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.

matching the mighty

Andrea Pirlo


AC Milan 1 Juventus 1

Luigi Berlusconi Trophy. If you want to find a Manchester City in Italy, look no further than Juventus. Beppe Moratta has spent millions in sheer desperation to bring in 'top' players this season. Even though I am taking a poke at them, they have strengthened far more than Milan have and are looking mighty on paper. But somehow, we manage to tame this giant on the pitch. Somehow, we are always in control.

Starting with Borriello immediately comes with two assurances; no mobility and no goals. There aren't many big game chokers in the game who can match Borriello's consistency. Ronaldinho has apparently lost 7 kilos and now weighs 83 lbs, the reading on the scale during his heydays at Barcelona. With Bonera playing on the right, you would expect most of the attack to flow from the left of Juventus. And evidently so. Pirlo appears to have found his touch since Allegri. He is spraying the passes exquisitely finding his man more than losing the ball. Oduamadi was included in the starting line-up. He brings nothing to the team except pace. He lacks the quality to play at this level and obviously that is evident only to me. Silva and Sokratis are no nonsense defenders and form a solid partnership. They need to play more often and could build the defense of Milan for years to come. Pirlo and Seedorf have developed a remarkable understanding as Seedorf was making the right runs consistently and opening up Juve at the back.

At half time, Del Neri changed his forwards. Del Piero and Trezeguet are swapped for Diego and Amauri. This was greeted with much doubt on my end but the newly introduced forwards actually clicked. Inzaghi was subbed ahead of Huntelaar probably indicating that the Dutchman is on his way out. Diego was certainly causing some trouble in the Milan defense as the line dropped deep and created more room for Diego to unleash his prowess. I began to question Allegri's sanity once Pirlo was substituted for Gattuso. 4-3-3, 4-3-2-1 and 4-3-1-2 the formations chosen by Allegri during the game. Gattuso's introduction was fantastic from Juve's perspective as he just couldn't deal with the pace of Juventus' midfield and forwards. Something that tends to annoy me is the sight of Inzaghi dribbling. He lacks the pace and the ability to get past defenders, so why does he even try? Amauri was showcasing his finishing skills which surely matched Inzaghi's dribbling skills. Flamini was a livewire since his introduction, he ran riot in attack and covered several hundred metres in defense. Antonini on the left was putting in a fairly solid show. Gattuso however was man marking Diego, which was a horror show. The game ended in a stalemate. Allegri chose to go with defenders to win us the penalties. You can imagine what that would have resulted in?

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.

kevin's not our prince

Kevin Prince Boatang

I haven't updated the Panathiakos post as yet. It will get done soon. Perhaps after the Trofeo Tim tournament. But there is a matter that is more urgent and needs some attention. That matter is Kevin Prince Boatang.

The Ghanian has not had a steady club career. Ever. Spurs, Portsmouth and erratic Berlin stints are evidence enough. He also wasn't capped by the German national side and there is good reason for that. Particularly, his behavior isn't one to be rewarded. An talented yet arrogant young player, he isn't destined to be a success. His form in the world cup was flashy, not necessarily good. And all that glitters isn't gold; A phrase not taken too seriously at Via Turati. Genoa who are imitating City in their own small way have decided to buy Boatang and loan him out to Milan. If you are screaming for logic in this transaction then it makes two of us. However, the loan deal doesn't come with an option to buy. At a time like this, we should be building a core. If KPB is going to feature regularly in the first team, not only is his inconsistency going to ruin the midfield and make Flamini's task harder than it already is, but he is also going to destabilize the formation of the core. On the other hand, if he is a fringe player, then his attitude would have a notable impact on the dressing room. We are in the market for a 'dynamic' player, apparently. I might be besotted here but why are we in the market when we are grooming a real gem in Aleksander Merkel? This kid is evidently talented and deserves to play more. His performances in the preseason friendlies have been nothing short of remarkable. He could be given a fair run in the midfield. We do have Pirlo, Ambrosini, Gattuso, Flamini, Strasser, Abate and Seedorf in the central midfield positions. That's already 7 players for 3 positions. So if we did need another player, i would settle for Merkel. He is versatile and can play in multiple positions. If we do, however, want to look outside of the club's academy, thenit should be a well-established figure. Someone with promise and experience. Hernanes/Henrique Ganso perhaps? But no, Lazio have more financial resources than we do. Absurd, right?

Allegri is a likable man. His style of play is interesting to watch. He also has made some strategic changes in the team already. Pushing Seedorf deeper in midfield has been perhaps the most effective one. How he managed to convince the stubborn ox goes beyond me. However, Trofeo Tim later tonight. Would be interesting to watch us play Rafa's Inter and Neri's Juventus. Even if its only for 45 minutes each.

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'