-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.

A handful of veterans are nearing the end of road on this Club with contracts expiring in May. Dida, Pirlo, Rino, Nesta, Ambro, Kaladze and Favalli are in the final months of their Contracts while Oddo, Zambro, Dinho and Seedorf are close to a year out as well. Sending all these loyal soldiers on their way seems like a team chemistry implosion and losing the veteran presence at the club may be suicide, but there are certainly some moves that can be made to set this team up for the future. I want your thoughts as well, but my ideas are as follows:

The first group is a list of untouchables that MUST remain with the club, and frankly it is far shorter than even I anticipated. There really is no equal for a healthy Nesta and the value he brings to the table on defense extends beyond what he does on the pitch. His partnership with Silva has been excellent and playing two youthful and exuberant CB’s comes with negatives, and therefore a veteran is a welcome addition to teach, but also to provide grit. The only other player on the list is Ambrosini. Why Ambrosini you may ask? Because his fight for the cause has never wavered, he has never demanded first team football, and has always had his head on square for the team and team alone. There was a time when those accolades would be heaped on Rino, but at this point it is plainly evident that he does not get on with Leonardo, and when he is on the pitch he doesn’t have the rounded skills that Ambro brings to the table. It pains me to say it, but for me Rino’s heart and soul left the Club when he flirted with Bayern, and though he arguably had the best season of any player pre-knee injury last term, his attitude towards the Club is no longer what it once was.

Pirlo is also short of the list, Leo likes the 4-3-3, and frankly if done right I doas well. Pirlo is no longer the type of mid needed to make this system work. I love his contribution and his history with the Club, but at this point we need a box to box beast at CM in the mold of Micheal Essien. My vote is for Asamoah of Udinese, Mikel of Chelsea, or Mariga of Parma, who in the end lends more to making Leo’s system a success. Pirlo and Rino to Chelsea for Mikel is starting to look like more and more attractive by the minute, and the least Carletto can do to satisfy everyone at the table.

Sadly the rest of the list can go. There are rumors that Dida and Favalli will part ways with the club come January, good riddance. These two moves can open the door for the potential arrival of players like Ranocchia or Bonucci from Bari, and for a new GK to be groomed behind Abbiati, who will return to first team football shortly, such as Marchetti or Castelazzi, and yes I am being optimistic with these names, but the financial windfall of cut wages should be enough to make Milan a force in the transfer market with the pursuit of quality young players.

It still leaves a bit to be desired at the outside backs position, but frankly the talent in this position is a bit shallower than people are willing to notice. If you stop for a moment to consider the best players at the position: Ramos, Cole, Maicon, Evra, and Alves; these are all players that would cost a heap of money, and frankly would be like luring Maldini away from Milan. The best bet here is to push the issue with Abate and Antonini and promote from within the Club. I am not familiar with many of the names from the youth squad, but if you consider the wealth of wingback talent historically nurtured at AC Milan: Maldini, Panucci, Costacurta, and Tassotti, it cannot be without reason to think that this player SHOULD exist. If not, then versatility is the next big thing. A LM or RM with a penchant for defense can be easily pulled back alla Janks, or more recently Abate. No matter how you look at it, this position is and will be continue to be the biggest challenge for Milan and many of the other clubs looking to bolster this position.

Now it is your turn…

Reinforcements are a must, but they do not need to be massive or even expensive, they merely need to fit in the tactical system. Simply add cogs to the machine and further the efficiency going forward. Adiyah is a great start; he can play the attacking wing and spell Dinho and Pato if needed. Beckham works as well, he has a goal, and that is to play for England in WC10, and he will work damn hard to achieve it and if it means roaming up and down the right mid spot he will do it. So where does that leave us? In the end the immediate and very real reaction is to add a fullback, sure it works, it is a the prototypical workhorse spot, but is it really what we need right now?

So before you go into uproar hear me out. If the RB position is manned by Abate and Oddo and the LB spot is manned by Antonini and Zambro, that leaves Nesta, Kaladze, Silva, Favalli, and Bonera at CB with a few of those guys able to move to the flanks if needed. If the 4-3-3 works as it is supposed to the width is provided by wing players be it the attacking wing, mid wing, or even defensive wing. This is all based upon personnel. Pato and Oddo interchange nicely on the right flank allowing Ambrosini to tuck in centrally and block counters. This same system does not seem to work on the left, with Dinho moving centrally and Zambro rarely seeming to take up as much space he once he did. So basically we need width on the left, if Seedorf plays he also shades central, and the 4-3-3 suddenly leaves holes in places that are dangerous for other teams. Teams are more often than not right side dominate their attack typically forms from that side and if that flank is weak opponents, especially better opponents will exploit it.

So how do you fix it? Easily, really, and his name is Pasquale Foggia:

So hear me out, if Foggia is brought in, then he and Becks can provide width and a DM can be employed in the middle to disrupt attacks, and frankly we are team with a handful of them in Rino, Flamini, and Ambro. This gives Pirlo and Seedorf a much needed chance for rest, and also gives Leo tactical flexibility in how he employs his formation. Worried about the counter? Start Seedorf and Pirlo. A more open game and Foggia and Becks can get a run. By reinforcing the midfield with a creative player it allows the defenders to defend and the width to come from midfielders instead of fullbacks. Now Dinho can move more central and Pato and Borriello can go one on one with the CB’s making the team even more formidable than it has now become.

Does it have to be Foggia? Of course not, but a LM type player is really the only thing needed to move this team forward, sure it doesn’t solve the future, but this team is built for the here and now, so ask yourself do you want a youth movement and a season of growing pains, much like September, or do we throw caution to the wind and push the issue here and now…

My computer follies’ strike again, as I was unable to get the gallery tool to work, hopefully Avia can send or post his photobucket link for the great pictures of the San Siro such as this!

Absorb pressure early, stretch and tire Madrid, and attack swiftly on the counter. There is a danger to this game plan because if you get hit early and often you may very well be knocked out, but Milan seemed to be fortunate on this night with Kaka and Higuian missing early. Milan did manage to counter but unlike Stallone in Rocky III were unable to really knock Madrid off of their game.

The 4-3-3 has certainly shown it’s positives in the past few weeks, but in this match it made me nervous. Milan did not get as compact as I would like and allowed a lot of space to Madrid in the middle third of the pitch to pick up speed and attack the defense before the players were closed down. For all the space Madrid was afforded, the defense, specifically Nesta and Silva stood very strong, and Ambrosini did well to get into tackles and effectively slow down Kaka.

Kaka was actually much more dangerous in this match than the previous and often needed both Ambro and Oddo to bottle him up, his shot that led to the goal was vintage Kaka as he slalomed into a shooting line and drove it hard at Dida who couldn’t claim it as it fell for Benzema.

All and all there are few complaints with the Milan performance on the night, with many again expecting our boys to be outplayed. Credit has to be given to Madrid for their intense marking of Borrielo and Pato all match long with Pato being played physically and Borriello be squeezed by defenders rendering them far less effective than we saw on the weekend. It was not the cleanest of defensive jobs, but is surely was effective especially with the Ref consistently allowing the physical play. Personally I would expect Pato to improve in games such as this, and be more physical himself, but at 20 years old and probably weighing 130 pounds you can see his frustration. Even more impressive out of Madrid was Lassana Diarra. The man was truly everywhere and is really rekindling the magic of Claude Makele that made Galacticos 1.0 so special. He mixed it up with everyone and got the best of many of the challenges.

As I fast forward and watch bits and pieces of the match again, I do wish that the dodgy PK was not called and the Pato goal was allowed. I still cannot put my finger on the reason for the goal being disallowed and if anyone can shed some light on that I would be more than happy to read about it. I also want to satisfy the Dinho fanboys who have made their return to the site as of late, this was in fact Dinho’s best performance in the Red and Black, I personally am still hoping for more, considering all I hear about is his “magic” but consistency and performances like these will be welcome! He also deserves heaps of praise for his tackling on the evening, and here I thought he didn’t know how to defend!?

So to take some positives from the match, the team stood toe to toe with a powerhouse yet again and though a win would have been the ultimate, the draw was well deserved. Now figuring out how we can draw with Madrid and lose to FC Zurich is the real question. I do believe that if CRON was healthy this match would have been far more challenging, but the recent run of play is promising as Milan now sit fourth In Serie A and atop their CL group…I have to say I am pleasantly surprised at our current status and was expecting to be far worse off at this stage of the season.

-12 minutes in and Madrid dominating possession and doing all the work around the goal with acres of space to play and no one closing down. Kaka looking far more game than two weeks ago.

-15 minutes and Pato looking like a ragdoll, doesn’t seem to want to be challenged at all. In fact all three strikers seem afraid to be hit or tackled.

-18th minute Milan look game to counter and nothing else, not really what you what you want to see from your team at home…Dida gets it though and playing some very nice long balls.

-23 minutes a great counter by Seedorf with an even better pass to Pato…save Casillas…great save really…

-27th minute Kaka slaloming through the middle following a Seedorf muff, he rifles a shot, Dida parries but not far enough, this is problems…Benzema with the goal. No defenders to be found Benzema with a top class finish but Dida and defenders should have done better.

-28th minute I can’t help but feel bad that this team has conceded the first goal to Madrid at the San Siro in 53 years…53 long years….this team has caught many a dubious honor in the past few years starting in Istanbul, losing to Arsenal at home, and now stopping a 53 year clean sheet…I hate statistics in football.

-32nd minute Borriello making poor decisions, in fact many of his teammates are as well…to forward with too many long balls, not good for a team who likes to posses.

-33rd minute Zambro goes charging in, missed cross but Pepe with a handball…
Ref calls it immediately with no hestitiation…who strikes it!?

-34th minute DInho BURIES IT, excellent PK…1-1…wow what a strike…

-36th minute Pato makes magic out of nothing, absolutely nothing…what a finish…OFFSIDE, no can’t be what is thecall, WHAT IS THE CALL!? Wow, my heart is racing out of my chest, a handball? Push? Has to be a push I see NOTHING else…

-Milan buzzing here in the 38th but need to relax a bit as Madrid is always dangerous on the attack.

-40th minute and I still can’t look at Xavi Alonso without a festering hatred for the scouser that he was…

-41st minute Milan with a horrific display of tackling through the center of the pitch with Dinho, Seedorf, and Ambro all missing wildly, Kaka strikes but wide…not good…Madrid can counter just as quick…

-42nd minute class tackle from Dinho in the midfield, the 4-3-3 really looks bad when Madrid attack with numbers, resembling something of a hockey power play. Dinho did very well to recognize and retreat. Soon thereafter tries to take on Diarra 1 v 1 but seems like a battle he will never win against Lass who looks more and more like Makele on and off the pitch.

-Dinho continuing to be a focal point as he crushes Pepe on a clumsy lunge/tackle. Frankly I like it, he looks MAD, and that is a good thing.

-Can someone tell me why Marcelo plays Madrid, I just don’t see it. I know he is a LB and is playing up in place of CRON, but the guy is not all that good…speaking of CRON, Milan has really lucked out without him on the pitch.

-45th Borriello getting chippy as well, finally these guys are sticking up for themselves up front…

-46th Pato with a HUGE tackle and Pepe seemingly takes out Borriello, this game is getting chippy with the halftime whistle coming at good time.

Clearly fortunate to go in with a draw here at half, the PK was suspect but the Pato goal disallowed was probably worse!? As I always say these things work out in the end, and clearly this is the case here. Milan seem happy to counter but that cannot continue because Madrid will eventually capitalize on these chances, a little more attack would be welcome.

-Looks like Leo missed the memo as Madrid comes out swinging.

-47th minute is Lass the best DM in the world? I mean Essien will have something say about it, but this guy is unreal. He is EVERYWHERE, but corner for Milan. Nothing.

-Oddo’s first move forward in what seems like the whole game is a wash in the 50th minute, he was far more attacking in the last match, maybe Kaka has made him fearful.

-Oddo again forward in the 52nd with a horrible cross…that’s more like it…

-53rd minute Ramos turns Zambro inside out, but a poor cross, he can be very dangerous but seems to have a hint of Oddo disease at the moment.

-55th what a ball by Dinho to Pato, but Pato controls the ball with his hand, gets a card for his trouble.

-56th announcer says Dinho has more tackles tonight than his whole career, I have to agree!

-Ambrosini reminds Kaka whose house this is with a great tackle in the 57th minute, Kaka falls as though he has been shot. Ambro has done well on the tackle but has done little else. Fast break follows for Milan and a yellow for Marcelo, Dinho really bossing that wing and forcing Marcelo to work very hard all over the pitch.

-59th Ambro unmarked, and misses the header. Our best header misses a chance…

-61st minute Benzema has two touches all game one of them a goal, the second a quality snap shot. For all the talk of the Frenchmen’s talent, I have to say he is not as dangerous as expected and seems to be lost at times. Kaka continues to be challenged, no love lost here…

-65th Pato going hard, but a bit too far from goal to be dangerous for Pato, a good free kick by Pirlo forces a corner. Nothing from the corner again…

-70th minute and Milan having some good possession but doing little in the final third.

-Kaka still with a lot of space if Ambro is not around, he is far too dangerous to not close immediately.

-74th minute Raul coming on, I don’t like him all that much because he is a Madrid’s version of Pippo and is too dangerous for my liking late on.

-76th minute Seedorf breaks nicely but Pato again fouled off the ball, Madrid has shown that they are willing to slow down Pato with fouls often and until the ref starts to hand out some yellows for it they will continue with their game plan.

-80th Leo counters Raul with Pippo, which CL legend has it in him tonight…man I hope it is Pippo.

-Madrid bringing on Ruud, hopefully Leo doesn’t want to counter this move with our own Dutch striking stiff.

-83rd Pippo so nearly, couldn’t get his feet right.

-Pato continues to get hacked, Arbeloa already on yellow.

-87th the game has grown cautious, both teams seemingly starting to look OK with a draw, and no one really wants to stretch themselves forward to be open for a counter. Madrid manages a quick shot Dida to save, but again not away, defense clears.

-89th Dida huge save on Raul, excellent reaction, WOW what a save.

-92nd minute Dinho can’t turn Ramos, but Milan earns a corner, and probably the final chance of the match…but a draw it is…wow, it ended a bit slower than it started, but a good match all around and a well deserved point on both sides.

I hope you enjoyed my pseudo live blog, it actually was a big help to me to keep my sanity during the match and if you already watched the match maybe you can re-live a bit of it, and if you didn’t see it maybe it will help. Should be back tomorrow with a recap.

Oddo: defensively a plus, but this is only when he decided to defend. Many times he was nowhere to be found on the track back and was bailed out by Rino and Silva on many occasions. Offensively he was dreadful, with acres of room he never made good on his delivery. He had one good cross that Pato nearly nodded in but the rest were forgettable and laughable; expect Abate to get the start vs Madrid if healthy.

Silva: I am willing to argue that Silva is one of the best additions Milan have had in recent memory. He has been a stable and reliable CB all season long and his poise for such a young CB is remarkable. A proud addition to a historic Milan defense, his tackling is top class and his occasional burst forward is a joy to watch. A goal for him today would have been well deserved.

Kaladze: at times I barely knew he was there, a plus for a CB. The less we here about Kaladze the better he has played. Find by me as he filled and for Nesta, really can’t complain about his use as a backup.

Antonini: he frustrates me beyond belief. Excellent movement into the attack, great one two passing, but the injury was disheartening. When he is out of options he forces a pass to Dinho which requires him to defend, he can improve his patience and get the ball working laterally as well. Defensively did well, but Parma prefers to attack down the middle instead of the flanks so the pressure was more on the CBs than the wing backs.

Gattuso: a solid match, tackled when needed and did what is expected. Should start midweek against Madrid.

Pirlo: atrocious and borderline hard to watch. Looks slow and disinterested, and his passing choice was the worse I have seen it in a long time. As I mentioned yesterday this nightmare will continue unless takes on the role of playmaker, until then I hope to see less of this Pirlo and more of this one:

Seedorf: almost as bad as Pirlo, but seemed willing to run a bit more. Also gets caught in traffic on the left flank especially when Dinho and Antonini were both present in that spot. Should shift inside a bit more, and shouldn’t be afraid to interchange with Pirlo as needed. Bottom line he doesn’t seem comfortable so deep, but will have to make due as the system of tactics is yielding results.

Pato: heavily marked, and given little to no breathing room. It is games like these that will define his benefits to Milan or any club he plays for that matter. Parma was clearly preoccupied with him allowing Borriello more room than normal, in that sense Pato can keep his feet moving and create even more room for his strike partner. What bothered me was his loss of interest and aggression following the PK claim, as I tell the boys I coach, this game gives you 90 minutes to make good on a bad call or mistake, get over it, move on and keep working usually your fortunes will turn.

Borriello: an epic two goal effort from Marco. He looked hungry and driven for goal, he made some mistakes but his work rate was high and kept finding room to operate. Linked nicely with Dinho and proved dangerous on the pass as he tried to setup Antonini and Silva. Is a revelation after watching KJH putz around and should be a fixture in the leading attacking line.

Dinho: better, and frankly is improving every match. I made a point to tally the amount of times he had his arms up in protest to the ref in the first half, sadly I counted twelve. That means twelve times he was too busy whining than tracking back or trying to win back possession. Frankly I don’t remember this trait at Barca, but he also rarely made mistakes or hawked for calls. He needs to further simplify and evolve his game to be effective. Milan do not need him to dribble four players and score, they do need him to work passes and create space, which he did well today. Let’s focus on the aspect and build on it, and the rest should progress nicely.

I want to take a minute and talk about the near deal for 20 year old Ghanian striker Dominic Adiyiah. The deal is nearly complete, but knowing what we know about infamous Milan medicals I wouldn’t seal the deal quite yet. I watched the U20 World Cup final against Brazil which ended in a very cagey draw that saw a ten man Ghana forced to defend for the entirety of the match rendering Adiyiah rather unnoticeable. He did show excellent movement and comfort on the ball and as the match wore on seemed to find his legs. Hard to tell what type of striker he will be based on the match, and immediately you want to invoke comparisons to Weah, Eto, and Drogba, but it is far too early. In the end the move is a step in the right direction for Milan and I would expect an official announcement at some point today or tomorrow.

Some highlights from the aforementioned WC: