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.

trofeo tim

Alessandro Nesta

Milan 1 Juventus 1

We set out to play a team that has gone through something of a revolution. Guess what? They are not yet done. It's quite surprising that the Agnelli family would spend millions for a man who secured Champions League qualification with a mid-table club. Unlike Madrid, where logic has taken a backseat and business happens at a mentally retarded scale, transfers at Turin are meaningful yet shocking given the status of Italian clubs at the moment. Were Juventus very different from the old? No. But nor were we. Our biggest problem still remains our inability to handle set pieces and high balls. Abate was pushed into right back, a position he simply isn't qualified to play at. AC Milan's two worst forwards were forming the front line in Oduamadi and Borriello. I don't think it could get much worse than that. Juventus had to win to stay in the competition and this was reflected with their drive and determination. They were more willing to attack and press forward. Juventus continued to see more of the ball and found greater space in Milan's half. 4-3-3 isn't a formation that suits Milan because the players aren't fluid enough. Unlike at Barcelona where players run around like their pants are on fire, Milan players play in a zonal fashion. Amelia displayed some of his net-minding skills as he produced a one handed top drawer save from Diego. Contrary to the domination, Milan opened the scoring as Oduamadi found an unmarked Ronaldinho who scored from a tight angle that would make Diego Milito proud. As it was inevitable, Juventus drew their quality together as they cut right across the defense with Diego using his momentum to help his shot into the back of the net. 1-1. Nesta was fantastic and if he plays like this for the rest of the season, he could be strictly considered as the best defender in the world. However, he couldn't cover for 4 defenders. Especially not when your partner is called Bonera and thinks defending is all about letting the striker get past you. Amelia also had a phenomenal game as he came through in the penalties to set up a final of sorts against Inter.

Inter 0 Milan 0

Milan had to face Inter after defeating Juventus on penalties. Rafa decided to mock Allegri's intelligence by setting out a very young, new look Inter side. Or was he mocking Milan? Inzaghi was in the midst of the action as he hit the bar and was running his socks off. His movement was something of a concern for the Inter defense as well. Inzaghi dropped deep to get the ball while Huntelaar was deprived of service. This game was one of the worst I must have seen in a long time. The players are just keen on knocking the ball around without purpose. It seemed like the players wanted to open the champagne bottle once the whistle was blown and the players couldn't be less bothered to shower. So the lack of effort was perhaps a way to stay fresh to nab young Italian women after the game. Or this is just my imagination working overtime as a result of the boredom. Sokritis and Yepes who are our second choice defensive pairing are solid and effective and this should keep Bonera and Kaladze far away from first team. The game ended in a penalty shootout. We could have won it if not for Ronaldinho's cheeky penalty which Allegri didn't seem too pleased about.

green greece

Sokratis Papastathopoulos

Milan o Panathiakos 0

Having played a few friendlies both these teams seem to be in good shape. Pato was forced off due to injury early on and this made Allegri bring on a much despised player, Oduamadi. This Greek team went on to beat Inter in the pre-season so they aren't to be mocked. Nesta couldn't handle pace of the forwards and was getting skinned all to often. Professional fouls were his way of dealing with the pace. The pitch in Michigan was heavily covered with grass causing static play and reduced fluidity. Borriello and Antonini were trying too hard to impress their unjustified call-ups. One of the Primevera players that I would have liked to have seen more consistently over this period was Beretta. However, Oduamadi seems to get picked consistently; a selection that somehow doesn't make any sense. Gattuso is another of the calamities in this remarkably slow Milan side. When faced with a quick team, Gattuso tends to defend from a distance. Ninis, Leto and Cisse were running wild and our dilapidated defense was having a tough time keeping up. Merkel was playing behind the strikers. He has impressed in all positions in the midfield save this one. He didn't have the maturity or the composure to handle the responsibilities of this position and seems to enjoy playing a bit deeper, getting involved in defensive work as well. Verdi however, seems like a better fit. He seems to have an edge in terms of creativity and finishing. Seedorf is thriving in the newly-assigned deeper role. He doesn't need to work too hard or be too quick, which suits a player of his age. Perhaps, we have found the man to replace Pirlo without losing the creative element from midfield. Sokratis was brought on and he did make a big difference. He was fast and robust. Cisse found it a lot harder against him. Yepes and Sokratis form a strong partnership at the back. Neither are elegant but they will do the job. Sokratis, if he continues to perform like this could make it hard for Nesta over the season. Also, we needn't fret over Nesta's injury situation. There isn't a Favalli to haunt us. The replacements are perhaps as good if not better than those used in the main team.

emirates cup

Alexander Merkel


Arsenal 1 Milan 1

Playing against the Gunners is never easy, especially when there is a shocking lack of pace and quality. Arsenal approached the game fearlessly. Milan played the 4-3-1-2 which made them concentrate the play through the middle. Arsenal used the wings and stretched our central midfield which enabled them to override us in the centre as well. Gibbs was running wild down the left leaving the new Greek defender dazed. AC Milan were adopting a direct form of attack but they the midfielders rarely found the forwards. Borriello was highly ineffective and this game showed us why we need a Dzeko. Borriello is as slow as an old Russian tank and lacks the technical or physical quality to play against top oppositions. Sokritis, who clearly has left his form behind in South Africa lost the ball before Gattuso was comfortably shrugged off by Arshavin in the build up to the goal. I wasn't the least bit impressed by Sokritis; he dribbles with the ball when he isn't skilled enough to do so. Being a defender, his job is to clear the ball, which he doesn't like to do. Allegri realized something wasn't working and introduced Berretta and Merkel by withdrawing Borriello and Gattuso. This made Seedorf drop deeper and Milan seemed to adopt a traditional 4-4-2. The only area of the pitch Milan could hold possession was in the defense. After having scored the goal, Arsenal didn't try too hard to defend from the front. Pato finally levelled the scores with a header which gave the team a renewed sense of confidence. Oddo then replaced Pato to my amazement. Merkel was the stimulus in the midfield. He was so much more dynamic compared to the sluggish Gattuso, linking the midfield with the attack and seting up Zambrotta for the winner but the veteran hit the bar. Yepes on the other hand wasn't solid. He was assigned to man mark Vermaelen on set pieces but consistently lost his man, causing the ex-Ajax defender to be a threat from set pieces. On one particular occasion, he totally mistimed a sliding tackle isolating Abbiati to come up with a stunning save. If not for Abbiati, people's predictions would have come true.

Arsenal - Chamakh 36'
Milan - Pato 76'

Milan 1 Lyon 1

Lyon had taken notes from the earlier game and decided to come out firing all cylinders at Milan from the word go. Milan were heavily relying on Merkel and Verdi to deliver up front. Merkel has been the player of the tournament from Milan's perspective, at least for me. A lot has been said about Verdi and Strasser, but Merkel is one missing piece in our midfield and is doing all he can to fit in. He is doing a fine job of it, might I add. Seedorf played in an unusual deep role and Borriello played deeper than usual. This resulted in our attack breaking down in the final third. Our passing was woeful in the first half, we could barely hold on to the ball. Verdi was being played out of position and was therefore struggling. He missed a glorious chance early on. Borriello finally scored! Verdi brushes off the poor form to set up Borriello who nearly misses. A magnificent, patient build up resulted in the goal. Milan resembled Argentina of 2006 in those couple of minutes of possession. Briand, who was always a threat, got explosive in the second half after Oddo's introduction. Oddo's sheer lack of pace, positioning, or defensive understanding gave the former Rennes man plenty of space to unleash his pace and attacking prowess. How Oddo manages to make the first team baffles a whole contingent of fans, not just me. Going by the evidence of the Emerites Cup, we will be at the receiving end of 4-0 scorelines against high quality counter attacking oppositions. Truth be said, Lyon should have put this game to bed by half time. But so poor were they in attack that Milan were up by a goal to nil at the break! Lyon finally scored and the great Oddo be thanked for leaving Briand open on the cross by wildly, lazily swinging his leg at the crossed ball instead of committing to the challenge. Allegri has realized the team's vulnerability against counter attacks and has insisted he needs a dynamic midfielder who can help in attack and run back in defense. Whether he gets that player or not, he decided to take the concern of Milan's vulnerability to the press. Gutsy bloke. Thankfully, there's a start. Friday, we play Panathinaikos. Until then, godspeed.

Milan - Borriello 55'
Lyon - Briand 78'

allegri starts

Massimiliano Allegri


Varese 2 Milan 0

Allegri had the boys for only 3 days or so. Therefore, to expect the team to come firing all cylinders would have been unrealistic. Last season, we played Varese and had beaten them. So we were probably hoping for the same result. Nonetheless, so pale did we appear on the pitch that last season's performance and victory only becomes a hazy memory. For 90 minutes, we the fans were made to endure Milan's worst performance in recent times. Agreed this is only a practise match, but it isn't wrong to ask professionals to take it seriously.

Allegri lined up an ugly defense to start with. Jankulovski, Oddo, Kaladze and Bonera. When this team took to the pitch, one thing was rather clear. We are walking out of this with our heads held low. The choice of defense was rather shocking and lack of pace was clearly visible. Varese's forwards were going to have a heyday. And as the game progressed, they did. Allegri has brought back the 4-3-1-2 formation to Milan. This is the return of the trequartista, which has brought great success to Milan in the past. However, it must be noted that the teams that succeeded would put this one to shame. Many first choice players were missing from the starting line up. Pirlo was spotted on the bench with his evergreen locks. Borriello had a new look to sport. Oddo looked jaded from the 2nd minute. So, the fortunes of this defense were already written and it came to pass when Varese scored the opening goal. The ball was sent in from the wing which cut across the defense resulting in a traditional finish. It reminded me of Leonardo's infamous days. Kaladze then blindly passes, runs back to cover for his mistake and is easily faked as the forward scores the home side's second. Seedorf, who was playing in the hole, was as fast as a 35 year old is expected to be. As a result, he was consistently closed down by 2-3 players, resulting in him losing possession. The home side did a good job therefore of choking the creativity begging Pato to come deeper to collect the ball. The team played very wide for a formation that is meant to be narrow. This resulted in Varese drilling crater-sized holes in our defense passing the ball around comfortably. Aged and short of agility, the defenders couldn't react in time and were often caught out for pace. Bonera has been taking notes from Van Bommel and was putting it to good effect as this was just a friendly. Oddo who played as a wingback is clearly not suited for the role anymore. A wingback should have oodles of pace and crossing should be top notch. Not only does this veteran run in slow motion, but his crossing was often terrible. He should be asked to stay back as he was simply jogging back into position whenever he lost the ball. Whilst playing against a counter attacking side, I'd rather take Abate for this role because the lad oozes with pace and is one of the most committed players in the team, even though he evidently lacks the quality at this level.

In the second half, the coach made a number of changes. Yepes replaced Kaladze which was relieving because this is a fairly significant move from a long term perspective. Though I don't particularly like the Colombian, he strengthened the defense considerably making the centre look more solid. His physical presence was hard to deal with and so was his physical appearance because for some reason, he resembles Borriello. Allegri then realized the game was a lost cause and brought on the kids. The kids took awhile to settle but began to express their skills later on in the game. Verdi and Oduamendi looked good (not literally) and Strasser disappointed. Rodney Strasser has been promoted to the main team and I don't like the idea of him playing many games. His positioning is senseless and his tackles are mindless. Pato and Flamini were the better players and are likely to be drafted into the main team. Oddo, however played the whole game, which is food for thought. I hope that this is the first and last game that he starts and finishes. At the end of the game, Allegri had a concerned expression on his face. He doesn't usually have a million dollar smile as he often looks perturbed. But this expression was rather disturbing. It was as though he was woken up from a bad dream. He now, hopefully, realizes that it isn't a dream.