Random News

I've been away for the last month or so mainly due to Ramadan. Frankly it's difficult enough to work let alone blog as well. Hopefully now I can be more active.

I thought I'd start off with some random local and international news.

Apparently Roma's former first choice keeper Doni was the one to recommend the man who replaced him, current number one Julio Sergio, to the club. Doni is now the third choice keeper. I guess that's why they say silence is golden.

Zamalek technical director or whatever the translation of "Modeer Kora" is, Ibrahim Hassan has discovered the reason for his teams poor run of results. Black Magic. No it's not a typo, he believes a scratch in the wall of the clubs changing room revealed incantations of some sort. Yeah that makes perfect sense. The outrageous answer would be that his brother, Egyptian Legend Hossam Hassan, the manager of Zamalek sucks.

On the other hand Hossam Hassan blamed the referee and his players. He also proceeded to blame Israel, Global Warming and the Panda:P

Yesterday's Champions League game between Real Madrid and Ajax was entertaining enough with Madrid grabbing a deserved 2-0 win thanks to Higauin. What was shocking however was the status of the pitch. For those of you who don't know Real Madrid had recently captured the groundsman of Arsenal for a substantial fee. He is hailed to be one of the best around. I guess there might be a job opening at Madrid if the pitch continues to look like that. Check out Paul Burgess's story here

Egypt's Assistant coach Shawky Ghareeb admitted that there were selection mistakes following Egypt's humiliating draw with Sierra Leone in Cairo. Finally, I thought. An Egyptian owning up to his mistakes... he then followed by blaming the players lack of fitness. There you go that's better.

It was never really Shawky or Hassan Shehata's fault it was the player fitness. At the end of the season it's exhaustion, away from home it's the referee or the pitch and when all else fails blame Algeria.

Speaking of Algeria. Rabeh Sadaan resigned as coach of Algeria following a similar humiliating draw vs Tanzania at home. The man who beat Hassan Shehata to send his country to the World Cup admitted he had nothing more to offer and resigned. I bet I'd die before I see a government employee of any kind resign let alone Egypt's national coach. Then again why would he. He is getting paid more than 100 Thousand Egyptians pounds a month and does not even care enough to attend league games. He actually watches them on the tele!

How do I know? He said so. A couple of months back the National team staff refrained from adding new players to a player gathering because a lot of the games were not aired on TV....duh!

According to a friend of mine the mystery regarding AC Milan's spending spree is out in the open. Berlusconi after selling the Van Gogh "Poppy Flower" painting reportedly worth 55 million dollars (Stolen from Egypt last month) can now afford to buy players for Milan again. God Bless you Minister Farouk Hosny and your broken 50 dollar security cameras. Forza Milan!

Finally I would like to congratulate Zamalek fans on the upcoming return of Mortada

Mansour. God Bless him.

Champions League Last 16 Thoughts

Yesterday saw the conclusion of one half of the last 16 matches. Man United qualified to the Quarter final with an impressive 7-2 aggregate win over AC Milan. The United faithful are ecstatic and so they should but lets not put things out of proportion. Yes on Wednesday night United out played and out ran Milan but frankly at the end of the day the score line in both legs is very flattering.

At San Siro Milan dominated most of the game and could have been 2 or 3 up before Scholes equalized with a fluke just before half time while Antonini was out injured and unable to prevent the cross coming in (Seriously it seems to me United are the luckiest team in the world). United then capitalized on that stroke of luck and scored two good goals. At the end Milan could have equalized but luck stayed on United's side. At Old Trafford Milan should have scored twice in the first 15minutes, how different of a game it would have been then had AC Milan scored first. Huntelaar missed a howler and frankly this is his last straw with me. He missed a one on one at San Siro and couldn't have had an easier chance last night. I now realize why Real were eager to sell him. He just can't cut it at the top teams who need to win day in and day out. Borriello also looked a bit light weight but he had no help. It seems obvious that a World Class Striker should be the top of their shopping list come the summer. Dzeko is the man I think. Man United got to play against half a defensive line with AC missing Nesta, Antonini and ultimately Zambrotta. The ones that actually played have not started a game once with each other. Also Milan's one super talent was also injured, Pato. In the second half Leonardo went for broke knowing he had to score three goals and Fergies men ripped AC Milan to shreds on the counter. Good win for Manchester but not as good as they will make it out to be. Anyways I think it is beneficial for the Milan hierarchy to wake up and smell the roses. Milan need re-enforcements.

In the other game of the night an arrogant Real Madrid took on a disciplined hard working Lyon side. Sergio Ramos had the audacity to predict a 3-0 win against Lyon before the game. I bet he's eating his shoe now let alone his words. An early goal by Ronaldo seemed to put Real on their way but missing a number of easy chances and overconfidence born out of arrogance made them throw the game away. As long as it was 1-0 Lyon were in it, and they kept grinding until finally they grabbed an equalizer late in the game via 19 year Old Bosnian Pjanic. Real were out. Congratulations are in order for Claude Puel and his men and as for Real, let the circus begin, Barca will win La Liga:P

It might be the first time ever that we have two French Teams in the quarter final of the champions league. Bordeaux play at home holding a commanding 1-0 away win over Olympiacos. Bordeaux are the break out team for me this year. After dispatching Juventus and Bayern with great ease to top their group they continued were they left off. Olympiacos are poor on their travels and a professional and determined Bordeaux side lead by the vibrant Gourcuff (couldn't Milan have used him yesterday?) should make it to the quarter finals with ease. Both French clubs will provide a strong test for any team they come against. I'll be secretly rooting for them:)

Inter and Chelsea is the other crunch game next week. I think both Seville and Barcelona will qualify with ease unless we see another shocker like that of Lyon. Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge with something he likes best, a lead. A win against Chelsea in Milan is a good result especially with the kind of squad he possess. In my opinion he has one of the best strikers in the world at the moment in Milito. It is very difficult to eclipse Samuel Eto'o but he has done that with ease. Maradona would be crazy not to have him in South Africa. However, make no mistake this is not going to be easy. Ancelotti has been there a number of times before. This is what he does best. He also has a brilliant squad capable of destroying any team. Carlo was the one to over turn a 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford when with Milan to a 3-0 destruction at the San Siro with a full United squad that included both Rooney and Ronaldo. United faithful have a short memory, yes I'm a bit bitter. It will be too close to call but one thing is for sure, it's going to be a cracker.

On Tuesday night Arsenal put on a virtuoso performance. Destroying a good Porto side 5-0 to over turn a 2-1 defeat at the Dragao. This was a classic Wenger display. The slick lethal football that the Frenchman demands of his team every game. It all fell into place beautifully, even with an injured Fabregas. The likes of Nasri and Arshavin stepped up and Porto frankly had no clue what hit them and who was causing the havoc. Nasri scored a Maradonish goal and Bendtner scored a hat rick to redeem himself after a poor showing at the weekend. On their day Arsenal are unstoppable. Wenger has a right to be happy. He wants to play Man Utd or Chelsea in the quarters, is he mad? He is always logical and pointed out that his team can't possibly play any worse than they did during the season against their two rivals....umm OK Arsene. There is reason for concern too as for some parts of the game the Gunner defense seemed a bit uneasy and you could feel that against tougher opposition in might be dangerous.

The last game that night was a cracking one. Fiorentina were robbed from a draw at Bayern when a "blind" linesman allowed a clearly offside Klose goal. He was 3 meters offside at least. 2-1 it finished. The viola started out brightly in Florence by taking a 2-0 lead but the experience and sheer talent in the Bayern Munchen squad proved to be decisive. Van Bommel scored first to make 2-1 then Robben broke the hearts of Firoentina when he scored an unstoppable shot to make it 3-2. Bayern went through on away goals and misses from Gilardinho could have changed the game. However, ultimately the Viola have a right to feel aggrieved and it will leave a sour taste in their mouth having gone out by a clear offside. Technology in football anyone?, hell no I say. It will take half the fun and debates out of the gorgeous game.

The quarter finals draw will be very interesting, we just have to get through next weeks games.

Resurrection

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

Les Miserables

It has been an incredibly stressful task watching AC Milan this season. Yes I already had low expectations following their mediocre pre-season performances and their below par transfer activity, but when you see a once great team unraveling in front of your own eyes it's just something else.

Milan started the week with a home game against Bari, a club rumored to be worth around 30 Million Euros on the verge of a takeover. Yes half the price of Kaka'. You can buy his right side only, or maybe two thighs worth, or just the left leg of Ronaldo...you get the picture.

It was supposed to be a routine victory for Milan, playing at home against a newly promoted team even if Bari were punching above their weight recently. It was not to be. Giampiero Ventura's team outplayed Milan for most of the game. The quartet of Rivas, Barreto, Alvarez and Kutosov dominated the game and caused havoc on the counter attack forcing Storari to make a string of excellent saves. I found myself thinking that these four players might be useful for Milan to acquire, one of whom is a Milan reject. How times have changed I thought. Rivas however is a true gem. The 26 year old Argentine was phenomenal. He combined pace and flair to a fantastic effect. Although lacking a bit when it comes to finishing he has the ability to dribble past anyone. Just ask Gattuso....Abate and Nesta. He tormented the Milan defense until he ran out of steam and was substituted. Milan could do well by looking to Rivas come the end of season especially since he has what they are lacking in abundance, Pace. A 0-0 draw was flattering for Milan and on another day could have lost by 1 or 2 goals. The fans understood that and rightly applauded Bari.

Milan did not create any clear cut chances this game and frankly depending on Ronaldinho for the rest of the season is suicide. He is now officially in my opinion a has been. He always looks for the extravagant or the dribble, it used to work for him at Barca when he was focused and in shape, not so now. His attitude also rubbed me the wrong way. Every single tackle against him he fell to the ground smiling and complaining to the referee. It seems Ronnie has forgotten that we are not playing "Touch" football, but a game for men where tackling was allowed. Either he shapes up or we should let go of him, maybe Man City are still interested? How we could have used Gourcuff now...sigh.

Another disturbing thing was Leonardo. I was always making excuses for him due to his lack of experience and how he inherited an old lack luster team, but come one this is Milan. It's a team that has Nesta, Zambrotta, Gattuso, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Pirlo, Pato, Inzaghi and Ronaldinho. Some of them maybe a bit old and past their prime. They maybe not strong enough to win the Scudetto, but they are more than capable of dispatching teams like Bari (no offense to Bari, they are a very good team on the rise and whom I will be supporting next to Milan this season). Leonardo has failed to utilize his team in any way and tactically they are lacking. During the Bari game he failed to turn the game around for 90minutes. Watching Milan you tend to feel that nothing is happening, tactically that is. Huntelaar has not got a goal scoring chance since he has arrived and yet he is blamed for not scoring. Leonardo is not up to par. He again proved how clueless he is against FC Zurich.

AC Milan lost to FC Zurich by 1 goal to nil at the San Siro. They failed to turn the game around for 80minutes. Leonardo again watched as any spectator. Yes they were better than the Bari game but FC Zurich is a weaker team than Bari. Milan did create chances but so did Zurich. Arguably Milan deserved at least a point from the game. I can't believe I wrote the last sentence. Milan deserved a point at home versus an unknown team? these are sad times indeed for all Rossonero fans. Milan now face elimination from the Champions League group stage. They will face the unstoppable Real Madrid in the next two rounds and realistically I don't see us grabbing a single point from those games. Madrid have a better squad and a much better coach. Leonardo must up his game or leave. He has inherited a somewhat weakened squad but this is no excuse to turn Milan into a mockery. I'm dreading facing Ronaldo and co. , but still I keep the faith. Forza Milan

OFFICIAL: Huntelaar to Milan!

According to Football Italia

It is now official – Klaas Jan Huntelaar will sign a four-year contract with Milan and undergo his medical tomorrow.

“AC Milan announce they have reached an agreement with Real Madrid for the purchase of Klaas Jan Huntelaar,” read a statement on the club website.

“The Dutch player will undergo a medical tomorrow, after which he will sign a contract tying him to the Rossoneri until June 30, 2013.”

Vice-President Adriano Galliani had already stated this morning that a deal was done with the Merengues, but now the news is official.

Although no figures have been confirmed, it is believed Milan will pay around £13m for the striker.

It is still almost £8m less than Real Madrid paid to take him from Ajax only seven months ago.