Summer mercato 2009

Originally Posted by Maltese Charlie

I am not a kind of person to call others stupid, especially if these persons are highly qualified and full of expierence.

There's one thing which I cannot understand coming from Milan, but again I'm the stupid one not them

Leo said that he wants possession of the ball in the opposite team area, but how can we make it without Pirlo, especially as some rumors are saying that a LB will come instead of Pirlo and Janku move into midfield?

I cannot see it happens with only Dinho as a ball holder.

Pirlo or not, Milan have always been great at holding possession. perhaps you could argue that many of last year's losses came as a result of not being able to defend a slim lead for the last twenty minutes or so. but that comes back to th defense not being to withstand pressure and counter-attcking football due to lack of depth that we had.

I am confident that if Pirlo leaves (I don't really want him to, but if the "price is right"), that part of our play will continue strongly, and if another similar replacement arrives such as Hernanes, we can mix more fast-paced attck with it as well.

I am not denying that Milan or any other teams should look to build their squad like Barcelona or ManU even Juve, as I think thats what teams should be doing.

What I am saying is that Milan is far far away from that level.

Thiago Silva Calls Sevilla Ace Luis Fabiano To Milan
The Brazilian defender is happy to finally get out of limbo and hopes his compatriot will join the club.
10 Jul 2009 08:43:57


Milan centre-back Thiago Silva is looking forward to getting stuck into some Serie A action and has called on countryman Luis Fabiano to join him at the Rossoneri.

Thiago Silva was snapped up from Fluminense in a €10 million deal last January, but the 24-year-old was forced to be a mere spectator for the remainder of the season because the Diavoli had already filled their quota of non-EU players.

“The six-month period spent without playing could be difficult for some players, but I feel very happy now,” the central defender told Mediaset.

“I have settled in well. Leonardo has yet to tell me whether I’ll play or not, we are still in pre-season and hitting top form takes time. I just have to train hard and do my best.”

After failing to lure Wolfsburg ace Edin Dzeko, Milan have turned to Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano, who could complete an all-Brazilian front line at San Siro alongside Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato.

“He is a great player and would be a great investment. And I’m sure that if he joined, he would considerably help our team,” said Silva.

“Ronaldinho has had a very difficult season. When you don’t play, your motivation is completely different to that of your team-mates who are playing.

“But I am confident that if he gets a chance, he will show his best football and will go back to being one of the best players in the world.”

Vince Masiello, Goal.com

Silva is restless, but the six moth waiting period was crucial. Milan had to get him early, and I am sure that Silva, who desired to play for us, understands this. Keep training hard, you are our future!

Originally Posted by Gabriel489

One player to answer your question.

MR. 4-time CL winner.


For real though, Milan always have possession of the ball, but whats the point of that if the other teams have 8 players defending? Unless you are Barcelona who has players like Messi, Henry, Eto, Inesta, Xavi and D. Alves who can draw defenders and dribbles pass them. If not, then the team must play with movement. The quicker Milan can turn the ball to the opposing field from their own half the more chances they have to score. But that will actually require players to run run run and run some more. Something that they really had not been doing.

No, not last season. In fact Berlusconi criticised the team because we were not able to hide the ball in the last minutes, and lost many points by suffering goals.

I heard Leo's interviews and one of his future changes is the possession of the ball in 3/4 pitch, also we have to change the vertical passes as Kaka is not here anymore to take advantage.

And I am only seeing Mr 4-times as a Ronaldinho replacement.
I don't think he will replace Pirlo.

Look Gabriel, I am not saying that Milan is at the same level of quality as Barca. I never said that. All I said is that Barca really did not have a major overhaul of their squad when going from Rjikaard to Pep. Dani Alves and Pique were the only changes to the squad.

If you want to talk about age some more, I really don't see the point. Puyol is 31, Marquez 30, Abidal 29, Henry is 31, while Xavi is 29. Sylvinho, who started their CL winning game is 35. The team should be facing utter destruction, right?

Look, Oddo is a good player. Zambro never played like he did for Milan for Barca. He has done very well, and it seems obvious that he can continue to be one of the best full backs in the world. Sure, he's not THE best (like he used to be) but he's still very good.

And if we want to talk about luck, then Barca had luck getting the CL final, that last minute goal against Chelsea? So please, before we start even taking away the credit that OUR OWN TEAM DESERVES, maybe we should just stop and realize that we actually have GOOD PLAYERS.

Here's the thing that Barca did, their "magic trick." They played as a team. Think about it, they lose Dani Alves, Abidal, and have to rearrange their entire team for the CL final. However, they are able to outplay Man Utd. How does that happen? Oh yeah, THEY DO NOT RELY ON ANY ONE PARTICULAR PLAYER.

Do you know who did that? Milan did. And since 2007, we've struggled. So, it seems that Leonardo will be doing the same thing. Making Milan better, regardless of who is put in what position, at the end of the day, the T-E-A-M will play better. Which is far more important.

The parrallel between us and Barca is again, Henry played like **** his first year. Messi rose up from being inconsistent (I didn't say they [him and Pato] were the same player, I'm not stupid), while Ronaldinho was sold and Etoo played like everyone knew he could.

What happened? Henry played extremely well. Messi blossomed into a much better player. Etoo stayed to play hard.

So, is it that difficult for you to maybe, just maybe, consider that it could be POSSIBLE for Ronaldinho to rise up, like Henry? For Pato to grow up, like Messi did? For players to be REIGNITED to play hard like Etoo?

It seems that the pieces are there. We have great youth products, the Uruguayans are supposedly very good. Abate and Di Gennaro are pretty good. While we have this young striker named Zigoni who is supposed to be one of the brightest spots.

Is Milan an exact copy of Barca? Hell no. That's why we can be better than them. But it starts with you, turning that frown upside down and realizing that we actually have GREAT PLAYERS and that you making every player that Milan has sound like they are utter crap, does no good, and also makes you frankly sound foolish.

Our team preformed better than you think, and its the smallest things that can change a game, and a season. Can you at least wait until pre-season to start crying over how bad the team is? Because frankly, I'd like to enjoy talking about Milan for once.

money from Pirlo to be invested in a LB? That is hillarious. Lets hope that is a rumour and that Milan will bring a midfielder to replace Pirlo and buy a LB.

That will make our mercato less pathetic, even dough it will still be a shamefull event in the history of AC Milan.

Sales: Gourcuff, Kaka', Pirlo ( right now we need him, we could have sold him if we keept Kaka' and Yoan ).

In: US cb, some LB, CM for Pirlo ( See kept, Yoan out ) and CF.

That is sad.

EDIT:

Samaldinho, I agree that its is posiible. But we need to look at Barcelona's squad and the number of the quality players they had. They had Puyol playing as a fullback in that final. That means they had enough of quality CB's to cover even for Marquez, Millito, Puyol. Also Silvinho is a very good player that was simply of their bench for while season.

Midfielders like Xavi and Iniesta are rarity in todays football, we do not have such players now.

I do agree that TEAM play wins titles, but lets not be confused and compare players like Favalli-Silvinho, Pique - Kaladze etc.

We are now talking about some fast and modern football. With who? Seedorf, Ambrosini, Oddo, Pirlo? Aldough, Flamini and Gattuso could be one of the best DM duos in Europe for sure.

We'll see in the end of mercato. If we are able to bring players like Cissokho and Hernanes we can talk about some kind of modern football that will consist of 2 touch football, fullback runs etc. Untill then we can forget about it.

Originally Posted by Saliwonczyk

Pirlo or not, Milan have always been great at holding possession. perhaps you could argue that many of last year's losses came as a result of not being able to defend a slim lead for the last twenty minutes or so. but that comes back to th defense not being to withstand pressure and counter-attcking football due to lack of depth that we had.

I am confident that if Pirlo leaves (I don't really want him to, but if the "price is right"), that part of our play will continue strongly, and if another similar replacement arrives such as Hernanes, we can mix more fast-paced attck with it as well.

I agree that Hernanes can replace Pirlo, BUT do you really believe this can happen????? My answer is NO.

If Ledesma or D'Agostino will come theh will cost more or less the same money of Pirlo. Milan will save only from his wage. But for this small gain is it worth it to loose Pirlo?

And if a LB will come and Janku will move to the middle, financely Milan will benefit But I doubt how Milan can play the system which Leonardo is preaching.

That is my point.

Originally Posted by mrki

money from Pirlo to be invested in a LB? That is hillarious. Lets hope that is a rumour and that Milan will bring a midfielder to replace Pirlo and buy a LB.

That will make our mercato less pathetic, even dough it will still be a shamefull event in the history of AC Milan.

Sales: Gourcuff, Kaka', Pirlo ( right now we need him, we could have sold him if we keept Kaka' and Yoan ).

In: US cb, some LB, CM for Pirlo ( See kept, Yoan out ) and CF.

That is sad.

EDIT:

Samaldinho, I agree that its is posiible. But we need to look at Barcelona's squad and the number of the quality players they had. They had Puyol playing as a fullback in that final. That means they had enough of quality CB's to cover even for Marquez, Millito, Puyol. Also Silvinho is a very good player that was simply of their bench for while season.

I strongly disagree:
- it's hilarious, it's sad, it's pathetic, etc, why ? Has Pirlo been sold already ? For moment, he is a Milan player ...
- Barcelona put Puyol as a fullback = they have enough CB to cover the position ? You see the situation in a way, I see it like they didn't have enough fullbacks in their team. They didn't replace Puyol with a CB but with a midfielder (Touré), so it's like if we did use Ambrosini as a CB when we had all the injuries ...

Samueldinho, first of all, I am one of those who hopes Dinho will be good. Look at all my past posts. Even in the Dinho's thread at the players section.

Secondly, as mrki pointed out about the team play and squad depth, I am not going to say it again.

As mrki putted it best, "I do agree that TEAM play wins titles, but lets not be confused and compare players like Favalli-Silvinho, Pique - Kaladze etc. "


Thirdly, Abate and Di Gennaro are solid players, but as of now they have only show that they are solid players and not brilliant players in Series A. Something that Rick, Siegar and a few others and I had discussed already. They ain't the next wave of Donnadoni or Nedved. IT will be awesome if they turn out to be though.
Zigoni, I will not comment as I have not seen or heard anything about him.

Forthly, you are sounding like Berlu with that the team is full of Champions....Some of them were great players but now they are either good players or just crap players.

Age's question, did I mention that beside Pugol, Henry and Marquez the rest of the squad were pretty much mid 20s or early 20s. Silvinho might be 35 or 36 but he ain't in the starting lineup week in and week out.

Lastly, stop accusing myself or others about crying how bad the team is.....as the team is full of questions for next season. And currently MIlan really is not a team that could compete with the likes of Inter Juve Barcelona and others. IF you think Milan can, then thats really your opinion and I respectfully disagree.

One more thing, I think all of us are here enjoying ourselves while discussing Milan. Just b.c not everyone is being pro positive does not mean they are not enjoying the discussions.

I have more faith in Galliani and Berlu now,as it seems that everytime we complain about them they are acctually succeeding in what they are planning to do.

For example,Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting today that Sevilla have lowered the price for Luis Fabiano for just 18 millions!And its not even August,so it seems that the game Galliani is playing on the transfer mercato is working(wich is a suprise to me!).

And i agree with Samaldinho,most of the posters here are acting like our team contains only average players except for the great Pato,well thats just bull****.I hate some of the posters attitude here,for example i remember last year everybody was crying because Abbiati was our new goalkeeper,everybody said oh nooo please he is not worldclass blablabla but it turned out to be different as he had a better season than Buffon!And still everybody wants a big-name goalie,why?We have Abbiati who will probably be fit if the season starts.I just dont get it.Next year when Dida and maybe Kalac will leave then a new goalie should be bought...

We have a worldclass team and arent lacking anything acctually,except a LB,thats it,the only reason we are after a CF is because Borriello was injured last season so we cant have that again now do we.

Originally Posted by Dutchie-Milan

I have more faith in Galliani and Berlu now,as it seems that everytime we complain about them they are acctually succeeding in what they are planning to do.

For example,Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting today that Sevilla have lowered the price for Luis Fabiano for just 18 millions!And its not even August,so it seems that the game Galliani is playing on the transfer mercato is working(wich is a suprise to me!).

First, Dzeko is our first target not Fabiano. Second if the news is true, than it's a good news for Milan. If Galliani can bring him with price near what Milan's first offer than credit must be given to Galliani.

Originally Posted by Dutchie-Milan

And i agree with Samaldinho,most of the posters here are acting like our team contains only average players except for the great Pato,well thats just bull****.I hate some of the posters attitude here,for example i remember last year everybody was crying because Abbiati was our new goalkeeper,everybody said oh nooo please he is not worldclass blablabla but it turned out to be different as he had a better season than Buffon!And still everybody wants a big-name goalie,why?We have Abbiati who will probably be fit if the season starts.I just dont get it.Next year when Dida and maybe Kalac will leave then a new goalie should be bought...

Don't you think also the opposite situation (about the bold part)? Fortunately there fans like Gabriel, mrki who still only critisize Galliani but not critisize other fans who support the management.

Every body can have opinion about Milan and it will be great if they can post the reasons. Just like how fans' pessimism last year about Abbiati. They had reasons, not just thrown dislike to Abbiati. Same situation about pessimism with Ronaldinho and other players.

Originally Posted by Dutchie-Milan

We have a worldclass team and arent lacking anything acctually,except a LB,thats it,the only reason we are after a CF is because Borriello was injured last season so we cant have that again now do we.

I must disagree. We have only maximum half of a world class team. If you meant we have past-worldclass team I agree. Nesta is really unsure, Ronaldinho is just (almost) finished, Thiago Silva is still unproven (I believe he's got huge talent), Pirlo is underperforming, Inzaghi can only play 2-3 months, and so on. I don't need to write about the situation of our subs.

When it comes to Dinho, I think we have no choice but to hope that he will do well.

No one is comparing Silvinho to Favalli (though, honestly, is there that much of a difference between THOSE two?) but how about a comparison between Pique and Thiago Silva?

Abate and Di Gennaro are solid players, but they have not had the chance to show that they are. Until they show me that they are not worth it, I will give them the benefit of the doubt. Abate is much better, and much more highly regarded than many people give him credit. Di Gennaro, for me, is the biggest question than Abate. However, I think seeing these players preform when they are surrounded by better players will tell us what kind of players they are.

I think that Seedorf, Kaladze, Dida, Kalac, and Favalli have no business being at AC Milan still. However, it seems that not one of those players will be counted upon to start for our team, and we might as well benefit from their experience (only Seedorf and Favalli really) since we seem to be stuck with them.

Actually, the mainstays of Barca's team are in their late 20's, Etoo is 28, Xavi 29, Milito 28 (lost an entire year to injury), Keita 29. While Puyol, Marquez and Henry, who the team's stability is based are all over 30.

Gattuso is 31, Pirlo is 30, and Ambro is 32. They are not really that old. Because if Pirlo is some sort of old man now, then it seems Barca is on the verge of having an old team.

This Milan is obviously in transition, and I think our midfield really has not been the problem. The problem has been the lack of real alternatives for the midfield and in defense.

Am I scared of Barca? No. Juve and Inter? Again, no. I had MAJOR doubts over the team, but listening to the players talk about what they know they have to do, I just figured, "Hey, they are not just playing for this club, but they are playing for themselves."

We underestimate what a healthy Gattuso does to this team. He is very critical to Milan, and it was while Pirlo was out that Seedorf was actually playing decently in Pirlo's role. I mean, what does that tell you? That there is hope, that we should be optimistic.

I just think we are kidding ourselves if we act like Barca didn't have question marks coming into their last season. They were the team that were all most laughed at by putting in Pep and by removing the players that they relied so heavily upon, namely Deco and Ronaldinho.

And with regards to enjoying discussing Milan, it seems that we are not discussing our club anymore. We didn't even give Onyewu a real discussion. He is American, therefore terrible, and does not bring in anything. I do not rate him, but it's amazing that the one signing we do have, we barely cover. We also have not talked about Abate or Di Gennaro in any great detail.

We have talked about Berlu and Galli more than all the players combined. This is not discussing Milan, this is pointless, and I am not the only one who has pointed this out. Just because people feel they have the right to be angry, doesn't mean that those of us who would like to be patient and actually evaluate things should just allow you to do so without question.

Milan's team was not terrible last year, it needed improvements in defense and in the striking department. The management has not addressed those concerns yet, but I see little point in calling them incompetent when the transfer season isn't even over yet.

Would you call a Dentist incompetent if he didn't finish giving you a filling half-way through the procedure because it wasn't finished? So why label our management a failure all ready?

Originally Posted by Siregar

First, Dzeko is our first target not Fabiano. Second if the news is true, than it's a good news for Milan. If Galliani can bring him with price near what Milan's first offer than credit must be given to Galliani.



Don't you think also the opposite situation (about the bold part)? Fortunately there fans like Gabriel, mrki who still only critisize Galliani but not critisize other fans who support the management.

Every body can have opinion about Milan and it will be great if they can post the reasons. Just like how fans' pessimism last year about Abbiati. They had reasons, not just thrown dislike to Abbiati. Same situation about pessimism with Ronaldinho and other players.



I must disagree. We have only maximum half of a world class team. If you meant we have past-worldclass team I agree. Nesta is really unsure, Ronaldinho is just (almost) finished, Thiago Silva is still unproven (I believe he's got huge talent), Pirlo is underperforming, Inzaghi can only play 2-3 months, and so on. I don't need to write about the situation of our subs.

Well acctually Siregar,i was aiming on the talents of the players in the squad,not their current forms.

I mean that let just say that our players arent getting to much injured,and that players like Ronaldinho are playing like they should have done,then we have a wc-team.

When fit Nesta is still one of the best defenders in the world,when running Ronaldinho is still one of the most talented players in the world,this is what i meant.Lets say the injury-prone players(like Nesta)are having a much more better season this coming year and that the ''lazy'' players(Seedorf,Dinho)are going to run under Leo's command because everybody start from scratch so everybody has to earn their places and the WorldCup is coming up,then we have a WC-team.

And about the doubts of Silva,come on guys everybody was screaming their lungs out when Inter seemed to snap up this player,and then we did and everybody was thrilled,and even Brasilieiro who watched the player allot said snapping up this player would be great,and we have seen him play at the Beijing tournament(with Dinho also present remember)and he did great their with Alex Silva in defence,so why the doubts,everything is pointing at the direction that he is WC.I am not going to have doubt,if he performs up to standard wich is what must be excepted then we have a great defender in our squad.

I dont think that we only have half good team:

Abbiati
Zambro-Nesta-Silva-Janku
Rhino-Pirlo-Ambro/Flamini
Pato-Fabiano-Dinho

So if Dinho finds his joy again,Pirlo in a free role to roam around the field where he can express his talents,Nesta and Silva who are soooooo solid,and Rhino and Flamini who can be one of the best DM-Pairing in Europa,and Zambro and Janku who always play good at LB and RB(except in defense Janku is a bit crap)

There arent many IF,there are two things we have to hope for: Nesta staying fit,Dinho being solid again,thats it,Silva will be a hit,i dont think he will lose his great talent suddenly

With this squad,and maybe Santos as LB we can win everything.

**** THE REST,WE ARE MILAN

Last reports:

- There is still another player bought for ... the Primavera. Filippo Galli who is in charge of this team now seems to want to build a strong Primavera. The goal is probably to have a strong Primavera with hot prospects who will be ready sooner than later for the first squad (TMW from MilanNews).

- Cagliari bought a new GK, one of the promising ones from the last season in Serie B. For TMW (MilanNews), it's a way to slowly replace Marchetti who should sign for us next year ... they have a lot of imagination, but who knows.

- Nothing to do with mercato, but it's very good news. Inter and Milan seem to have reached an agreement to work together for the stadium. Resulting from the demands of Milan and Inter, the city should either allow both clubs to buy San Siro and improve it by creating restaurants, mall centre, etc, or allow both clubs to build another stadium in front of San Siro. This report comes from TMW too (source: Milanoweb).

And to finish, it seems we are interested by Nicastro from Catania, but I don't know him ...