AC Milan general spiel 2.0

[p_maldini_3]

wtf happened to adiyiah?

hes not on the champions league list either.

[San Paolo]

he is on the CL-B list because he is under 21 and was not registered on the original list at the start of the tournament or some BS like that iv heard

[RomaShield27]

Article on 'Lessons in Calcio' with Franco Baresi:

http://www.footballitaliano.co.uk/article.aspx?id=991

[San Paolo]

[Dejan-Stankovic]

Mancini needs to slim down
Thursday 4 February, 2010
Milan's new signing Amantino Mancini admits he will have to slim down a bit before he is fit enough to do what Leonardo asks of him.

The 29-year-old Brazilian was signed from Inter on the final day of the transfer market, much to the surprise of even some people within Milan.

Silvio Berlusconi, the club's patron, said it was a terrible signing and reprimanded Adriano Galliani over the phone during a state visit to Israel.

Speaking after his first training session yesterday, Mancini said: “Yes, I know I have to get myself back in shape. When you haven't played for a long time it often happens that you put on weight.â€

[maro]

I think some of the weight he's carrying is in his upper body. I think Inter had him spending too much time in the gym so he's bulked up and lost a bit of pace. If he drops a bit of that weight he'll be a much more effective player - and clearly Inter play a more power-based game than Milan where pace and touch are correspondingly a bit more important.

[Lombardiamia]

[maro]

[Lombardiamia]

[maro]

[maro]

[Lombardiamia]

[maro]

[Lombardiamia]

[p_maldini_3]

[San Paolo]

[RomaShield27]

Milan interested in Nemanja Vidic as player's denials fail to convince
• Manchester United players talking openly of Vidic leaving
• Serbia defender aware of interest from Milan

www.guardian.co.uk, Friday 5 February 2010

Nemanja Vidic's apparent desire to leave Manchester United at the end of the season has brought him to the attention of Milan, the club's opponents in the last 16 of the Champions League. The Serie A side have identified the centre-half as a summer target and have been encouraged by their initial inquiries after speaking to several intermediaries, all of whom have reported that the Serbia international is looking for a move, contrary to what he has stated in public.

One idea that has been mooted at San Siro is to offer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as the bait in a player-plus-cash exchange although it is unclear whether United would have any interest in the Holland international, who was one of Europe's more prolific strikers at Ajax but has failed to reproduce that form since leaving the Netherlands, initially to Real Madrid before a £12m move to Milan last August.

Vidic has repeatedly denied being unsettled at Old Trafford, having served the club with distinction since signing from Spartak Moscow four years ago, as well as expressing surprise about reports that his wife, Ana, has not embraced life in Manchester and would like to leave England for Spain or Italy. He was interviewed in the latest edition of the Red News fanzine and complained that the stories had no basis. "My wife, I need to say, doesn't have the place to say she is not happy," he said. "I never said it as well. That means stupid things are going on. You can't stop some of the things. Last year I think I had a good year and when some players play well, obviously [there is speculation] they are going somewhere.It's part of the game."

However, his colleagues at United have been told something different and it is now being discussed openly among the other players. Sir tender Alex Ferguson also believes that Vidic's mind might be made up, the manager reputedly telling colleagues that United's player of the year last season "does not want to hang around".

The suspicion at Old Trafford is that Vidic is aware of interest from other clubs although United said yesterday that they had not been contacted by any potential buyers. Vidic is out of contract in 2012 and there is a sense that he might be using the speculation to help get a better pay deal at a time when United have confirmed they will be offering Wayne Rooney new terms in the summer, which would make him the best-paid player in the club's history, with a salary of around £150,000 a week.

Ferguson will still try to talk Vidic out of leaving but is unsure that even the offer of a lucrative new contract would be enough to persuade him to stay. Those concerns played a significant part in United paying £10.7m last week to set up a deal to sign Chris Smalling, the 20-year-old Fulham defender, at the end of the season.

Smalling would have a considerable void to fill though if, as United fear, Vidic does start to agitate for a move after four years in which his consistently impressive performances have been a significant factor in the team's success. That form makes it realistic for United to want £25m for the player, though Vidic has had an erratic season so far, hampered by a number of different injuries. His relationship with Ferguson is also thought to have suffered, the manager beginning to speak about Vidic's tendency to pull out of games with an exasperation bordering on anger.

A recurrence of a nerve problem meant Vidic removed himself from the squad for Sunday's win at Arsenal after a training session the day before and it is unclear as yet whether he will be able to return to the team for tomorrow's game at home to Portsmouth.

Ferguson has considerable faith in Jonny Evans, as well as Wes Brown and John O'Shea, but there are lingering concerns about Rio Ferdinand's fitness after he missed three months because of a long-term back problem.

Ferdinand, currently suspended for four games for striking the Hull City forward Craig Fagan in an off-the-ball incident, has been troubled by the issue for 18 months and is still having rehabilitation sessions with a specialist. The England international is 31 and United's doctors fear the problem could resurface. It was confirmed that Owen Hargreaves has been left out of Manchester United's Champions League squad.

[p_maldini_3]

Galliani: Milan don't sell flops
Friday 5 February, 2010
Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani has categorically denied selling Real Madrid a crocked Ricky Kaka.

The Brazil international is said to have a chronic hernia problem, which has hampered his progress since moving to Spain.

Speaking on his arrival at a meeting of the Lega Calcio, Galliani said: “Last year Kaka played 31 League games and continually those of the last three months.

“Kaka doesn't have a chronic hernia problem. I don't like it when some people think that we have given Real an injured player.â€

[RomaShield27]

LEONARDO: WE MUST LEAVE PAST BEHIND
www.sportinglife.com

AC Milan must put off-field problems behind them when they travel to Bologna on Sunday or risk seeing their season unravel. Having manoeuvred themselves into second place in Serie A behind rivals Inter, things started to go wrong for the Rossoneri when they were outplayed in the Milan derby.

Since then they have slumped out of the Coppa Italia at the hands of Udinese and were held to a draw by relegation-threatened Livorno in a half-empty San Siro, a result which left Milan eight points off top spot. And there were signs of unrest in the Milan camp this week when Brazilian star Ronaldinho was forced to deny he had held a three-night party in the lead-up to the derby.

On top of that, owner Silvio Berlusconi expressed his surprise at the signing of Mancini on loan from Inter, saying he disagreed with the move. Leonardo has called on his side to leave the past behind them.

"Now we must turn the page and return to winning ways at Bologna," he said.

The good news for Leonardo is Alessandro Nesta is likely to make a return from a thigh injury, with Dida also set to resume goalkeeping duties after missing the Livorno game with a back problem.

Mancini is not expected to be given a debut as he is lacking match fitness. Anything but a win at Bologna could see the Rossoneri drop to third in the standings, with red-hot Roma level on 41 points with Milan. But that is far from a formality against Franco Colomba's side, who are unbeaten in four games.

Bologna drew at Chievo last time out to lift themselves four points clear of the danger zone. Striker Marco Di Vaio, who scored his eighth goal of the season at Chievo, hopes his team can produce another good performance tomorrow.

"We have to continue like this," said Di Vaio. "We were very efficient against Chievo and we had the chance to win the game but in the end we took home a point.

"The important thing is that we continue to work hard. "On Sunday we face a very difficult test against second-placed AC Milan and we have to play at our best to get a good result." Goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano has called on his team-mates to restrict Milan's attacking opportunities.

"The Rossoneri play very attacking football and up front they have a lot of quality," he told Bologna's website. "Our job is to limit them, find spaces to hurt them, which is our best quality, so it will certainly be a nice match. "While they want to get back to winning ways, we want to continue our positive run."

[San Paolo]

looks like i missed a real hum dingger of a game!