AC Milan Thread [2010/2011]

[Xifio]

ahem ... once in a lifetime?

 

[Recrero152]

ahem ... once in a lifetime?

There's a significant difference between this shot and the other one. Both are probably around the same length, the Parma shot maybe just a bit more further away and it was shot high and curved itself down just past the glove so the GK couldn't put it away. In this goal against Chievo, it's more of a straight shot right into the top corner. The first goal is much, much more difficult to do and more classy. Still, both good goals by a great player.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

"At the start of your career, you want to get yourself recognised and you are more individualist.

"Then you understand that the group is more important than the individual and that you can only go far with the team.

"When my team-mates are happy, I am happy, too, because when I join a team I kill myself for my team-mates. If they win, I win, too."

What a prick. Hey douchebag, not everyone is out for only themself when they are younger. Only the narcissistic pieces of **** that no one likes to play with are like that. The guys that were only out for themself and wouldn't pass were the WORST teammates and I always hated passing to them, but I would because if it's the right pass it's the right pass. I'm a team player and I would never refuse to pass to anyone if it was the correct pass and I think a lot of people are like me, so unfortunately assholes like this keep getting rewarded.

 

[Xifio]

^ hopefully you were drunk as you posted, or were performing an amusing parlour trick by talking out your ass ...

coz otherwise, that rant, coming a couple of days after Zlatan's 2 assists won the game for Milan, couldn't have been worse-timed ...

 

[ShiftyPowers]

He says he now understands why teamwork is better than selfishness. Why it took him until 29 is a pretty disturbing question.

 

[Xifio]

no, he says "at the start" you don't, "then" you do ... he got plenty of excellent assists at Ajax, and I loved watching him and Mido together ... at academies like Ajax, you are being judged on several things by vastly knowledgeable coaches; but if you're playing for FBK Balkan, then you need to do something get yourself noticed by teams like Ajax ... knowing what I know about him, that's what it sounds like he is talking about ...

 

[RuiCosta_10]

ahem ... once in a lifetime?

Rui Costa...

 

[Xifio]

recorded the match and just got done watching it ... that was a joke ... but still, it took some serious fortune for Real to score both their goals, which is what makes the situation worse, IMO ...

when you play against a team that likes to break at pace, and you're not as fast, you need meticulous organization to control and dictate the pace of the game ... with a defensive line that doesn't inspire confidence (neither on paper, nor on the pitch), meticulous organization should have been paramount ...

on the freekick: no one but Zlatan jumped -- that is a lack of any organization, let alone meticulous organization ... and Seedorf turned away to make a nice gap for the ball -- if you're playing a pick-up game, that would be unacceptable; in the Champions League, that's so pathetic it's laughable ...

the second goal came about because of the disarray at the back when defending speedy attackers -- and in case you didn't know, disarray is a succinct way to say: lack of organization ... not surprising though, considering that Daniele Bonera has played exclusively as a right back under Allegri, but was suddenly starting at the centre of defence ... and not in just any match, but away to the biggest club in the world ...

both goals could have been avoided with some basic defending ... ceteris paribus, that must be embarassing to contemplate for the men in red and black ...

at the other end, there were some excellent chances: of them all, Seedorf should have buried his, or at least set up someone for a tap-in ...

lastly, I've said this before and I'll say it again: Kevin-Prince needs to be starting every game ... and seeing the ease with which Ronaldinho was constantly dispossessed (due to his inability to use intelligence to compensate for his inadequate pace), he should not be starting any big matches any more ...

 

[Xifio]

as the season has unfolded, the evidence is slowing building to say that Allegri's lack of tactical nous is going to end up costing Milan dear ... the team doesn't look like it has a plan when it goes forward, and the defensive organization (not just on set-pieces) is a joke ...

the introduction of Super Pippo against Real Madrid can be pointed to as a counterpoint about Allegri's tactical capabilities ... prima facie, it looks a good case ... Allegri choose to go with 2 strikers in tandem, instead of bringing on Robinho ... but the reorganization of the setup was bizarre, and Inzaghi was often spotted on the wings, holding the ball, while Ibra dropped back, Boateng was advanced, and Pirlo continued to not see the ball in killer-pass-making areas ... still, it worked, didn't it? well, Inzaghi's first goal was a compound of 2 defensive errors, while the second was very offside ... so yeah, it worked somehow, and it's good to be lucky ... but those sort of gifts are rare to say the least, while saying it worked somehow is sort of my case in point ...

the thing Max has going for him is his composure and rationality when managing the team ... a match against Bari is a chance to rest some of the regular starters, as he has already hinted at (Pirlo, amongst others) ... I wouldn't mind him resting Zlatan too, to be honest ... what I want to gauge is his capacity to reorganize the tactics ... so far, not only haven't I been impressed, but I get the feeling a serious hiding is just around the corner ...

and what a week or two coming up: after Bari, it's Palermo and Inter within 4 days, with Auxerre in the Champions League and Samp in the league the week after ... if Allegri can effectively rotate his players and his tactics during that time, I'd have to admit to being impressed ... push has come to shove; let's see how the not-so-Mad Max reacts ...

 

[ShiftyPowers]

He doesn't have the pieces to field a Scudetto winning team, simple as. Pirlo, Seedorf and company can't carry a midfield anymore and collection of forwards is laughable. Sure they're all good players, but they are all guys who offer so little on defense that you need to specifically plan for them NOT coming back on defense. A strong midfield can do it (Milan's is too old and slow) and tiki-taka can do it (because the other team never touches the ball; unfortunately this is also impossible for Milan to play), but other than that there's not much he can do. I guess he could adopt a Mancini-esque approach, but again, he doesn't have the midfield foundation for that.

 

[Pogba4Now]

So, Xifio. Have you switched from following Inter to now following Milan? Are you that much of a Zlatan fan?

 

[Xifio]

He doesn't have the pieces to field a Scudetto winning team, simple as.

with that defence, yeah ... but otherwise it's debatable ...

collection of forwards is laughable. Sure they're all good players, but they are all guys who offer so little on defense that you need to specifically plan for them NOT coming back on defense.

for Milan, Zlatan always wins the defensive header at corners; and more generally, he drops back well enough for a forward -- it was never a problem, even under Capello and Mourinho, both of whom demand unwavering discipline to their carefully planned demands ... Pato cannot be accused of neglecting defensive duties; he covers a lot of ground ... but in the case of Ronaldinho (fitness) and Robinho (attitude), I agree ... Pippo is surprisingly not too bad in this department, though he is a non-factor against the big teams since he will/should only be used as an impact sub in those matches ...

Pirlo, Seedorf and company can't carry a midfield anymore

...

A strong midfield can do it (Milan's is too old and slow) and ... I guess he could adopt a Mancini-esque approach, but again, he doesn't have the midfield foundation for that.

slow has never been a problem for Pirlo, Seedorf, or Milan ... when slow meant methodical, they won the Champions League ... but now slow has slipped into a mixture of lethargy and incapacity for Seedorf and others, and that is a no-go ... where Ringhio used to be tenacious in his tackles, he just looks clumsy now ... Ambrosini was never of the same quality as Gattuso, but he too has age catching up with him ... because slow was methodical, and slow has now become lethargy and incapacity, it is easy not to see the difference ... especially for someone like Silvio, who preferred to turn a blind eye till this past season ...

if he "adopts a Mancini", which is your way of saying 3 DMs I think, it would mean dropping Pirlo -- and that could work in certain cases ... that brings us neatly to Milan's stagnation, which can be traced to Carletto and Pirlo ... Pirlo could, and still can, pick a super pass; but always needs 2 defensive mids (one on either side of him) to give him the space he needs ... that severely restricts any versatility in the formation and tactic of the side ... that's why Pirlo never made it at Inter ... that's why Ancelotti kept virtually the same squad and formation year after year, and left Milan without a platform to build on ... and that was a major factor in allowing Silvio to slip into the bad habit of thinking he doesn't need to spend on new players, but could still challenge in Europe ...

the defence is the problem area, and there should hopefully be some new arrivals in January ... the midfield can be worked with for this season alone ... essentially, I criticize Allegri because there seems to be no serious meticulous organization to compensate for whatever areas are lacking ...

with meticulous opponent-specific planning (which would see some seriously well thought out plans, combinations, and rehearsed plays), I think a great manager can pull something out of the hat with the team ... in such cases, where the team seems deficient, a great manager makes the team greater than the sum of its constituent parts ... I don't think Allegri is the man for that job ... but I hope I am proven wrong by him rising to the occasion and delivering success ...



EDIT:

So, Xifio. Have you switched from following Inter to now following Milan? Are you that much of a Zlatan fan?

yup ... never hidden it, either ... and Mourinho arriving at Inter in 2008 made it imperative for me to take a serious intellectual interest too in Inter ... now I follow Zlatan and what his team is doing at Milan, while most of my intellectual attention is with José at Real Madrid ... I also follow Cassano as much as I can ... (my dislike of Pep has helped lighten the load of matches I need to watch in full ... well, until he leaves Barça, anyway ...)

 

[Xifio]

decisivo Ibra, sempre lui ... and his midas touch (with the conducive results elsewhere in the country) takes his team to the top of the table -- going into the Derby della Madonnina, that will hopefully be a psychological boost ...

the sour note is Super Pippo going off injured ... Pato didn't look too comfortable going off either ... it better not be anything serious for either ...


Milan looked dominant in possession at times, which was refreshing to see ... Palermo's goal from the blue seemed to throw the match back into balance ... but they couldn't capitalize, in no small part to Pastore's early injury -- carrying on with that knock, he could hardly do anything of note before the overdue substitution was made ... Iličić looked the most likely to conjure something for Palermo, but he was somehow held at bay ...

the penalty turned the match back in Milan's favour ... the goal for Zlatan seemed to wake him: he was suddenly all over the place, and unsurprisingly got the assist for Robinho's goal to effectively secure the points ... it should have been 4-1 and a second for Zlatan, but Robinho managed to f*ck up a simple square ball ...

all in all, very good momentum built up as the big weekend match approaches ...

 

[Juventino]

Your posts would be so much better without all the elipses (''...''). It makes you sound weird in my head when I'm reading. You sound smart enough to use proper interpunction. :P

 

[Xifio]

stream of consciousness writing ...

 

[Xifio]

Pato out for a few weeks ... Super Pippo is convinced he will return to play again; that, while meant to be a positive message, means he'll be out for a long while too (some say the rest of the season) ... Ronnie's gonna be given his chance now, and it may be his last chance to prove his worth, or else we may be seeing a lot of him here in the US of A ...

i think that's a sufficient number of excuses to swoop in for the imminently free agent Fantantonio ...

 

[Mus]

peter pan is ours, back off

 

[Deni_Rossonero]

Finally! (Reffering to both the first place on the table and the win over Inter)

 

[Filipower]

Things are so much easier without Mourinho, eh?

 

[Recrero152]

I cannot do anything else but to congratulate you guys on a victory. (and to put a curse on Rafael Benitez) You did well and held your line even with 10 men but as soon as that fat prick leaves Inter, we'll be owning again so enjoy this while you still can