Vucinic 2 - Pato 2, The Recap…

By: Gianfranco | January 12th, 2009

I have to admit I am a bit frustrated. It was not hard to see that neither team played well enough, or on the flipside bad enough to lose, but the disorganized, frenzied, borderline spastic play of the Rossoneri just leaves me shaking my head.

First and foremost, my hat is off to Mirko Vucinic, his first goal was magic plain and simple. One chance, one goal, Roma lead, but following that goal the Rossoneri did what they do best, simply nothing. For 25 minutes following that goal Milan passed, maintained possession, crossed the ball into the box, and did not put a single chance on Doni. TERRIBLE. Granted the second half Pato came out swinging like a cage fighter and quite honestly grabbed the game by the neck, but what happens when the rest of the team doesn’t get on board? You saw it, I saw it, hell everyone watching saw it.

It is becoming increasingly clear that this team has absolutely no direction or organization on the pitch whatsoever. What happened to holding shape or covering back on a player pressed forward? Do these basic calcio fundamentals get lost at Milanello, maybe they were sold in Dubai for a few trickets? I understand that Becks played his first game with these players, and that at times he looked confused, but he was the only player that actually held a position, outside of Janks. I understand that the role of Kaka, Pato, and even Dinho at times requires fluid motion and interplay, but that doesn’t explain Pirlo being behind Favalli or Seedorf behind Jankulovski. It doesn’t explain why Dinho is charging at Perotta in a position that Beckham should be defending. No one is going to be defended here because everyone was guilty at one point or another, but if players are tired and dragging, Becks I am looking at you, get them off the pitch. In that same regard, if a player completes less than 10% of his passes, SEEDORF, in a given half he too should be taken off the pitch, this is not rocket science.

When the Rossoneri win it is becoming increasingly clear that it is based on stellar performances from a player or players, whoever it may be, but when they lose or draw, it is becoming more a more a product of this frustratingly awful system, which is beginning to look like absolutely no system at all. For Pato to play at a world class level and have his performance wasted in a draw is a shame, but as I said earlier one man cannot do it alone. I will to take a minute to discuss Pato and his uncanny ability to give fits to any and every defender in his vicinity. He made Mexes pay on more than one occasion and Riise looked whiter than usual when he was in his area, if only Cicinho had been on earlier to exploit his forward runs with Pato in behind him. He was really a joy to watch, and a joy to watch become a better player every week.

Back to Seedorf whose performance was atrocious and the fact that he was not subbed was even worse. With Flamini and Ambro waiting in the wings, and able to give the squad a more defensive stature with the lead left me cursing Carletto up and down the block. Sure Dinho was given fits by DDR, and marked out of most of the match by the Roman captain, but surely he didn’t warrant a sub before Seedorf!? If I were Carletto, Seedorf would have a place in the stands next week to help recover from this laugher and remind him that performances like this should not be tolerated, but again this is Milan, and Seedorf will play next week, probably in place of Pato.

Defensively the squad was not terrible, but again, if you ask a subpar defense to defend for more than half of the game you have to expect a goal or two despite solid efforts again by Maldini and Abbiati. With Abbiati’s positioning making every save look easy, hell he was positioned so well on the second goal that it took a perfectly placed floater to beat him. So much for covering the near post …
With this draw, I think it is safe to say that the scudetto is falling out of reach, but this team has to continue to fight for a top four finish because a second year out of the CL is a downright joke and should be considered unacceptable to all involved. No CL should see the end of Carletto, Emerson, Seedorf, Favalli, Dide…hell sell the whole lot, keep the core and move this team forward once and for all.

On a positive note for the Serie A, to have this match follow Man United versus Chelsea was an advertisement of how well Serie A is playing, and at what level two solid sides can compete in the Serie A. Chelsea played a disinterested horrific match while yesterdays Inter vs Cagliari fixture and this match was a sign that Serie A is in fact becoming the league to watch and that the Brits should be wary of any team coming out of Italy in the next round of the CL. With that said I will go sit in frustration and await Fiorentina on the horizon.