Milan Column

[_Ace]

all Rubbish, Milan will certainly win...

[Jeff]

From ESPN:

It was a moment that could just have changed the order of European football's elite.


GettyImages
Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor holds off Alessandro Nesta.

With a matter of seconds remaining in a fascinating and captivating Champions League last-sixteen tie at the Emirates Stadium, Emmanuel Adebayor loped towards a cross and wearily thrust himself at a chance that looked certain to yield a dramatic winning goal.

Off balance he may have been, yet after 93 and a half minutes of high quality toil, this was Arsenal's chance to confirm they were ready to beat a major superpower and claim their place among the game's giants. It was to be heartache and not celebration that followed.

As Adebayor collapsed onto the turf behind the goal after heading his effort off the crossbar, he knew the significance of the chance he had missed; and while Arsenal will dream of a famous victory at the San Siro in the return leg, you suspect the key moment in this tie had just passed Arsene Wenger's men by.

Like an Olympic sprinter who false starts in the 100m final or the Superbowl quarter-back who fluffs his chance to throw the winning touchdown pass with second remaining, Adebayor had blown his moment to burst the Milan bubble and fill Arsenal's with enough air to carry them towards the Champions League quarter-finals.

If this joyous Arsenal side were to confirm they were ready to claim their place among Europe's superpowers, this was the occasion for them to make their mark and try as they might in the opening 45 minutes at a misty and vibrant Emirates Stadium, they fail to break down the sturdy Milan door.

Arsene Wenger's vision of football is that of an art performed by maestros with a touch of fantasy in their hearts, yet Carlo Ancelotti and his Milan side have been mixing it in the real world for a little too long to allow opponents to provide such enchantment.

It meant we were presented with a first half that followed Ancelotti's script rather than Wenger's. Boring it was not, as two sets of hugely talented players displayed a range of passing and ball possession most footabllers could only dream about, yet the clear cut chances and genuine excitement in front of goal was lacking.

While Milan can take the bulk of the blame for stifling the excitement, Arsenal's policy of employing just one striker, in Emmanuel Adebayor, was playing into the Italian's hands. With Eduardo employed in a supporting role on the left side and Alex Hleb in a similarly attacking position on the right, Wenger clearly believed his attack minded side would find a way to untangle the Milan web, but they failed to break through.

Indeed, by the time they reached the half hour point, long balls to Adebayor were becoming a regular line of attack and even though the big Togo striker was a handful throughout, there was always a spare defender for Milan to rely upon as they targeted the draw they shamelessly craved.

For their part, Milan also started with a lone forward in Alexandre Pato, with the irrepressible Kaka charged with the task of supporting when best he could; yet the European champions had not come to London aiming to win any beauty contests. Their chief aim was to stop Arsenal and as they walked off for the half-time break, their plan was being clinically executed.

Watching a game of this quality on television doesn't always do it justice and watching the off the ball movement of Arsenal was a sight to behold.

The inventive Emmanuel Eboue went close to finding an opener as the game began to open up and then Adebayor was denied the opening goal by a lineman's flag; yet you got the feeling the ageing Milan defence would eventually crack as Eduardo was the next to go close as he fired a shot over the bar.

It seemed as if the Arsenal pressure was beginning to tell, yet Milan are masters of puncturing the ambition of untested upstarts such as this and as the game moved into its final quarter, their ability to hang onto the ball and frustrate an opponent became evident once again.

In the end, they held off their opponents with a certain degree of ease and while this was only the first half of Ancelotti's game plan, Arsenal still have to prove they have what it takes to turn potential into glory. Often overplaying when in good positions around the box and failing to snap up the fleeting chances they created, Wenger was forced to accept his side had surrendered any initiative.

'Milan will start as favourites for the second leg,' conceded the Arsenal boss. 'However, we can overcome this situation and the pressure we put on them throughout this game will count for something in the next game. They will remember the quality of our play tonight and if we had taken our chances, we would have won.

'A game of this quality deserved a goal and I don't believe the miss by Adebayor in the final few seconds will prove to be crucial. We were a little nervous in the final third tonight and may have rushed some of the chances we created, but we will have a great chance in the second leg. I just hope the poor state of the San Siro pitch doesn't play a decisive role.'

A glance at the Milan bench suggested the Italians have a squad to trump Arsenal as Wenger was forced to fall back on a bunch of untested kids, with Ancelotti opting to leave out the likes of Filipo Inzaghi, Alberto Gilardino and Emerson. Therein lies the strength of a side who have won this competition compared to one still striving to reach such a goal and two-time Champions League winning boss was delighted with his evening's work.


GettyImages
Milan's veteran defender Paolo Maldini holds off the threat of Alex Hleb.

'We arrived at this match in not perfect conditions and some of our players were not at their best, but we hope that will change in 15 days time,' said Ancelotti, who started with a few star names at less 100% full fitness. 'I think Arsenal played a very good game and proved everything we know about them. They have great players, great quality and a lot of determination.

'The qualification is still in doubt for us. This is a good result, but we are not safe for the return match. There is still everything to play for and we face a tough task in the second leg. I'm sure Arsenal will show great quality in the return leg and must improve our own physical condition in the next 15 days.'

Arsenal still have a chance to spare Adebayor some blushes after a glaring miss that will haunt him for a long time should it prove crucial. You suspect Milan will make him pay for the error of his ways.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Phillipe Senderos
This may be a controversial choice, but the big Swiss centre-back is loathed by many Arsenal fans and deserves more than a little credit for a stunning display after replacing the injured Kolo Toure early in this game. He barely put a foot wrong.

FOOD WATCH: Chicken in breadcrumbs with pasta and potatoes. It was hardly a combination a gourmet chef would have put together, but all three aspects tasted fine on their own.

TOTTI WATCH: The great Roma striker may not have been present at the Emirates Stadium, yet the stale old English hacks who normally frequent this press room were delighted by the number of female Italian reporters lighting up their dull lives. There was more glamour in this press room than any England has seen for many a year.

ARSENAL VERDICT: Most experts have long viewed Arsene Wenger's men as surprise Premier League frontrunners who would fall away in due course, yet they are proving to be genuine title contenders in their domestic competition. Yet on the evidence of this evening, they are not quite yet ready to oust the best in Europe.

[MLM]

Milan Lab’s Secret of Youth
By Simon Kuper

AC Milan’s very old men are sauntering around a training pitch in the hills near Lake Como. A grey man in a blue suit and blue trenchcoat gazes down at them, smoking a cigarette. Surely this smoker can’t be the head of football’s best medical team? But it is. Jean Pierre Meersseman, Belgian director of the Milan Lab, may have discovered the secret of eternal youth. His Lab has helped make Milan world and European champions. On Tuesday, in the Champions League’s second round, Milan defend their title against Arsenal’s kids.

“As a matter of fact,” chuckles Meersseman when we sit down, “yesterday we had a game, and the average age was 33. We have the oldest team in Europe.” He singles out Milan’s eternal captain, Paolo Maldini. “He’s close to being 40, and whenever he was running against that kid playing against him yesterday, he was much stronger. He’s close to perfect.”

What is the maximum age for a top-class footballer? “I think around 40. It used to be 34 at most.” Again, that soft chuckle. The Milan Lab began in 2002. Milan had just spent €30m in transfer fees and salary to sign Real Madrid’s Fernando Redondo. Redondo’s body appeared perfect. Then it collapsed. Milan resolved never to waste €30m again. The Lab was created to reduce injuries.

“If you can predict the possibility of injuries,” says Meersseman, “you stop the player before.” The Lab discovered that just by studying a player’s jump, it could predict with 70 per cent accuracy whether he would get injured. It went on from there, collecting millions of data on each player on computers. Meersseman says: “The extent of non-traumatic injuries has been reduced by over 90 per cent, compared with the previous five years. So that’s interesting. We have 92 per cent less medication than in the previous years.” Sadly, days after we spoke, Milan’s forward Ronaldo suffered the injury that may end his career.

When Milan buys players, is the Lab consulted? “You bet you,” says Meersseman. “The last signature on the contract before the big boss signs is mine. On many occasions I said no, and I would say every” – he pauses – “yes, every time, the player did not do very well afterwards.”

Why might he veto a player? “Basically alterations in their gait mechanisms, how they jump. But we did sign some players when everybody said: ‘You can’t do it, he’s at the very end.’ I can give you a name: Cafu. That was five years ago. He’s still here. Because we saw the problem could be fixed.” Having vanquished injuries, the Lab turned to perfecting Milan’s players. As each player was different, each needed a different regime. Clarence Seedorf, for instance, was banned from exercising certain muscles as they were already at the desired maximum. The Lab now thinks this “sensory perception” is the key quality in football.

After meeting Meersseman I visited Daniele Tognaccini, Milan’s chief athletics coach, who is tall, slim and fairly superhuman himself. Tognaccini told me that the average Milan player ran 10 to 11 kilometres a game. Who ran most? Kaká, Rino Gattuso and Cafu, replied Tognaccini. He laughed: “Ronaldo, no.”

But, he added, there was no correlation between running kilometres and winning matches. “There is a correlation between the number of sprints and winning.” Before leaving the Lab converted, I asked Meersseman whether other big clubs did anything similar. “No.”

Why not? It seems a good idea. Meersseman smiled: “It seems a good idea. You can drive a car without a dashboard, without any information, and that’s what’s happening in soccer. There are excellent drivers, excellent cars, but if you have your dashboard, it just makes it easier. I wonder why people don’t want more information.”

Did other clubs ask him for advice? “Oh yes.” And what did he say? “That they should do it.” The Lab’s methods are secret. Ask Tognaccini to explain a certain machine, and he says: “No.” Other clubs, said Meersseman, “fall back into the medical model. You see, that’s the problem. In medicine you are dealing with sickness. Here we are dealing with extremely healthy people.”

And the Lab has only just started. Its new partner Microsoft is improving the Lab’s software. Belgium’s University of Leuven is helping to perfect training. “Let me stop for a second and explain this better,” said Meersseman. “We are trying to make a system that may say: ‘Now you will run 100 metres. You will rest 43 seconds, then run 80 metres, stop for one minute two seconds, and then run 61 metres.’ We are trying to do this with predictive algorithms.”

Forget sharing information with other clubs. If the Lab sold its secrets to the world’s consumers, it would render face-lifts and wrinkle creams defunct. This could be the salvation of Italy’s economy.

source:FT.com-Sport

we should proud for that

[Jeff]

Very nice article. Thanks for sharing. J

[Jeff]

This is the most disgusting article I have recently seen:

Following the most impressive display by any team in this year's Champions League, Arsene Wenger's young Gunners are quite rightly being lauded for their magnificent display in the San Siro.




AP
Desolation row: Milan prepare to restart after Fabregas' goal all but ended the tie at San Siro.Arsenal's total team effort has been identified as the night a team matured, the game in which youthful potential and promise translated into a plaudit-worthy performance.



On the other side, another team also came of age before our eyes. However, there was little that was positive about this epiphany. AC Milan were a sad imitation of the side that, less than ten months previously, had been crowned European champions.


Inhibited by age and a lack of overall ability, the Rossoneri had no answer to their superior opponents and, as Arsenal's players danced in celebration on their pitch, they trooped out of the once almost-impenetrable Giuseppe Meazza stadium and into uncertainty.


The build-up to the premier tie of the first knock-out round had focused on youth versus experience. In the young corner was Arsenal's free-flowing game, based on high energy passing and movement while, in the old, was the pragmatic, tactically-based approach of patient Milan.


At the helm of both sides were two highly successful managers that had, in their own way, been able to consistently develop winning teams.


Arsenal's Wenger, with his commitment to youth, pitted his wits against Milan's Carlo Ancelotti, whose own style centred on moulding older players into his system of play.


Could Milan keep up with their younger opponents? The answer following the first leg goalless draw at the Emirates appeared to be yes, as Ancelotti's men left with what they came for. However, there was no panic from Arsenal. Not conceding at home in Europe is often more important than scoring yourself and so it would prove.


Thirteen nights later, Milan simply had no answer to Arsenal, for whom the final score was richly deserved.


That the goals came late was immaterial and only served to prove the point that, no, Milan did not have what it took to keep up with them. Indeed, had the Gunners not been so profligate in front of goal earlier in the game, the tie could have been over much sooner.



AP
Maldini: Footballiing life ends at 40, after 8 European Cup Finals.The warning signs have been there for some time for Milan. Though they lifted the trophy last season, theirs was a flawed campaign, in which nothing came easy.



Struggles against Celtic and Bayern Munich were overcome before Manchester United took the first leg of the semi-final. Of course, back home, the Rossoneri rolled to a 3-0 win that, at the time, seemed to lay to rest any suggestions that the team was past it. Victory over Liverpool arguably rubber-stamped that theory.


However, Rafael Benitez's side was in control of the final until Pippo Inzaghi struck twice. The warning signs were there and the decay that was evident continued into the new season. Defeat to Celtic in the group stage was a further shot across the bows for a Milan side that, at the same time, was struggling to compete in Serie A, partly due to fixture congestion that resulted from their participation in the World Club Championship.


Despite the indications that not all in the Milan garden was rosy, however, until Tuesday night they remained almost unbeatable at home in Europe. In keeping with the case of many a crumbling empire, their homeland was the last to fall. As Arsenal stormed Milan's castle in the space of ninety minutes, a group that had long been known as an experienced, wily bunch of veterans became old and past it.


In the official first-team squad that Milan submitted to UEFA for the tie, eighteen of the 28 players named were thirty years or older. Ancelotti selected eight of them in his staring line-up for the second leg. Three other thirty-somethings, Clarence Seedorf, Ronaldo and Dida, missed out through injury.


It was perhaps due to their experience that Milan were able to paper over the cracks for so long against Arsenal. Remarkably, until the statuesque Zeljko Kalac failed to deal with a shot from Cesc Fabregas that was eminently saveable, Milan were just one goal away from progressing.


On the whole, however, there was no question that Arsenal were worthy victors, having instigated a tactical game plan to which Ancelotti and his side had no answer. As Milan chairman Silvio Berlusconi lamented, Wenger's side simply would not give the hosts the ball. When they did, Milan had few ideas as to what to do with it.



AP
Ancelotti: End of the road for his tactics and his tenure.Alongside the veterans, completing Milan's first XI were its creative heartbeats, Kaká, Andrea Pirlo and Pato, the 18-year-old wunderkind. Though, on this night, they were stifled, the trio's class remains and it is around them that the next great Milan side must be built, for the time has come to overhaul the current group.



The question of who gets to build the new and improved Milan team will be the elephant in the club's boardroom for the months to come.


As he admitted on Tuesday, Ancelotti's job now is to get Milan up to fourth place in Serie A to ensure they play Champions League football next season.


It is a stark reality of the club's modest short-term ambition and will likely be the final act of the current manager.


Having won, among other trophies, two Champions League titles and a league championship since taking charge in 2001, Ancelotti has pulled Milan out of the depths into which the club was plunged by the likes of Alberto Zaccheroni, Cesare Maldini and Fatih Terim.


His current contract lasts until 2010 but the chances that Ancelotti lasts beyond the summer seem increasingly slim.


The whispers of potential successors, a list that is sure to be headlined by Frank Rijkaard and José Mourinho, are set to get louder and louder.


In the aftermath of the defeat, Ancelotti admitted: 'I don't think we could have done anything more tonight'. That resigned statement, above everything else that has taken place in recent weeks, should signify the need for a major self-evaluation on the red and black side of the San Siro.


With a manager out of excuses for a team out of gas, the immediate future looks bleak for the seven-time European champions.

***

Why disgusting? I have already mentioned it somewhere, and I"ll say it again here:

It's not only disgusting to criticize a team AFTER the result but also STUPID to do that. There is one quote which I forgot, which mainly says that a boy with hindsight is smarter than the Presidents who make future decision.

This article will remind us all here how just so useless these pundits are, that they are nothing short of a scum of the soccer world.

[MLM]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Very nice article. Thanks for sharing. J

you are welcome Jeff.

i think many of us confuse about Maldini.should he stays or not.my heart is also confuse.as the half is wants him to stay and the other wants rejuvenation in Milan :

Should Maldini Continue Playing?

The word ‘legend’ is used far too often in football nowadays, but there is not one person on the planet who will disagree when this term is used to describe Paolo Maldini.

Over a thousand official games, the record appearance-maker in Serie A and for the Italy national team, seven Scudetti, five Champions Leagues – the statistics go on-and-on.

This longevity at the very top, which spans almost a quarter-of-a-century, is truly phenomenal; it defies the laws of physics, and is incomparable in the modern game.

Maldini had of course announced that he would be finally hanging up his boots at the end of the season. However his brilliant form, particularly in the last couple of months, has led him to reconsider.

“I still have plenty of energy and I guess we have to stick to our words, but those who do not change ideas just because they have said so are stupid,” Maldini stated.

“In the last few months my knees have been really painful and last year at the end of the season I couldn’t even bend them.

“Deep down inside there is a big will to continue, that’s just the way I am. No one is the same and the environment is pushing me to play on for another year.

“Three months ago I was much worse as I had to stop because of the operation but now I am feeling fine and I am playing in a position which I haven’t played in for a long time.”

However would it be a wise decision for Maldini to continue playing?

On the plus side is the fact that the 39-year-old has proved that he is still, despite his age, a brilliant defender. This was verified conclusively during both legs of the recent Champions League defeat to Arsenal, when Maldini was his side’s best player, along with Alessandro Nesta.

After the game at San Siro, Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor hailed Maldini as “world-class”, while pundits and journalists throughout the world all showered him with praise. These superlatives were by no means sentimental or influenced by the fact that Maldini had apparently just played his last-ever European game. They were thoroughly deserved.

If Maldini can continue to perform like this next season, then many people will say, why shouldn’t he carry on for another year? After all, he is the symbol of Milan, and his influence on the rest of the players at the club can only be a positive one.

Others will argue that Maldini risks ruining his legacy if he postpones his retirement.

The defender has a very legitimate claim as the greatest Italian footballer of all-time, if not the best defender in the history of the game. His chances of earning this status would surely be boosted if he bowed out with everyone remembering him for the legend that he is.

Last year Maldini had the perfect chance to end his career on the most glorious of notes when he lifted the Champions League in Athens. He decided to continue for another year, and many believed this was a mistake.

Despite Milan’s struggles this campaign, this hasn’t proved to be the case, and indeed Maldini has only further immortalised himself by continuing to perform brilliantly in his fortieth year.

Could next year be one too many though?

Some great footballers have ruined their legacy by going on for too long. Lothar Matthaus possibly comes closer than anyone to matching Maldini’s longevity at the top of European football, and the ex-Inter and Bayern Munich man had an international career lasting 20 years.

The former midfielder played for Germany at Euro 2000 at the age of 39, but everyone will remember how he was run ragged in defence, particularly in the game with Romania when a 35-year-old Gheorghe Hagi roasted him time and again. Of course Matthaus will always be remembered as one of the legends of the game, but whenever his name is mentioned I will always recall how he was humiliated at Euro 2000.

Other sportsmen have met the same fate. Roy Jones Jr is regarded as one of the best pound-to-pound boxers of all time, but he has ruined his legacy by continuing to fight into his late thirties, and thus losing to opponents that he would have beaten easily in his prime.

source:goal.com

[Warro Bantan]

Thought this was a good read...not about Milan per se, but its Seedorf´s view on the final:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns...t&lid=tab2pos1

Jeff...let me know if you think its in the wrong place!

[Jeff]

Would be nice of me to do a review of the article posted here. Will do so later this week.

Warro: Definitely related, and I'm putting it here:

Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf plays for reigning European Champions AC Milan and is the only player to win Europe's most prestigious competition with three different clubs: Ajax (1995), Real Madrid (1998), and AC Milan (2003, 2007).


SandraBehne/GettyImages

Clarence Seedorf runs off with the UCL trophy in 2007

• ESPN TV listings

The 32-year-old Holland international is in Moscow as part of ESPN's superb broadcast coverage of the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea and is fully qualified to give us the low-down on UEFA's showpiece event.

Speaking to ESPNsoccernet from the Luzhniki Stadium, as groundstaff worked to prepare the pitch for Wednesday night, Seedorf gave us his guide to the Champions League final:

Soccernet:There have been concerns about the state of the pitch, do you think it could make a real difference to the final?
Seedorf: If the pitch is not good it will definitely make a difference, especially for Manchester.

But I think it will be good tomorrow, it seems like it is going to rain. They just gave it some water and the teams will play and train on it today so that will also help to improve the state of the field. Tomorrow hopefully it will be a good pitch and it seems like it is possible.

There are two English teams in the final; we have had all Spanish and all Italian finals before. Do you think the final loses something when it is between two teams from the same country?
No, no absolutely not. They are not playing in their own countries first of all. The atmosphere and the tension is just totally different. You're talking still about great teams. With Chelsea and Manchester both here it is great for such a final.

I don't know, maybe the public would like to see an English and a Spanish team or an English and an Italian team. But this is good.

Why do you think Premier League sides are becoming dominant in Europe?
The reason that they are really performing better is because there has been a shift in the mentality - because of the investors. Foreign investors have taken over the clubs and have changed the management of the clubs and changed the mentality of the clubs. The players and the coaches are more international.

So they have changed really the whole approach and you can see the results over the past three years... I think two times three English teams are in the semi final. It is not a surprise for me that it is happening. From my point of view, and just from a business point of view, they are managing the clubs better than anybody else at this moment.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant has suffered a lot of criticism but he has still got his team to their first ever Champions League final. What do you make of him?


I haven't worked with him. A lot of coaches are criticised based on results so if it's for the results he cannot be criticised of course. How he is as a manager, how he treats the players and how he is as a coach, that is another thing.


With Real Madrid, when I won [the Champions League] under Jupp Heynckes in 1998, after the final they changed the coach because of other reasons, not because of the results. But I am not the right person of course to talk about the coach of Chelsea.

On the other bench is the old master himself, Sir Alex Ferguson, who has been at the same club for 22 years. What do you think is the secret of his longevity?
First of all he is a very good manager. A good people manager especially. He is someone who has links with the club from the business management point of view and from the technical point of view. He is that link between the club and the players and that makes a difference.

He really is an example of what I think is the future of coaches: having the head coach and then having the job done on the field by another coach. So it is not a big surprise that he has managed that way and that people love him and he has brought the results to Manchester. Over the last 15-years he has entered into two finals of the Champions League and that is quite impressive.

What do you think are the key strengths of his Manchester United team? And of Grant's Chelsea team?
United's strength is their game - good possession. Their strikers are fantastic of course: Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney. Great midfield, good defenders: Evra and Ferdinand. They are very complete, they have quality players and that is what their game is about - craft plays, individual plays by Tevez or Ronaldo.

YuriKadobnov/GettyImages

Manchester United train on the newly laid grass pitch in Moscow

But it is all going to really depend on how, in the close space they are going to have against Chelsea, they can manage to create space to be able to do the one against one with the defenders.

Chelsea has a great defence. They make the pitch very short and that is going to be the difficulty for Manchester. And then the counter attack of Chelsea, with Didier Drogba up front and with Michael Ballack in support - this is going to be the difficult part for Manchester to cope with.

United have a young side, apart from Van Der Sar, Giggs and Scholes, who are still proving themselves, whereas Chelsea have bought ready-made players who have already achieved. Do you think this will have any effect on the final?
That will definitely have an effect. Experience in a final is very important but also conviction is important: of your own strength, your game and being capable of coping with the tension that the game brings. Of course the more experienced you are the better you can cope with it.

That is not a guarantee but Chelsea definitely has a lot of experience. Maybe not at that club level but playing finals at the World Cup with the national teams, such as Ballack, Makelele. Two examples that can make the difference.

Where do you think the game will be won and lost? Will it be a moment of genius from a star player?


Well it is always like that, the final. I expect a similar game as we saw from Manchester and Chelsea in the [Premier League] competition really. Chelsea are going to wait for the moment and Manchester are going to try and create the moment. We will see if they can succeed.


You have played in plenty of finals yourself what makes the Champions League so special for players?
They are the best players and the best teams in Europe and let's say most of them also in the world. It's the best competition in the world and also the hardest in the world so everybody dreams about playing in the final.

You have famously won Champions League titles with three different clubs, from Spain, Italy and Holland. Any plans for a fourth with an English club?


[Laughs] Well the English competition is very attractive and I always say 'never say never'; but at this moment I still have a contract with AC Milan until 2011.


But I would love to play in England. At this moment it is not possible

If you were the manager of either team tomorrow what would you say to them before they went out to play the final?


Well to go out and enjoy it. It's a special moment. It can be the first and the last final in which you play. Help each other as a group and be a team because that is going to make the difference at the end.


And finally, what is your prediction for the game? Who will win?


My prediction is... that both really can win. [laughs].


The reason I give for Chelsea is that it is their first time in the final and maybe destiny is picking.

On the other side I see that Manchester has been ruling the game over the last few years in this competition and they would most probably deserve it over Chelsea from that point of view.

I really think we have to wait for the game tomorrow.

****

[insidefutbol]

What is a Good Season for AC Milan?

Tom Oldfield

The red and black half of Milan had little to cheer about last season. As Inter held on to lift another Scudetto title, AC Milan could only look back on a miserable campaign. Hopes had been high – after all, they were the defending European Champions. But the team flattered to deceive, making a woeful start in Serie A and suffering a second round exit at the hands of Arsenal in the Champions League.

Inconsistency was the biggest problem as the Rossoneri quickly found themselves well adrift of the Champions League places with some feeble early season displays, particularly in front of their own supporters. A late surge in the latter part of the season gave Milan hope of salvaging something from the campaign but Fiorentina held on for fourth spot, consigning Carlo Ancelotti’s men to a UEFA Cup place. You could hear the Inter fans laughing all over the city.

Speculation mounted, suggesting that major changes were imminent at Milan. Portuguese Jose Mourinho – who ended up taking charge at Inter – was rumoured to be replacing Ancelotti while young re-enforcements were expected to invigorate an aging squad. But these ideas never came to fruition. Milan were unable to compete with the financial power of the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid and their fans saw less transfer activity over the summer than they might have liked.

However, the arrival of Ronaldinho from Barcelona provided a boost, as did the signing of former Juventus defender Gianluca Zambrotta. Neither are the youthful new faces that had been expected but both certainly strengthen the Milan side.

And so, as the Serie A season begins, the question is: can the Rossoneri make amends for their below-par 2007/08 campaign with a return to winning ways?

What they are aiming to achieve:

At AC Milan in recent years it has been clear that the Champions League is the most sought after trophy. The players seem to raise their game for big European nights, regardless of their Serie A struggles. Although they will not have the opportunity to grace the biggest European stage this season, they will be determined to secure UEFA Cup glory.

Furthermore, challenging their title rivals in Serie A is a must. Milan have been off the pace domestically for several seasons now and need to find their consistency of old to secure a return to the Champions League for 2009/10. Seeing Inter dominate the table and Juventus and Roma make major progress has been bitterly disappointing for all Milan fans and a serious title challenge is vitally important. It is just not good enough to expect to turn up for big European nights and click into top gear when league form has been poor. Milan must use momentum from Serie A displays to aid their European challenge.

And winning a trophy would provide a fitting finale for club legend Paolo Maldini. Maldini was due to retire at the end of the 2007/08 season but has extended his contract and everyone at the club would love to give him the perfect send-off. The Italian is not alone, though, in approaching the latter stages of his career and several players have the added motivation of knowing that they do not have many more years at the highest level.



How likely are these aims?

Much will depend on Ronaldinho. Milan have turned to the Brazilian in the hope that he and fellow Samba stars Kaka and Pato can fire the Rossoneri back into trophy contention alongside the returning Andriy Shevchenko. But is Ronaldinho ready to shine again? Or is he a star in decline? Can he and Kaka, who remains a Milan player despite interest from Chelsea, co-exist in attacking roles? There are a lot of questions that need to be answered.

Ronaldinho may provide the extra creativity that Milan desperately need if they are to recapture the Scudetto and lift the UEFA Cup. Visiting sides tend to set up defensively at the San Siro, making it tough for the home team to unlock stubborn defences. The former Barcelona man could be the difference.

However, if Ronaldinho is not a huge success, it is hard to see Milan making huge improvements on last season. The teams around them have strengthened in the right areas and their own squad has not been drastically altered. Also, the defence and midfield still appear to lack a youthful presence.

That is not to say that these areas are weaknesses and, if Alessandro Nesta, Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso find their best form and stay injury-free, Milan will fancy their chances against anyone. Making a bright start will be crucial and, if Ronaldinho and co. can do this, a trophy is very attainable in the 2008/09 season.

Expectations of fans & boardroom:

High expectations come with the territory at Milan, just like at all the big clubs in Europe. The board have been patient with Ancelotti but will want that faith rewarded with a fruitful campaign. That means winning major prizes this season. Another trophyless year would surely lead to an overhaul of the playing and coaching staff.

The fans are desperate to forget last season and focus on the possibilities that lie ahead. Excitement has been generated by Ronaldinho’s arrival and hopes of lifting trophies are high.

As well as picking up some silverware, the Milan supporters have the additional target of silencing the jubilant Inter fans who have had the bragging rights in Serie A for the past few years. Managing this would make the success all the sweeter.

Source: http://www.insidefutbol.com/2008/08/...-for-ac-milan/

Let me know if this is the wrong place for this.

[Jeff]

From time to time, I do think that goal.com has some nice commentary. This is one of those that I think has been written fantastically (and a way for me to revive the thread :

http://goal.com/en/news/1717/editori...onspiracy-guus

CL Special: There Is No Barcelona-Chelsea Conspiracy - Guus Hiddink's Korea 2002 Hypocrisy
The referee for Chelsea's Barcelona tie might have been stupid, but he certainly wasn’t shady - and it belies belief that Hiddink, considering his past at the 2002 World Cup, should perpetuate the idea of a campaign against his side, writes Goal.com's Carlo Garganese...

7 May 2009 18:00:57
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Guus Hiddink in defiant mood during Chelsea's 0-0 home draw with Everton (PA)
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“When people say it's all very suspicious then I get rather angry,” roared Guus Hiddink on June 23, 2002.

“Italy and Spain should look at themselves and their shortcomings rather than the referee’s.

“It's easy to go on blaming referees or linesmen. Of course they make mistakes, but coaches make mistakes, players make mistakes, and the press make mistakes. They go for you and against you.”

If you haven’t already worked it out, this was then South Korea coach Hiddink’s angry response following widespread claims that there had been a conspiracy at the 2002 World Cup to send his co-hosts through at the expense of Italy, Spain and, to a lesser extent, Portugal.

The 2002 World Cup has gone down in footballing infamy, and indeed the majority of supporters in Italy and Spain refuse to even acknowledge that tournament’s legality. The Azzurri had five perfectly good goals disallowed in three games for non-existent offsides, while they were eliminated by Hiddink’s Korea in the second round after an extra time Golden Goal. During that clash, Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno awarded Korea a questionable penalty, harshly sent off Francesco Totti for diving, and disallowed a good Damiano Tommasi Golden Goal. Spain were the next victims of Korea in the quarter final, losing on penalties after they had had two legitimate strikes chalked off.

Fast forward seven years to May 6, 2009. Hiddink, now interim manager of Chelsea, had just been denied a place in the Champions League final following a dramatic injury time equaliser by Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta in West London.

In the post-match interview, Hiddink, referring to five penalty claims that were turned down by referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, clearly implied on both English and Italian television that there may have been a sinister plot by those in positions of power.

“I won't say what we really feel, but it's an injustice. It's not just one doubtful call. Ask the people who put the referee in charge of this game,” the Dutchman moaned to Sky Sports.

“When all these things happen, then you start thinking,” he added to Sky Italia.

I know what I'm thinking Guus, and it is not conspiracy, but hypocrisy. The regularity and enormity of the events at the 2002 World Cup were more than enough to form a conspiracy theory, yet Hiddink shrugged them off as Italian and Spanish sour grapes. What took place last night at Stamford Bridge was just plain bad officiating that penalised both sides in equal measure.

Of the five incidents that Chelsea have complained about, only one was a penalty – the clear handball by Gerard Pique. Dani Alves’ obstruction on Florent Malouda may have been inside the area, but obstruction is only a penalty offence when it is really serious, and this was not. The same can be said for Eric Abidal’s slight pull of Didier Drogba’s shirt before half time, which preceded a one second delay before the Ivorian catapulted himself onto the floor like he’d caught the plague.

In the episode involving Drogba and Yaya Toure on 56 minutes, both players were wrestling each other, and even if Kolo’s younger brother did draw back the Chelsea hitman, it was well outside the area. When the two players entered the box, Toure won the ball with a fair tackle. Finally, regarding Michael Ballack’s last-gasp appeal against Samuel Eto’o, the Cameroonian may have had his arm higher than usual, but it was clearly ball-to-hand (the very top of his arm and back), while he also had his back turned. FIFA’s ‘Laws of the Game’ are crystal clear on this.

It is amusing that Chelsea have conveniently overlooked the fact that Abidal was wrongly red carded on 65 minutes for a ‘professional foul’ when Anelka had tripped over his own feet. This forced Barcelona to chase the last 25 minutes of the game with just 10 men. As a result the space opened up for Chelsea on the counter-attack, and it was only after this dismissal that the stonewall Pique penalty incident occurred. It is also peculiar how Chelsea have discarded the performance of referee Wolfgang Stark in the first leg at Camp Nou. During that game, Stark waved away an excellent Thierry Henry penalty shout, failed to send off Michael Ballack, and also harshly booked Carles Puyol, forcing Barcelona to start a left back at centre back, and a centre midfielder at left back last night.

Over the course of the two ties, the appalling refereeing decisions evened themselves out. Had Iniesta not scored that late goal, it would have been Barcelona doing the complaining, just like they did after the first leg when coach Pep Guardiola sniped that “referees need to take a look at themselves”, and Eto’o sarcastically shrugged that “you’d have to ask the referee about his controversial performance.”

The red card of Abidal would have killed many lesser sides, but not Barcelona, who actually continued to dominate possession despite being a man short. Hiddink may have chosen the right tactics against Barcelona over two legs, and Chelsea are undoubtedly unlucky to go out (just as they were last year when they deserved to win the title), but it must also be recognised just how negative the Blues were in both legs. It was Catenaccio stuff that would have had Helenio Herrera dancing around in his grave.

When Hiddink’s Australia were defeated by Italy in the second round of the 2006 World Cup, the Dutchman remarked after the game, “We tried to play another style, a style that is more attractive for the spectators to see. The Italians wanted to play defensively, they love to play with a wall - they don’t think about attractive football, they just think about the result.”

Like your Chelsea side in both legs against Barca, you mean? There was no conspiracy Guus last night, but there sure was an absurd amount of hypocrisy.

What are your views on this topic? Was there a conspiracy last night, or is Guus Hiddink just being hypocritical? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think.

Carlo Garganese, Goal.com