Summer mercato 2009

Originally Posted by Saliwonczyk

Yes, but Storari is worth alot and chased by other clubs as well! Milan want to make a few quick bucks? Sell him....

And yes, the only reason Nelson hasn't left already, is his masive wages. Soon though, he will leave....

Hope the Marchetti rumours are true, but highly dout it!

Storari AND Kalac arent going to be sold.Milan is going to keep one of the two goalies as a third goalkeeper.If Kalac leaves then Storari will stay and vice-versa.

Originally Posted by 'The Bulldog'

IMO, that would be a ok mercato...

A younger, and definitely a boost in terms of speed/energetic play would fit in perfectly with leonardo's style of play. Plus, watching that video clip on him, his defensively minded as well (tracking back to assist defenders). Hernanes replacing Pirlo would be a 'tick' in the right direction in terms of rejuvenating the squad.

It looks like, Fabiano is the definite choice for 'CF', satisfactory for now I suppose. Don't know about Pasqual, realistically mgt might just settle with what we've already got - janku, zambro, antonini etc. IMO

Mate, that would be a fantastic mercato. Better than what will actually happen. If both Hernanes and Fabiano arrive, I will be over the moon. Pasqual has already reisgned with Florence, but yes, we need another full-back. However, don't count Antonini out. He is a great player!

Originally Posted by Dutchie-Milan

Todays Mercato News

-The contract negotiations between Puyol and Barcelona are stumbling and Milan is considering stepping in,also City seems to make their move but Puyol would like.Puyol would like a adventure with us as it could be his final chance to go elsewhere because of his age.Milan doesnt want to spend big but could make a exception for him.

-The negotiations for Luis Fabiano continues and Milan is going to meet with the company that holds a percentage of the player's rights,it seems that there is a clausale that pushes Sevilla to sell the player if there is a offer on the table higher then 11 million,Galliani is now pushing the 14 million offer that he made and not the 18 million that was reported by the media

-Cissokho deal is over.He is bittered and doesnt want to keep waiting on us,he isnt going to move to Lyon but just want to stay at Porto.

-The Dzeko deal could be on again,Wolfsburg is targeting Bojinov and Nilmar and Dzeko could end up with us,but for now its a silly rumour for sure....

no matter how much of a "perfect" heir to Maldini Puyol may be, the money that Barca will surely demand will not match the man's worth at his senior age. however, if he comes free..... Our defense will be formidable once agian!

As for the Dzeko news, let's not bother with it anymore. Let's look foward and try our hearts to get Fabiano....

Bravo Pato:
Goal.com 50: Alexandre Pato (36)
Goal.com is counting down the top 50 players of 2008-09 and at number 36 is the Brazilian wonder kid and Milan’s hope for the future, Alexandre Pato…
14 Jul 2009 11:15:17
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Pato - Milan - Serie A (Grazia Neri)
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Alexandre Pato
37. Pepe Reina (Liverpool & Spain)
36. Alexandre Pato (Milan & Brazil)
35. Grafite (Wolfsburg)

Pato has had a good season for his club side, Milan. He is improving at a rapid pace, whilst showing maturity and a confidence which will serve him well on the pitch, along with his humble approach to the game.

Winners of the 2007 UEFA Champions League, the Rossoneri then came fifth in Serie A, thereby forfeiting their place at the pinnacle of club football to Fiorentina. This left Milan with a clear and achievable goal for the season just ended: to win the Scudetto.

The Scudetto prize was elusive, however, and despite a relatively strong season from the Rossoneri, rivals Inter took the title once again. Still, the most successful club in the world secured Champions League qualification with a third place finish in Serie A, tied with second placed Juventus on 74 points. Pato was key to the team's run in Serie A; overall, he contributed a great deal in his first full season with the Rossoneri.

In other competitions this season, Milan faltered earlier than expected, dropping out of the Coppa Italia at the hands of Lazio, before ending their UEFA Cup run against Werder Bremen thanks to the away goals rule. Despite this disappointment, Pato left his mark on the game once again, scoring a stunning goal against the Germans after a solo run and powerful strike, leaving everyone in awe of his abilities.

The youngster has been in fine form all season, scoring 15 goals in Serie A, adding five assists in the top-flight. The skilful Brazilian striker has mesmerised defences in the Italian league with his pace and spectacular dribbling ability, rounding off his good work with powerful and accurate finishing. In the UEFA Cup, Pato was his usual prolific self, scoring three of the Rossoneri's goals in the competition.

Milan Locked In Talks With Luis Fabiano Representatives - Report
Sky Sport Italia claim Adriano Galliani is in deep negotiations with RIO - the investment company that owns 65 percent of Luis Fabiano...
14 Jul 2009 11:06:36
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Adriano Galliani - Milan (Grazia Neri)
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Adriano Galliani is locked in talks with the company that owns a majority stake in Luis Fabiano as Milan try to implement a strategy in an attempt to pressure Sevilla into selling up.

Sky Sport Italia report that high-powered talks are taking place at the Rossoneri's headquarters in Via Turati today after a number of lawyers from investment company RIO arrived in Milan.

The situation is complicated though as Sevilla are playing hardball. It is said RIO are eager to sell the striker to Milan, while the Spanish club are seeking a better offer from the Rossoneri. The sale will not go through unless RIO and Sevilla can find an agreement.

Milan have already had an initial €14million bid rejected, but they are working alongside the investment company that owns Fabiano in an attempt to raise temperatures in Seville.

Voices suggest the Rossoneri will design a strategy with RIO in order to convince the Spanish club into selling up. The Rojiblancos are demanding a better offer from Milan and the Italians will use today's negotiations to find a way of landing the Brazilian through a deal that all three parties can agree on.

Salvatore Landolina, Goal.com

AC Milan Team Of The Decade 2000-2010
As we approach 2010, Goal.com's Gil Gillespie selects his Milan best XI from the past decade...
14 Jul 2009 11:00:55
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Champions League, Maldini celebrates (Foto Grazia Neri)
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Some might say that the first ten years of the 21st Century have not been particularly memorable for Milan. The decade could, perhaps, be defined as the one that saw the crown of the most successful club side of the modern age begin to slip.


The Rossoneri have only lifted one scudetto since the year 2000, they were embroiled up to their necks in the Calciopoli scandal, they somehow lost a Champions League final to a vastly inferior Liverpool side despite going in at half-time with a three goal lead and they have just sold their best attacking player to Real Madrid, even though he made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to go.


But, while city rivals Inter have dominated domestically, Milan have continued to shine on the European stage. Two Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup isn't a bad return for a team supposedly going downhill.

Christian Abbiati (1998-2005) (2008-)

To include a goalkeeper who has never even established himself as the club's number one might seem a little absurd but the 31-year-old fascist sympathiser is the best of a pretty unconvincing trio. When all you have is Dida and Kalac for competition, it's pretty inevitable that you will come out on top. Abbiati made his debut in Serie A in 1999 and became Milan's first choice between the posts for four years, until he lost his starting spot to the aforementioned Dida early in the 2002-2003 campaign. Loan spells with Juventus, Torino and Atletico Madrid allowed the disastrous Brazilian to step up to the plate and promptly start dropping the ball. Over and over again.





Cafu (2003–2008)

Not so much a right-back as a nuclear powered high speed intercontinental super train with a grin on its face. One of six children, Marcos Evangelista de Moraes grew up in the broken alleys of a Sao Paolo shanty town and soon realised that football was going to be his only way out. 'Il Pendolino ' didn't arrive in Italy until he was 27-years-old. Six relentlessly impressive seasons with Roma were followed by five almost as consistent years at the San Siro and Cafu was able to retire safe in the knowledge that there has not been a better right-sided wing-back anywhere in the world in the last ten years.





Alessandro Nesta (2002-)

Probably the most cultured central defender of the century so far, Nesta has exuded an unflappable air of calm assurance ever since he joined the Rossoneri from Lazio in 2002. And, while injury and personal misfortune have blighted his career at both club and international level, he would walk into any best team of the decade back four. Nesta is an almost flawless defender, who's impeccable technique means he could have played anywhere on the pitch. But game after game, season after season, he remains forever disciplined, forever selfless, a master of the defensive arts and not someone who ever crosses the half-way line.





Alessandro Costacurta (1986–2007)

Ray Wilkins once said that he thought Costacurta would have looked more at home on a film set than a football pitch and it's easy to see why. Playing the role of good cop to Franco Baresi's ball-busting Magnum Force, 'Billy', as he is known to everyone except his mum, tended to breeze through games with the air of someone who wasn't all that keen on messing up his hair. But this foppish demeanour concealed undeniably brilliance. Seven Serie A titles, five Champions League's, four UEFA Super Cups and one Coppa Italia says it all. And he gets a mention in the pilot episode of Father Ted.




Paolo Maldini (1985-2009)

What is there left to say about the extraordinary career of the greatest left-back in the history of the game? Having spent his entire club career in the red and black number 3 shirt, Maldini spent a record-breaking 25 years in the first team. In that time, he won seven Serie A championships, one Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana, five UEFA Champions League's, five UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA World Club Cup. All this, and the looks of a matinee idol. Milan may take a while to learn how to walk again without him around.





Andrea Pirlo (2001-)

Andrea Pirlo is a unique footballer in more ways than one. The son of a wealthy industrialist, Pirlo spent the early part of his career as a trequartista but Carlo Ancelotti had the vision, and the courage, to turn this most gifted of talents into a deep-lying playmaker. Pirlo has never looked back. No other player of his type fills a similar role in the game. And yet, for both club and country, he has become utterly indispensable, dictating the direction, tempo and shape of the play. Gennaro Gattuso put it best when he said, "When I see what Andrea can do with the ball, I have to ask myself whether I am a footballer".





Gennaro Gattuso (1999-)

If Pirlo carves beautiful shapes on the football field, Gattuso is there to destroy them. Energetic to the point of carelessness, the pit-bull of the Milan midfield charges about the place with scant regard for his, or his opponents, safety. He snaps into tackles, hassles and harries and generally disrupts the merest hint of comfortable possession with a passion that goes above and beyond the call of duty. If there were walls on the pitch, he would run through them. One Scudetto, two Champions League's, two UEFA Super Cups, one FIFA World Club Cup, one Coppa Italia and the small matter of a World Cup suggest he has taken what was Rangers boss Walter Smith's idea and made it fly.





Clarence Seedorf (2002-)

The only player to win the UEFA Champions League with three different clubs, the Suriname-born Dutch superstar seems to have been at the top of the game for about 100 years. It is almost impossible to think of Seedorf as a coltish 16-year-old making his debut for Ajax back in the early nineties. Sampdoria, briefly, then Real Madrid, Inter and finally, Milan followed, as he left his own personal footprint all over the European game. Granted, he does have off-days and his long-range shooting suggests he may be someone who believes he is more capable than he actually is, but when he finds his groove he can dominate and win games like few other midfielders.





Kaka (2003-2009)

He may have arrived as part of the South American heritage that gave us Zico, Rivaldo and Ronaldhinho but the boy named as a result of his kid brother's inability to pronounce the word 'Ricardo' is a very different kind of Brazilian. Kaka's most devastating feature is to run, at pace, with the ball at his feet. And when he's in full flow, he is virtually unstoppable. He drifts instead of dribbles, leaning one way, then the other, sprinkling little seeds of uncertainty into the collective minds of the opposition, as subtle and as dynamic as a breeze.





Andriy Shevchenko (1999–2006) (2008–2009)

Before he became a spare part of a striker with an allergy to putting the ball in the back of the net at Chelsea, this skinny-looking Ukrainian spent a considerable amount of time being the most lethal finisher on the planet. 175 goals in 324 appearances for Milan make him the clubs second all-time top scorer, one place behind fearsome Swedish thunderbolt Gunnar Nordahl. Shevchenko's biggest strengths were his ultra sophisticated interpretation of the play and his chillingly clinical eye for goal. The angled patterns of the Rossoneri suited him perfectly.





Filippo Inzaghi (2001-)

'Super Pippo' is probably the last of the great goal-hanging strikers, a genuine 100 per cent maverick. Half elbows and half knees, he has spent the whole of his career poised on the shoulder of the last defender, waiting for his moment to pounce. When it comes to making off-the-ball angled runs, there is no-one better, perhaps ever. His jagged scurries into the box have been one of the defining features of European football in the 21st Century. As have the number of offside decisions given against him. His goalscoring record, in case you didn't know, is phenomenal. No-one loves scoring goals as much as Inzaghi. Great goals, average goals, fluky goals, vital goals, meaningless goals, headers, shin kicks, tap-ins, he celebrates each one in the same euphoric manner.








Abbiati


Cafu - Nesta - Costacurta - Maldini

Pirlo


Gattuso - Kaka - Seedorf


Shevchenko - Inzaghi


Do you agree with those who made it into the Milan Team of the Decade 2000-2010? What would be your XI? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think...

Gil Gillespie, Goal.com

Originally Posted by Saliwonczyk

If all other clubs want to play hard ball on their players, I am sure we can drag Pirlo's price to atleast 30 million! After all, he is a versatile man, proven by his monumental switching of positions for Milan. As well as this, he has a wealth of experience whilst not being in his early thirties just yet.....

Sounds similar to "Adebayorisation" brochure made by Arsenal fans... nevertheless I like that!!!

Originally Posted by Saliwonczyk

Mate, that would be a fantastic mercato. Better than what will actually happen. If both Hernanes and Fabiano arrive, I will be over the moon. Pasqual has already reisgned with Florence, but yes, we need another full-back. However, don't count Antonini out. He is a great player!

Agree, I'm not knocking Antonini. I couldn't understand why Carlo didn't play Antonini more often last season. His definitely ahead of some other defenders which got more game time then he did. I'm a big Antonini fan!!

Originally Posted by 'The Bulldog'

Agree, I'm not knocking Antonini. I couldn't understand why Carlo didn't play Antonini more often last season. His definitely ahead of some other defenders which got more game time then he did. I'm a big Antonini fan!!

I can't quite grasp why, being good at both sides, he didn't replace the inconsistent janko?! Zambrotta was too good, but Janko? I think Carlo couldn't let go of his old favourites, and I hope Leo doesn't play this ridiculous game!
Antonini didn't put a step wrong really, and was seriously underrated by all....

Originally Posted by 'The Bulldog'

Agree, I'm not knocking Antonini. I couldn't understand why Carlo didn't play Antonini more often last season. His definitely ahead of some other defenders which got more game time then he did. I'm a big Antonini fan!!

He was very bad (if not terrible) last season regarding his defensive ability.

Originally Posted by Siregar

He was very bad (if not terrible) last season regarding his defensive ability.

You serious? And you are possbily saying that Janko was better in defense?! He atleast deserved more appearances due to Janko's inconsistency. I know he was injured at the climax of the season though....

Originally Posted by Saliwonczyk

You serious? And you are possbily saying that Janko was better in defense?! He atleast deserved more appearances due to Janko's inconsistency. I know he was injured at the climax of the season though....

Yes, I am serious. I think, Antonini played worse than Jankulovski regarding the defensive tasks. But the point is that both were not Milan material because of their defensive errors. Antonini was more a creative player when he moved forwards than Jankulovski IMO.

For me, Janku and Antonini should be back-up players for fullback position. Milan should find other better players for fullback position.

Siregar did you see Antonini play at all,because you saying that he was terrible in defense last season......I dont think anyone could agree with that,he was very solid in defense while also contributing in attack allot,he could do all this because of his high work-rate and thats why everybody likes him.He wasnt terrible in defense and didnt make one mistake.He should be one of the players this season who must be considered for the starting XI,but i think Leo was ahead of us and already has noticed his talents.

Great to see Abbiati being included in the best Milan team of the decade,he deserves it!

FORZA CHRISTIAN!

Originally Posted by Dutchie-Milan

Siregar did you see Antonini play at all,because you saying that he was terrible in defense last season......I dont think anyone could agree with that,he was very solid in defense while also contributing in attack allot,he could do all this because of his high work-rate and thats why everybody likes him.He wasnt terrible in defense and didnt make one mistake.He should be one of the players this season who must be considered for the starting XI,but i think Leo was ahead of us and already has noticed his talents.

Yes, I watched many of his games last season (actually his games were not many ). For my view, he was just like Jankulovski (worse actually), very bad at defending. For attacking role I think Antonini was better as I said in my post previously.

Antonini brought to Milan was for 3rd or 4th backup, not direct backup for our fullbacks. That's what he said in his interview in his first weeks with Milan. He himself realised his quality.