My Live Ranting…

-how scary good is chelski…possible starting eleven cech, bosingwa, terry, alex, cole, essien, lamps, Mikel, Malouda, Cole, and Drogs…and that doesn’t even factor in the bench with Ballack, Zhirkov, Carvalho, and Anelka…WOW.

-Lalas says, “Carletto traded up” Nice….

-starting eleven Kalac, oddo, silva, nesta, zambro, Pirlo, flamini, Dorf, Dinho, Borriello and Pato…big guns are out…very close to our starting eleven save Kalac, Clarence and possibly Oddo.

-Carletto counters with Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry,Cole, Mikel, Belletti, Zhirkov, Lamps, Anelka, and Drogba

-2 minutes in and I think I can say we suck…

-4 minutes, still suck…

-WOW…Drogba is AWESOME…what a goal in the 7th minute…frankly it doesn’t appear we can compete here.

-9th minute Dinho gets his first touch, fruitless, Seedorf doing the majority of the playmaking here.

-Lalas and Adrian Healey lambasting Dinho as well, possibly the only love this man gets is here?

-13th minute, Pirlo gets his first touch, also not good, our midfield is lost.

-14′ Pato moves in but a poor first touch, can be expected as this is his first real game action.

-17′ Oddo back to his old self and killing a cross in to row 13!

-Flamini seems to be the only guy who can pass, and Borriello is a ghost.

-Dinho with a moment of brilliance as he attempts a bicycle which is blocked by none other than Borriello for his first touch…irony…

-A flurry in the 29th leads to a crossbar from Dorf, the tight passing maneuvers were nice, and Flamini was the starter, well played, should have finished.

-Pirlo shanks another in the 32nd and I know it is preseason, but the don’t give a shit attitude of our boys is frustrating me to no end.

-Flamini with his second yellow of the friendly tournament!? American is going to think he is a thug…

-Seedorf scores a cracker off a sweet one two from Zambro to Dinho!! 1-1 in the 39th!

-40′ back to reality as Milan back under pressure and no real semblance of ball movement.

-Seedorf may be a necessity come the start of the season…not what many of us wanted, but if he is producing and he seems very game, does he or doesn’t he deserve the spot?

-Some OK interchange on the attack, promising, but the final pass is always lacking.

-Borriello wearing 22, poor taste?

-First half over, 1-1, little positive to take from this. Yes, Chelsea are ahead in preseason, and yes they are in fact the better team. It wouldn’t kill Milan to gear up, amp up, and show a little passion and heart. Maybe the biggest problem is not talent or depth, maybe it is heart? No real standout play in the first half, lots of phantoms, with Seedorf and Flamini being the real dicators of pace and tempo. Hopefully Abate, Baretta, and Zigoni can come in to push the issue a bit.

-Second hald underway…

-No changes from both squads, anyone think this game is a bit more meaningful to the coaches!?

-Anelka lets Milan off the hook with the miss in the 48th.

-Nesta looking solid, and a sight for sore eyes in terms of CB play.

-These Blues are not afraid to let it rip. Lalas and Healey discussing Carletto’s like of the 4-4-2 with diamond mid (4-1-2-1-2) and everyone here saying he was a one formation guy!?

-Dinho missing another set piece, Milan buzzing here.

-Hopefully the end of Seedorf’s night to not risk injury here. Anelka coming off for Sheva, the irony never stops.

-Abate in for Clarence, keep an eye on his pace.

-Gooch coming on in front of his home town fans, he needs to be better than Wednesday and build his performances. Nesta coming off after a GREAT performance.

-Chelsea’s Eastern Bloc boys make some magic and leads to a goal in the 69th minute. Sheva makes a vintage cut, and Zhirkov cleans up the mess. Boy I miss Milan’s Eastern Bloc crew…

-Abate pushes the issue following the goal, kid is a gamer, his teammates can learn.

-72nd RINO TIME! Pirlo off..

-Zigoni on as well…he too needs to improve from Wednesday.

-If Milan got points for all the Dinho cheeky touches we would be kicking ass, but all his turnovers wipe that slate clean. Not good enough, and don’t feed me the “he is getting there line.” It has to be consistent, efficient, and simple.

-Oddo having a really tough go tonight…few flashes of brilliance for all the errors.

-77th Silva off for Kaladze, not much bad from Silva, but not much good, usually a good sign for a CB. Relatively quiet night for the first real look I have had of him.

-79th Dinho off for DiGennaro, lots of cheers, lets see what DiGennaro has got for us.

-Pippo for Pato, don’t be surprised if he gets one.

-83rd DiGennaro has a rip, straight on, but with promise.

-Trivia: Has Milan ever attempted three bicylce kicks in one game? Has any team ever done that? Has any team ever taken three cracks at a bike and missed?

-My girlfriend says Leonardo looks more like a BeeGee than a soccer coach…even the casual fan see’s how out of place he really looks.

-Zigoni’s problems continue, kid looks big time shellshocked.

-Little RinoDinho action in the 88th as he makes his way through two players and lays off a great ball to DiGennaro that goes nowhere. Again the passing is working but the final pass is virtually nonexistent.

-Abate cuts in and hits a beauty to Pippo who forces a big save from Cech. Great ball by Abate, but even better was his effort to keep that ball. Soon after Gooch barely misses a header, his ability on set pieces may prove helpful in the long run.

-Chelsea counters with a great ball from Sheva to Lampard who plays a World class turn and puts one on net.

-94th Free Kick to Milan, last chance here and Oddo wastes it into the wall. Gets a rise out of Leonardo for that gaff who looks pissed, but that is that and Carletto gets the last laugh. This leaves Milan and Inter to play for last place in the World Football Challenge on Sunday. Chelsea and Carletto are far superior and again we are left with questions…

Three changes for Carletto today from the semi’s.

Dida, Bonera,Nesta, Kaladze, Maldini
Pirlo, Gattuso, Ambro, Seedorf, Kaka
Pippo

Just as suspected Maldini has started at the fabled wingback spot, to me this means that Kaladze will work harder to his immediate left so that Maldini can press. Nesta will have to do more as well, Bonera will have to prove he can move up the flank, a surprise start in my book with others on the bench.

First 5

Boca is dictating play and possesion creating one chance. Pippo takes a great ball from Seedorf shoots…it rolls wide of the goal mouth.

7 Min

Boca presses a good through ball Kaladze recovers, Bonera collects, looses it briefly but ultimately recovers. Milan counters Pippo moves well in the box, passes to Kaka who is marked by four Boca players. Milan is showing more possesion and bit more control of the game.

10 Min

Dida unable to make a grab on a cross, whats new?, ball rolls through the box one way then the other, crisis averted.

13 Min

Pippo, the poacher that he is, almost picks a pass from keeper to defender. Crowd woos but almost does not count here.

17 Min

Palermo, of Boca, presses in the box makes a great pass but no one home, Milan gains possesion clears and then regroups from the back.

18 Min

Boca is doing a great job suffocating the play of Kaka and Pirlo as well. Both Rossoneri superstars are having a tough time making space for themselves. Ball runs out to Maldini, amazing cross to Kaka, shot!, blocked.

20 Min

Boca rips a shot on Dida, Kaka begins a counter, shoots, and Pippo as always cleans up the mess!! GOAL MILAN!!!! The poacher proves himself yet again, I do not care what people say about him, when you need a ball in net he does the job hands down.

23 Min

Boca wins a corner, play it short quickly, ball crossed into Palacio, GOAL! Milan is standing around like they do not know whats going on, NOT GOOD BOYS, NOT GOOD!. Game is all tied up. A truly inexcusable goal has left Il Capitano shaking his head disgusted, Bonera has let me down again, Gattuso is a bit to blame as well…

28 Min

Kaka strong run leads to a shot, and a Pirlo follow up. Both shots strong and on target but no dice.

34 Min

Boca is continuing to press hard, but Milan is still able to counter when giving the chance. Bonera is not playing well, and Gattuso is letting him now about it. Where’s Oddo? While I look for him I will look for Seedorf as well, oh there he is…nice of you to get involved Clarence.

35 Min

Palacio jukes out Ambro and makes a great pass into the box, no one home. Gattuso and Bonera have to get on the same page because Palacio is heating up.

38 Min

Ibarra rips at Maldini’s heels, gets a yellow, and will soon get smashed by a one Rino Gattuso. Pippo gets another shot on net but shoots high and wide right, he does not score them all folks.

42 Min

Ambro goes down hard, looks for a PK but I did not see much and the ref agrees.

43 Min

Pirlo makes a bad pass, folks he is human… Seedorf makes a great run and rips a shot, nice work. He must have read my earlier criticism.

44 Min

Crosses for the Rossoneri are not working, this cannot continue, with Pippo up front anything remotely in the box is goal potential.

45 Min

Boca breaks out, alone on Dida, flag up offside. End of half.

Halftime Thoughts

Kaladze good, Bonera not, find Oddo or even Cafu. The right side is weak and needs repair. Otherwise noce work by everyone involved, and someone please tell me what on Earth is going on with Palacio’s weird braided rat tail. Does he think he looks cool? A very even half, both teams playing well, and exciting soccer. Good for the cup and good for fans.

46 Min

Seedorf wins a corner, Ambro goes crashing in with his arm? Odd.

47 Min

Battaglia shuts down Kaka’s run, Inzaghi had space on the left flank. I appreciate and enjoy Kaka’s runs, but pass the ball when you cannot make headway.

49 Min

Hard challenge on Seedorf, clearly a yellow, great chance for Pirlo. Great cross in, Nesta GOAL!!! Alright boys get focused, nice work by Ambro slashing through to get the first touch.

54 Min

Battaglia hard challenge on Kaka, yellow card given. Kaka great run inside the box, cut right, cut right again, PLEASE PASS, instead shot, collected by Boca and cleared.

56 Min

Hard challenge on Rino, no call, no yellow. Do ref’s not know that you do not want to make Rino mad?

58 Min

Ibarra fires a screamer, rattles off the post!!! Dida lost in space, VERY LUCKY. What a shot by the Boca back. Boca is hard charging, Milan needs to focus on posession and tempo to quelch this attack.

60 Min

Maldini goes down injured, Kaka continues to play up the left flank, cuts parallel to the end line, squeezes it past the keeper, GOAL!!! Awesome stuff, and he still belongs to Jesus, what a sweet boy. Maldini goes off the pitch but will continue, fittingly so.

63 Min

Pippo drudges towards a pass, he looks ancient on that run. Time for a switch of the poacher.

64 Min

Rino gives way to El Puma, my insides sink becuase there is no player I loathe watching more than Emerson. Why not Brocchi?

65 Min

Free kick taken by Murrell, Dida desperatly punches it out with no one around him. Boca subs Gonzalez for Ledesma, Ledesma is quality young player who surprisingly did not get the start today. Milan buzz the net again, again no dice.

69 Min

Maldini still pressing forward, it brings me close to tears because I have begun to realize that every run forward on the flank may be one of the last ones I am able to see…
Boca shot on, high, no worries.

71 Min

Great ball movement in the box for Milan, Kaka dominating the area, lays off to Pippo, GOAL!! PIPPO BRACE!! Great work from Seedorf and Kaka, and Milan is starting to flex their muscle.

73 Min

Kaka draws a tough challenge on top of the box, no card, Pirlo will have a go, plays it low but wide.

76 Min

Pippo out Cafu in, Carletto is giving the Japanese what they want, a ton of Brazilians. Looks like Carletto is happy with four.

77 Min

Kaladze shown red!??! A hard challenge, but nothing out of the ordinary in what was a tough challenging game. Clearly a card, but a yellow would have done the same, it is a cup final. Boca does not capitalize on the free kick.

86 Min

Lots of Boca pressure leads to a Milan own goal, but it is to few, to late. Seedorf gives way to Brocchi. Brocchi will do some solid dirty work. Maldini goes bonkers, it looks like Ledesma attacks Kaka, this is just a bad end to a good game, the challenge is rather clean, but late, and maybe viewed as unwarranted.

90 Min

Final two minutes go off without hitch, MILAN ARE WORLD CLUP CUP CHAMPIONS!!!!

Final Thoughts

Dominance today from the Rossoneri, a big FU to all the naysayers. Milan are old, but wise, they are slow, but dominate games like no other. The bottom line is when they are amped to play they will do what they can to win. Kaka owned the pitch today, and despite a ton of defensive pressure on him he found a way to excel, my hats off to an amazing performance and most definetly Man of the Match. Take nothing away from Maldini who gave his all on the left flank, just like the good old days. The right flanked tightened up and everything came up Rossoneri. Bask in the glory tifosi, the Serie A is coming up soon.