Ronaldinho Rumor Mill
By: Gianfranco | April 19th, 2007First things first, my name is Gianfranco Barbato and I am new to the offside.com family. I am a full blooded Italian living in the United States and thanks to the wealth of Soccer on TV and the Net and I am still able to follow Milan every week as well as enjoy Soccer from all over the world…even the MLS. Thanks to offside.com I even get to share all my musings with all of you as well.
I am beginning to get a little bit annoyed with Berlusconi’s consistent babbling about bringing Ronaldinho to the San Siro to create the Brazilian trident. Not long ago Milan was quite upset with Real Madrid for making many offbeat passes at Kaka, and now they are doing the same thing for the Barcelona player who is still under contract and even negotiating a new one. A few years ago (OK maybe two years ago) I would have been thrilled with Ronaldinho but Milan’s shift toward a Brazilian starting eleven worries me as a fan of Italian soccer. Milan has always been a place for Italian players to show their stuff for a spot on the national team but soon the Milan boys will look like Inter who only starts one to two Italian players a week. I would hate to see the Italian foundation of Gattuso, Pirlo, Gila and Nesta lose playing time to make room for more Brazilians who take away valuable experience from Italians in the Seria A.
Happy to hear any comments or thoughts on my worries….
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Comments
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His skills might be declining a bit but Ronaldinho is still great and he would make Milan even better. If they can afford him without losing too many others I say they need to get him.
Posted from
United States
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Gianfranco, welcome to the Offside. I agree with you – having some international players, particularly the hugely talented Brazilians, is great, but at its core Milan is an Italian team, and I’m sure fans expect to see some of the many talented Italians when they go to see AC Milan.
Posted from
United States -
Welcome to the Offside, Gianfranco!
Posted from
United States -
Welcome from France and Toronto FC: If you ask me, Ronaldinho won’t leave Barca from now till the 2010 World Cup.
Posted from
Canada -
I agree with your concern, Gianfranco. Unlike Inter, Milan boasts some Italy’s best players and many national team caliber players. Sure, Inter have Materazzi and Grosso (this year) but little else. Milan have quite a few more.
However, it’s clear that Silvio is simply trying to pack in more star talent to get Milan better revenue in return. It’s hard to argue with that.
Of course, I think it would be wiser to upgrade the atmosphere at the Stadium and generate more game day revenue…like many English teams have done. For not being that far behind a Man U in operating revenues, Milan gets less than a third as much revenue from game day stadium earnings. It’s an untapped resource that all Italian teams, not just Milan, ignore.
If that means building a new state-of-the-art stadium, then so be it. Higher earnings on game-day from a better fan experience thru more secure comfort, better seating and more amenities would be a great example for others to follow and help take Serie A back to the top of world.
Posted from
United States -
John,
I agree with you about Berlusconi and his monetary bottom line, but at times he is afraid to make money. More often than not he neglects changes in house, such as a stadium upgrade, so that he can advance himself in his television product. Ronaldinho may not put many Italian butts in the seats but it will focus a ton of eyes on to his TV stations that show and sell rights to AC Milan games.
Posted from
United States -
[...] someone said a contract was close. We all know how I feel about him, and I don’t want him, even on my first day I gave him no love. I ripped into the has-been Brazilian. This team is not a Brazilian rest [...]
Posted from
United States
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