State of Affairs: GK

By: Gianfranco | May 26th, 2008

I am going to take a state of affairs for each position at Milan and then hopefully onto a state affairs for Serie A and UEFA.

Net Minders…

For the first time in a long time, say ten years ago, Milan has a glaring void between the pipes. Gone are the days of Rossi, Abbiatti, and Dida, and in are the days are searching for someone to fill a spot that has always been fairly unglamorous due to the likes of Maldini, Desailly, Baresi and Costacurta standing in front.

Nelson Dida’s meltdown all began against Celtic in the CL when he feigned and flopped the single worst moment that I have ever witnessed in a soccer game.

As if that incident was not enough he then went one better and did this…

Needless to say, all that led to the end for Nelson Dida., and the beginning of the Aussie Spider Kalac. I have to say that Kalac filled in extremely admirably in a highly pressurized situation. In fact if Kalac was 25 or 27 it would be very easy to slide him into the starting role next season, but like most of the squad he is on the wrong side of thirty and not the long term answer to anything at the San Siro. This leaves a big hole for Uncle Fester and company to fill, and a position that Milan has had difficulty filling properly in the past.

For me the most logical and economic decision is to bring Abbiatti home. He has succeeded at San Siro before meaning experience and pressure is not an issue. It also means that Carletto can slot in a keeper who he can trust and has trusted in the past and even with the armband. Plus he is free!!!!!!! That means more money to be used elsewhere.

If Fester must open the wallet than it may as well be for the number two Italian goalie in the world, Marco Amelia. This also makes a fair amount of logical sense because Amelia wants out of Livorno, and will not pull a Gigi and stay in Serie B. Amelia also wants to test his mettle in Euro play and his age allows him to swallow a year of UEFA football in hopes of CL the following season. His move to Milan would also be one of the best opportunities for the Rossoneri to have an Azzurri GK for the first time that I can remember.

Now because those two moves make all the sense in the world, it most likely means that Fester is not even considering them so it leaves us with a what do we do now scenario. If a big move for a keeper is going to be made, with money being spent, the deal has to be for Boruc. The Celtic keeper is a younger version of Frey with more upside, and lesser cost. Boruc has also played in the Champions League quite a few times meaning that he is capable of the high pressure environments.

GK’s are different animal and it is nice to have a young one, but with a young goalie comes young mistakes and Milan are not in any position to accept that, therefore it is best to look at what is readily available.