Thanks to an eight hour meeting today I didn’t get the pleasure of watching, game casting, or even following along on the blog. But once I saw the lineup I already got a little peeved, see for yourself, Dida; Zambrotta, Bonera, Antonini, Favalli; Gattuso, Emerson, Flamini, Kaka (Jankulovski 75); Inzaghi (Ronaldinho 71), Shevchenko (Pato 71). I guess Abbiati needs a break now and then and Emerson instead of the Uruguayans is great for the development of our young players. Kudos though to Emerson who made the most of the situation and supposedly played quite well, but the star of the show today was Kaka. He played well, created, and was responsible for the attack more often than not. A solid win, but not without problems, which we can now discuss…
Sheva – It is beginning to look more and like Sheva’s best days are behind him. I always hoped that he had a bad spurt at Chelsea and he would regain his form with Milan, but it doesn’t look like he is getting there yet, or anytime soon really. It’s to bad really, because he is and will always be a hero in the Red and Black.
Carletto – We talked about a bit the other day, but his ideas and views on young players are almost the polar opposite of his counterpart at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger. Carletto has absolutely no concept of the “give the youngsters a run” idea and as shown today would much rather give Emerson a run than either Cardaccio or Viudez. I don’t personally believe in this system, specifically because successful teams like Man United or even Inter are blending veterans and youth to win games and succeed. Why can’t Milan use their personnel to do the same? Cardaccio, Antonini, Pato, and even Borriello should be able to get solid minute’s game in and game out with the support they have around them.
I am satisfied with the win, but this is a season that begs for us to reload and take on the CL next year. Favalli, Emerson, and maybe even Pippo and Seedorf will probably not be with us next season in the same capacity so why not phase them out gradually to ready us for next season.
Sunday Milan will travel to Atalanta which has proved very unfriendly in the past two seasons yielding no points. To be considered a contender Atalanta will have to be beaten, and beaten comfortably. A one-nil win is fine for me, but it needs to the kind where Milan dominates possession, Abbiati is bored, and tghe Atalanta goal is littered with shots. I am anxious for the game to say the least.
My lineup: Abbiati, Zambro, Nesta, Paolo, Janks, Rino, Seedorf, Ambro, Dinho, Borriello, Pato.