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| photo by Erik Forsberg |
- by Sanjay Motwani, writing from Mumbai, India
Juventus played out a draw against Parma in mid-week and managing to win against Catania 3-1. Juventus should be praised for their mid-field lineup with the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio playing an important role for Juve's undefeated run in Serie A. Juventus under Antonio Conte is not one-dimensional team. Juve have undergone various transitions in their playing style to remain undefeated this year, which everyone would praise, including Milan manager Max Allegri.
AC Milan will be missing their key player Zlatan Ibrahimovic because of his three-match suspension, although Milan making efforts to lower his ban to 2 games which is not quite possible now. Milan may also miss Kevin Prince Boateng and Pato for the services, according to latest reports. AC Milan may start with a 4-3-1-2 formation while Juventus will go 4-4-2 formation. If AC Milan wants to win, my preferred starters on front would be El Shaarawy and Robinho with Urby Emmanuelson playing as trequarista. If Juventus wants to win, they just need to make sure that their strikers have proper finishing in front of the goal and preferred starters would be Matri and Quagliarella with Giaccherini as trequarista.
This match is not just the battle of 3 points, It's the match for gaining psychological advantage over your rivals, which is definitely a booster for the Serie A race. Milan will be almost done up with the hard fixtures part after Juventus, but Juve's unbelievable run should be kept in mind too. Whomsoever maybe the winner but, unexpected twists always happen in Serie A.
Very good player and a very good singer, Surprisingly. His name does sound like the name of someone in a boy band. Kevin PRINCE Boateng.
It's safe to say that Michel Telo's song "Ai se eu te pego" is AC Milan's favorite song at the moment. Here is Kevin Prince Boateng doing the dance after their game against Siena
AC Milan's Alexandre Pato, Thiago Silva, and Robinho dance to "Ai se eu te pego" by Michel Teló. Not going to lie, this my favorite song right now.
Learn the dance:
Kevin Prince Boateng
aka Kevin King Boateng
AC Milan vs Barcelona
Lecce went into halftime with a commanding 3-0 lead on AC Milan. In the Second Half, Kevin-Prince Boateng put the team on his back leading Milan to a 4-3 win.
AC Milan defeated Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana on Saturday. During the post game celebration Pato decided to make a face. When you look at the picture above and video below remember one thing, the game was played in Beijing, China. What are your thoughts on the face gesture?
- by Debbie Smith, writing from Rome, Italy
The funniest part about witnessing the AS Roma match was that I had a Curva Sud ticket, so this crazy Milanista ended up watching the match in the middle of hard core Roma ultras, something a little bit dangerous but at the end it made it more interesting.
So, given that there are no words that could make up with the actions I experienced that day, I share with you my top 10 pictures.
The Stadio Olimpico is beautiful from the outside, but given it has tracks on the inside, it actually makes a bit hard to watch the match, the actions feel far away.
Still, a beautiful stadium.
The Milan curva was singing, jumping and being amazing. I was so sad I couldn't find tickets for the away curva but you know, how difficult it is the whole away fans traveling and getting tickets in Italy.
The roma fans had a choreography, and they never stopped singing during the 90 minutes.
As an honest fan you know that wasn't a particularly pretty match, so there was one point when I was more interested watching Andrea Pirlo and Antonio Cassano gossip with Marco Borriello while they were all warming up.
But then when it was the last seconds, It was pure magic, the bench was all up and nervous and I remember how beautiful it was when the referee whistle and the whole bench rushed to the center of the field, and threw the mister in the air, and where hugging, by that moment I had absolutely forgotten that I was at the curva sud of the Stadio Olimpico and I was cheering and super excited. The players went to the Milan fans side of the stadium and celebrated underneath there, which made a bit difficult to take decent pictures, but the memories, those will remain in my heart forever.
(Plus, I was like whatever, I am going to Milano next weekend and celebrate with them at the Duomo and the San Siro, which I did, but that story will be for a different occasion).
Now Available at the TRS Store
Forza Milan 18
T-Shirts, Hoodies, and Kids Clothes
Celebrate AC Milan's 18th Championship: Black shirt and Italian Scudetto with the number 18, representing the club's 18th title. Click on the Picture above or HERE to buy!
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| [photo by Jan S0L0] |
Fellow Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf has yet to decide whether or not he will stay with the club. Defender Alessandro Nesta and Forward Filippo Inzaghi both signed a contract extension through 2012. Defender Thiago Silva extended his contract through 2016, and midfielder Mark van Bommel extended his contract through next season.
AC Milan's 17th Jersey designed by Adidas. Share your thoughts below.
The good ol' Italian Bulldog, Gennaro Gattuso, is at it again. First choking then head-butting Tottenham coach Joe Jordan after the 1st leg of their Champions League tie with Tottenham. This is Classic Gattuso if you ask me! Was it wrong and immature? yes, but I personally love this guy. Man enough to get in someone's face, and then man enough to admit he was wrong.
"I lost my head and I'm taking responsibility because I did something I shouldn't have done," Gattuso said. "Jordan was breaking my balls throughout the second half but that doesn't justify my reaction."
"We were both speaking Scottish given that I played in his country in Glasgow but I'm not going to say what was said. I made a mistake doing what I did to an older person, and that's it. I'll wait and see what (UEFA) decides."
Gennaro might not say what was said but his agent Claudio Pasqualin is. Pasqualin told Napoli's Radio Kiss Kiss that he believed Gattuso "was strongly provoked by Joe Jordan". He went on to explain how the Italian Bulldog was prvoked:
"Jordan, after having continuously heckled him, insulted him with truly low phrase, saying 'F**king Italian bastard'. For one like Rino, who has a strong sense of his Italian identity, I think this is the most disgusting and unjustifiable of insults."
UEFA will investigate incident which could result in a lengthy suspension for Gattuso. The decision will be announced next Monday. He is already ruled out of the 2nd leg after picking up a yellow card during to match.
Here is some more of the Bulldog in action:
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| [photo by David Cornejo] |
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, known commonly as simply Ronaldo, announced that his 18 year career will come to an end today. The reason: fitness. It is hard to play football when your over weight and Ronaldo finally accepted that he was no longer in shape to play the game he loves without the fear of injury.
In his prime Ronaldo was one of the best footballers on the planet. He won his first Ballon d'Or in 1997 at the age of 21. He would win that award again in 2002. He is also one of only two men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, Zinedine Zidane being the other player to achieve that. On the international level Ronald lifted the World Cup twice, in 1994 and 2002. The record for the most goals scored in the FIFA World Cup is also held by Ronaldo: 15.
Today when you mention Ronaldo people often ask if your referring to Cristiano or "the fat one". Ronaldo is solely to blame for his down fall. I cant help but remember his transvestite adventures a few month prior to his departure from AC Milan to join Corinthians. We wish you the best Ronnie. Stay healthy.
The video below shows Ronaldo's transformation through the years.
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| [photo by Mark Freeman] |
- by Braydon de Liberato, writing from Canada
Antonio Cassano, AC Milan (undisclosed fee)
Antonio Cassano was transferred from Genoa-based Sampdoria to 17-time Serie A champions AC Milan for an undisclosed fee. He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract worth roughly €2.8 million a year. He was brought on to replace Ronaldinho, who was known to be disgruntled in Milan, and wanted a transfer back to his native Brazil. Cassano himself isn’t exactly low-maintenance, so don’t expect a very long tenure at the San Siro. At 29 years old, he isn’t going to get much better than he is. He doesn’t fit particularly well in any of the systems they’ve used, but can be used on the left in a 4-3-3 or in the hole in a 4-3-1-2.
Giampaolo Pazzini, Inter Milan (€12 million + Jonathan Biabiany)
Giampaolo Pazzini was also transferred from Sampdoria, however Pazzini joined AC Milan’s rival Internazionale. He joined the European champs for a fee of €12 million and French winger Jonathan Biabiany, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract that will keep him with the Nerrazzuri through 2015. He will join a very strong Inter strike team, featuring Diego Milito, Samuel Eto’o, and Goran Pandev, among others. He has the chance to become the best pure number 9 in Europe playing at Inter, playing well in a variety of formations. Pazzini has already proven to be a strong addition to Inter’s front line, scoring a brace and drawing a penalty in his first game, a 3-2 win over Palermo.
Edin Dzeko, Manchester City (€28 million)
Edin Dzeko was transferred from German squad VFL Wolfsburg to big-spending Manchester City for an approximate fee of €28 million. He signed a 4 year contract, which will expire in January of 2015. I find his signing an unusual one for the Citizens, with Carlos Tevez having recently signed a new contract and City having plenty of offensive depth, especially so considering their use of a one striker formation. Dzeko has so far had little impact on City’s form, good or bad, and is clearly still second fiddle to Carlos Tevez. I can’t see his stay in Manchester being beneficial to his career, but only time will tell.
Andy Carroll, Liverpool F.C. (€35 million)
Andy Carroll was transferred from Newcastle F.C. to Liverpool F.C. for €35 million. He is known as a classic number 9 with great aerial skill and finishing ability. He is likened to Alan Shearer for these qualities. I find this to be a risky move by Kenny Dalgish, as Carroll not only is unproven in the Premier League before this season, but also has had disciplinary problems throughout his short career. The transfer fee is surely inflated due to his great potential, but if his personal life gets in the way of it, his career will surely go down the drain. If it doesn’t, however, look for Carroll to be near the top of the scoring charts for years to come.
Luis Suarez, Liverpool F.C. (€26.5 million)
Luis Suarez was transferred from Dutch heavyweights Ajax Amsterdam to Liverpool F.C. for €26.5 million. Suarez is a goal scoring machine, scoring 111 goals in 159 competitive matches for Ajax. He is best known for his handball in Uruguay’s FIFA World Cup quarter final matchup against Ghana, which saved Uruguay the game, and earned them a semi-final berth. Suarez could be a risky move by Liverpool, because he may not be as effective in England as in other, weaker leagues. He does have some experience against stronger teams, having scored 16 goals in 32 games for Ajax in Champions League and Europa League/UEFA Cup play.
Fernando Torres, Chelsea F.C. (€50 million)
Fernando Torres was transferred from underachieving Liverpool F.C. to British champions Chelsea F.C. for a British record €50 million fee. He is a proven all-around striker, boasting the highest goals-per-game and goals-per-minute ratio of any player in the Premier League era. However, he doesn’t offer too much to Chelsea’s already potent attack, as top class players such as Didier Drogba, Nicholas Anelka, and Frank Lampard are all as effective as him. Torres does have something they don’t, however, in youth. The transfer for Torres surely means one of Anelka and Drogba (likely Anelka) will leave at the end of the season.
It can’t be guaranteed that signing these players will guarantee victory right off the bat (with Chelsea losing their first game with Torres), but transfers wouldn’t be made unless managers knew they would contribute to success. Scouting is the better thing to do, as is it no coincidence that teams such as Barcelona are perennial contenders in domestic and continental leagues with the majority of their squad being home grown. You could also go the way of Ajax, developing great players and selling them for a bundle. Either way, its obvious that scouting is the stronger choice.
We have been hearing rumors for some time now that Ronaldinho was on the verge of signing with the LA Galaxy. Each rumors implied that the deal was to be finalized within the next day or two, but nothing ever happened. Now Ronaldinho's Brother/Agent says that he will most likely end up with a club in Brazil, that Club right now seems to be Grêmio. Grêmio president Paulo Odone says the club has agreed terms with the AC Milan star. Odone told RBS TV:
"On the part of Gremio and Ronaldinho, everything is already set,"
"What remains now is for Assis to negotiate the release of the player from the Italian club.
"The important thing is that Ronaldinho wants to return to Grêmio, where his house is and where he learned football."
Ronaldinho was born in Porto Alegre, where Grêmio is based, and played for the team until his departure for the French Club PSG in 2001. With AC Milan set to sign Italian striker Antonio Cassano and Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi stating that "It seems that [Ronaldinho] is leaving." it is quite possible that this time it is true.
- by Kevin Curtis, writing from Orlando
AC Milan, the seven-time winner of the European cup, and Real Madrid faced off in an intense match of fearlessness and determination. Real Madrid came into the game undefeated in the Champions League and having already beaten AC Milan victory seemed certain. Supporters dressed in Red and Black piled into the San Siro and energy and excitement grew as they awaited the start of the match.
In the first half, Real Madrid started out strong. They had complete control of the ball and had a high time of possession. Milan’s frustration became evident through late tackles by Prince Boateng, Ibrahimovic, and Abate, which consequently received yellow cards. Cristiano Ronaldo shinned, much like every other game, creating space and opportunities for Madrid. However Madrid could not capitalize on great opportunities. They seemed to have everything clicking for them but could not put the ball in the back of the net. This is thanks to a goal line stand by Pirlo, and a solid defensive effort by Gattuso. Overall however Milan’s defense struggled. Ronaldhino and Pato were very disappointing offensively. Milan had one notable scoring chance but Ibrahimovic was unable to take advantage of a poor decision by Casillas. Real Madrid went into the locker room relieved after scoring the Higuain goal in the 44th minute. Milan would go into the locker room frustrated.
"He is the philosopher who has broken my dream of being at Barcelona. The coach did not want me and I will not waste any more time. I want to retrieve my love of football with another team. I leave with more motivation and the strength to do better. In football, things can change within 24 hours."With these words regarding his feelings towards Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, Zlatan Ibrahimovic left to return to the San Siro. AC Milan acquires the Swedish striker on a season long loan with the option to purchase for €24 million at any point. Milan is expected to sign him to a 4 year contract once he passes his medical exams on Monday.
The video explains it all. This is just embarrassing, stupid Dida.