Thursday Milan Musings

By: Gianfranco | November 19th, 2009

So what is usually a boring international break has turned into quite a eventful Wednesday. As the entire World discussed France, Ireland, and replay, we can discuss Milan but not before I say peace regarding replay in football. Is it a good idea? Sure it is, but practically says otherwise. Let’s stop for a moment and consider the use of replay for goal line situations, it would probably be easy for a fourth official to view a monitor while the scoring team is celebrating and play is restarted. It is a natural stoppage and in the one minute that elapses between a goal and a restart it is probably safe to assume that an individual can judge the goal as valid via some goal line cameras. This is not the problem though, the real issue arises from the Hand of Henry. Will a goal line camera replay Henry’s handball? No, because the play led to the goal not scored it, and then the question needs to be asked how much of the goal should be judged during the replay, how long will that take? How will a referee, coach, or players effect the decision of how replay is used, and how will it affect the only game on Earth that flows with little stoppage for 90 minutes?

As you can see this question is a Pandora’s box, breeding question after question governed only by opinion and fan irrationality. The fact of the matter is that there is no perfect answer and in the end someone will be upset no matter the decision, so for these reasons alone, I say we leave the game as is. I personally have never been of the belief to complain about the referees because their job is far more difficult than we give them credit for, and their decisions are made in a split second and more often than not are swayed by player deception. In the end, if your team plays to its fullest and wins the game when it is supposed to, then a ref’s call shouldn’t be the deal breaker. I know that sounds harsh, but the fact of the matter is the deal is done, and kudos to Ireland for playing their asses off, but had they taken care of business in the group stages, or beaten France at home the goal was a non issue…plain and simple…take care of business and the ref will never determine your fate. End rant.

-A number of players have seemingly come out of the woodwork to claim their fandom of AC Milan! I don’t buy it, and the reason being is a simple analogy to real life. If I am working for a small company who pays well, and earns well, but a larger more prestigious company has mentioned bringing me on board, it is only natural that I will claim interest of said company so that I can move onto more money and more prestige. Wouldn’t any normal person do the same thing? Footballers are great, they are entertaining, and sometimes admirable, but in the end they are politicians looking for the next payday.

-Speaking of Milan fan transfer targets, Dzeko, like Adebayor before pledge his love for AC Milan. The problem is his love has a 30M price tag, and frankly that is far too much. For me the max payable for Dzeko is 20M, and that is still a bit high, the Bundesliga is notoriously soft for goal scorers, and scoring in Germany is not necessarily a sign of value or skill. The same people who oogled at KJH’s Dutch scoring prowess now have evidence of soft leagues and need to realize that Serie A is different and Dzeko is not guaranteed success, and not worth that big money. Doesn’t anyone else think it is fishy that Obafemi Martins is knocking goals in at Wolfsburg, while he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn in the EPL?

-Milan are unbeaten since the previous International break, and if you can all recall it was around that time that many were calling for the sale of the team by Silvio Berlusconi. Amazing how quickly that discussion died after a couple of wins I am curious to find out if anyone is still in favor of a sale?

-Abbiati is poised to return the net this weekend. I love the AC Milan goalkeeper discussion because there are still a handful of people who prefer Dida, and even some who believe Abbiati is a not a good keeper. I find this humorous because many would agree to the statement that Gigi Buffon is the World’s best, and when Buffon was injured Milan sent Abbiati to Juve to replace him, and kept Nelson Dida. Yes Dida proved his worth, but that ship has sailed and Abbiati is a valuable asset. Keepers get better with age and he is primed to make his return to first team football, and playing for a trip to South Africa as Gigi’s backup. Expect Abbiati to win his spot back and for Storari to be the number two.