Milan 2 Roma 3
By: Gianfranco | May 25th, 2009No matter what I have done in the past twenty-four hours or so, I can’t shake the image of Jeremy Menez scoring Roma’s second goal. It was not so much the goal that gets me, but the chilling pursuit from Maldini. He was never going to catch Menez, but as he pumped his arms and pushed his legs, and Menez pulled further away, I saw something I have never before seen on Paolo’s face, defeat. The grimace is engrained in my mind, and while he ran the Captain’s armband he has worn so faithfully, for as long as I can remember, fell to the ground, a symbolic omen that crushed me at that moment, and still sends chills down my spine.
Yes, Ambrosini scored soon thereafter, but the image was already engrained, the moment had happened, and I had a sinking feeling that stuck with me long after I tried to go to sleep. The fact of the matter is that Roma deserved to win on this day. They were the more dangerous team, faster, more decisive, and determined, and though only one goal came from the run of play, it was only missed opportunities that kept Milan close. On a day where no motivation should have been necessary for the Rossoneri, it was Roma who triumphed, it was Roma who played the better football, and it was Roma who earned the win.
I never considered this to be Maldini’s” last” match, yes it was the last at the San Siro, and it was the last time he would play in front of home fans, but I was not ready to say goodbye today, didn’t even consider it. I looked ahead to next week’s fixture as my final goodbye, the final game in the red and black. Considering today’s result I am almost relieved that my intentions were as such, that I am going to get another chance to see him play, but following today’s game and the post match actions of the Ultras, I can’t even fault him if he chose not to play. It was well known that Maldini requested the simplest of send offs today, no pomp and circumstance, no testimonials, in fact he wanted not much of anything. However I never expected to see what I saw today…
Even now as I watch the videos of the Ultras I am still a bit appalled and shocked. It is no secret that Maldini has always been a supporter of the Club and its front office, a front office that almost raised the man. This was a view the Ultras have not always shared, but to air their grievance in this fashion was embarrassing to say the least. To dishonor a man who has done no wrong for club, country or sport is the most despicable action I have ever seen. The funny thing is as I sit here I am not without fault, and though I may never satisfy the Roman legions, that is not my goal and never will be; I do want to be held accountable in the eyes of those who will not. I can only hope the Ultras share my guilt and recognize their error. Nothing any Rossonero tifosi will ever do will be enough to honor our Captain, but today’s disgrace should not go unnoticed or forgotten. I never held the group in high esteem, and today only solidified my opinion of them.
So as I sit here in my guilt, I can’t help but feel for Maldini. I have lived through epic failures: Istanbul, Korea 02, USA 94, EURO 2000, but this failure is easily the worst. I failed, the tifosi failed, and his teammates failed. Unlike so many things in life, we all have another chance come the trip to Florence. What should have been a meaningless trip with little bearing on the campaign now becomes a game of higher importance. Yes Milan need only a one goal loss to assure a spot in Champions League football in the first Post-Maldini season, but that attitude serves no one, a proper send off with a proper victory is a must at all costs, I just hope this time it can be done right.
Please forgive me if I take a day or two to recompose my thoughts and feelings. My intention was to post a video of Maldini each and every day this week leading up to next week’s final Maldini Monday, but at this point I admit feeling a bit at a loss. In December of 07 I started a simple tribute to Paolo each and every Monday thinking our time was coming to an end. Instead I embarked on what has truly been one of the most rewarding things I was able to do on this blog. Writers from various blogs here at the offside and football blogs around the net joined in to pay what was nearly a two year tribute, but at this point I can’t help but feel even that has not been enough…
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Comments
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I can tell you right now that if you play Flamini over the course of the whole season at right back he will do way better than Zambrotta did this year.
And Ican tell you now ur wrong.
Its easy to make statements. so far the only reason youve given for why he would be better is that he has more “energy and drive”
Thats good and we need it, but that alone wont win you trophies imo. Manu and Barca arent in the final of the CL just cos they got energy and drive
Posted from
Australia
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It’s easy to deny too on the basis of one cleverly constructed goal by an opponent, if you are so inclined.
Flamini can always improve on every aspect of playing at righback, Zambrotta can only get worse.
Posted from
Australia -
“Just plain old mid to late 20s will do.”
Which ones do you think would be better than Zambro?
And you gotta remember we dont have to pay a transfer fee for Zambro, so who ever you replace him with has to be a fair bit better and come with a reasonable chance of fitting into the club and being able to preform
Posted from
Australia -
The balance is there with the likes of Pirlo, Gattuso, Kaka, Nesta, Ambrosini etc…
All those guys will be 30 or older except for Kaka (pirlo might be 29 i cant remember off the top of my head) not much of a balance
Posted from
Australia -
There should be competition in the squad. You can’t give these old farts like Zambrotta a free reign in the team, to be picked, week in week out and expect this team to drastically improve.
There should be a new capable left and right backs in the squad at least and let the best player earn the right to play.
Posted from
Australia -
What do you want, a couple of over 50’s in the line-up?
Posted from
Australia -
“It’s easy to deny too on the basis of one cleverly constructed goal by an opponent, if you are so inclined.
Flamini can always improve on every aspect of playing at righback, Zambrotta can only get worse.”I denied his ability based on his preformances against big teams. so whatever
Flamini can improve but you said you wanted the team to do the double next yr and theres no way that happens if your retraining players in what you yourself called a “critical” position
I dont think Zambros going to deteriorate so quickly between now and next season and i think if the team as a whole plays better next season Zambro will have the pressure taken off him and be able to play alot better
Posted from
Australia -
He played almost half the season for Arsenal at right back. It’s not a big adjustment for the kind of player he is. Look at Essien, he can easily do an outstanding job at right back.
And you did deny his ability on the basis of one goal and had bout of amnesia when it came to his saving Milans butt on more than one occasion from a certain Juve goal.
Posted from
Australia -
“There should be competition in the squad. You can’t give these old farts like Zambrotta a free reign in the team, to be picked, week in week out and expect this team to drastically improve.”
Not what im advocating. You can keep dodging the question of who to replace Zambro with and i dont want him to play week in week out. I think he should be rested against weaker teams and dropped when out of form.
I see him having an inzaghi like role where he plays the big matches and whenever hes fit and in good form“What do you want, a couple of over 50’s in the line-up?”
You can keep ignoring what im actually saying. I said i want de Silvestri, hes hardly over 50, as the other FB. That Balance, one experienced FB, one up and coming FB
“There should be a new capable left and right backs in the squad at least and let the best player earn the right to play.”
You keep saying this stuff and itd be great if we could go and buy 2 world class FB who could fit straight into the squad and make a huge difference, but we wont have that much cash
Posted from
Australia -
“And you did deny his ability on the basis of one goal and had bout of amnesia when it came to his saving Milans butt on more than one occasion from a certain Juve goal.”
Thats not true i said he hasnt played well against big teams like Roma and Juve and u got all upset about me suggesting he didnt play well against Juve and thats why its been focused on ur the one with amnesia my dopey friend. And if you want this to descend into a name calling fight then perhaps you should go start a convo with MAD
Posted from
Australia -
“He played almost half the season for Arsenal at right back. It’s not a big adjustment for the kind of player he is. Look at Essien, he can easily do an outstanding job at right back.”
Im not saying Flamini will never be a good RB but he needs alot of work cos he doesnt know how to mark as a defender imo and u said you wanted milan to do the double, i dont think you can do that while retraining a guy.
I also think Essien has a broader skill set than Flamini and therefore more versatile
Posted from
Australia -
Plus i just want to point out the logic of saying flamini can play FB just cos Essien can. I guess Pirlo or Gattuso or Ambrsoini could also play RB?
I dont think you can make such comparisons. Just cos one player can do something doesnt mean every player can
Posted from
Australia -
Interesting that you say you don’t want this to descend into name calling straight after you call me ‘dopey’, when I haven’t called anyone names.
And Flamini doesn’t need a lot of work as he is already doing better than Zambrotta. Did you notice Zambrotta was on the bench against Roma??
Your suggestion that Flamini had a bad game against Juve is just plain laughable. I am beginning to think that you might have only seen a highlights reel of the game.
Next, you are challenging me to provide a name for a leftback but you decline to provide one yourself given that you think Zambrotta should not be an automatic starter.
Posted from
Australia -
Neither of Pirlo or Gattuso have the particular quality to convert a defensive midfielder into a fullback, namely, speed. Essien can and has proven it. Flamini can and he has proven it.
Posted from
Australia -
i haven’t been keeping up with this whole conversation, but i would like to point out that essien’s swiss army knife capabilities are overrated.
he got his ass handed to him by ronaldo in the CL final last season. he will only be a mediocre player in a highly specialized position such as a wingback.
Posted from
Dominica -
I completely disagree with that assertion. After an admittedly shakey start to the match, Essien completely dominated Ronaldo for most of the game and was one of the best players on the pitch by the end of the match.
Posted from
Australia -
Right back is not a highly specialised position. It is usually reserved for wingers who are not good enough further up the park so they concentrate on defending.
Posted from
Australia -
Just like the best centreback are crappy centre forwards.
Posted from
Australia -
Off topic, but I hope Barca crush ManUtd tonight. Hate EPL teams. Go Barca!!
Posted from
Australia -
The Ultra fallout continues
http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/may27a.html
Posted from
United Kingdom -
Cuffy Fallout continues (lol)
http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/may27g.html
Posted from
United Kingdom -
More evidence of Roma class?!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8068088.stm
Posted from
United Kingdom -
“I can tell you right now that if you play Flamini over the course of the whole season at right back he will do way better than Zambrotta did this year.”
LOLPosted from
United States -
“Right back is not a highly specialised position. It is usually reserved for wingers who are not good enough further up the park so they concentrate on defending.”
RB are usually asked to carry more of the offensive load because left strikers tend to be less skilled and usually in support or pushed more central. LB stay home RB press up in everywhere but Milan! Saying it is not specialized is a disservice…
Posted from
United States -
I was at the Milan-Roma match last weekend, and posted some videos & photos I took here:
http://www.italylogue.com/featured-articles/paolo-maldinis-last-game-at-san-siro-in-milan.html
There’s also a video there that the Milan Channel on YouTube put out (the last video in the post) that’s quite a nice tribute to Maldini.
And although I’ve read some of the post-game stuff about the Ultra’s banners & whistles, in the moment they were pretty minimal from what I experienced. The VAST majority of the people in the near-capacity San Siro were applauding wildly for Maldini. It was a privilege to be there.
Posted from
United States
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