First 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….