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

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!