Summer mercato 2009

Originally Posted by MiamiMilanista

I think everyone needs to remember this: He was free!! Not only was he free, but he is a MUCH better backup than Kaladze!!

I would also advise everyone, NEVER LISTEN TO LALAS, he has no idea what he is talking about.

But weren't you just agreeing with Lalas?

Originally Posted by Rick

Bet you were hoping for Rossi, though, weren't you?

Well, just a few thoughts on the signing of Gooch:

He's better than a lot of you think. As Axelmett said, he's big, strong and dangerous in the air. He's not only capable of scoring on free kicks and corners, but he's great at defending free kicks and corners. He's been improving by leaps and bounds over the past couple of seasons.

That said, I don't see him as a player who is likely to just jump right into a regular starting role. He'll be a good situational player and will add depth to the central defense. I see him starting a decent number of games depending on the matchups. He still hasn't perfected his technique and he has been mistake prone in the past (although he's cut down on his mistakes dramatically). I think he can learn a lot from guys like Nesta and Maldini (who should be around in some capacity to help) and has a chance to develop into something special. He'll work hard to do that and his fitness level will always be a plus.

I know a lot of you think Milan just signed him because he was free and they don't want to spend money. But there's nothing wrong with getting players for free. Some of the best players in the world have moved on free transfers. And if Alex Ferguson can do it with Michael Owen, what's wrong with Milan finding what could be a diamond in the rough on a free transfer? It leaves more money to go after the Fabianos and Huntelaars.

And just for your reading pleasure, here's what former Serie A defender and U.S. national Alexi Lalas had to say about Gooch signing with Milan:



http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/66/un...lan-and-onyewu

I sincerely hope this is not an overly-patriotic viewpoint and he speaks mostly truth. If the referees can let his physical game flow, I have no doubts he can handle the larger type of fowards (Amauri etc.)

However, he may not have the skill to mark Ibra just yet. that will be in the hands of players such as Maldini/Nesta as well as the defense coach to teach him about.

Personally, I can see that he is extremely motivated and professional, and if he plays a bad game, he'll make sure to bounce back stronger, just like when th U.S were defeated by mexico. The question is, if he plays a bad game, will he be given another chance? Still believe he might be loaned out. At 27 though, its a stupid idea.

vagner love is the man for milan

He is by no means better than Kaladze. Last season, the Georgian was hopping on one leg whilst still trying to mark quality fowards. This was all due to our lack of fit players.

Hopefully, though, in his prime (27), he should quickly excel and learn the way of Serie A, thus becoming better than Khakber. It will be hard though to find an abroad defender who has grapsed the Italian game quicker than Kaladze himself when he first arrived.

milan should be consisted mostly of italian and brasilian players.the defense should be italian,and midfield too,attack should be brasilian

Originally Posted by Saliwonczyk

I sincerely hope this is not an overly-patriotic viewpoint and he speaks mostly truth. If the referees can let his physical game flow, I have no doubts he can handle the larger type of fowards (Amauri etc.)

Lalas probably was engaging in a bit of hyperbole (as he often does), but I've never been an overly patriotic person, so I gave you an honest assessment. Gooch has great potential. He's not the finished product just yet, but hopefully guys like Nesta and Maldini can polish him up.

Originally Posted by swordfish

milan should be consisted mostly of italian and brasilian players.the defense should be italian,and midfield too,attack should be brasilian

That is wrong to think like. Manchester United, to name one currently successful European club, has Serbians, English, Brazilians and others. Look what the Dihno/Pato/Kaka triangle did for us last season!

Originally Posted by Rick

But weren't you just agreeing with Lalas?

All i'm saying is that he is better than Kaladze

Originally Posted by Saliwonczyk

That is wrong to think like. Manchester United, to name one currently successful European club, has Serbians, English, Brazilians and others. Look what the Dihno/Pato/Kaka triangle did for us last season!

No, actually it is correct to think like. I'd rather have a team full of Italians than a team like Inter who play at most 1 italian in a match. Dont forget which country AC Milan resides.

The English teams are sh** in international football for the reason that they do not promote their own in their premier league. They bring in people from other countries which squashes room for their own

Originally Posted by Rick

Lalas probably was engaging in a bit of hyperbole (as he often does), but I've never been an overly patriotic person, so I gave you an honest assessment. Gooch has great potential. He's not the finished product just yet, but hopefully guys like Nesta and Maldini can polish him up.

The problem is, such a rough product should be around 25 or younger like Silva, not 27!

If we have this player and Silva in the CB postion next season, we are screwed. Not because they are not good enough, but they are yet to cut their teeth in the Italian league.

If I was Milan, I wouldn't be crossing my fingers and praying to the fairies for Nesta to come fit. I would actaully get off my bum and buy a quality CB, it is as simple as that. i don't care if you don't buy an attacking replacement for Kaka. But a defender for god's sake, is that too hard? No offense to our recent signing.

Originally Posted by Samaldinho

If you ask me, this is Galliani being smart. I'll tell you why. Americans pour money into anything, there is a reason why America is the world's strongest economy, they just buy anything. One of the smartest things Fulham did was to buy a core of American players, did you notice that after they did, Nike became their kit provider?

That was because American players bring in lots of money and attention. I hope that Onyewu will just be another backup CB like Senderos, but I think it's really something to just make sure that Milan can now start taking portions of that American market, because the Prem is all ready popular with Americans (who love kick-and-run football) but that their players are there, makes it even more solid.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I think that's at least a big part of why Milan got him.

Good point! I myself is from Denmark, which is probably around the same size as the United States when it comes to football give or take.

There aren't that many Danish players playing in top clubs. The thing is, at least here and I imagine it might be like that in the US aswell, that when a Danish player moves to a top club that club gets ALOT more attention. When Michael Laudrup became coach in Spartak Moskva they started showing the Russian league on Danish tv, just because he was there, and he's not even a player... the Russian league!!! I would imagine that Onyewu would atleast bring some more attention to Milan from the football fans in the US. Also don't forget that Milan are playing friendlies in USA aswell this summer...

Milan raid on the US?

I hope this isnt true. The article says he will go for 6m!!

http://www.goal.com/en/news/11/trans...tacroce-report

Originally Posted by MiamiMilanista

No, actually it is correct to think like. I'd rather have a team full of Italians than a team like Inter who play at most 1 italian in a match. Dont forget which country AC Milan resides.

The English teams are sh** in international football for the reason that they do not promote their own in their premier league. They bring in people from other countries which squashes room for their own

I too would like us to sign Italians when there are attainable, quality options to be signed. For instance, why not get Bocchetti, Santa, Criscito etc. instead of Onyewu? (I know the answer is: "the Gooch was free!").

Regarding the England NT: They were flopping long before the foreign invasion began, so it's more complex than that.

Originally Posted by MiamiMilanista

I hope this isnt true. The article says he will go for 6m!!

http://www.goal.com/en/news/11/trans...tacroce-report

The best part:

Voices around the San Paolo claim Napoli want around €6 million, but the Old Lady want to spend less than that.

What??? It seems like the clubs really don't rate Santacroce for some strange reason...

Originally Posted by Saliwonczyk

The problem is, such a rough product should be around 25 or younger like Silva, not 27!

If we have this player and Silva in the CB postion next season, we are screwed. Not because they are not good enough, but they are yet to cut their teeth in the Italian league.

If I was Milan, I wouldn't be crossing my fingers and praying to the fairies for Nesta to come fit. I would actaully get off my bum and buy a quality CB, it is as simple as that. i don't care if you don't buy an attacking replacement for Kaka. But a defender for god's sake, is that too hard? No offense to our recent signing.

Who's to say they won't still buy another center back? The market is still young. But there are veterans around such as Bonera and Kaladze, so even if Nesta is hurt they won't have to always pair two players without Serie A experience. And Gooch has plenty of experience playing in Europe, so it should actually be an easier adjustment for him and for Thiago Silva.