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.

Badry vs Leonardo

For non Egyptian readers Hossam El Badry is the coach of the most successful club in Africa and Egypt, Ahly, my team. Leonardo is an ex Brazilian international who inherited the AC Milan squad in the post Kaka' era. Both men are on their first job as the number one man, their situation carries both common factors and huge difference.

Badry was given the job of managing Egyptian champions Ahly after the board parted ways with legendary coach Manuel Jose. He was Jose's second man for many years and became the first Egyptian coach of the club for a very long time. He had a lot of shoes to fill but he had the champions that boasted a lot of internationals and stars of the Egypt National team. Players like Abu Trieka, Meteb, Gomaa, Fathi, Ahmed Hassan, Moawad and Barakat. Most of these players are on the wrong side of thirty but still showed a lot of hunger. Badry was not building a new team or resurrecting a wounded giant (like Hossam Hassan is doing managing Zamalek). However the local media as always would like to make us think that Badry is tackling an impossible mission with Ahly. They insist that the team needs a major overhaul just because we won the league on the final day of the season. The media here is always behind the local coach. Ahly just drew their latest game after throwing a 2-0 half time advantage due to tactical errors from the coach, who does the media blame? The keeper! Badry has just won 1 game from the last 4 in the second round of the league. Something is wrong and he should not be commended for tackling the impossible because frankly it's not that hard.

Leonardo on the other hand is man thrown straight into the fire. Milan have not won a Scudetto for a very long time and lost their main star in Kaka' to Real Madrid in the summer. Most of the team is past their prime, wrong side of 30 and 35. Plus the management says it does not have enough money to spend. So basically Milan looks in trouble. Prior to the start of the season I thought a UEFA qualification would be an achievement. Leonardo has never had a managerial role before and was still studying for his coaching certificate after his appointment. He had several roles in AC Milan from head scout to Sporting Director. Experience was not on his side. Leonardo was tackling the impossible and not Badry. He had a battered and old squad, no money and no experience. Not to mention media attacks on him.

Badry has changed Ahly's style of play from 3-5-2 to a narrow 4-4-4 (or 4-5-1). He was mostly successful and come mid way through the league he was leading the table. Mind you Ahly's performances left a lot to be desired but we were doing enough to stay ahead of the competition. Ahly had a lot of injuries to deal with and so was forced to field many youth players. Too many though if you ask me. Championship teams give 2-3 youth a chance per season and they don't play them every game. Look at Manchester United. Badry had a chance in the transfer market but bought poorly. Dipping into the market to get players like striker Moudi Fadl who frankly is not up to par. He also bought Ekramy the keeper just as his young goalie was coming into his own. Now he is second choice! He managed though to unearth some good talents while injuries

were a problem none more so than Attacking midfielder Shokry who is a brilliant talent. It worked well for Ahly and the youth performed well. Problems started to arise once the veterans started recovering from injury. All coaches would be happy with that, Badry seemed confused and unsure. In the last 4 games or so he has consistently changed around 5 players from the starting line up each game. Two Sets of Strikers in 2 consecutive games. Then a mixture of the 2 sets, then one striker. Shokry was suddenly benched, Shebeta his favorite was now on the fringes and it seems he has no position for Abdallah Farouk and plays him everywhere just for the sake of playing him. He is too chicken to substitute Ahmed Hassan after the nations cup and suddenly Afroto plays one good game and so he is a must play. Jose never gave a chance to any youths but Badry has turned us into an elementary school. You don't experiment half way thought the season with a championship team. You have your starters and incorporate a few numbers of youth and reserves accordingly. Badry is no longer doing a good job and I guess the Africa Cup of Nations break gave him too much time on his hands. He should be criticized and frankly he did not inherit a difficult task, he made it difficult.

Leonardo knew what was required from his employers. They wanted Milan to play exciting football and Leo responded. He changed the whole look of Milan. He incorporated a 4-3-3 with Ronaldinho on one side Pato on the other and Boriello as a target man. He managed to invigorate Ronaldinho into the player he once was. He has a hunger to him that has been absent for the last 3 years. He has found his touch back and some of his blistering pace in the final third. Ronnie has contributed around 20 assists this season. Leo has instilled confidence in Borriello and he became prolific and integral to Milan's efforts. Ancelotti was always complaining that Borriello was injured and I thought why is crying about an unknown. This season I know why. Borriello scored fantastic goals; he has a sweet touch and is physically strong to bang around in the penalty area. Leonardo has kept the core of the team intact. Only a few new faces are involved. Thiago Silva who has become indispensible, Abbati on occasion, Huntelaar who although rarely starts has scored 6 goals and is always eager for more and Antonini. The rest of the old guard is still there but you would not be able to tell. Ambrosini, Nesta, Pirlo, Gattuso, Seedorf to name a few. Leo has mixed it up perfectly and excited his players to play for him. Yet he is still getting the stick by the media and his employers but as a true professional he continues to work in silence. Yesterday AC Milan managed to beat Fiorentina and go second in Serie A with only 4 points behind Inter, who would have though. Don't be surprised if Milan pulls out the impossible at Old Trafford. Leonardo has shown how to turn the impossible into the possible. Mr. Badry can learn a thing or two about having your back to the wall. He has lived in an illusion created by the media until it had become a reality. He better snap out of it or else Ahly will throw away the league.

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

Milan Win Berlusconi Trophy, Really?

Well a couple of days back I managed to watch AC Milan take on Juventus for the annual friendly played to win the Berlusconi Cup. It is the last friendly before the Serie A kicks-off next week, so naturally it is quite important for both teams to have a some sort of idea of where they stand. Juve had a mixed preseason but miles better than that of Milan. Milan had not won a single preseason friendly up to that point although they managed to grab a draw or two, so logically Milan would be putting more importance on that game, more to the fact they were playing at home. I never thought though it was that important!

Both teams started out with more or less their best eleven on the field. The game played out to a 1-1 draw with Diego who was extremely impressive through out grabbing the lead with a deflected shot off Milan defender Thiago Silva who had a decent game himself. Alex Pato equalised late on with a header from an inch perfect Abate cross. Milan overall played fairly well, looked threatening and their overall display was miles better than any of their preseason games thanks to occasional moments of brilliance from Ronaldinho, Pato and Pirlo. Yes I know I argued before that Pirlo can be sold, but in no way is his presence in any team in the world not an advantage for that team. New signing Huntelaar struggled a bit, but gave me hope that if given a few games he can deliver. Overall I still think Inter are almost a sure in for winning the Serie A again this season, that's were I would put my money. Their overall squad and tactical displays are better than any other Serie A team.

Anyways, as the game ended in a draw it had to be settled on penalties, fair enough. What really surprised me was the presence of Milan vice-president Galliani on the bench celebrating after each penalty kick as if Milan were playing a "World Cup" final, not even a "Champions League" final could enlist such exaggerated emotions from the Milan number two. Frankly it was too much for me. Maybe he was genuinely happy, who knows? but it seemed to me that Galliani wanted this win just to prove to us and mainly to himself that everything is fine in Milanello. There were a lot of positives to take out of the game for Milan and I'm sure Leonardo breathed a sigh of relief following his teams display as it gave him hope for the future. Not among the positives was beating Juve, because frankly it never happened. Milan drew 1-1 at home with Juve and struggled to equalize, (a poor result in any two legged competition or even in a league meet), and later won a penalty contest to win a friendly competition, nothing more nothing less. I hope that the next time I see Mr. Galliani jumping up and down would be in a Champions League final, on second thought a Coppa Italia final will do!

Pirlo Can Go

The AC Milan transfer policy this season has been a joke in my opinion and that is not because they sold Kaka' to Real Madrid. I was never for keeping players in a club against their will although it seems Kaka' might have been pushed out of AC Milan starting with Man City's offer last season. I think at the end of the day he did want to leave and that is why he picked Real whose offer was substantially lower than that of City. Never the less 65m Euros seems to be a great price for Kaka' and Milan would have done well to sell him for that kind of money. Everyone expected the rebuilding to commence immediately especially that the Milan squad is so old that you can actually picture current coach Leonardo on the field with great ease. But no, nothing happened and the Milan administration came out and told us that the bulk of this

some will be to settle debts and no big money transfers are to be expected. They chased Wolfsburg striker Dzeko for a while and ultimately failed to land the prolific goal scorer due to one reason, money! Oh and lets not forget attempting to renegotiate the Aly Cissokho deal with Porto by claiming he had bad teeth! They followed this up with an embarrassing attempt to lure Brazil Striker Luis Fabiano. I'm not a fan of him but a 12.5m Euros offer for Brazil's number one striker is a joke. Again Mr. Galliani and co. told us that funds were tight. One thing crossed my mind at that point...Where did the 15m Euros from the sale of Yoann Gourcuff ever disappear to? Don't let me start on how Milan managed to chase away the super talented Frenchman who was one of the main reasons Bordeaux broke the grip Lyon hand in France and would have been a direct replacement for Kaka'. However I feel in this case the damage already done by Carlo Ancelotti was irreversible. Anyways Milan have managed to acquire around 80m Euros in transfer funds and all we got to show for it was U.S.A Defender Oguchi Onyewu. Don't get me wrong he is a solid addition to the aging back line, but surely we deserve more.

It seems now the Milan Administration is once again going to sell one of it's stars only this time it's Andrea Pirlo. The Brescia born midfielder has been a prominent figure in AC Milan for the last 8 years managing to win all possible domestic honours, two Champions Leagues, one FIFA Club World Cup and off course the World Cup in 2006. For once I happen to agree. There is no doubt regarding the talent of Pirlo but with his high salary, age and the amount of money offered (reported to be around 15m Euros) Milan could be on to something. The talented play makers slow pace and lack of fighting spirit has been ever so evident in preseason friendlies plus rumor has it that he doesn't fit into Leonardo's plans. Add to that the presence of battling midfielders in the squad like Gattuso, Flamini and Ambrosini and it's clear the move makes more sense from Milan's side. From Chelsea's perspective it makes less sense to me, but it's very possible Ancelotti wants to add much needed depth to his squad so he is able to battle on all fronts this season. Galliani this time around has finally informed the Milan faithful that money from Pirlo's sale would go into strengthening the squad and with rumors flying regarding Sneijder, Hernanes, Fabiano and Huntelaar I think its fair to say that Pirlo can go.