were already deeper than Barca last season but it seems they're determined to have 150 million+ bench value now...it wouldn't surprise me next year if Real gets dominated in the head-to-head by Barca but still win the league. Barca have been fortunate on the injury front with a relatively thin roster last year and are probably due to have some bad breaks there next season, this is Real's best hope IMO

[vtec]

meh. the ffp rules will do nothing to solve the financial inequity in football and are only in place to solidify the existing hegemony of big, established clubs.

[maro]

Well, how can you justify the money Bilan have spent on Ibra? And it's not as though Madrid are wafer-thin at CB or right back as it is - there aren't too many clubs with better options in those positions. Leave them be and keep your own house in order. By the standards of all but a handful of clubs, the wages Bilan pay are obscene - and by the standards of the world at large, the wages all top clubs pay are obscene. If Coentrao contributes to Real's knocking Barca off their perch this year or next that's how they will justify 30 mil on a totally unnecessary fullback.

[The MAN]

[maro]

They're both huge investments. Given you already had Borriello, after all. Your comments on Cointreau are just a nonsense - of course you can find a way to justify the indecent amount you spent on Ibra (the salary is the incredibly exorbitant part of that deal, really), just as one can find a way to justify the money on Coentrao: young, gifted, so many good years ahead of him, already proven on the International stage and in European football with his club etc. etc. Both clubs are in a position to throw serious money at players - somehow you think Real are on the indecent side of a line of which Bilan are on the other side, but clearly that's a pretty shaky proposition.

[arthurfonzarelli]

[The MAN]