Thursday Milan Musings
By: Gianfranco | April 3rd, 2008Just because our team is not in the Champions League anymore doesn’t mean we can’t discuss the tournament in addition to our usual Milan Musings.
Roma vs. ManU: Roma was overmatched by a team that is firing on all cylinders. I think Wayne Rooney or maybe Rio Ferdinand said it best, “There was no one on Roma’s side of the pitch that I would have swapped for on of ours.” What they are trying to say is they outplayed Roma at every position.
Schalke vs. Barcelona: I didn’t see the match but I hear Barca were lucky to get this draw and this game. Barca is not playing well and will most definitely be in trouble in the next round.
Arsenal vs. Liverpool: My Arsenal man on the inside said Arsenal played well and had a ton of chances but this result is not in their favor. Liverpool goes into the next game with an away goal advantage and the savy ability to kill off a game when necessary. Arsene’s boys need to come out swinging at Anfield to see the next round.
Fenerbache vs. Chelsea: Abysmal performance by Chelsea from top to bottom. Grant is a clueless manager and the minute he played Essien at right back in CL game he had lost the last shred of respect that I had for him. Avram just does not get the talent he has around him, and to make matters worst seems to make substitutions worse than Carletto. Grant seems to play Russian roulette with his subs. I was rooting for Chelsea in this tournament, but maybe Rossoneri tifosi are a jinx, and in that case pick a team that you dislike, ie Liverpool to root for.
MUSINGS
-Henry was on the striker post from a few days ago, but he may off the list. It appears that he may be on his way to MLS, specifically Seattle to spend next season. It has always been a dream of Henry to make his way to the US, and he may get his chance, and get paid well in the process.
-Fester is entertaining Ronaldinho’s agent for lunch, but let’s not go crazy just yet. Dinho’s agent is also the agent for Ricardo Oliviera who is on loan in La Liga. Ricardo, who flopped last season, is supposedly going to stay in Spain for the right price. This is pretty much fine by me as he already had his chance and failed. As for Dinho, the rumors of him to Inter were strong and broke by Sports Illustrated, which means I tend to believe them more than others.
-We discussed Pirlo a bit in the last post’s comments and I want to take it a little further. This guys just looks run ragged, and we all know how important he is to the team. His lack of intensity and form is appaling and I beginning to think if a few games off is good for him, and well deserved. As an Azzuri fan I want Pirlo in form for Euro 08, but as a Rossoneri fan I am not sure we can afford his loss. Maybe Carletto needs to review his formations and lineup and play to the team he has…
-Speaking of formation and lineup issues Carletto has quite the task set out for him against Cagliari this weekend. This team will not roll over as they are in a heated battle to stave off relegation. This is will Carletto can prove that he still has what it takes to lead a team into battle regardless of whose hurt or not. If your reading Carlo this means not playing Emerson and Brocchi in the same lineup, and doing everything you can to resist a back four with Bonera, Nesta, Digao & Favalli. Play the youngsters and give them a chance, but put them into positions to succeed.
Ah the good times…
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Comments
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Pirlo hasnt been in form lately, but still his absence is felt greatly in the team. he plays better with Italy because he has the midfield under his wings, while in Milan he doesnt have the majority of control with Rino, Ambro, Seedorf sharing it with him. he is definitely one of the Milan pillars.
the Dinho thing is just pure rumors. obviously the meeting was held to discuss Olivera’s future (which i pray is far far far away from Milan). but the media will use whatever it can to start rumors and stir things up.
and looks like the only thing stopping Sheva from Milan is Carletto, even though Berlu and co. are opting for Sheva.
a nice picture i found a few days ago
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q87/milanista3/seedorfinter.jpgPosted from
Canada
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Great vid, brings back the memories of the time when Cafu ruled everything on the right flank and Dida everything between the bars.
Posted from
United States -
Roma without Totti is a team without self belief. Having said that, Man U were second best for 70 mins but terribly lucky that every thing fell right for them (ala ‘99). They had two attacking moves up to the 70 min mark and scored both times.
Panucci missed a sitter and the diff in luck was highlighted when you consider that Van Der Saar saves and the ball falls just short of a Roma player and close to a defender for a clearance, and Doni fumbles and it falls right at Rooney’s feet.
Arsenal totally outplayed Liverpool in the second half but are their usual toothless selves,which makes the beating of Milan even more distressing.
Posted from
Australia -
*sniffs* Those were the days… Well, actually add Rui Costa to that vid and then I’ll sniffle and say “those were the days”.
Also, I have to say, when Maldini was really young he looked a lot like one of those scary action figures who you think are going to come alive at night and terrorize your house. Staring zombie eyes! (Fortunately he grew up to be the hottest thing in football, though, so we were all saved.)
Posted from
United States -
Alright, ManU won, but in no way did they outplay Roma at every position. That’s just absurd.
And honestly, most people could give a fuck all what Rooney or Rio think – two guys who would never be allowed near a Mensa meeting. I think SAF would privately beg to differ with their assessment. He’s tapped up Roma for DDR, Aquilani and Vucinic in the last few months alone.
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United States -
Actually TuttoMercatoWeb said that Assis and Galliani couldn’t have been talking about Oliveira because Oliveira fired Assis and got a new agent in January.
http://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/index.php?action=read&id=99109
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United States -
Pirlo, oh Pirlo. Where’s thine spirit gone? Someone in here some days ago said that Milan’s performance seem to depend on Pirlo’s form, which I do not disagree. He has the vision and technical skills that dictate our game. But as Gianfranco has said, Ancelotti needs to revise his formations especially in the absence of Pirlo. I think Ancelotti needs a rest as well…
I think one player we missed out from our discussion is Yoann Gourcuff. I would bang my head against the brick wall if Milan decides to release him (even if on loan!) at the end of the season without exploiting on his full potential. We all know his potential and for some unexplained reasons – at least for me – Ancelotti doesn’t seem to rate this fellow highly. Technically he’s gifted, he’s a tough lad and he seems to flow well with the team. I admit that he may seem lost on the field sometimes, in terms of finding spaces or mispasses, but what do you expect of a player who’s more accustomed to be forced sitting on the bench? At 21 years old, there’s a lot more in him that Milan could use. It’s time to use Gourcuff!
Posted from
Malaysia -
Agreed on Gourcuff. The boy needs a run of games in the first team, starts which don’t end after an indifferent half or period of play. Just give him a good run and then decide, especially now that both Seedorf (and, Pirlo, but probably temporarily) is a shadow of what he used to be.
Posted from
Australia -
Chris, you’re amazing-one mention Roma and you’re over here like a shot! And I totally agree, Man U did not outplay them the way they’re making it out to be. Ferdinand was amazing that night, Van Der Sar as well, but they had to be because Roma was putting pressure on them constantly.
Goodness, so much to comment on. I would like to see Pirlo in good form for Italy, so I would say rest him, but seriously, he always plays better for the NT anyways, so screw that, do some more for Milan first.
Our backline is going to be seriously suspect this weekend. With Nesta and Oddo out, Kaladze sucking something awful, I’m scared.
Posted from
Canada -
Fet that picture is so great…its going up on my desktop!
I actually laughed which when it comes to milan they have been making me cry so thanks!
Posted from
United States -
if you ask me davide di gennaro has always had more ability than gourcuff . gourcuff should just leave next season and davide should be back
Posted from
United States -
Bonnie, I tried to rattle his cage and get a response and it works, to bad the rest of the EPL guys are holed up somewhere not responding to our banter…
As for DiGennaro Sushan, you raise a good point. Gourcuff is very close to failure in my opinion.
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United States -
A piece of an article from Channel 4…
“Borriello still has it all to prove and that’s why his expected Rossoneri return could potentially be a step backwards. We don’t know at this stage of his vocation which calcio dimension Borriello really belongs to and a Milanese recall may potentially arrive a season too early.
The 26-year-old will not be guaranteed a regular starting berth at San Siro next term, which will translate as a step backwards. As this campaign testifies, Marco needs to see some action on a week in, week out basis in exchange for goals. Anything else and he risks returning to the shadows where he came from.
As it stands, we have no clear idea of what the future holds for Borriello. Heck, we don’t even know where he’ll be playing his football come August. All that we are certain about is that, for the time being at least, he’s a one season wonder. It’s a tag which only he will be able to free himself of…”
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Jsut want to take a second to thank you guys for all the comments and visits. Thanks to you we are the third most read blog on this site behind only Roma and Italy, NICE WORK. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!
Posted from
United States -
You’re welcome,Gian.
Posted from
United States -
Another informative and good post Gian. I don’t think your readers realize all your true blogging or life talents for that matter but I will save some of my inside info for later posts and build suspense. I am not a Milan fan but your witty non-biased posts are a breath of fresh air. As for your Milan team, a transfer of Drogba or Dino will not solve the issues of the lack of heart (outside of Maldini and a healthy kaka) that this team displays similarly to that of Barcelona and my fav Henry this season. Simply they look uninspired out there and that often comes from the top and filters down. I’ll end with one question; how Gian are you able to keep yourself from repeating that facedown, with a half finished case of busch lights performance, that happened during the great collapse of Milan against Liverpool in the CL final a few years back, after the way Milan has played this year I am bewildered that it hasn’t come to that yet for you…
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United States -
Ladies and Gentleman my Arsenal man on the inside, and lover of all things TH14, and college roomate who was there in my darkest Istanbul hour, Chad…
Go easy on him as his conversion to Football Crazy has been a long time coming…
Posted from
United States -
No worries Gianfranco. For soccer news, I go to goal.com, then come here. Your blog is great, but I think more people need to know this exists.. The best thing about blogs is that it gets the reader involved through comments, and people reply back.. Soo congrats guys on this website..
P.S. Inzaghi is on the bench tomorrow. WOOHOO..
and about Boriello, he’s great and all, but I think he’s made for smaller teams.. AC Milan need a CLASS striker, not a striker who’s proven himself in one season. Look at Gila; he was great for 2 seasons or so.. and look at him now.. We need a world-class striker; someone who would make the top 10 or 15 strikers list..
Posted from
United States -
Carletto on Dinho,
“Ronaldinho for Milan, and not just for us, is a great champion, so we are interested in him,”
honestly and i know many of you disagree, i wouldnt mind getting Dinho but for as long as we get him for the 20 million price tag + not neglect the rest of the positions we need to fill/fix. it wont hurt to get him, after all he was a great player and kinda still is. he’s just going through some bad period, his bad times are still pretty decent.
as for tomorrow, Pippo & Kaka are in, Gila out. and looks like we’re going with 4-4-2 with Kaka & Pato upfront!! huh?! midfield, Rino, Ambro, Pirlo & Seedorf. Defense, Cafu, Maldini, Kaladze & Favalli
Posted from
Canada -
Web 2.0 right here for ya.. :p
Posted from
United States
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