AC Milan » Brazilian Banter

Thursday Milan Musings

Gianfranco — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:14:42 +0000

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.

Lazio 1 Milan 2

Gianfranco — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:45 +0000

Following the draw against Napoli I have to admit that it is hard to feel a rush of optimism with a two goal lead. The most unnerving part of the game is the patches of sloppy play that follow segments of dominance in passing and possession. It is almost like a sudden case of footballing amnesia afflicts the team and they are incapable of doing anything properly; frustrating for a fan and probably mind boggling for Leonardo, but in the end the lead held and another three points in the bag.

It has to be said that Lazio is a team that looks a bit lost on the pitch, frankly the player choices and tactial system of Ballardini are puzzling and if he is relieved of his duties following this match it would not be surprising. Baronio instead of Foggia is foolish enough, but the occasional disappearance of Zarate, who proved infinitely dangerous, has to come down tactics. Yes they worked hard in the second half and pressured Milan late, but there was rarely ever a feeling of Lazio being truly in control or able to create dangerous chances.
From the Milan side of the ball it has to be said that this match belonged to the Brazilians. Sliva, despite the freakish own goal, was once again a rock in the back and even more impressive scoring his first goal for AC Milan. His compatriots Pato and Dinho also linked up on the second goal, and found each other often to create chances on with Dinho further embracing his distribution role and Pato enjoying his goal scoring responsibilities, twice forcing stellar saves from Muslera late in the second half. As always there is room to become more dangerous and even more clinical but on this night it was enough and rather enjoyable to watch.

Have to also raise the issue that Leo played many of lineup stalwarts for the third game in a row in a span of eight nights. Yes an International break is coming shortly, but leaning so heavily on the likes of Seedorf, Zambro, and Pirlo may prove costly come the knockout stages of the CL and the home stretch of Serie A. Abate, Flamini, and Pippo all made cameos but these players should be rotated into the starting lineup and assure the fresh legs of the squad for the long season.

Milan 1 Madrid 1, Recap

Gianfranco — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:00:15 +0000

Not going to go deep into this recap, frankly because the match was draining and nervy for me and maybe for some of you as well. Feel free to recall the previous post if you missed the match as I touch on few different points here.

As a fan of the Rocky films, more the first few than the last two, I couldn’t help but feel as though Leo had instilled the Rocky III mentality in the Rossoneri.

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.

Tuesday Tactics

Gianfranco — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:55 +0000

On the heels of the Roma match and leading into the Madrid I want to talk some tactics, specifically the use of Dinho in an advanced role and how this could potentially exploit Madrid’s real weakness, their defense.

Leo was wise to attempt to play Dinho as a striker against Roma, as it gave him a snapshot to see his ability for a full match prior to Madrid. The first half was poor, Dinho did little to shake markers, and Seedorf spent more time chasing than possessing and passing which compounded the problem. The key to a Pato-Dinho strike force is the pace of Pato to break markers and the skill of Dinho to hold the ball and find his country mate. The ideal setup, something that is most likely repeated countless times in training would be to find the feet of Seedorf or Pirlo who would then turn, granted with time, and find the feet of Dinho who would be asked to penetrate and shoot or find Pato once the defenders collapse on him. Dinho can also pass back as shown below to add even more tactical skill. Granted, against a discipline defense this tactical setup may be solved quickly but a team like Madrid with backs that press and CB’s that foul this may work wonders!

This setup also removes some responsibility from Dinho to track back as a mid, and puts him one step closer to the goal. Instead of being required to shake off three defenders he can receive the ball 18-20 meters out and then pass or shoot…simplifying his game, and asking less of him. In essence it is an excellent move by Leo and may suit Dinho’s aging lack of pace and drive, don’t take that as a knock Dinho supporters because if it works he may have a starting spot and we lose that stiff KJH come January for a defender; Gareth Bale anyone!?

Madrid will be without CRON and as Jovan mentioned earlier they may be ripe for the taking. Granted we cannot forget about Kaka, but he is finding it hard to gel with his teammates and it will be interesting to see if his heart is in the match or not. For all the money Madrid has spent the players that make that team tick for me are Lassana Diarra and Xabi Alonso. It will be imperative for Seedorf and possibly Rino and Flamini to crowd the area occupied by those two players in an effort to stop the passes forward. The key to victory against Madrid is to make them play deeper in their half and farther away from goal. With a full team you do not want CRON and Kaka receiving the ball 35 meters out, you want them at the half line at that will be the key to Milan’s success, for as good as Kaka was, he was rarely dangerous in very deep positions and keeping him out of his comfort zone will be key.

Once that turf war is won, Dinho and Pato can exploit the space behind Lass and Alonso and pressure the CB’s with the ball at their feet. Yes this is easier said than done, as are many tactical discussions, but if Pirlo and Seedorf can work the ball into the feet I believe Milan will have a magical night. In some ways I am more optimistic about this match than I was about Roma, maybe because I know how badly Milan want to scalp Madrid, or how much CL play means to them. Either way I like our chances and while I am not expecting miracles, a cautious optimism seems to the mood of the moment, not to mention sometimes it is fun to be the Underdog, they have nothing to lose! Spoon sing it for us…

A Draw Worse than a Loss??

Gianfranco — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:47:31 +0000

I really can’t get all amped up or even remotely happy about this draw. This draw is bittersweet in the fact that this draw probably only prolonged the inevitable, like going away for the weekend with your soon to be ex-girlfriend to try and rekindle the magic, only to break up on the way home. At least in my scenario someone scores more than once…

It is clearly evident that Leo does not have the depth of squad to make this work, nor does he really have the knowledge to squeeze whatever potential or ability is left to this team. The fact that I have little left to say shouldn’t really surprise anyone at this point. I barely know what to think, let alone what to say or type or write or discuss. Really the only thing I can conjure up from yesterday is the fact that I couldn’t help but think Atalanta deserved the three points, or that our squad couldn’t beat the current worse team in Serie A down to ten men…do you feel terrible or desperate yet…I do.

Before I fizzle out here and go back to staring at videos and pictures of previous Milan teams to forget the current state of affairs, I want to say that for the first time as a fan of this Club I truly feel hopeless. I actually listened to Dinho fans try and portray this goal, this draw as a positive, well he saved us they said…we are beyond saving. Maybe I have dug myself such a hole I can’t even find a shred of positive light, but I do know that a game like this against Atalanta can only spell problems for the upcoming match against Roma, and worse Napoli whose backs are truly against the wall.

All and all this international break is hot and cold. Time for this team to train and hear more of Leo’s infamous discussion or further sink in the hole it has dug for itself. The nice thing is the usual swarm of Rossoneri players on International duty has slowly declined recently so while good teams best players are away, our players will be training together…think positive right…

The Barnum and Berlu Circus

Gianfranco — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:17 +0000

There was a time that our beloved AC Milan was the epitome of class and stature. A team adorned with silverware and the envy of even the World’s most prestigious club’s such as Barcelona and Real Madrid, suddenly we no longer look so pristine. I blame the International break frankly, it is in these boring times that idle minds and idle footballers begin to run their mouths and create a whole jabbering and it this week it all seemed aimed at AC Milan.

It all started what could easily the most ludicrous idea on Earth, Berlu sells to a dictator. Honestly it was probably a ploy for Berlu to say you don’t like me it could be worse! What bothers me is he tone and timing of these ridiculous jokes and rumors, Milan is not at the top of their game and a quiet soft spoken owner would go a long way of getting Milan out of the spotlight and back to working to improve, for both Berlu on the Club. When a former legend, Marco Van Basten, comes out and says he would not Coach Milan because they have lost their direction in building squad, it gets a bit frustrating as a fan, and must be frustrating to the players as well.

The cheap shots didn’t stop there. Soon thereafter Franck Ribery decided to let us all know that losing Gourcuff was like losing the next Zidane. Thanks Franck for your awesome input, really appreciates it. Maybe you should focus on getting Bayern back to good and best of luck in the WC playoff…but alas that was not the only cheap shot thrown by a player. Sometime good Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano said Milan embarrassed him and he would consider a move to Italy, but never to Milan, Juventus would be a place he would consider…hear that Alessio and Roberto…good luck with Luis, I say we made out OK on this one.

Fabiano was not the only striker with diarrhea of the mouth this week. Milan’s own new man KJH decided to get in on the act and ramble on about how Leo should start him against Livorno. Personally I hate players that run their mouth about playing time, having that player on my team only makes it more frustrating. I am sure the Dutchmen will earn his place, but do it on the training field and not with your mouth, if I was Leo KJH would see the bench yet again because of these antics, but an lower back injurty to Borriello may grant KJH his wish, nothing like reinforcing bad behavior!

As if all this banter and bambling was not enough to turn your stomach, someone got the bright idea to invoke Juande Ramos. The man who found some success in a soft La Liga, subsequently ran Tottenham into the ground and couldn’t stay on at Madrid for Galactico’s was suddenly mentioned as a successor for Leo if the Brazilian can’t get his act together…TERRIBLE. The guy is tactically incapable of adjustment and his transfer policy is abysmal, with guys like Spalletti and Zaccheroni out of work couldn’t a better link be brought about!? Who knows they may even consider Steve McLaren next…

All kidding aside, Leo and Company really have to get their game in gear. With a must win match on Saturday and two more home games after that nine points is almost a must to continue to be taken seriously this season. We have seen two Milan’s this season, the question is what are we going to get come Saturday? Rino is out with a red, Borriello is injured, and the rest is really a crapshoot!

Milan 0 – Inter 4

Gianfranco — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:30:25 +0000

I don’t even really know where to start here. The fact is that there is no single member of the current Rossoneri setup without blame after this disgraceful, unacceptable, and flat out embarrassing loss. If you want me to put a positive spin on this, or have some optimism, it is not going to happen. I am angry and I am going to let it rip right here…

I am going to start with the red card, what Rino did was inexcusable, did it cost us the game? Debatable, we were dead before the sink even sank, but again it does not make it right, and we all should expect better. We can rewind though and use a little hindsight to place some blame across the board. When Rino went down in the box and then subsequently went off to get treatment things starting going south. Now I know he is tough and a trooper, but clearly he did not look OK. A good coach, not the one we have now, would have gotten a read and began moving the wheels for a sub, instead he left Rino out there to tough out, and again it won’t be the first or last time Rino does that. Soon thereafter the defense get cracked open like a nut and Rino is left to mark a lighting quick Eto leading to a foul and PK which should have been a straight red . Why not let Storari make the save? Who knows.

Now Rino is on borrowed time and a good coach would take an injured player on a yellow off the pitch, not our coach, Rino motions for a sub, Seedorf is summoned to come on, not a bad sub, but the next two to three minutes unfold like an eternity. Camera pans to Seedorf who is gearing up and Leonardo is talking and talking, Rino comes to the sideline is waived back onto the pitch and seconds later he drags down Sneijder, was it a yellow sure it was, was it a challenge that Rino will do again, of course it is, he was sending a message, the problem is this message appeared to be at Leonardo and Company as much as it was for Inter and Sneijder. Now Milan is down to ten men and Seedorf is still be chatting up by Leo, you missed the boat Leo, and hopefully you learned a lesson.

Yes Milan pushed play for the first twenty minutes but as Sneijder found his bearings and Inter realized they could take what Milan had the offer the game quickly changed. Once again Leo and Co. missed the boat, no tactical shift, no pull back into a compact midfield, in fact nothing changed at all and a surgically precise offensive moved tore open the defense. No midfield cover, no left back cover, and CB’s nowhere to be found. Maybe the CB’s were man marking, the TV angles did nothing to prove or disprove any of this but the fact of the matter is that Motta was a free man with not a soul in front of him, and Storari was left hung out to dry. Poor Storari, he was the slimmest bright spot on a day of dismal performances, his two saves kept this game from being 6-0, and if it wasn’t for horrific defending this guy may have kept the club in the game. For the record, Inter is a very good team, Sneijder is the missing link, and removing themselves from Zlatan dependency will prove a boon come CL time…

Now this little gem is for all of you Ronaldinho fans. Many of you lambast me day in and day out for my high expectations of the man you call a legend and a gift to football, you tell me I expect too much, and you tell me that I don’t give the poor lazy fatso a chance…I hope you know understand. It’s funny because this blog is the only place on Earth where Ronaldinho still seems to hold some kind of luster and mystique; this is not 2004 or 2005 for that matter. Every MIlanista I have spoken to in the past two day has reiterated the same point, this team cannot move forward on his shoulders and his shoulders alone. Even Charlie Stillitano, host of the Football Show on Sirius, and avid Milan fan and friend of the club was adamant that Ronaldinho is far to slow and inconsistent to be more than a role player in a squad. Last season you belittled Seedorf for slowing play and holding possession, feel free to do the same to your boy this season.

I am done talking about this guy or even thinking about him, Silvio and Fester messed up, and this was just the first of the mistakes. Eto, Adebayor, Sneijder, Drogba, De Silvestri, DeAgostino, the list of lost transfers is endless and these lost transfers have put us in the position we are in right now. Instead Inter have two of those failed targets, Chelsea has the other and our coach to boot, who is a on tear right now and looks poised to win everything in front of him, and were are left with absolutely NOTHING. No creativity, no depth, no defense…but hey look on the bright side we have 42 defensive midfielders and Ronaldinho, let’s take on the World!

I know I have said it before and I will say it again, and probably keep saying it, the last time we had a foreign coach and a roster full of showpiece legacy straineri we finished tenth and the Coach didn’t make it past Christmas…Leo is Brazilian and the squad has lost its Italian roots…tenth place would be a gift at this stage, that’s the biggest difference.

Am I going to abandon hope, am I going to don a Lampard jersey and going running up and down the block chanting for the Blues!? I thought about it, and after a few Vodka tonics following the Derby I even considered it as I perused soccer.com for a Chelsea strip. But then I realized that this Club means far more to me than an idiot owner, a terrible GM, a tactically naïve coach, and a has-been Brazilian. This Club is my roots, the foundation for my wardrobe, the reason I bought a red and black car, the reason I love Football. I am down, we are down, but this quote from our very own Shingai brought it all back into perspective…

“We’ll see who the fairweather fans are when each win becomes a struggle and there is no certainty whatsoever as to where to expect the team to end up at the end of the year. But to answer the question, what do we do from here – if you can make it to matches, show up in full colors, be as vocal and supportive of your team as you can, even when they are struggling and playing like shit. Awesome fans can make the difference for a team, especially in moments of self-doubt like these.”

Bench the whole lot, start next match with Antonini, Abate, KJH, DiGennaro, Berretta, Strasser…I don’t even care, send a message, if we are going to lose anyway let’s do it with a fighting spirit a younger look and hungry players. I hate International breaks (oddly enough our “World Class Brazilian Playmaker” did not get called up,see Diego as to why) but this break comes at a time to get the head’s straight, push the issue in training and make everyone expendable. Leo can learn from this and come out stronger, but that choice is his…the same way we can get behind this team through a looming dark period…choice is yours, love Ronaldinho, or Pato, or Pirlo, or Nesta or LOVE AC MILAN…

Leo’s Pre-Derby To Do List

Gianfranco — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:00:08 +0000

Being that this is Leo’s first “real” derby there a few things he needs to address prior to the match…

1. Name Nesta Captain of the squad immediately, first because he is the most experienced presence on the squad, second because he is a CB and defenders always see the game better than anyone else.

2. Pick a lineup and don’t tell a soul! Have the players, management, Inter, and Jose sweat it out until the last second.

3. Do not let this photo happen again for a meaningful match, being a coach is tough enough, don’t let your bosses muck it up!

4. Begin to employ a 4-3-3, if that is your preferred system don’t be shy to use it. Float Dinho wide left and high, play Borriello, Pato, and KJH to rest Dinho on occasion, the sooner you try this the more dynamic and mysterious you become to the Serie A and CL opponents.
5. Last but not least, get a freaking haircut!

Could it Be!!

Gianfranco — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:34:42 +0000

Was this what we have finally been waitin for…maybe it’s early but I sure hope so…

Trofeo Berlusconi: Can We Get Something Right?

Gianfranco — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:22:09 +0000

Tonight it’s Juventus for the second time in 4 days. Friday it wasn’t pretty, and Juve looks poised to make a legit run at the scudetto, while Milan are looking more and more incapable of anything. Judge now? Judge later? It doesn’t really matter because we are seeing now is not good, and even Leo knows it. Bottom line, time is running out and we need something, anything before Sunday!

Sadly my life is still in the remnmants of shambles and should be back to normal before the weekend, but please use this space to follow tonights match and post comments for those unable to follow.