AC Milan general spiel

[vtec]

these 3 points will serve us well in our bid to avoid relegation later in the season

[RomaShield27]

Kaka ready for Milan date
www.SkySports.com – 20th October 2009

Real Madrid playmaker Kaka is looking forward to playing against former club AC Milan for the first time since his summer move.

The Brazilian left Milan for Real during the close season and the two European giants will meet at the Santiago Bernabeu in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.

Kaka admits it will be the first time he has faced one of his old teams and he is focused on securing another victory for Real.

"For me it's the first time in my career that I will play against an ex club," said Kaka. "It's a new thing for me, but I am professional and now I play for Real Madrid and I will give my all."

The Spanish giants will welcome back Alvaro Arbeloa and Lassana Diarra for the game, but midfielder Guti is not yet in peak condition. Real coach Manuel Pellegrini said: "Guti has an ankle problem that is preventing him from being at 100 per cent.

"Arbeloa is in good condition despite being still in the recovery phase and Lass has no problems." Pellegrini, however, will be without Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Fernando Gago and Christoph Metzelder for the Group C encounter.

Milan, meanwhile, head to the Spanish capital without goalkeeper Marco Storari and midfielder Gennaro Gattuso due to thigh and knee injuries respectively.

[vtec]

[San Paolo]

i hope we seriousley play football tonight and Murder the Pot 2 club in there own back yard

[RomaShield27]

Real hold all the aces as Milan struggle for a winning hand
European football's most decorated clubs meet at the Bernabéu this evening, with the Spanish side very much in the ascendancy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog ... ons-league

Ahead of a trip to the scene of this season's Champions League final, the good news for Milan is that Kaká has promised not to celebrate if he happens to score a goal against the club he loved and left. The not so good news is that any other Real Madrid player is free to rub it in mercilessly.

Not since the Milan of Arrigo Sacchi has a rendezvous between European football's most decorated clubs looked so strangely off balance. Twenty years ago the Italians threw down the royal flush. Carlo Ancelotti, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten and Roberto Donadoni all scored in an annihilation that finished Milan 5 Madrid 0. This time Milan are struggling for a single trump card against opponents who made it their business to amass them last summer.

Madrid did a pretty good job of enfeebling Milan during the last transfer window, not only by plundering their greatest asset in Kaká, but also in palming them off with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who looks as much of a lost soul at San Siro as he did at the Bernebéu, and Milan are hardly so overburdened with goalscorers they can afford to carry a player in need of patience and an arm around the shoulder. That two separate deals have worked out in favour of Real hardly seems fair. But as Milan are discovering, life in the ordinary lane can be hard going.

The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo is a relief for Milan, but only a modest one, considering how the two teams have been in such contrasting spirits this season. A glance at their respective goal differences provides a stark illustration: revamped Real on plus 21, moping Milan on minus two.

Milan would never sink so low as to appear envious, but this troubling campaign highlights how they have tumbled well below the minimum expectations. Their Serie A form is so shaky it cannot be taken for granted they will finish in the top four. A Champions League catastrophe last time out, which saw them lose against FC Zurich in front of a mortified San Siro crowd, slammed their group situation into a pressure cooker.

A serious lack of investment in the squad has given their inexperienced coach Leonardo an unforgiving task. With too many of his players struggling to locate form, and formations being tinkered with as if every throw of the dice was the last, Milan have played like a band without a rhythm section.

Thankfully, in their most recent outing, at home to Roma over the weekend, for one beautiful moment everything clicked. Ronaldinho produced a spectacular raking pass from his own half which landed perfectly for Alexandre Pato, who tamed and volleyed the ball with thrilling precision.

Those five seconds – which effectively won the match after the referee threw them a lifeline with a generous penalty – gave Leonardo hope. The bigger picture reveals that Milan were not so great for most of the rest of the game, but Leonardo can be forgiven for clinging to the positives.

"The most important thing was the incredible spirit," he said. "It's not just three points for us, it's proof we can fight back and achieve things that we didn't think were possible. After some poor results you see everything pitch black, but it moved me to see the determination and hunger in their faces."

To see Ronaldinho again play like a master of invention (albeit in flashes) was a rare treat. As strange as it will be for Kaká to confront some emotional history when he sees the Rossoneri, it will be quite nostalgic for Ronaldinho to return to a venue which is symbolic of his powers of old.

At his peak, he was applauded by the Bernebéu fans when he illuminated a gran clasico in the colours of Barcelona. "It's a stadium in which I did some really beautiful things but now I am, and we are, in a different situation," he admits.

Italian football needs a prestige performance or two on the European stage. Giancarlo Abete, the president of its football federation, was disappointed to note that no Italian player made it into the shortlist of 30 for the Ballon d'Or, and only four from Serie A are under consideration.

"This makes us pause for reflection," he said. "Now there is a week of cup competitions and we hope to do well in view of our international reputation."

The loss of Kaká to Spain has hit Serie A, and naturally Milan in particular, deeply. We will soon see whether seeing him again makes his old team-mates play with extra inspiration, or inhibition.

[San Paolo]

Intresting Article Shieldy, a thing to remember is Milan always play better when we are cornered, with our backs against the wall so to speak, Man United in 2007 in San Siro,what ever way you look a it Man United were favourites to beat us and goto the final, we gathered some spirit and unity from somewhere and murdered them, then in the final again, we were on the back foot been in the corner, until Pippo and Kaka had other ideas, we come out fighting, the Derby was it 2 seasons ago? where it ended 4-3 we came back fighting and nearly stole a point from a game we defended much of, also we have to remember that Madrid are no mega power, they have a good foward and attacking options but there defence is to be honest piss poor, too many individual performers not enough team work, this might work to our advantage if we can keep the ball from them, play like Italians and keep the ball, strategically prodding and probing them, twisting them one way and another we might get some points from this game, Zurich scored 2 past them, there not invinible, this is many of our players last shot at glory, if they dont care now and wont play with heart we are better off leaving them out of the team all together, Forza Milan!!!

[vtec]

we're not quite cornered yet, sp. i don't see us winning this one at all. sure, real may have struggled against the only good opposition they have played so far, but we are no good opposition.

[San Paolo]

of course were cornered tec, we lost at home to fuckin Zurich! we have to regain some pride tonight, not let ourselves get humiliated if thats not in incentive enough!

[RomaShield27]

Milan were also lucky they were facing team who couldn't finish its dinner last weekend. No doubt Roma should of wrapped that game up in the first-half and killed off Milan (and probably Leonardo) for good. That result should give Milan a little bit of confidence for tonight's game but I don't know if the performance will. I can't see your back-line holding out against Real's attack, SP, even it will be backs-to-the-wall sort of stuff and you's will be really up against it. I'm sure they will play with passion and pride but its not likely to be enough, and I'd even go as far as to fear for a trouncing.

[San Paolo]

it was reported somewhere that they will go with a midfield set up of

diarra--xabi
-------------vdv
---kaka--
benzema---higuain

With that Kill off Kaka' and you killed the supply, Benzema isnt as good as people think he is and Higuain, id fear Raul much much more!

This seems to be the round of upsets, we're not out of the game until the final whistle goes and we conceded more than we score, until then we can still gain points from them, this is The moment of our season so far, if they cant step up there game and try to beat The pot 2 club they are a disgrace

[San Paolo]

Some good HQ pics here

[RomaShield27]

Leonardo is a skinny little whip, isn't he? He must not be eating or sleeping right, can't imagine why...

[San Paolo]

he is probably having difficulty sleeping, like he used to when he joined Milan due to the large amounts of money he was earning....

[San Paolo]

MARCOOOOO

[RomaShield27]

Is he your latest signing? I know Huntelaar has disappointed and all but thats a bit much if you ask me.

[San Paolo]

if he could reach the form and level he was at in his prime, id have him back today as Capello said "Marco is the best striker iv ever trained he was a swan"

[RomaShield27]

How could he reach the form and level he was at in his prime if he's old and crippled (probably) now? Why not sign Maradona and Pele too so?

[San Paolo]

i never said he could get back, i said if he could reach the level he was in his prime

[RomaShield27]

Oh, er, ok. It would be a bit of a miracle if he could though, no? But I guess Milan do need a miracle so I wouldn't rule it out.

[p_maldini_3]

if it wasn't for the low morale, i'd have another battle cry.

arr roar, forza milan...