A dream called Kaka

Kaka with Robinho

Many years ago, when I saw a young Brazilian glide through the midfield with magical pace and divine elegance, I realized that football is truly the beautiful game. Kaka is one of those forwards who makes attacking football a joy to behold. No tricks, no flips, no crossovers. Nothing fancy. Just sheer pace, finesse and class.

Kaka possesses a demi-god status at Milan, a cult icon. Tears were shed, hearts broken and windows were smashed when he nearly boarded the plane to Manchester. And now we hear of his return just a season after he left for the Madrid life. This is exciting news for a chap like me who would love to see his favorite player combine once again with his favorite team. But with experience comes maturity and maturity dictates that football's practicality often kills the spirit of romance.

Berlusconi intended to replace Kaka with a bunny named Ronaldinho. The latter has performed admirably well since Leonardo but he is nowhere near the standard Kaka once stood at. We didn't get a chance to miss Kaka as Ronaldinho stepped up to the challenge of the creative force in attack, settling in comfortably. Crafty as he might be, he isn't nearly as elegant as the Sao Paolo star. Kaka hasn't quite cut it at Madrid with the mercurial Ronaldo predictably steering the limelight in his direction. Madrid have complained that Milan sold them an injured Kaka. Hello, medical tests aren't a formality. Aly Cissokho will testify to that. Perez intends to gift wrap the Brazilian and send him packing back to Italy with Galliani dwelling on the possibility. Is this a move for the better?

Ronaldinho runs out of contract end of this season and he is refusing to take a pay-cut. MLS is knocking on the door with bags of money which Ronaldinho is already sniffing, albeit pretentiously. He has avoided talk of contract extensions in the media. If he leaves, we need a world class trequartista to replace him. Frankly, few are better than Kaka. There are a couple of other options though who I would love in Rossoneri colors. Yoann Gourcuff, Antonio Cassano and Diego. None of these will come cheap but will provide us with greater endurance and assurance than Kaka will. Kaka's dodgy knees have him shackled and has pretty much stamped him out of returning to his previous lofty standards. Then is it worth it?

Kaka will inject pace in the attack, but he won't possess the vision and creativity or the guile of Ronaldinho. Moreover, Pato and Kaka are similar in many ways and will inevitably run into each other. There are also questions of how Ibrahimovic would combine with Kaka. All these forwards love the ball at their feet. Kaka also brings with him injury concerns. Milan already have their hands full with Pato. Kaka will become an additional liability. The likes of Cassano and Gourcuff are likely to demand lesser wages which would please Galliani, who is trying to tighten the purse strings. That being said, Kaka will win Berlusconi the brownie points with the Curva Sud and the Ultras. This signing will also act as the cherry on the cake called Ibrahimovic, given the elections are just around the corner.

But as much as it is a dream to see him don the legendary red and black again, this move hampers us on the pitch and in the bank. Kaka continues to be vulnerable to the odd injury and its in games like these where we would need depth. There are other areas, particularly in defense that need immediate attention. Also Ronaldinho brings with him an element of consistency. This page is missing in Kaka's book currently. Thus, it appears that Kaka to Milan under current circumstances is not favorable to the Indian population. Allegri need not be bothered in attack for sometime now. I wish Kaka the very best and wish he succeeds at the clubs he goes to. But facts, stats and intuition indicate that the club isn't AC Milan.