A.C. MILAN vs INTER 28/08/09

Originally Posted by M.O.I.

guys maldini was G-R-E-A-T tonight,he made only one mistake,and not that big because he was really controlling the situation..

Actually, he wasn't. Every time Ibra went to receive the ball, all he had to do was burst forward two steps to move away from Maldini. He couldn't keep up. You could see him try to go for him, and back in the day he would have stuck with him and intercepted, or at least pressured him into making a mistake. Ibra recieved nearly every ball that was passed to him. Nesta would not have let him have any breathing room like he had today.

Also, for gods sake people enough with the drama. I see so many manic depressive children here that cry and panic when the team loses a game and fill up with orgasmic ecstasy when we scrape together a win. We did NOT dominate the game. Before we scored the goal, Inter were attacking us constantly. They didn't play possession, but with 3DMs and 3attackers, they were built for counterattacks. We were lucky we scored first. If any one of their chances went in before ours, it would have been a completely different game. Had that happened, kids like mrki would be cursing Carlo and asking for his head. Grow up.

Originally Posted by brk

I have a feeling this is going to be Ronnie's game. I remember Kaka scored his first goal for Milan in the derby. A tap in header from a Gattuso cross. I hope R80 has his moment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVOQVAsExvc

I don't know how what the best option for us is going into this game. Ambro has to play on the left defensive position, not Seedorf. Clarence can't stop Maicon, who in my opinion is the best right back in Serie A. I fear him more than Ibra. We need Ambro to attack aggressively on that left flank before he starts to make his runs, and track back to cover for Janku in case he overreaches and is trapped in a counterattack. Ambro vs Maicon is a battle to watch. Ringhio will probably retain his place in the centre of midfield, replacing Pirlo's vision with pure menace and energy. I think it works against a team like Inter. He tracks horizontally far more than Pirlo ever would, and might nullify Mancini with bone crunching tackles on the right side. The third DM would probably be Seedorf. I never like this trio in the middle. The past few games saw them stepping on each others toes, and sometimes literally running into each other. Lets hope they manage to stabilize without the gravitational pull of Pirlo to coordinate them.

[Abbiati] [Zambrotta, Maldini, Kaladze, Jankulovski] [Ambrosini, Gattuso, Seedorf]

This block is fairly balanced defensively. Of course, the full backs are key. You will know how ballsy Carlo is feeling by how far and how often Janku and Zambro overlap and push up. I'm also curious to see if he chooses to concentrate on only one flank, probably Zambro; since a counter attack from Maicon/Zanetti is more dangerous than Chivu. Seedorf needs to have an energetic and aggressive game. If he has an off night, we're screwed. Simple as that. He won't be Pirlo, he'll push up far more than Pirlo ever would, but I still want to see him fly into tackles, and not give away too many stupid passes.

So this leaves the front three. The obvious choices are KaPaRo, or Shev/Pato. I really am torn about which attack I would prefer. I guess it depends on how deep Inter want to defend, and which defenders they use. If they go deep, i'd rather have Ronnie, since he'll have more time and space closer to goal. If they go nuts and try to play possession football for long periods of time (probably late in the game, if they're chasing a draw or a win) i'd rather have Pato/Shev to run into space.

The beauty of having Seedorf in a DM position in 4312 is that if need be, he can move up and it morphs into a 4231 with Pato going wide right, and Seedorf wide left. Of course, the ideal 4231 is KaPaRo with Borriello (I don't like Shev as a lone striker)



Sorry for rambling on. Here's the gist it:

Start with a 4312----------> (Gattuso, Seedorf, Ambro, Kaka, Pato, Sheva)
If winning at min 75-------> switch to Xmas tree (Flamini, Gattuso, Ambro, Seedorf, Kaka, Pato)
If losing at min 75---------> switch to 4231 (Flamini, Ambro, R80, Kaka, Pato, Sheva)

Forza Milan. Believe in Ronnie.

Yes, I do have a time machine. Look for Obama to win on Nov 4 by 5.4 points.

What a real thriller. Perfect tactical match and the match management from Ancelotti was great full credit to him this time. We pushed forward from the start and were by far the better side in the first half scoring a real stunner from Ronnie after a great assist from fellow Brazilian Kaka then our approach to the game changed drastically focusing on containing them and counter attacking relying on Kaka's pace in bringing us forward. The Christmas tree once again done the trick for us in big matches leaving Pato upfront to take the attention while the real danger came from the supporting duo Kaka and Ronaldinho and Janklufski's runs down the left. For me man of the match without any doubt is Dutchman Seedorf he was great taking Pirlo's duties of the deep lying midfielder and the anchorman and he was instrumental when we came under immense pressure by holding up possession and carefuly distributing the ball. In spite of Inter playing with three forwards who are very dominant in the air in the last quarter Carlo didn't panic with Adriano's introduction to the game and whenever he shifted in an opposing fullback was ready except for the very last chance which took our breath with it. I am very impressed with the way our central defensive pair of veteran Maldini and Kaladzi played it is never an easy task to stop Ibra with support coming from either Mancini or Quaresma and at later stages dealing with two other strikers. With that win we have fully recovered from our sloppy start to the season and we have our confidence and faith back so here we go and from now our real title challenge begins. Well done Carletto and the players.

Originally Posted by mrki

I cant believe what I saw today!!! Carlo has my applauses and bows like a king!! I RARELY say that but he dominated the team perfectly.

I fully agree with that even though I am not a fan of him. His approach to the game, substitutions and mentality were all great against also a great tactician so it leaves a special taste when you outclass him. Firstly going for the Christmas tree and having players like Kaka, Ronnie and Seedorf in midfield left us with much possession and even though Pirlo was not there to provide us with his usual defence splitting passes from deep straight into the final third, we still managed to find our way and waited for our chances to come and manged to snatch that elusive first goal in such type of matches. Inter were having like wise three central midfielders and even with the absence of a key player in that area like Pirlo, Seedorf made his presence felt in one of his best matches for us controlling our passing game and providing an excellent shield to the back four. Taking an attacker Pato for a midfielder Flamini was justified after Inter started to gain the advantage in midfield with Gattusso and Ambro showing signs of tiredness and we needed a fresh pair of legs and Flamini provided just that. We also needed Sheva in the dying minutes in order to help hold up ball possession and take a little pressure off the rest of the side and he was very close to scoring in one occasion.

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=885959

Abbiati 7- If Dida was in goal, every cross would give me a heart attack. Abbiati is better.

Zambrotta 6.5 - Kept back mostly. Sensible positioning, and saved our ass with one last ditch tackle. Hell, he just threw himself on the ball and hoped for the best.

Maldini 6 - It is amazing that he's 40, but he doesn't get extra points for that handicap. I'd rather have a faster, more agile defender. When called upon in tight spaces, he's still the best, but his acceleration failed him.

Kaladze 6- Better than in previous games, but his concentration and positioning is still awful. Dealt with crosses well, though. His physicality is a plus.

Jankulovski 6.5 - Better than Zambro. He pushed forward more, knowing Ambro has his back. Gave R80 options down that flank. Defensively solid, although gave away some silly fouls.

Ambrosini 7 - Solid performance. Didn't attempt to run into the box as often as we're used to, and kept an eye on Maicon all game. Far more defensive than usual, and hardly entered the final third of the pitch. Did his job well.

Gattuso 8.5 - He's back. Lets hope that he can keep the fire burning. I was worried last year that he lost his passion, but he has proved me wrong. This performance reminds me of his two legendary games in Manchester, with Juve and United. A beast.

Seedorf 9 - Simply incredible performance. He was everywhere. Both defensively and offensively Clarence was critical in every move. Pirlo could not have done what Seedorf did today. Viera and Cambiasso had a hard time imposing themselves on the Dutchman. Man of the Match.

Ronaldinho 7.5- Great header for the goal, and a great pass to Kaka on the same move. Showed a couple of glimpses of his genius with creative passes and through balls. Still slow, and can't beat his man. If he regains that lost element of his game, he could be unstoppable. Right now, he's not good enough for the first 11 if everyone is fit.

Kaka 7 - Great work on the goal, but otherwise average game for Kaka. Couldn't find the space to run centrally. He is a magnet for fouls, and got Burdisso sent off, but at the expense of his elegance and swiftness. Opponents are out to destroy him.

Pato 6.5 - Felt a little out of place in the side. I don't think he can ever really be a lone striker as he lacks the physicality and the timing. Immensely talented with the ball at his feet but was finding it hard to find space. Offside far too often, and wasted some good moves with bad decisions.

Subs

Flamini 6 - Almost gave away a penalty after almost being sent off against Reggina. Could his aggressiveness be a liability?

Shevchenko 6.5 - Needs a goal to shatter his strikers block. Lacks confidence in his finishing, and is our slowest striker. Did well to waste time, but gave away the ball at the last few seconds which gave Inter one last chance. You don't give Mourinho one last chance...

Bonera N/A


INTER

Julio Cesar 6.5

Maicon 6

Burdisso 5

Materazzi 6.5

Chivu 6

Cambiasso 8

Vieira 7

Zanetti 6.5

Mancini 4

Ibrahimovic 6

Quaresma 5

Subs

Adriano 5

Cruz 6

Stankovic 6

In case you're wondering, my opinion of our optimum formation against a generic opponent is this:

4312/4231: Abbiati, Zambro, Nesta, Maldini, Janku, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaka, Pato, Borriello


It feels so good knowing Milan has options, doesn't it?

Originally Posted by Adriano

LOOOOL Dida? Sucks!

Who almost singlehandedly owned your sorry asses not too long ago that the Inter fags chucked flares at him in frustration? Who's won twice as many CLs than you morons have in the past forty years?

Go take a long walk off a short pier.

Hi All, I'm new here and i would love to contribute in this wonderful forum, i've been reading your posts for years and for me, your analysis and comments about Milan is pure poetry, many of you are old fans and your views make sense, I didnt register earlier because i'm not the talking type i just like to listen ...
you even have Inter and Juve fans who are actually cool (dont add Adriano)
I hope i'm welcomed here

BTW i think some of you were members of the really old Goal.com forums which got canceled long time ago, correct me if i'm mistaken!

My main reason for registering is the fact that only a few mentioned how Milan started to play marvelously after Pirlos absence ! I think this is BIG, IMO he is a shadow of himself, his magic disappeared and his passes became random, I'm a big fan of him dont get me wrong, but he has to develop, he became predictable.

The other thing that concerns me is the sheer number of players we have..many champions have to be benched, and some will revolt causing locker room problems, I hope i'm wrong !

Congrats for the win and i hope we continue like this for ever

Good to see you here, Bender.

I disagree about the Pirlo part. Seedorf can play as DMC in one game or so like he did, but Pirlo is much better and experienced in that role. I bet if you count how many assists he created for assist (i.e., he passed to the assist who then assisted the goal), he'll be on top.

Cheers - J

The thing with Pirlo is that, for the past year and abit, Gattuso was not the Gattuso today. And Janku was constantly injured, and Oddo/Bonera/Cafu were very inconsistent as RB.
If Pirlo played today instead of Seedorf, Milan might give away some of Seedorf's defense, but I am sure Pirlo could have made up for it with his long passes to Pato.
U see, i think people failed to see that Pato is much much faster than Matrix and Bourdiso, and somehow I believe that if Pirlo was playing, his passes will find Pato all alone against Caesar.

Dont know what makes me happier, the fact that we won or that we kept a clean sheet.

Originally Posted by brk

If any one of their chances went in before ours, it would have been a completely different game. Had that happened, kids like mrki would be cursing Carlo and asking for his head. Grow up.

thanks for this comment so much, you said everything that I wanted, but didn't want to start a flame war...

I will continue reading...

Originally Posted by brk

We were lucky we scored first. If any one of their chances went in before ours, it would have been a completely different game. Had that happened, kids like mrki would be cursing Carlo and asking for his head. Grow up.

I will not even say anything ugly to you as you yourself sound enough stupid and shallow. Carlo did the right thing today, UNLIKE numerous times he did not. We did dominate the game, Inter had ossesion? it was 50-50 exactly untill the goal. Chances? Ibra had one shot untill Dinho goal and once Abbiatti went into his legs, thats all...

Milan outplayed Inter with great performance today. Inter is extremly strong team and Milan played with unfit Dinho, young Pato and without Nesta with Maldini who did his best as a 40 year old player...

From kindergarden, kid like I am, greetings oh Lord Brk. I dont know why do you assume Im a kid, Im 24. But nevermind. You people need to realise that YES, I would ask for Carlo's head if he AGAIN did things wrongly. And that would be normal thing to ask. But he did it great, and I admit it. Im a honest person, I do not have a blind thoughts about person, I say about him what I see. And yesterday I saw great Milan with great tactical variation.

Just enjoy the victory guys, b/c at the end of the day, 3 pts are 3 pts. I would much rather have 3 pts(beating Inter is a bonus), then 0 pts-where we dominated(like against Bologna).

Beside, there will always be tons of what if, what if, what if.
Truth to the matter is that our players wanted it more than Inter and the results showed it. I think either sides had chances to win today, but we just wanted it more.

Like I said a lot of pages back, the most impressive thing I saw today was the sub of Bonera for Gattuso, instead of Emerson for Gattuso. Carlo showed us that he would rather have Bonera over Emerson in this close and tight and important game. I just hope that Carlo will continue to see that Emerson, Favalli, Dida and Kalac do not deserve chance to play for Milan, even if it is 10mins, as those 10 mins should go to players like Bonera, Antonini, Cardaccio....as those 10mins will help them become better players.