Summer mercato 2009

So how about Egypt's Ahmed Fathi and Sayed Moawed for our right and left backs?

I honestly can say, without a doubt now, that Egyptian players deserve to be playing at the highest level with the best teams.

I have been ridiculed here before for suggesting Egyptian players be worthy of Milan (even though Ahmed Hassan, Egypt's captain turned Milan's interest down before) but after today, I am confident that Egyptian players are more than capable of playing at the standard of a team such as Milan's.

Hosni Abd Rabbou, the central midfield engine room of Egypt would be a great addition, I said this a few years ago and people laughed, who is laughing now?

No man, they are good players. They are a great team actually, just like the Ivory Coast in the world cup. After the Ivory Coast's great campaign, their players were sold around Europe and actually, we haven't heard of none of those stars after their transfers.

I have always been following Mohamad Zidan's progress ever since he started his career. He is an exception, I think he's one of the few players in Egypts team today that could make it big.

However, what's this nonsense you say about Ahmed Hassan turning down Milan?

Looks like we're not the only club to complain about the tax system, Fiorentina's sporting director, who does well, I think said:

Corvino criticises tax system
Thursday 18 June, 2009
Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino has criticised the Italian tax system, which according to him is damaging calcio.

The Viola man also suggested that barriers should be opened to non-communitarian players.

“Football is in deep financial crisis and in order to help it there should be fewer taxes to pay,” said Corvino.

“In Italy the tax system is a big problem while in other nations it is much better. I believe it is about time we changed something.”

The former Lecce director claims the limit on non-EU players should be abolished in accordance to equal opportunity laws.

“It is crazy that there are still rules which limit the number of non-communitarian players and they should be abolished.

“In my opinion we should open the barriers and let everyone come in given that they have everything required.

“If we do it in normal life I don’t see why we can’t in football, a sport which needs quality. If an Italian youngster is good enough then he will make it.

“Look at Davide Santon for instance, he managed to do it even if there were players such as Douglas Maicon and Maxwell in the squad,” he concluded.

Not to offend you but when teams like Egypt are representing there country with pride and passion and all able to speak the same language it works great now it was an excellent game for Egypt but Italy were bad and are on the slide with 4 or 5 players who don't have any legs so week in and week out I don't think alot of the Egyptian players would be capable of rejuvenating Milan besides Zidan .

Ahmed Hassan, Captain of Egypt, in 2003, when he was really at the top of his game (still is very close, he's an ever-green) he was being pursued by a lot of big clubs and said in an interview:

Regarding his transfer he said, "I had got transfer offers from other European leagues and also from Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. They were astronomic offers but I preferred the stability and accepted Besiktas over Milan's offer.

I think he just wanted to be a star and did not really like the idea of being a utility man, and since he is a very fair and honest player, I doubt he would say that just to say it. But that is not even a big deal, to be honest. I just wish he had accepted the Milan offer, I think he would have done very well at Milan.

When Milan played against Anderlecht he was awesome, and if you ask Belgian fans they know that he was truly a great midfielder.

Source: http://www.egyptianplayers.com/ahmed...edhasan105.htm

Originally Posted by Jay Crisp

Not to offend you but when teams like Egypt are representing there country with pride and passion and all able to speak the same language it works great now it was an excellent game for Egypt but Italy were bad and are on the slide with 4 or 5 players who don't have any legs so week in and week out I don't think alot of the Egyptian players would be capable of rejuvenating Milan besides Zidan .

I'm sorry, but if playing for the Italian shirt doesn't give them pride and passion, then I don't want them at Milan either.

In Egypt illiterate men know four languages, fluently to speak to tourists, so languages have never been our problem.

I think Hosni Abd Rabbou is very similar to De Rossi, and I also don't buy the argument that Brazil and Italy were tired, in fact, Egyptian clubs have all ready been engaged in the preliminary stages of the African Champions League (where fatigue showed up, Egyptian teams crashing out) and we've had longer seasons then either Europeans or Brazilians.

The simple fact of the matter is that no Egyptian player is linked to AC Milan, but it would be interesting to see if after this preformance any of them do get linked to Italian clubs.

I honestly think Ahmed Fathi is worthy of the Milan shirt, he was awesome today on that right-hand side.

Mahmoud Fathallah is good and Ahmed Hassan wasn't a good player he was great but Fathy is quality I just dont know if there what we need actually I dont know what we need anymore besides 200 million to spend.

Well many on this board are concerned with Zambro's age. I'm frankly not, but, since we seem to buy these rather useless Brazilian fullbacks (Grimi, Felipe M) I think Fathi would be a great choice.

Fathallah is very good, though Ahmed Said (known in Egypt as "Ouka") has been keeping him on the bench. I would rather have Santacroce than either of them, as the only Egyptian defender I have faith in is Wael Gomaa, but he's too old to make the step up.

But to our full-backs, I think even if Cissoko doesn't finally come (which I support the management on how they are handling this, I think Porto are the ones who are being underhanded here) I think Leonardo will either get another fullback, or Oddo will stay, giving Leonardo Zambro (RB/LB) with Oddo for RB and Janku for LB, and Antonini I hope plays as well as we think.

I'm not sure if anyone responded to my question about Ignazio Abate, is there any word on his status with the club?

Keep in mind that Galliani and Ancelotti both have before said we have always played with the 4-3-3 (when actually it was a 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-1-2). So I'm not quite sure what they mean when they say 4-3-3, but if it is the classic 4-3-3, then we definitely will need more players up front.

Inzaghi/Boriello are too injury prone. Ronaldinho is a gamble. We only have Pato up front (and probably Dzeko if we get him). We need more options up there. There are so many players that we could buy that can mean the world to us. For me, the best striker out there now is Zarate. It might be hard and expensive to get him, but we should try to hijack the deal from Lazio. We also could look into Cassano/Rossi/Rosina who are all wide players and could be useful in the 4-3-3.

I think the way that Milan are playing the transfer market (if you want to call it that..) it seems that when Galliani says 4-3-3 he means a 4-3-1-2, that seems to be the way that Milan will be playing next season, otherwise, we would be linked with very different players.

I just wonder, if we play a 4-3-1-2, and let's say Dinho does play well, what happens when he gets injured? Does that mean Seedorf gets shoved into that spot? I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Perhaps Viudez and Cardaccio finally come up this season?

goal.com

ITALY

Buffon- 6: Aside from picking the ball out of the net on Homos' winner, Buffon had nothing to do all night.

Zambrotta- 6.5: Produced one goal-saving tackle on Shawky in the first half, but aside from this had little to worry about defensively.

Cannavaro- 7: A couple of classy interventions, Cannavaro led the Italy backline well.

Chiellini- 6 : The odd clumsy moment when Cannavaro had to come to his rescue. Chiellini needs to cut out these rash episodes.

Grosso- 6.5: Up and down the left flank as always, although unlike against the USA he found Egypt's right back, Fathi, a tough nut to crack.

Gattuso- 5.5: Again looked well short of fitness, and when Gattuso is not fit, his value to the team all but disappears as he is all about grit, determination and physical pressure.

Pirlo- 7.5: An absolute class act in the middle-of-the-park, Pirlo has definitely re-discovered his form. Hit a free kick just wide, and put a chance on a plate for Iaquinta. Creative genius.

De Rossi- 6: At fault for the Egypt goal, as he should have been marking Homos. If it wasn't for this he would have received a good mark, as he won everything in midfield.

Rossi- 6.5: Easily Italy's most dangerous attacker in the first half, twice going close with that hammer left foot of his. Substituted just after half time for Toni.

Iaquinta- 6: Just not Iaquinta's night tonight. He hit the crossbar, missed three gilt-edged chances, as the ball just would not go in. Must be held responsible for Italy not getting at least a point, as nearly all the chances fell to him.

Quagliarella- 5: Aside from a fantastic pass to put Iaquinta through on goal, Quagliarella just never got into the game. He deformed Italy's shape in attack by moving around aimlessly.




As i said pirlo was exceptional,if he plays like this,i d love to see him every single sunday and wendsday starting our matches..pure class,we need a leader like him..i just hope he recovers himself for us ..

and i think he can be gr8 if he has rino+flamini to free his space and responsibilities,and 2 good fullbacks like zambro+aly(?)making him uperdictable with many choices attackingly..

Samaldinho, no disrespect towards the Egyptian NT, but it's not because some players look great with their national team that they can be great with Milan or any other club ...

It's a totally different approach ...

I don't want to make a long post, so I will just give you an example: Greece was European champion in 2004. Where are/have been their players, and more importantly, how did they perform/have they performed then ?

Egypt is no Greece, and we have shown consistency with our team's performances since 2006. We have won the African title twice in a row (06, 08 for a record 6 times).

The exception does not prove the rule. Greece, therefore, is not the same analogy as Egypt.

It was not the last two games that convinced me that Egyptian players were of Milan standard, it simply ensured I did not have to listen to comments from those who do not value players outside of the Euro-South American persuasion.

Egypt outplayed the Brazilians and in a game of straight-up tactical focus, Egypt stared down the Italians in their own specialty: tactics.

Since Italy and Serie A is all about tactics, why wouldn't national team players who fit tactics, stick to them to the death, yet still are able to produce moments of skill, not be worthy of a Milan shirt?

Again, as I said, there is no links between Egyptian players and Milan, however, I simply said that I felt that Egyptian players were certainly of a standard worthy of Milan.

And if it is just national team exposure that rules out Egyptian players, then most people here should stop talking about Rossi, or about how Pirlo plays for La Nazionale.

I am frustrated at the continued arguments against players from "lesser" nations at tournaments, but then suddenly, Rossi decides to score twice against a poor 10-man team, and suddenly we all want Galliani to throw 30 million at Villareal.

Originally Posted by Samaldinho

Egypt is no Greece, and we have shown consistency with our team's performances since 2006. We have won the African title twice in a row (06, 08 for a record 6 times).

The exception does not prove the rule. Greece, therefore, is not the same analogy as Egypt.

It was not the last two games that convinced me that Egyptian players were of Milan standard, it simply ensured I did not have to listen to comments from those who do not value players outside of the Euro-South American persuasion.

Egypt outplayed the Brazilians and in a game of straight-up tactical focus, Egypt stared down the Italians in their own specialty: tactics.

Since Italy and Serie A is all about tactics, why wouldn't national team players who fit tactics, stick to them to the death, yet still are able to produce moments of skill, not be worthy of a Milan shirt?

Again, as I said, there is no links between Egyptian players and Milan, however, I simply said that I felt that Egyptian players were certainly of a standard worthy of Milan.

And if it is just national team exposure that rules out Egyptian players, then most people here should stop talking about Rossi, or about how Pirlo plays for La Nazionale.

I am frustrated at the continued arguments against players from "lesser" nations at tournaments, but then suddenly, Rossi decides to score twice against a poor 10-man team, and suddenly we all want Galliani to throw 30 million at Villareal.

Personnally, if a player looks great in a national team, I'll try to see what he can give in a season before saying he is worth Milan or any other club. Maybe you say that because you follow these players in their club and because they play like that in their club during a whole season. If it's the case, of course, some of them could be worth Milan (one of the defenders and of course, Zidan who impresses me each time I see him, and I also tried to follow some of his performances in Germany, at start, to be honest, just because of his name looking like Zidane ).

But what you say about people after the performance of Rossi against USA could be said for Egyptian players too anyway, because this Italian NT is sad to watch ... the defence is a pity as a whole (again), Zambrotta and Grosso just showed how simple it is to block them (with the right tactic), Gattuso is nowhere near the real and fit Gattuso, De Rossi and Pirlo can't handle the midfield if they are only two, and most of the players called up in attack are a joke (I can't understand why Iaquinta, despite a decent performance today, is there, as well as Toni and Quagliarella, and worst, Pepe).

So if you are frustrated by the way people claim they want Rossi (but it's not just because of his 2 goals against USA, go in the last year summer mercato and you will see his name already appearing in it), you can also understand that people don't rate too much the performance of the Egyptian players today for example (after what I said in the previous paragraph) ??

Anyway, back to the transfers and the Cissokho saga, I want to translate directly from the French declaration of Cissokho's agent: "Aly will be a Milan player next season (which has to be understood in 2009-2010). Galliani confirmed that Cissokho will be there at the start of the trainings. Both clubs are now in negotiations concerning the loan."
It's what he said this afternoon whereas Galliani said this morning it was over ...

I agree Geo, I have watched these players for years and carefully watch them, and I know many of them. That is why I support their candidacy for transfer to Milan.

I like the idea of Rossi coming to Milan, but I feel that would come at either the expense of Pato or Ronaldinho. Though, Inzaghi and Sheva were never supposed to work, but they were deadly, so why not? However, I think we would be naive to say that the sudden upsurge in Rossi directly correlates to the relevance he poses to Italian football, which since he is at Villareal, comes in spurts.

I don't think Italy's defense is terrible, in fact, I think it is quite good. Chiellini has not had a good season, but I think its because he's tired from having to overcompensate for his other Juve defenders, plus he never seems to get a rest when injured, etc. Grosso and Zambro did well, not their best, but with players like Santon and Marco Motta coming through, I don't think there is much to worry.

The attack is where questions arise, and frankly this is where Totti and Del Piero are missed. Cassano obviously still has his problems, and from a technical standpoint, does not have the work rate for the big time, something numerous coaches have tried to highlight when asked about him. The obvious solution is Giovinco, who should have a decent shout to making Italy's 2010 team should he play next season.

Rossi could be that player, but it seems he is more striker than fantastisa, so people putting their hopes on the boy for that role would be disappointed.

With regards to transfers, I think someone else said that they admired Juventus for going after Italian talent, I have to agree with them.

Milan should be trying to grab Marco Motta, Fabio Santacroce, as they would be cheaper than the players we are linked with, namely Cissoko and the various random central defenders (Vidic, Agger, etc).

I think Milan will invest in our midfield come next year, clearly our midfield is not our problem in the eyes of the management (though I know many would disagree), so I would expect Milan to be looking at Montolivo and Cigarini and perhaps even D'Agostino come next year.

I think the key to understanding the way Milan wants to conduct business is to make the transition smooth from this era to the next, the post-Capello era was too sudden, too revolutionary and I think Berlu understands that. I don't think Leonardo will be playing very different to Ancelotti when he (Carlo) started with Milan. The reality is that we will be playing the famous 4-3-1-2 that Carlo used to win his first CL, and I think Milan will try and use experience to help Leonardo along while he finds his feet his first year.

I think the backbone of the Azzuri is going to be found at Juventus and Roma, by the looks of things. Juve will boast the likes of Chiellini, De Cegile, Marchiso, Giovinco, all on Juve's books, while Roma will provide De Rossi, Marco Motta, Andreolli, and if fit, Aquillani.

I think Milan should be also be investing in Italian youth, and I am not Italian supremacist (obviously), but I am very afraid of FIFA if they enact the 6+5 rule which would make Milan's job very difficult.

Has anyone seen Andrea Russotto? I honestly think he would be worth a loan or co-ownership at least. The games that Dinho doesn't play, Russotto would be a great sub and he just turned 21 a month ago.