ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - AC MILAN

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 01/13/2010

Has anyone noticed the absence of Pato? If your answer was "not quite", then you're not alone. David Beckham's arrival has finally provided us much needed depth on the wing of Leonardo's favorite 4-3-3 formation. The Juventus match showed the grit and character that has come to characterize our team in recent months.

The first half was more painful to watch than Gattuso's D&G underwear ad (a disturbing image that has unfortunately ingrained itself into my long term memory forever.) The match was a summary of everything wrong with the Serie A: too many fouls and whistle-happy referees not allowing the game to flow naturally. With aggressive midfielders like Felipe Melo, Poulsen, Salihamidzic, Gattuso, and Ambrosini, the match was starting to look more like an English rugby competition instead of a technical battle between two Italian soccer giants.

Thankfully, we played a demoralized Juventus side which had numerous injuries that compromised the cohesiveness of their usual starting eleven. Watching the Milan players celebrating in sheer jubilation at the end of the game showed the current mindset of the team. There is harmony in the locker room, and the team has finally found an identity it can relate to.

Random Notes on the Coppa Italia

- Since the snarling dog Gattuso seems more like a whimpering puppy at this point, Flamini needs to take his spot in the formation. I'm probably one of the few Milanista's in the U.S. who watched the Coppa Italia quarterfinal match against Novara so I'll give a brief synopsis of the action. Flamini hit an extraordinary goal which was reminiscent of his Arsenal days where he'd connect on long range attempts. Daniele Bonera and Davide Di Gennaro were resuscitated from their caskets and finally made a cameo appearance.

- Unfortunately the Coppa Italia has not caught on in Italy as it has in other nations. While the Copa del Rey and the Carling Cup are prestigious in their own right, the Italian Cup is more a nuisance for larger teams. Watching 16 year old primavera players with a deer in the headlights look is not exactly the best way to attract a massive global audience. But seeing these experimental lineups gives me more material to write about. Today I was introduced to a very young left back named Andrea De Vito. Definitely keep an eye on him, his progressions on the left side were impressive, and there is a future for him in rossoneri colors.

- Veering a bit off topic, it's mind boggling how deep the Italian Leagues are. Before the match I took a gander at the roster of Novara. I didn't know much about the team except that they were dominating the Serie C. Not expecting to see any names that would jump out at me, I was surprised to see that former Inter striker Nicola Ventola plays for them, as well as the former Serie A shotstopper Alberto Fontana. Even a small Italian provincial side like Novara has well organized defenses and tactical discipline, which is why no team in Italy can be taken lightly. The beautiful aspect of the Serie A is that any team can defeat another on any given day. Siena's domination of Inter last week is another example.

Forza Milan!

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Comments

Posted by viktor soderholm on 01/13/2010

I agree that the absence of Pato isn't very painful. However, bare in mind he's 20 years old. Finally were starting to see a vicious Borriello... Supporting milan for the last 20 years, now from NYC. Saw the game today also.. Could you imagine if we ghet dzeko also..

Posted by Mac on 01/14/2010

Thanks for the great articles - keep them coming! I had a quick thought about Gattuso. I understand that he is a great symbol for the club and has been there for around a decade and a sub-captain. But if Berlusconi and Galliani were serious about shoring up the finances, he seemed to be a great person to cash in on. Esp considering, he was unhappy, we have Flamini begging to play. (Flamini can shoot, while Gattuso not so much). I was happy to see that Bonera and Di Gennaro were in the starting line-up for today's match. Forza Rossoneri!

Posted by Tremendousice on 01/14/2010

Hmmm... I'm not yet convinced about Borriello, he sometimes wonders off, and the perfect crosses of Beckham and Dinho go to waste because he is not there to score. Pato to me looks more like a striker than Borriello. But its true Milan has been more aggressive with Beckham, which goes to show we don't need Dzeko, we need someone to replace Beckham.

Some defenders would be nice to. So forget wasting money on Dzeko, I mean Huntelaar has scored more goals in his career than Dzeko. He needs to get into the game, just like Dinho needed a year ago. Look at him now.

Forza Milan

Posted by punditguy on 01/14/2010

Thank you for the articles Matteo, they are great!

Can you tell us more about his De Vito kid. I have heard a lot about him and i heard that he played a great game yesterday. So i would like to know more about him since he is Milan breed! Also I have a few questions.....1)how do you feel about Di Gennaro replacing Ronnie when he retires? 2) Dont you think Milan needs a big CF (Dzeko) upfront, to make his presence and height be felt and to reach those crosses coming in from the right?

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 01/14/2010

punditguy:

From what I've seen of De Vito, he's a fairly quick, technical, and offensive minded fullback who is most comfortable in attack. His defensive skills are still raw, but then again he's not even 18.

Replacing Ronaldinho with Di Gennaro is like trading in a Rolls Royce for a 3 Series BMW. While both are quality, the dropoff is significant. Di Gennaro wasn't even the best player on Reggina. He's solid, but nothing more than a backup for Milan. As for Dzeko. I'm against purchasing him. Where would Borriello go? On the bench? Now that he has finally exploded after all this time.. Borriello is the total package.

Posted by punditguy on 01/14/2010

Thank you! I completely agree with you on everything. We Milan fans have to remember we recently signed a gem in the name of Dominic Adiyiah! Well hopefully that is, Im praying he really is the next Messi or so...

The money they want to put out for Dzeko is unnecessary in my opinion. I would prefer if Milan sign a RM (Milos Krasic) which they can get for 25MIL and a LB. i really do like Anotnini, i think this guy is class! So that department is quiet alright.

Posted by Mike Astuto on 01/15/2010

I've seen Adiyiah play a few times for Fredrikstad. The stats aren't there but he did play quality football at times. Then I saw him play in the U-20 World Cup and he was consistently the best player on the pitch! Scored a good number of goals too! Investing huge amounts of money in a forward like Dzeko just doesn't make sense right now. Especially when Pato and Boriello are still so young. Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Gattuso... All of our top midfielders are well into their 30's except Pirlo who just turned 30. Outside of Flamini and Abate I don't feel to comfortable about our depth there when those guys choose to leave. Thats where we need to invest. Not to mention Im still a little shocked Leonardo hasn't put Flamini in the starting 11. Gattuso has been down right bad this season! Every time Flamini is on the pitch im impressed more and more.

Posted by sheku tarawally on 01/15/2010

i don't agree with the case that we don't need zdeko,with him milan would score more goals.75% of crosses from ronnie and beckham go to waste,borrielo is doing well,but not quite enough.zdeko arrival will aisi create depth

Posted by the norse man on 01/15/2010

Dinho is only 29 but milan should still be thinking of getting a new forward to replace him. Dzeko would be a great CF while milan could move Borriello to left when Dinho gets old. There is a off chance we do not need Dzeko right know. But if we are going to be honest, huntalaar has not fully proved himself at milan.

Posted by punditguy on 01/16/2010

Its why we signed Dominic Adiyiah! He is a Wide LF. Borriello would stay as a CF and Pato on the right. I think we need a RM and for me there is no one better than Milos Krasic for that spot!

Our defensive midfeild is good...we have Flamini. But what about the other positions such as LM, RB and CM. I know there is Pirlo but he doesnt have very long again! I hope Milan invest more in quality teenagers.

Speaking of quality teenagers....There is a kid we recently signed by the name of Edmund Hottor. He is 16 years old and he is a CAM. I heaqrd that it was Leonardo who personally requested Galliani to acquire the services of him. Im really excited and keen to see him play. Because remember...it was Leonardo who scouted Kaka and Pato!

Posted by Mike Astuto on 01/16/2010

I would def say they need to be looking for a young forward... But going out and spending a ton on Dzeko means less playing time for Pato and Boriello. They need playing time to get better and have all the potential to be just as good, if not better than Dzeko.

Posted by nico on 01/16/2010

I disagree with statmens about pato. When he is on the feild he has a big inpact, he can do great things and he is young yet. Pato is a exciting player to watch, milan needs a player with flare like him that can get things done. He has not played all the games because of injury yet he still has the most goals for milan.

Posted by Milan 1963 on 01/16/2010

I would love to see Pato starting from the left and Dinho from the right. With his speed dribbles and shot Pato could be even more devastating coming from the left, while Dinho could still distill his perfect crosses from the right. The difference with Beckham playing on the right is that he is providing more cover on the side and make it look more like a 442, which gives more balance defensively to the team. Finally I must say we all love Gattuso, but his time has come and I really would love to see Flamini playing more. Dzeko would obviously give Milan more fire power and more alternatives upfront, but I agree that before him we need to think of the future replacements for Pirlo, Seedorf and a couple of solid defenders.

Posted by shaleen on 01/16/2010

well.. i feel that huntelaar definetely deserves more playin time.. he is better than borriello.. n with the crosses beckham provides he is the perfect striker that milan needs to play.. with his height and accurate heading.. beck would love to see hunter standing under his cross..

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 01/16/2010

Shaleen:

It's a bit early for April Fools jokes, no?

Fulvio:

Although Pato is a world class talent, the formation is more defensively balanced with Beckham on the right side. Putting Pato on the left makes sense. The left footed Messi is deployed on the right so he can cut back across the middle and curl in shots.

Posted by nico on 01/17/2010

Tomorow is a very important day, milan will play siena and if they winn they will be only 6 point behind inter. Milan have to keep the ball and shift it over to Ronnie or beckham and they will put the ball in the box. to many times Milan tries to force the ball up to borriello, what they need to do is keep the ball on the ground let pirlo into the game and once pirlo is on the ball the foward will see more of the ball. Pirlo opens the whole game up and he must because with all the chances that ronnie has taken the fo milan he doesnt nearly see as much of the ball as he should. milans two center backs work very well with eachother, thiago silva and nesta, but the full backs need some work, to keep the back line straight and mark there men. Milan has pletty of talent to take the league title from inter.

Posted by Mike Astuto on 01/17/2010

hahaha Huntelaar will have to score more than 2 goals vs Catania before I concede him as being better than Borriello!

Posted by ARNAB MANDAL on 01/17/2010

RONI IS NOW MILAN REPLICA.MILAN CANNOT WIN WITHOUT HIM. HE IS A ENGINE.HE CAN CHANGE A GAME IN A WHISKER.SO HE IS EVERYTHING

Posted by tote on 01/17/2010

Milan definitely need to hang on to Flamini, with Ambro now 33 and Gattuso past it. They need to sign Dzeko, since Borriello is inconsistent, injury prone and will turn 28 this year. An attacking MF like Krasic is also needed to replace the ageing Seedorf and on-loan Beckham. Finally, a CB and a full-back to replace Kaladze, Oddo, Favalli and Janku. Milan can make all these signings for about 35m after the sales of Huntelaar, Paloschi, and the old defenders.

Posted by samuel mat on 01/18/2010

i am a fan of ac millan, Our defensive midfeild is good...we have Flamini. But what about the other positions such as 4wrder ar just playin like hell borrilelo.About Beckhams retirement i dont want him to retire because he has not play to my espectations so i would like to continue,

Posted by david on 01/19/2010

Has anyone noticed the goal celebrations for Milan since Bechkham has arrived? He is the first one there to get the attention during the celebration, and it looks like no one wants him around. For the first goal this weekend, he was first in, then when he left his teamates really started to jump around. He wasn't involved in any of the other post goal rituals, even though he assisted on at lease one of them.

Do you think the Milan players resent him coming inand starting without paying his dues on the training pitch?

Posted by shegs on 01/19/2010

Matteo Bonetti: Do you actually feel that Borriello is a better target man than Huntelaar? if you (honestly!) believe that, please give me 3 reasons why.

Posted by Matteo Bonetti on 01/19/2010

Shegs:

How about 5?

1. Borriello is a stronger, more physical presence.
2. He leaps higher. Uses his weight to slightly nudge off defenders right before making the jump.
3. He is better in the aerial game. Not only can he score powerful headers, but also spectacular volleys from crosses.
4. He has a toughness that I just haven't seen in Huntelaar. They are two completely different attackers.
5. He creates spaces for Ronaldinho and Pato, tracks back on defense, and constantly works for the team. Huntelaar is more of a static striker. Borriello is flying all over the field.

And most importantly. He is scoring goals every week.

Posted by Mike Astuto on 01/19/2010

Bonetti & Shegs:

I completely agree. Huntelaar is almost easily the most over- rated player on the squad. He has one aspect to his game and thats his size and hes doesn't utilize it very well. Borriello is a much more dynamic and well rounded player. Not to mention the only time you notice Klass is when hes scoring goals and he hasn't done a whole lot of that in Milan. Borriello is scoring every week and even when hes not scoring hes drawing defenders attention when crosses come into the box. Im hoping ESPN reports about Huntalaar going on loan are true because its the best thing for both parties. Did you see how much space Ronaldinho had this weekend against Siena? Sure he can create a lot of his own space like that last goal he scored from distance... but Ronnie could have easily scored a goal or 2 more than he did and a lot of that room he had to move around was because there was always someone marking Boriello.

Posted by Major Ocelot on 01/19/2010

We need a sharp shooter who can always hit armageddon in the attacking midfield role. someone like a snidjer or the in form nedved during his days. Im not saying buy any of these players but can someone get the idea of what Im talking about? We need at least one player who can launch rockets from anywhere in the midfield. seedorf does this before but is shooting abilities have reduced dramatically....

Posted by Milan 1963 on 01/20/2010

Looking at the game last Saturday, I believe that Boriello is back to his good old days when he was scoring loads of goals in Genoa and will get scoring more and more with renewed confidence. His volley was pure magic. Ronaldinho was from another planet, but the team seem more balanced playing almost as a defensive midfield. I must say also that Gattuso looks more and more like a poor defenseless puppy no longer biting anckles but chasing tennis balls.To answer major Ocelot, we have Seedorf, Pirlo and Flamini who can score rockets from distance when necessary.

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