learn the lesson

Gennaro Ivan Gattuso

Milan 1 Genoa 0

There was talk of Pirlo and Seedorf being mentally tired after playing a string of games. One of them was to be rested ahead of this game and that happened to be Seedorf. Robinho was handed his first start at the club. Rafinha being playing on the right hand side of the 3 man Genoa midfield was rather surprising because I had always thought of the Brazilian as a right back.

The home side started brightly. It appeared that the players were high on Red Bull. They were running after the ball frantically, with the forwards too covering yards of grass. The front three were rotating as Ibrahimovic was often spotted on the left and sometimes in the centre with Ronaldinho playing down the middle. Gattuso was bursting in from the midfield, often lending a 'leg' to the attack. His commitment and output is maddening given his age. When he is on the pitch, he gives a 100% with no questions asked. I have never seen Gattuso performing this role for Milan previously. Arguably, this is a refreshing change of the Allegri era. In the first half, there were disturbingly high amounts of solo play up front. There wasn't sufficient passing in the opposition box and the Genoa defense had no trouble stealing the ball. Ibrahimovic and Ronaldinho were very poor in the first half. They rarely got involved in the game and posed a minimal threat to the Genoa back-line.

Gattuso's inspirational performance carried into the second half. Ibrahimovic doesn't need to have a good game to score and he shows why again. Pirlo's splendid long ball was well read by the long Swede who finished in style to give the Rossoneri the lead. After scoring this goal, Milan sat back and invited Genoa into their half. This was a dangerous tactic to employ which has resulted in dropped points for Allegri over the last few games. Yet, the lesson hasn't been learned. A stupid move from Gasperini caught my eye as he hooked Veloso for Milanetto. Veloso was the crux of creativity for the away side and with him gone, Genoa went flat. Their midfield was redundant and there was no play-maker in the side. Gasperini has the squad but lacks the brains and should face the sack soon. Pirlo improved his performance in the second half. He was busy intercepting the passes and sending in the killer balls.Ibrahimovic performed his duties as a target man effectively for the rest of the game holding off defenders and earning free-kicks. Robinho was bright throughout the game and unfortunately missed out on opening his account for the club due to Criscito's goal line clearance.

We can't afford to score a goal, sit back and defend like the good ol' days. We don't have the midfield or the defense to compliment such a style. Our fullbacks were surprisingly competent today. But that wont be the case every week. Abate can't defend to save his life and there were times in the game where others had to clean up his mess. There is a strong need to score that second goal and finish the game. Bag the points and get going. Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena next. Learn the lesson boys, you got 3 days.

Milan - Ibrahimovic 49'
Genoa - /

ronnie's cavanda nightmare

Luis Cavanda

Lazio 1 Milan 1

With Boatang impressing in the two games he has played, his name was going to be the first on the team sheet along with the likes of Pirlo, Ronaldinho and Ibrahimovic. This, even if the irreplaceable trinity have reduced their playing standards remarkable off late. However Boatang has secured a place in this side on merit and looks to hold on to it. Allegri had to change the system, try something new. So he pushed Boatang into the front three with Pato being injured and Robinho lacking match fitness. He asked the Ghanaian to play in the hole and drift to the right when needed. Therefore the 4-3-1-2 could become a flexible 4-3-3. Abate was preferred to Bonera at right back. This indicated an attacking intent from the back from the coach with a compromise on defense. This probably backfired on him in the end as it was due to Abate's cramp in the opposition half that created space for Hernanes to cross from the left. Gattuso was given the task of shutting down Christian Ledesma, but the South American easily shrugged off challenges from the Italian. However, Gattuso worked his socks off and that limited Ledesma's effect from midfield. What was interesting to note was that young Cavanda was given the task of marking Ronaldinho; a mighty task for a kid who was given his first full debut for the club. He performed his duties admirably and also bombed forward causing Abate a cause for concern at times.

Allegri knew that he had to get his act in place so his team hit the ball running. However, the approach was rushed and not characteristically composed. The Milan machine was not clicking. Hernanes came into his own. He was one of the few players who was double-teamed at times. Lazio adopted the tradition Calcio method of sitting back and drawing Milan into their half before hitting them on the counter. Lazio however were more threatening in attack. Mauri was incredibly denied by Abbiati as the veteran shot out his foot to save a certain goal. Cavanda kept Ronaldinho very quiet. The Brazilian was contributing but only in spurts. Milan's passing usually involved the long range passes which is testament of the fact that the distance between the midfield and the attack is large. This was effectively utilized by Lazio as they concentrated their midfield with 5 men. They continuously intercepted the balls in midfield and constructed the counters from the recovered possession. Brocchi has been re-invented as a holding midfield and was performing surprisingly well. He was full of energy, even for his age. It took more than an hour to break the deadlock as Ibrahimovic broke the offside trap to score a scrappy goal. As mentioned earlier, Lazio didn't take long to respond as they continued play after Abate went down with a cramp to score the equalizer. Zambrotta almost won the game in the end with a shot from distance that rattled the crossbar. The game ended in a draw, perhaps deservedly so.

Genoa next. The fixtures only get harder. But performances of the players and the team are deteriorating at an alarming rate. Ronaldinho is having a miserable season already and my bias might be kicking in. But with his work rate and effort, we aren't going to win many games since this season as he is such a key cog in Allegri's set up. We need Robinho to hit match fitness and Pato back on the pitch to mount a realistic challenge. Soon.

Milan - Ibrahimovic 66'
Lazio - Floccari 81'

elephants can defend

Kevin Prince Boatang

Milan 1 Catania 1

Catania knew how to approach the game from the beginning. It's never rocket science in Italy for a small team whilst facing a giant. Sit and hit. Milan however intended to attack Catania and played a high line of defense. This made us susceptible to getting caught on the counter. We weren't going to have several clear chances in the game. Therefore Inzaghi's miss was going to come back and bite us on the behind. Allegri's fascination with the 4-3-3 had pushed Zlatan out wide, a position in which he was wasted. Catania organized themselves very well and were defending deep. Our midfield was certain to be run over by the elephants with Boatang and Seedorf pushing up to assist the attack. Catania started to use possession well at times pushing Milan players into their own half. The goal wasn't a product of any such build up play though. It came from a wonder-strike from Catania's left back. As expected Catania were running though our midfield with us providing little or no resistance. Asking Pirlo to hold back these players was like asking a badger to stand up to an army of elephants. Catania had 6 shots on target while Milan had none, with 35 minutes of the game being played. This should give us a fair understanding of the direction of play. Marco Giampaolo knew his tactics; he had two defenders on Ronaldinho at all times. This limited his service and also choked creativity in the final third. Allegri didn't have a lot to choose from with a bench comprising of Zambrotta, Sokratis, Yepes, Gattuso, Abate, Oduamadi. Catania overdid their trick of playing Inzaghi offside when he finally beat the trap to secure the equalizer. This resulted in Ibrahimovic moving from the wing to the centre which turned out to be a bad move as Ibrahimovic and Inzaghi started running into each other. Boatang then covered the right side of midfield, his engine running over-time. Boatang has brought some much needed energy, enthusiasm and strength to the aging, static midfield. His passing is admirable too.

Catania might have had the better share of attack in the first half but Milan came into their own in the second half. AC Milan fullbacks transformed into wingbacks to drive the attack from the wings. Bonera's crossing is atrocious for a right back. All he does going forward is loop in hopeful balls. This was Ibrahimovic's first disappointing game in a Milan shirt. The only positive of the game was a marked improvement by Milan in the second half. Ronaldinho wasn't finding space out wide and drifted into the centre midway through the second half. He therefore brought with him the two tracking defenders to the centre, congesting the midfield and thereby making it harder for Pirlo and Seedorf to find space. Catania played for a draw and succeeded.

Catania, fondly known as Gli Elefanti, were solid at the back. They enjoyed a dream season last year and with performances like this, the dream is likely to last longer than expected. Maxi Lopez has matured into a sharp striker after moving from Spain. Jorge Martinez doesn't feel missed by the Etnei anymore, or so it appears. Milan and Allegri now return to the drawing board.

Catania - Capuano 27'
Milan - Inzaghi 45'

rebuilding the fortress

Kevin Prince Boatang

Milan 2 Auxerre 0

Call me unconventional. Because I am. Most people would look at the game between Milan and Auxerre and credit Ronaldinho or Ibrahimovic. I am going to think differently and credit a certain Kevin Prince Boatang. This player is the 'dynamic midfielder' Allegri had asked for. It took an injury to Massimo Ambrosini for the introduction of Boatang. For the first time since December 2007, the stars in the sky had constructed a favorable constellation above the Meazza to appease the titans of Milan.

AC Milan were still surfacing from the Cesena hangover of the weekend. They were rusty with their passing, casual in possession and coolly gifted the French side chance after chance to break the deadlock in the first 15 minutes. The combined age of the Milan midfield prior to Boatang's introduction was 98 years. It sounds like a fossil was crumbling in the fashion capital of Italy. Rightly so, the midfield was static and easily being over-ridden by the visitors. Nesta isn't quite the defender he used to be and I don't value him as a lifeline anymore. He defends just as bad and this is his second torrid outing of the season already. He was used as a springboard on one occasion by an opposition defender, during a set piece to get the header on target. Fortunately for Nesta, the header hit the crossbar. AC Milan were taking the whole half to get started. The wingers were being stifled for space and they were often drifting in to find room. Ronaldinho was remarkably poor in the first half. His passing and set pieces were average at best. Someway through the half, Auxerre had a superb chance to open the deadlock but the fullback went for glory instead of simply squaring the ball to an open player. Milan were lacking legs in midfield. By this time Boatang was already introduced into the game and was beginning to show flashes of quality. The first half ended with the front three putting in very indifferent performances. The team were sloppy and looked lost on the pitch. Allegri had to stir the dressing room. Going by Seedorf's praises, I reckon he did.

Clarence Seedorf was one of the few players who played poorly in the second half as well. His delivery into the box was alarmingly poor, with the ball tender running towards the crowd to collect the ball that was intended to be a cross. Nearly 20 minutes into the first half, Milan opened the scoring. Ronaldinho's cross into the box, a smart flick by Boatang and Ibrahimovic scores his first goal in the 'most beautiful shirt he has ever worn'. Ambrosini would never have found himself in the position that Boatang did. He has a footballing brain, Kevin. And we definitely need more of that given Allegri starts Ambrosini and Gattuso. Not much later, on the counter now, Milan and Ibra score their second. A peach of a finish by the big Swede, his goal greeted with a roar I haven't heard in years. The fortress is being rebuilt. Milan seemed content to pass the ball at the back. Its not surprising that Milan's best passers were the back 4, who kept knocking the ball around. This statistically speaking, by the way. Even though Bonera and Nesta were nowhere close to their best individually, they collectively held the line of defense beautifully, often deceiving the Auxerre attackers into an offside trap. One player who showed a marked improvement in the 2nd half was Ronaldinho. His passing and movement was top-drawer and he had a hand in both the goals. He could have secured more assists but wasteful finishing in front of goal kept his tally at a believable number.

Boatang for me was the man of the match. He ran his heart out. He is the box-box player Milan have been craving about. He is fast, physical, tireless, strong and gets into scoring positions in the box, in the absence of the striker. He did that a couple of times when Ibrahimovic was caught out wide. Ambrosini has been ruled out for the next 3 weeks. Kevin has the perfect opportunity to make that role his, and deservedly so. His opponents aren't particularly challenging, therefore its in his hands. The coach likes him. The question is, will he repay the faith?

Milan - Ibrahimovic 63', 66'

Auxerre - /

glamorized deception

Adriano Galliani

2 days before the transfer market shut, we were written off as a team that would be lucky to finish in the top 4. Our fortunes in the Champions League were already questioned and discussion boards were set up to speculate how long Allegri will last on the bench.

Galliani then pulls out a rabbit (or two) from his hat and in a cloud of smoke, appear Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho. Now to be absolutely honest, I was certain that one of these players would arrive. Braida had already established a deal with City for Robinho but the first preference was always going to be Zlatan. While discussing these transfers with my friend, he suggested that in the ideal world, we would get both of them. Whoever doesn't believe in the ideal world concept, its time to believe.

Zlatan has been signed on a one year loan deal with the obligation to buy him for 24 million euros over the next years, with an annual installment of 8 million euros. Robinho was purchased for 18 million euros with the potential fee rising to 21 million euros. Zlatan would be earning 9 million euros an annum making him the highest paid footballer in Italy.

Funnily, after the arrival of these players, Milan suddenly become a favorite for the Scudetto and a hot contender in Europe. Were we short of just 2 exceptional players from becoming one of the strongest teams in Europe? I think not.

With their arrival, we have definitely increased our depth in attack. We probably have the most potent attack in Europe, on paper. Key words there are on paper. But our midfield is aging at a pace that even defies time. Ambrosini, Gattuso, Seedorf and Pirlo are way past their prime and still form a part of the core of this team. They have lost their legs in a phase when speed is gaining importance in most leagues; Serie A included. And since most games are won and lost in the midfield, we start every game with a disadvantage. We have one of the weakest midfields among Europe's elite. If our midfield gets run over, the forwards would need to drop deep to collect the ball and therefore reduces their probability of scoring as they would have to cover ground before getting into shooting positions. Moving on to our defense, Silva and Nesta form a rigorous defense that isn't easy to breach. But our options after Nesta gets inevitably injured are Sokratis and Yepes.Enough said. Our fullbacks are our biggest problem. Abate, Antonini, Zambrotta, Bonera, Oddo and Jankulovski wouldn't start for most of Serie A's clubs. However they still find room in the roster at Milan. If our opposition prefers to play wide, be sure of a mauling.

These signings have glamorized our attack and abruptly over-rated the side. Coming to the tactical set-up, we have 4 highly rated forwards who need to be kept happy. So the obvious way of doing that is by playing a 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-2-2. In both these cases, all 4 would play. And in both these cases, we will have only 2 midfielders. Our midfield is already weak with a three man central-midfield. One could only imagine how dire the situation would be with just 2 in the centre. We also must remember that the 4 forwards aren't renowned for their work rate. Therefore they won't do the dirty work to help the midfield. The two midfielders would therefore need to cover the flanks as well, leaving them open in the centre. So both these formations are rather, suicidal.

Coming to the coach, Allegri has had only 3 seasons in the Serie A. He would be managing his first Champions League game later tonight. He needs to deal with the egos of 4 egoistic forwards. It is safe to throw in Inzaghi into that mix making it 5 egoistic players. Ok, but what about Gattuso - who still thinks he is the world's best holding midfielder, or Seedorf - who thinks he merits a start ahead of Boatang and Flamini, or Oddo - who is living in the early part of this decade, or for that matter Ambrosini, who has no credibility but seniority? That's 9 of them and am sure there are more. Allegri is a top tactician, one of the finest in the peninsula. But his player management skills would be substantially tested this season. His success at the club would be dependent on how he manages the dressing room.

Therefore, its safe to conclude that we haven't changed as much as people would like to believe. We are still in the stone age but have recently gathered some fur to cover our waist. But it will take us awhile before we are lavishly clothed like Barcelona or Chelsea.

19 years

Emanuele Giaccherini

Cesena 2 Milan 0

When I read that a speedy winger called Emanuele Giaccherini made Ranieri sweat at the Olimpicio, I thought to myself. 'This must be among those one game wonders. Cesena's team valuation isn't as much as Zlatan's annual salary! Zlatan would single handedly devour this tiny side.' How wrong was I.

There was a level of expectancy on the Milanese players after the demolition of Lecce the previous week. Allegri must have been under pressure to travel to Cesena and stamp his authority upon another minnow. Perhaps this was the reason AC Milan were rushing into the inviting Cesena defense, only to be exposed at the back. There was no rationale whatsoever to Milan's attacking ploy. Cesena did what was asked of them. They put 9 men behind the ball and played a 4-3-3 matching Milan, man for man. Ronaldinho made one contribution in the entire game and that was to force Antonioli into making a save in the opening minutes of the game. Ibrahimovic was making a positive impression as the target man and also played the trequartista at times. He was a sight to sore eyes as he brushed past defenders and laying the ball to others, reading even Gattuso's runs. Gattuso was given the role of making the surging runs from midfield. Evidently, that didn't suit him. He neither has the legs nor the footballing intelligence required for this role as it was clear for the time that he lasted. Contrary to the flow of play, it was Cesena who took the lead. This move was largely controlled by Giaccherini and finished by a much improved Bogdani. Sokratis did a Kaladze on this goal. He wasn't marking the target man in the box and tried to clear hysterically. Those who are critics of this kid will have been given enough ammunition for a few weeks at least. Our defense was rather shaky. Silva and Papa continued to make mistakes that would account for a season in any other top club. Pato was easily the liveliest player in the first half. His attitude remains in question. He tries to finish whenever he gets close to the box; sometimes his efforts spectacularly ridiculous. There might be other players in the box who need to considered, now more than ever before. Bogdani was bossing Papa around. This isn't encouraging as Papa's game revolves around his physical strength. If players like Bogdani can shove him about like a stick, we have a problem. Cesena continued to threaten and finally hit us again. The format was no different as it was a counter-attacking move. Giaccherini was found on the left and he outran the defense to slot the goal past Abbiati. 2-0 to the home side with the crowd of a few thousands roaring like they were a million. It must be duly noted that Sokratis was at fault, again.

In the second half, Allegri brought on Robinho to provide more fluidity in attack. However Robinho was forced to play deep by the full back and the right sided midfielder. Players on the wing started to stifle our wingers and Ibrahimovic had to deal with the central players. He was often boxed and found it hard to locate players. He still held the ball superbly. We lost the game in the midfield and this was surely because of the choice of our midfield. Ambrosini, Pirlo and Gattuso are clearly past their expiry date and can't cut the cake against even the bottom tier teams. Inzaghi was introduced in an all out attack. Ibrahmovic found more space and his link up with Pippo was entertaining. The effects of this partnership was beginning to bear fruit and culminated in a penalty as Inzaghi was brought down in the box. Zlatan hit the bar with his penalty, breaking his record of scoring on his debut with every club that he has played for. Abbiati was involved in a goal-line clearance. That would have been rubbing salt on injury. Cesena have waited 19 years to return to the Serie A. Their return has been nothing short of impressive.

Auxerre next. Allegri's first Champions League experience. After the humbling experience at the weekend, he and his boys would have had a reality check. There legs firmly grounded, they would take no prisoners midweek. Here's hoping for an enthralling clash.

Cesena - Bogdani 31', Giaccherini 44'
Milan -/

kill pirlo, kill milan

Pato

Milan 4 Lecce 0

Traditionally, I would expect this game to be a grind. AC Milan to sweat it out and a striker to finally come off the bench and score a wonder goal. This season though, it appears that Milan will be a different animal. With the arrivals of Ibrahimovic and Robinho, we could become a different monster. I say that because so far we have resembled a mutated ape jumping tree tops without limbs. It's appeasing to watch Milan play, at last. Pun intended.

Lecce entered this fixture with the intent of playing bravely. I would say the approach was brave, but it also was stupid. You don't stand in the way of an oncoming Bugatti Veyron to display bravery, do you? Lecce did something similar. Initially the game was very open. End to end football reminding me of the distasteful Premier League. We were pushing forward with all 10 outfield players getting involved in the attack. Silva threatened with a 35 metre bullet. Pato scored Allegri's first official goal as Milan manager. This was scored from a tight angle. Pato has been working on his finishing and this finish would have made any striker proud. Borriello on the other hand, was the parody. He didn't show any resemblance of a striker and hardly got into the right positions. If not anything else, he has justified the arrival of Ibra. Silva scored Milan's second of the night. It was scrappy goal indeed, but I am not one to care, really. It was soon becoming embarrassing for Lecce as Ronaldinho's superb pass found Pato who turned the keeper to score Milan's third. Pirlo also was getting his passes right and was spraying the balls beautifully. On days like this, he is the best midfielder in the world. His pass to Seedorf was a class-apart but it seems the Dutchman is comfortably with scoring from distance whilst scoring from 3 yards out isn't as easy a feat. I was just beginning to believe that Pato has finally cured his finishing woes but some lazy play on his part post the brace convinced me against it.

Ronaldinho was easily Milan's best player. He was unplayable in both halves. But given how open Lecce were, that is hardly saying anything. In the second half, Milan began to take their foot off the pedal. Chevanton was brought on to introduce some bite in the attack. His experience was actually coming through as he tested Milan's defense considerably. He also came close to scoring a goal as his angled shot kissed the outside of the bar. Inzaghi wrapped up the game by scoring the fourth. He was fortunate on the goal as he shot straight at the keeper with the ball deflecting into the back of the net.

Lecce made several tactical errors. The biggest arguably is giving Pirlo all the time and space in the world to dominate the midfield. Andrea Pirlo is no longer the player he once was. All that needed to be done was to mark him and give him little or no time on the ball. If he was hustled, he would have fumbled and lost the ball in the midfield. Milan run short of creativity if Pirlo is choked. That has been fairly obvious for awhile now. And what usually happens in such cases is Ronaldinho is burdened with creating play and providing assists; a task he isn't capable of performing any more. Several big teams have adopted this tactic and bottled Milan. Since Lecce didn't do their homework, I am not going to read too much into this result. However,one of the bright spots in the game was Ronaldinho's improved work rate. There were a couple of notable occasions where Ronaldinho dropped deep to defend and also successfully stole the ball to launch a counter. Change has arrived.


AC Milan - Pato (16' 28'), Silva (23'), Inzaghi (90')
Lecce - /

enter the dragon's den

Flavio Roma

Barcelona 1 Milan 1

A friendly at the Nou Camp, just days before the start of the new season would be absurdity. Especially not when the gaffer is young, relatively inexperienced and is asked to face arguably the world's best side with a bunch of kids and have-beens. But decisions like these aren't alien to the management at Milan.

Barcelona took the pitch like worthy champions. A video montage of Ronaldinho was displayed in tribute to the former Bluagrana hero. It was a touching moment for the star who then failed to touch the ball for the rest of the game. As the game started, Barcelona adopted their typical closing-down game when they didn't have the ball, giving Milan no time to think. The away team players were running around frantically losing the ball the moment they received it. They were clearly petrified. The difference in tempo between the two sides was alarming. AC Milan appeared to be playing in slow motion when compared to the home team. With Bonera being given the role of right back and Villa attacking from the left, I was expecting the world's best striker to score a hatrick, at least. I am not convinced by Kevin Prince Boatang and his performance gave me no reason to alter my thinking. He was atrocious, simply put. As expected Barcelona's attack showered from the left. New Milan superstar Zlatan scored with an acrobatic finish; this was to be his last goal for Barcelona and the goal was called offside as the defense were smart to play him offside. Milan's direct football strategy was painfully predictable as the defenders of Barcelona were reading the play comfortably. Huntelaar had the chance to redeem some pride on the counter, but he drifts into the centre allowing the ball to be stolen leaving him bracing his blushes.

Abate replaced Bonera at half time. If Bonera is a bad defender, Abate isn't even a defender. So the result was obvious. Abate gets skinned on his side and the ball is sent into the box with Villa recording the first goal of the game. The youth players of Barcelona were putting up a good show. They continued to steal the ball and constructed some meaningful attacking play. Coming back to Ronaldinho, his performance wouldn't have left any fan of the club wondering why they sold him. The Nou Camp haunts him, evidently. Guardiola brought in the heavy artillery in the second half with the big boys entering the field. Now, it became a question of how much Barcelona won by. As funny as the game can get, it was Milan who scored. Inzaghi, with an absolute beauty which silenced the crowd. The disbelief on his face showed how genuine the attempt to score the goal was. In Barcelona, against Barcelona, I'll take a goal, cometh in any form. Ronaldinho was eventually subbed and received a stupendous response from the crowd. Many reckon it was a mark of respect. I feel the crowd were cheering for the sorrow of watching him play had ended. Going by the performances, Kevin Prince also deserved a standing ovation. Flavio Roma put in a cameo in this game. To my surprise, he actually dedicated a merited performance. From pulling of a superb save of Messi from a free-kick to saving us from getting mauled at the hands of hungry Catalans, Roma did make the minds of the Milan fans tick. Is he worthy of donning the gloves if Abbiati is injured? The sun might not set one particular evening, but Christian Abbiati having an injury free season is completely beyond reality. Well, we shall see how high Allegri places him in the pecking order. Allegri then gave our kids a run-out. They were just getting into their groove when time ran out. Messi did little, but he didn't have too much riding on him anyway. The rest of his team also didn't put in a vintage performance. It gave me the idea that friendlies are globally understood to be a waste of time and a run in the park. The only difference is you run with the ball at your feet. This result disappointed me, but in a good way. I must mention that Barcelona won the game by beating us on penalties. Gamper trophy is yours boys. I'd gladly take Ibrahimovic instead.