Leonardo refused the term AC Milan resurrection after the 2-0 win at home to Parma because he says we were not dead to start with. Maybe he is right, Milan were not dead but they were terminally ill and on their way to a timely demise.
I wrote in my article Les Miserable around a month ago of how AC Milan have become a wreck. A month would seem an eternity now and I'm almost forced to eat my words. That's the beauty of football, you are always one result away from turning your fortunes around. The 2-1 home win against Roma completely transformed the Milan season. However the pinnacle has to be the outstanding win versus the galacticos of Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu. It's was not the scoreline that was impressive it was the way Leonardo approached the game. The Brazilian tactician proceeded to field an attacking formation much to the surprise of everyone, playing Ronaldinho-Inzaghi- Pato with Seedorf as extra support in midfield.
His gamble paid off and the 4 man attack is still doing wonders, with Milan undefeated in their last 5 games scoring 11 goals in the process. However the main ingredient missing is the presence of a Target Man. Huntelaar has failed to deliver and is still without a goal for his new club and Inzaghi is too old to play every 90minutes. Pato needs support. Enter Marco Borriello the former Genoa star has been plagued with injuries ever since his return to Milan having scored 19 goals in his last fit season. Yesterday against Parma he was reborn. It was the his first 90minutes in almost a year and he capped it off with 2 goals including a wonderful scissor kick to seal the win. His skill and finishing is unquestionable but if he can keep fit, AC Milan and Italy's long lost top class Striker has been finally unearthed in their own backyard. Ronaldinho appears to have found new motivation, although still a shadow of his formal self he seems to be heading in the right direction and playing for the team. He continues to provide assists for fun. Pirlo and Seedorf continue to impress by putting on performances that better explain why Ancelotti was keen to acquire the service of one or both of them (I still think 30million euros for Pirlo was enough to buy 2 younger players). They are match winners and the more you have in your team the better off you are. Nesta though has been truly magical, his elegance and grace are the markings of a dying breed of central defenders. Defenders that depended more on wit and skill than brute force. He is definitely back to his best. There is not greater resurrection however than that of Nelson Dida.
Leonardo should be given a lot of credit for sticking with him and supporting him even after his howler in Madrid. Dida was almost sold last season and has been sidelined to the fringes of Milan. A string of injuries to Abbiati and Storari gave him a chance to showcase his talents versus Madrid and he failed miserably. But thanks to Leo, he has been outstanding ever since pulling off incredible saves against both Chievo, Napoli and Parma.
Milan off course play Real Madrid again next Tuesday and everything could be undone with a home loss although I disagree. Regardless of the result Leonardo has silenced a large part of his critics, myself included with tactical awareness, man management and courage. I will not be surprised if Pato and co put Real to the sword a second time.
Check out the Borriello Goals versus Parma
another good blog, although i wont go that far by saying Milan are out of their troubles.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with people like nesta, seedorf, pirlo, gatuso, ronalidibho (just to mention a few)is not class, but they are all well above 30 and u cannot expect to compete consistently with such an agr average.
look at what happened with Maldini, costacurta, they played till their 40s...!!! it was turning desparate to an extent.
can anyone question maldini's class though??
No way..!
u cannot do that in local league let alone europe.
Milan need a complete overhauling and a smart start would be to take this season to experiment some youngesters and scout properly to be able to buy young talents in Jan or in the summer.
Hamsik (Napoli), giovonco (juve), floro tores (udinese) are some recommendations
and please a GK, Dida is always going to give you 3 or 4 smashing saves, then comes the jugglar and the blunder here and there.
Just watch gomez at spurs and how frustrating he can be.
for all my alliance to inter, i still don't hold any bad feelings to Milan and hope u r back
Yeah I agree
ReplyDeleteWatching the Milan games there are still alot to be desired but it's a start. Before the season started and after a few games I could not picture Milan being in the UEFA or even the CL, now I can.
Yes Milan should invest in some youth players cause it was publicized that they were building a younger squad and the only below 30 players in the squad are Pato and Thiago Silva ( and he's not even that young)
They did however announce the purchase of Adiyah Fifa u-20 World Cup top scorer and player of the tournament, he has alot of potential.
As for Dida, he is by no means a long term solution...Would love if Milan are able to buy Adler or Neuer from the Bundelsiga.
Cheers for following the blog m8