AC Milan general spiel

[p_maldini_3]

ha yeah, he'll probably end up in the mls sooner than later.

Milan to revolutionise defence
Thursday 26 March, 2009
Milan are planning to overhaul their defence once the transfer window opens again in the summer, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Rossoneri backline has often been criticised this season for being old and is in need of rejuvenation, especially in the light of Paolo Maldini's retirement.

Another defensive talisman, Alessandro Nesta, has a chronic back problem and could well be forced to retire sooner than expected.

Kakha Kaladze is out until the middle of August and Milan do not plan to exercise their right to buy Philippe Senderos once his loan from Arsenal ends in the summer.

Milan, who have already brought in Thiago Silva and Felipe Mattioni to bolster their backline, have drawn up a shortlist of five names.

The Rossoneri are interested in Arsenal full-back Gael Clichy, Liverfekkin'wankscum centre-back Daniel Agger, Sao Paulo's Joao Miranda, Palermo's versatile Simon Kjaer and Porto's Bruno Alves.

Agger is the most likely to end up in Rossonero next season, as his contract expires in 2010 and he could be available at a cut price.

Any deal for the Denmark international would therefore fit nicely with Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani's budget cuts.

Transfers for the other four could be a lot trickier, though, as they each cost in excess of £12m and are highly prized by their clubs.

[San Paolo]

[p_maldini_3]

Ancelotti rules out Real
Friday 27 March, 2009
Carlo Ancelotti laughed off reports of a Real Madrid meeting and assured with just two summer signings, Milan will be back on top.

This week the tactician was linked with Juande Ramos’ current job, a rumour that has been circulating for years and could culminate in a deal at the end of this season.

“There is nothing true in this story at all,â€

[shingai]

[RomaShield27]

Ancelotti targets defender and striker

Reuters, Friday March 27 2009 – http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/feedarticle/8426018

ROME, March 27 (Reuters) - AC Milan only need two good close-season signings to be back at their best, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday. Ancelotti is under pressure with his side trailing Serie A leaders Inter Milan by 14 points in third place and effectively out of the title race.

Last season Milan finished fifth and failed to qualify for the Champions League. They were favourites to win the UEFA Cup this year but lost in the round of 32 to Werder Bremen. However, Ancelotti, whose contract runs until 2010, is confident it will not take much to turn things around.

"With two well-chosen buys we'll be competitive again," he told the club website (www.acmilan.com), "...a central defender and a striker because that department should be reinforced." Next season Milan's back line will be without inspirational 40-year-old captain Paolo Maldini, who plans to retire in May.

Ancelotti said there was no way he would leave Milan if they qualified for the Champions League group stage by coming third. He also denied media reports he lunched with Florentino Perez recently to discuss taking over at Real Madrid next term if Perez is re-elected president of the Spanish champions.

"There is no truth in it," he said, before quipping "and anyway the first course was cannelloni and no one wrote that".
Ancelotti, Serie A's longest serving coach having been appointed in 2001, led Milan to European Cup triumphs in 2003 and 2007 but has captured only one league title -- in 2004.

[RomaShield27]

Great interview with Paolo Maldini in todays Irish Times:


– Saturday, March 28, 2009

PADDY AGNEW talks to the iconic figure who has had 25 years as a professional footballer and has been with AC Milan for 31 years

YOU MIGHT expect Paolo Maldini to be feeling just a little melancholic, these days. Two months from now, 40-year-old Maldini will finally bring down the curtain on one of the most remarkable (and successful) careers in top-flight football.

He has had 25 years as a professional footballer, and he has been with the same club, AC Milan, for fully 31 years since joining as a nine-year-old back in 1978. Regret, however, seems to be a word, an emotion that is foreign to Maldini: “I’ve been very lucky, I played all my life in Milan, for a very good team and I’ve always had my family around me. Everything has been perfect. Everything that I wanted to do in my career, I did it.â€

[San Paolo]

good article that Shiled also Carlo never fails to make a joke

"There is no truth in it," he said, before quipping "and anyway the first course was cannelloni and no one wrote that".

[p_maldini_3]

brilliant article. good to know Paolo refers to Liverfekkin'wankscum as Liverfekkin'wankscum as well.

[p_maldini_3]

[The MAN]

[RomaShield27]

Interesting article about the rise and fall of Shevchenko from the BCC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/footbal ... 971126.stm



Ronaldinho happy at Milan
– Last updated: 31st March 2009

Ronaldinho is happy at current club AC Milan and is not interested in a move elsewhere, according to his brother and agent Roberto De Assis. The Brazilian international was linked with a move to Manchester City alongside team-mate Kaka in January but in the end no concrete offer was made.

The former World Player of the Year only joined Milan from Barcelona in the summer but this has not stopped rumours regarding his future from circulating. Despite the speculation De Assis insists that his brother has no wish to seek a move away from the San Siro. Although he has experienced a frustrating start to his Rossoneri career, thanks to injury, he is enjoying his first season with the club.

"Dinho is calm in Milan. The injuries damaged his progress in the beginning but they are a long time ago now," he told the ONA radio station in Barcelona. "Now he is living in a new era, with another club, and Dinho is well and truly in the plans of Milan. It is not true that he is looking for a possible move away from Italy.

"The interest of Manchester City? Ronaldinho has a deal until June 2011 and it will be necessary to speak with Milan." But De Assis refused to rule out a return to Barca, where he enjoyed five seasons prior to his move to Milan, in the future. "Barcelona will always be a special city for us and Ronaldinho. It would make us happy to return to the club as we have many friends in the team," he added.

[vtec]

[San Paolo]

[San Paolo]

[p_maldini_3]

[RomaShield27]

[San Paolo]

[RomaShield27]

SEEDORF: MILAN ARE ON TRACK
www.sportinglife.com

AC Milan's Clarence Seedorf insists the club are achieving their objectives this season as they attempt to make up ground on the top two in Serie A with the visit of Lecce on Sunday. The Rossoneri currently find themselves third in the table with nine games to go, seven points behind second-placed Juventus and 14 adrift of city rivals Inter in first. The team's patchy form this season was epitomised by their last two league games, a 5-1 demolition job at Siena followed by an uninspiring goaless draw away to Napoli. But ahead of their return to the San Siro, veteran midfielder Seedorf believes Carlo Ancelotti's team are hitting their targets and can still overhaul Juve to finish as runners-up this season.

"Reaching the third place was one of the first objectives, since the start of the season" the Dutchman told the club's official website. "At the moment we are in the right position in the table. We have to continue like this, also trying to get as close as possible to second place to have even more tranquility. "I think it's right to look forward without fear and try to reach second. It can only be a positive stimulation and we can achieve it thanks to the calendar - we all still have important matches to play."

After tearing apart Siena the Milan attack created little in Naples despite substitute appearances from returning Brazilian duo Ronaldinho and Kaka. But Seedorf was focusing on the positives as the team prepare for a series of fixtures they will be expected to win, starting with Lecce, against whom they will be looking to exact revenge after conceding a last-minute equaliser there earlier in the season.

"They were two positive results (against Siena and Napoli)" he said. "Now we have to get more important points in our next three games. The morale is there, it's right. We have to get the highest amount of points because even though they seem like easy games on paper, we know they will be tough.

"But if we give the maximum we know we can reach our objective, especially because we are playing two games at home. There was certainly a bitter aftertaste (after the first game against Lecce) because we had played a good match, but in the end it slipped from our fingers. On Sunday we will play at home, it will be another match and with the right grit and will to win we'll have to get three points at all costs."

Grit will certainly be required against Lecce, who will be fighting for their lives after a sequence of seven matches without a win which has left them two points from safety in 19th position in the league. Brazilian Edinho remains confident his side can beat the drop but said that they would have to employ an intelligent strategy in Milan to come away with anything from the match.

"A difficult game awaits us in Milan - we will go there to do our game, trying to pick up something positive" said the midfielder, who arrived at the Giallorossi from Internacional in the January transfer window. "Now that it's a few months after my arrival in Italy, I have clearer ideas about the Italian league. Despite our position in the table, I have the hope of being able to reach the goal of safety, I'm confident.

"Our situation in the standings would force us to attack Milan to try to get the three points, but that would be risky. We have to play with good judgement because to be too aggressive towards them would lead us to concede something. The Rossoneri have great quality from midfield upwards and for that reason we have to play an intelligent game."

The task will be made harder for Lecce with the suspension of new coach Luigi De Canio, who took over following the sacking of Mario Beretta last month. For Milan, Dida plays on in goal with Christian Abbiati out for five to six months following surgery on a cruciate knee ligament while Massimo Ambrosini is available again after serving a one-game suspension.

[The MAN]

Fuck this mentality 3rd place my ass, if we had this as a fucking objective when we began the season then it just shows how low we have sunk. This is the fucking bare minimum, anybody who fucking feels excited about it should be shot in the fucking head and it looks like half of our team are....any season that we do not fucking manage to win either CL or Scudetto is a fucking failure, these idiots need to realize what fucking club they are playing for FFS

[vtec]