Napoli-Milan 28/10/09

If that will be the formation,then i would be very happy as its the best formation we fans could think about,Leo could also use Abate for Ambro,but i think the formation is great.

If we draw this game,it would not be a disaster....Inter always lose against Napoli in San Paolo,everybody has a hard time there,but i would like to see a win wich is possible if we are very deadly and clinical.One chance is enough to win the game!

Seems Abate is not available, i guess he's still injured

Lebrn- I agree with you regarding us having to win every game and i sure as hell wished we did, but all i was saying was its going to be difficult at the San Paolo and it will be so, and salvaging a draw atleast would not leave us disappointed.

Originally Posted by pirlofanusa

Borri is strong, passes well, and wins a lot of balls and would be a good link between our attack and midfield.

What the ****?


I think its clear that we're going to stick with a gung-ho 433 for a while, until we get spanked. It doesn't really matter who the full-backs are, they're all crap. Let's hope Nesta-Thiago continue to dominate and maybe we can shut Napoli out long enough to score. Borriello should definitely start ahead of both Pippo and Klaas.

I'm guessing Ambro will replace Seedorf: Flamini-Pirlo-Ambro.

Originally Posted by brk

What the ****?


I think its clear that we're going to stick with a gung-ho 433 for a while, until we get spanked. It doesn't really matter who the full-backs are, they're all crap. Let's hope Nesta-Thiago continue to dominate and maybe we can shut Napoli out long enough to score. Borriello should definitely start ahead of both Pippo and Klaas.

I'm guessing Ambro will replace Seedorf: Flamini-Pirlo-Ambro.

i think that placing our trust in Dinho is a huge mistake. he losses many balls attempting to do tricks that he can no longer do. his fans will watch 4 poor performances and then one good one and declare how great he is.

Ambro should not start, he is clumsy and makes too many mistakes. he should not be captain, Nesta or Pirlo should.

Huntelaar should start. its not him, its the service from the midfield. and Napoli plays a 3 man back line, he can take advantage

With two DM (Flamini and apparently Ambrosini), wouldnt it be wise to push Pirlo higher up the pitch? Abate would have been a better replacement for Seedorf, imo, but maybe the 2 DM wall will help shield vs Napoli.

Borrigol MUST start ahead of Hunter and Superpippo. He is just more in shape it seems. While he doesnt score (none of our CF's have scored in Serie A, right?), he is more helpful to the team. This is because he is a different type of forward than Pippo and Hunter, who are typical Opportunisti. With zero service, they are totally useless. Borrigol on the otherhand makes room for himself with his stronger physique. Also, he actually runs back more often than those other two. Actually, he runs back more than Pato and Dinho. With a trident, it is good if atleast one striker runs back to help.

Huntelaar has really disappointed me so far. Certainly he has to fit in, learn the language etc etc.. and ofc there is zero service for his style of play. But Pippo, who is the same type of player, somehow always has more chances than Huntelaar (he has been very wasteful this season, albeit). It's because he is wiser, he makes looses his marker, the guy was basically born offside.

sorry guys, seems my first source was wrong, Leo called up Abate for Napoli...good news

Originally Posted by LebRN

sorry guys, seems my first source was wrong, Leo called up Abate for Napoli...good news

Excellent.

Let's hope he gets to play. (Or at least, I hope he does)

With the number of games he's played so far, I'm worried nesta will burn out. At some point he should be rested, soon. Otherwise we risk losing him for the CL game against madrid, or even worse.. Long injury layoff like last year. He is the differentiating factor for us this year. Doesn't really matter about kaka leaving. If he's out we're back to just a bunch of clowns running around.

I CONVOCATI ROSSONERI
27/10/2009 13.10.00

MILANELLO - Sono 20 i convocati di Leonardo per Napoli:
Dida, Roma, Donnarumma, Antonini, Favalli, Kaladze, Nesta, Oddo, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta, Abate, Ambrosini, Flamini, Pirlo, Seedorf, Borriello, Huntelaar, Inzaghi, Pato, Ronaldinho.
Giocatori indisponibili: Abbiati, Storari, Bonera, Jankulovski, Onyewu, Gattuso, Di Gennaro.

'Napoli are playing well and have found back enthusiasm, which they have always had throughout their history. Napoli have a special Dna, it takes little to excite them and in fact the San Paolo will be full. They will be charged up.
We have found an important basis, we're in a positive moment. It will be a nice match to play.'

'Napoli play with three men in the defence and two on the wings for which we'll have to be careful. Sometimes they play with a 3-5-2, other times with a 4-3-1-2. They have versatility and good physical condition. They know how to impose their rhythm.'

'Milan? This team is controlled by the players. There isn't much necessary to say to the players. They have their own identities. A coach has to understand the mood, be able to handle situations, decide the formations but a lot is in the hands of the players. They have their ideas and they are winning ideas. That is also important.
When things go well the banana peel is around the corner. We can't lose our enthusiasm. The rest comes after. But what I'm seeing makes me believe we can keep going like this for a while. I'm not sure what has changed. Balance is fundamental, as is the psychological aspect. Right now we are reading things the right way and we're in a good moment.'

'The initial suffering at the start of the season made us grow, it made us reflect and look for solutions together. It's clear that we would like not to suffer and win before the final minutes, but I would not cancel a moment of those games. I would not renounce a second of those emotions.'

'We have a precise identity. When you choose a playing style you also chose an attitude, aside from a playing system. This team wants to surprise, to convince, to hurt... How you go on the pitch and how you interpret the roles is what counts. My idea is to maintain a playing identity also when you change the players.'

'Dida? Football is extraordinary, as is life... These stories are great and explain what football is all about. Nesta, Dida, Antonini: three different and extraordinary cases. Nesta scored two goals against Chievo, in a perfect match, in which he broke his nose without ever stopping.
Then Dida: he has been massacred for his mistakes in a career characterised by strong moments. In Madrid he makes a mistake but then recovers in the same match and against Chievo the winning goal came after he made a miracle save. But let me also mention Antonini who had not played before Sunday. He answered very well. I'm very happy for him. He's an important alternative on the wing.'

'Has Nesta filled the void left by Maldini? It's not right to compare things like that. I often speak with Paolo, he helps me, he follows everything. In a way he is still here. He helps me a lot. Ale was already here when he played, he grew even more playing alongside Paolo. Nesta's history is great. To think that he started with all these insecurities, but he continued working hard without skipping any training. Sunday night he didn't know what he had done to his nose yet he was already thinking about Naples. The other players' joy when he entered the pitch explains what he represents. In football it's impossible to separate the player from the man.'

'Huntelaar? It's normal that he's being talked about right now. It takes little to change things... The goal is important for a striker. He will have his chances... It's not a problem, we know how he plays and he knows how we play. The goal will come.
Borriello is a very important player for us but it's the way we play that makes the difference. Borriello was out for a year, it's normal that it takes some time now. I see more and more availability from him. Slowly but surely he will become completely available. Marco has characteristics that can help any team.'

'The Scudetto? My argument doesn't change. We know our Dna very well and it doesn't change. It's normal that we think about winning. I continue to say, however, that we have to make a step at a time. The road is long, we have to be consistent and see what happens. Episodes also determine how a season will go. Our run will tell us whether we'll be competitive for the title or not.'

'The market? I don't want to talk about it. For now I see it as something very far away. We have many things to do and the market isn't one of them. As for Beckham the situation is different. In a sense he is already here, his would be the return of a player who was already a part of the group. For the rest I am not thinking about the market.'

'The ideal thing for us would be to have all the players always available. But it's not possible. Right now Pato and Ronaldinho are doing very well. The idea was to play like this from the start, with a team that would impose its play. Now we are doing it. We have found a balance and we have to maintain it. I give an example: Seedorf. I think of how he ran after Pinzi. His condition allows it and so he becomes a point of balance in our play. I expect even more from Ronaldinho, he's not yet at the level he can reach. He's doing a lot but he can do more and be even more decisive.'

'As for the injured players, I think Abbiati, Di Gennaro, Jankulovski and Bonera will return after the break. Perhaps for Daniele it's slightly different: we'll have to see how he responds to harder work. Rino Gattuso could've been available for tomorrow but we preferred not to risk him and have him at 100% for Saturday.'

acmilan.com


I like how Galliani has poisoned Leonardo with his DNA theory as well..LOL

From his interview, it seems Leo is set to start Huntelaar....hmmm...I would give the nod to Boriello, but what do I kno?

That said, Leo always impresses me with his statements from the press conferences, and more and more, as he stacks up the wins, is the more my faith in him grows.

Let's see how it goes tomorrow.

FORZA MIILAN!!!

No, I didn't get that from the interview. I think he's going with Borriello.

Originally Posted by pirlofanusa

i think that placing our trust in Dinho is a huge mistake. he losses many balls attempting to do tricks that he can no longer do. his fans will watch 4 poor performances and then one good one and declare how great he is.

Ambro should not start, he is clumsy and makes too many mistakes. he should not be captain, Nesta or Pirlo should.

Huntelaar should start. its not him, its the service from the midfield. and Napoli plays a 3 man back line, he can take advantage

No, Ronaldinho is our best playmaker. Nobody in our team, Pirlo included, is better now at threading passes through a sea of legs. Just because he lost some mobility doesn't mean he's not a good player anymore. He creates two or three key moments in a game, and if our attackers took advantage, that would usually be enough to win a game.

Borriello is a CF for gods sake, what do you mean we should play him as a trequartista? That's insane. Why not play Gooch up front too, he has a good header and he's strong too! Be reasonable.

Also, a three man defense is usually worse for a CF. It means that you have three players in between your wingers, instead of one being outside of them. Remember, there are always going to be two full backs tracking back, so it's usually a 5 man line when under pressure. They're not going to be stretched out the way you imagine.

Originally Posted by brk

No, I didn't get that from the interview. I think he's going with Borriello.




No, Ronaldinho is our best playmaker. Nobody in our team, Pirlo included, is better now at threading passes through a sea of legs. Just because he lost some mobility doesn't mean he's not a good player anymore. He creates two or three key moments in a game, and if our attackers took advantage, that would usually be enough to win a game.

Borriello is a CF for gods sake, what do you mean we should play him as a trequartista? That's insane. Why not play Gooch up front too, he has a good header and he's strong too! Be reasonable.

Also, a three man defense is usually worse for a CF. It means that you have three players in between your wingers, instead of one being outside of them. Remember, there are always going to be two full backs tracking back, so it's usually a 5 man line when under pressure. They're not going to be stretched out the way you imagine.

With regards to Borriello, Im not suggesting a traditional trequartista role. more of a "holding striker" he does not score all that much, but what he does very well is run, pass, win balls. he seems like he could offer a link between the mid and attack. Borri also moves around which opens up the field for other players. he has a very high work rate. what is it that ppl complain about him? that he hasnt scored enough goals. But they want him to play because he opens up the field for Pato. he can use his talents in a more withdrawn role.

if Dinho is our best playmaker currently then we are in trouble. he cant run, he is undisciplined, he loses many many balls trying to do tricks that he can no longer do, and he would rather be partying then playing. I think he has more talent then any player in the world, but i think that he is lazy beyond belief and that he doesnt offer enough to the team to be worth it. he is our streakiest player too, he will look good one game, then terrible the next. if it was up to me i would sell him for all we can get in January and try to get a more traditional trequartisa like Rossi

pirlofanusa,

I don't agree that he loses the ball too much. He actually doesn't even attempt that many tricks anymore. I can only remember only a couple of times where he lost the ball while trying to dribble against Chievo. (one of them was when Luciano somewhat easily disspossed him) BUT, that happened at the edge of the penalty area where obviously Dinho was going to try to go past the player and possibly shoot, cross or pass through (either one). It happens. He is a forward (just a generalization....lets please not go into facts of what kind of forward/playmaker/winger etc he is) and forwards will try to go by a player and finish off the attack. Sometimes it goes well and sometimes it doesn't. But by no stretch of the imagination does Dinho lose the ball too often. Like I said he plays close to the opponents goal and he will at times try things.....dribbles, shots, crosses, passes. Sometimes they'll connect sometimes they wont.

As for saying that 'if he is our best playmaker then we are in trouble'.....that's really a bold statement that doesn't take in consideration any of the facts. And the fact right now is that EVERY TIME (yes every time) Ronaldinho is on the field he menages to somehow create and put another player in a 99% scoring opportunity. (no one else in our team menages to do that nowdays)That's regardless of how good you or me or anyone thinks he is or if he'll ever be good again or what not. This is a fact, and whoever says that it's not can go back and watch the games. The problem is that many of the players have been wasteful or simply misscontrolled the passes that were made to them by Dinho and there was no end product to his work. Now I know that a playmaker is also many times supposed to spread the ball around, controll the pace of the play, be always involved, touch the ball many times and orchestrate.....and not only thread passes through, but Ronaldinho has never been that type of a player (that's also why he isn't a true playmaker but more of a "one moment of brilliance" player.....that's what he's always been). And if you are talking about that kind of a playmaker then yes, he isn't anywhere near our best. But when it comes to creating goalscoring opportunities he's by far ahead of the others at the moment.

Having said all that, I would agree that doin ONLY that (1 super pass/play/shot) is not enough in a game if then you are going to go and constantly lose the ball by doing stupid tricks (something that you are emplying that Dinho is doing). However, I really don't see him doing that. Yes he does lose the ball, but no more then a player at his position should. He was perhaps doing that in the beggining of the year......but in the last few weeks he's really upped his level of play and he needs to continue going the same way.

I don't know, maybe we are not watching the same games but this is my opinion. I've read your posts in the last week or so constantly pointin out that Ronaldinho loses the ball way too much while trying to do tricks...........and I really haven't seen that from him.

I will actually go one step further than nefremo, and I will say that Ronaldinho is actually one the big reasons why Milan's recent success has happened.

The tricks that he used against Real, most of them worked actually. Some of them actually made me think of old Ronaldinho. His passes against Roma were incredible, he gave two to Pato on a plate. Another to Inzaghi that he couldn't get to.

Against Chievo, same thing. Ronaldinho put Pato through on goal, sure it was a tight angle, but not tight enough to denigrate the pass. Pato knew that if he hadn't lost control that would've been a goal.

Dinho does more than that though, he spreads the play very well. He switches the field many times, and it has allowed Oddo's runs to actually be worthwhile (and then become useless when he crosses).

Dinho is one of the big reasons Milan has improved so drastically in the last few games. I don't think he's near to his old levels, and Leonardo agrees. He can still improve, and it seems that this left-wing role is suiting him just fine.

Dinho's tricks are more than just entertainment. It frees up other players, and it also allows him to be deliberate when he wants to be. What do I mean? Let's take the Real Madrid game, for instance.

In that game he was usually doing tricks, dribbles, etc. When Pato hits the ball to him at the top of the box, Ronaldinho hesitates, so does Real's defense, not sure whether to pursue him, mark Pato, or watch for a shot. This gives Seedorf time to ghost in, Ronaldinho passes to him, Pato hovers over the last defender's back, Ronaldinho runs, Real's defense focus on him, freeing Pato, and Seedorf duly chips the ball for Pato's game-winning goal.

Ronaldinho is the only player who can pass like he does, not even Pirlo is showing his much-famed passing skills.

Do I think that he needs to improve his workrate? For sure. His product? Maybe a little bit, but mostly because he knows he can play even better. Pato knows that his finishing is keeping him from becoming a World Class player, rather than a World Class talent. Ronaldinho can only keep setting him up, and truly if Milan had put away the amount of chances that Dinho has given us, we wouldn't be at the low point we were at before.