AC Milan general spiel

[vtec]

[morra10]

[SuperPippo9]

[RobHood]

[Lombardiamia]

[vtec]

i haven't seen enough of ochoa to pass a judgment. it's possible that there is a world class keeper playing in the mexican leagues, but is that likely? if he's only 20, then perhaps he can turn into the next buffon, but at that age, it's still very likely he will be a dud. 15 million for a promising young keeper just seems like too much of a gamble, and that doesn't seem to be the milan way of doing things at all. frey's probably the best keeper not named buffon in italy, but i don't think fiorentina would sell him to us.

[vtec]

Milan To Let Eight Players Leave In June

AC Milan will begin a squad revolution by allowing eight players to leave at the end of the season, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport.


The first is the legendary Paolo Maldini, who will retire 23-and-a-half years after making his club debut way back in January of 1985.


Ronaldo will also move on as his contract runs out in the summer, and the Milan hierarchy are refusing to offer him a renewal due to the constant injury problems that have seen him play just once this season.



Rossoneri fans would be happy to see accident-prone goalkeeper Nelson Dida leave the club immediately, however the lack of a valid alternative will see him stay until June, when he will then be replaced, probably by Fiorentina’s Sebastien Frey.



A number of defensive veterans are also set to leave the club. The 37-year-old Cafu signed a one-year contract extension in the summer, however this will almost certainly be his final renewal.



Cafu’s Brazilian compatriot Serginho will turn 37 in June, and despite still demonstrating some blistering pace, he will leave after nine years at the club.



Fellow left back Giuseppe Favalli has a contract at San Siro until 2009, however he is now surplus to requirements and will probably see the final year of his deal paid up in full.



Croatian stopper Dario Simic, who is set for a loan move to Lazio in a few days, will be sold to a club that can offer him first team football.



Finally young French midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, a player likened by some to a young Zinedine The Bald Algerian, has been told by Coach Carlo Ancelotti that he has no future with the Rossoneri.



Roberto Rossi


anyone know if this last part is true?

[vtec]

this article is spot on.


Milan Mid-Season Review: Tricky Times

To say it's been an up and down first half of the season for AC Milan is a bit of an understatement. Gil Gillespie charts the highs and lows of a yo-yo few months for the Rossoneri.



Terrible home form. Ronaldo's persistent injuries. The thrilling World Club Cup triumph in Tokyo. Smashing five past Sampdoria and Lazio away from home.

Losing to Empoli in the San Siro. Kaka picking up the golden ball award. Maldini announcing the date of his retirement. And some of the worst goalkeeping blunders ever seen on a football pitch. Milan's season so far is probably best described as being a bit schizophrenic.

When they were drawn against Arsenal in the Champions League the first comment most English pundits made was that Milan are an ageing team with a chronic lack of pace and are not the same side that lifted the trophy last season.

Actually, they are exactly the same side that won the competition in May. And exactly the same team that slowly and ruthlessly demolished a pumped-up Boca Juniors to become the first ever European team to win the World Club Cup.

True, they can be listless, pedestrian and predictable at times. But Carlo Ancelotti's side are also capable of beating any team in the world when it comes to the cut-throat 90-minute format of the cup. Arsenal, you have been warned.

Maybe Milan's stuttering form in Serie A is down to the famously ageing squad not having the stamina for the long haul of a whole season. That said, the average age of the current starting eleven is only 31.

Maybe it's difficult too to lift your game for a run-of-the-mill clash in your domestic league when you've just been jetting around the globe picking up yet another piece of silverware for European football's most over-stuffed trophy cabinet.

Out of form players haven't helped the red-and-black cause either. Unbelievably, the Champions League's leading goal scorer of all time, Pippo Inzaghi, hasn't found the back of the net in Serie A since February.

Gilardino has struggled to 5 in 14 games. In midfield, Rino Gattuso hasn't had a great season by his exacting standards, nor have Seedorf or Oddo. Nesta, Maldini and Kaladze have done well by and large, but in-between the posts, disaster has loomed large.

Giant Brazilian clown Dida has cemented his reputation as the most accident prone goalkeeper in the world. He is the worst this writer has ever seen. Why? A pair of inflexibly hard hands mean his shot-stopping is abysmal, he is always pushing the ball back into the path of the strikers.

The movement of his feet on his line is slow and stumbling. He is now so unsure of his catching ability that he won't come for any crosses. And he falls with all the urgency of a tree-trunk when getting down to low shots.

It was Dida's two handling errors that cost Milan the game against Celtic at Parkhead. He cost them two points at lowly Siena. And, most recently, he effectively handed rivals Inter the title by going for a little walk in the wrong direction as Cambiasso shot on goal.

In the last three or four seasons, Dida must have cost Milan more than 20 matches in all competitions. And now, at last, Silvio Berlusconi has apparently had enough and looks set to replace him in the January transfer window if possible. Mexican keeper Guillermo Ochoa has been mentioned. The much-talked about deal for Sebastian Frey might have to wait until the summer.

There is nothing more unsettling for players than a goalkeeper they know they cant rely on. Dida's complete lack of confidence in his own ability must have had an effect on the whole side at times. If Ancelotti can begin 2008 with a more reassuring presence in goal, then he can begin to turn around the wild inconsistencies that have plagued Milan's season to date.

How will Milan do in the second half of the season? Probably a whole lot better. Lets not forget that Brazilian wonderkid, Pato ‘The Duck’ will be available from January and looks capable of really setting his new team on fire. Lo Scudetto is gone, of course, but don’t rule out another Champions League win.

Gil Gillespie

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Ronaldinho Milan Move Looking More Likely

The chances of Barcelona star Ronaldinho moving to AC Milan in January is looking more and more likely after FIFA agent Ernesto Bronzetti conceded that a transfer is on the cards.


The Italian press has gone into overdrive in recent weeks over the topic of Ronaldinho and Milan, and with the re-opening of the transfer window just days away, the speculation has now increased further.



“Berlusconi has clearly said that he wants Ronaldinho and the Rossoneri are in pole position if he becomes available,â€

[vtec]

hooray for calciomercato. i am loving all these rumours. but like most of the transfer seasons of the past few years, we will end up disappointed as none of the mouth-watering rumours involving us come true. ronaldinho, ochoa, frey, pazzini...


Milan Want Frey And Pazzini - Report

Milan are ready to launch a double transfer swoop for Fiorentina's Sebastien Frey and Giampaolo Pazzini, according to 'La Repubblica'.


'La Repubblica' report today that the Rossoneri have prepared an offer to lure both Frey and Pazzini away from the Viola.

Milan are prepared to offer a substantial amount of money plus the services of Alberto Gilardino who has disappointed yet again this season.

Coach Cesare Prandelli would be interested in taking back the Italian striker who he launched during his Parma days, but is not ready to let either Frey or Pazzini leave.

However, a lot will depend on the amount that Milan general manager Adriano Galliani will be ready to offer to the Tuscan club, as the European champions continue their search for a reliable goalkeeper and another striker to complete their forward line.

According to the latest speculation, Milan are also looking into the possibility of signing Roma goalkeeper Doni, but a lot will depend on whether the Brazilian will sign a new deal with his current club in the forthcoming weeks.

Glenn Debattista

[p_maldini_3]

the mid-season review was spot on in my opinion. but i also think its our inability to give our strikers scoring opportunities.

gilardino has some of the best movement of a striker in the game, but he never gets service.

even the best strikers have an average of 4 opportunities a game, like trezeguet and van horseface, but gilardino is surviving on 1 max 2 chances a game. like the game vs. urawa red, he had 1 shot the whole game, and that itself was a very speculative chance.

i still think our problem lies in front of goal, not in the goal; yes, dida has played like shit and should be discharged from duties, and i think kalac is a better option, but its our lack of goals more than anything thats killing us.

i hope pato can fix this once he starts playing for us, we're getting desperate.

[vtec]

i don't know. i think gila's off-the-ball is pretty miserable, which is why he gets so few scoring opportunities. pippo, on the other hand, has fantastic movement, but his age is catching up to him.

[SuperPippo9]

I thin this summer is gonna be like the one before we own the CL in 02-03 where we had a whole revamping of the squad. We brought in Nesta, Rivaldo, Tommasson, and a few other players. I think were gonna change coaches do and if that happens mourinho is defo coming in. I dont wanna see Ancelotti go but i think its time.

As for Gila I thing just cuz hes not scoring means he is playing bad, technically he is very good and he holds up the ball and passes very well, just look at that pass he gave to The Waterboy against Germany, amazing

[SuperPippo9]

also gourcuff is good and has a great future ahead of him, i think letting him go would be a mistake

[p_maldini_3]

if you compare the two games at the club world championship, you will see the difference.

in the semifinal, seedorf had a couple missed shots, if he put his head up, he had an open line to gilardino who would be free to shoot on goal from an open, undefended position.

but in the final, all the passes were heading in inzaghi's way and he was able to shoot in the easy shots. kudos to him for being in the right place right time moment, but gilardino lacks the service to make anything of what he [barely] gets.

one of the best moments for gilardino this season was his first goal vs. lazio, kaka had 1 defender on him, and gilardino started running laterally towards him, kaka' gave him the pass and gilardino got to the ball before the defender and scored.

that goal was because of gilardino, he has the quality to make movement, but hes lacking the supply of balls to put in the back of the net. in my opinion, gilardino is being wasted in whatever tactical strategy carlo is using.

at the same time, its happened to inzaghi as well, he hasnt scored in the league since the beginning of the calender year, but even this season he hasnt had the opportunities created for him to capitalize a chance into a goal.

[oily]

[morra10]

[oily]

[vtec]

[RobHood]