football !!

Ibrahimovic is another trouble maker so I would not be too sorry for not getting the man, No 9! He can ruin the group feeling for sure, I think, with his trips wherever and whenever he pleases. And espcially now that he has not had that many good games under his belt he definitely is a risque buziness to be bought. Of course he is a truly gifted player but if he does not score in the first couple games he´ll be doing crazy things for sure...and driving Mancini crazy as well.

I also read Milan Baros has been doing nothing but drinking since the games ended for the Czechs in the WC. Wonder where he will be playing later this season.

 

Completely agree Kai, Ibrahimovic doesn’t impress me and in AC’s position I wouldn’t have put a bid in. Then again, for me AC have made some very strange moves in recent years. Players I would definitely be off-loading now are Dida, Kalac and Simic, and, I would have done everything to sign Buffon. They have signed a new defender, Giuseppe Favalli, but I would also have chased Grosso? Apparently bids have been renewed for Chelsea’s Gallas. He may work out but I think they should be looking elsewhere? Still very disappointed about not getting Crespo .

At present they seem to be adopting a star-maker role over signing ‘names’. For sure a lot is being made of French midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, who got his first 10 minutes for AC last Wednesday, while Marco Borriello has been their choice of new striker.

Look at the current AC squad:
Goal: Dida (Brazil), Fiori (Italy), Kalac (Australia) and new man Coppola (Italy)

Defence: Maldini (Italy), Cafu (Brazil), Costacurta (Italy), Simic (Croatia), Nesta (Italy), Jankulovski (Czecho), Kaladze (Georgia) and new man Favalli (Italy).

Midfield: Ambrosini (Italy), Gattuso (Italy), Kaka (Brazil), Pirlo (Italy), Seedorf (Holland), Serginho (Brazil), Vogel (Swiss) and new men Brocchi (Italy), Dalla Bona (Italy), Foggia (Italy) and Gourcuff (France).

Forwards: Amoroso (Brazil), Gilardino (Italy), Inzaghi (Italy) and new man Borriello (Italy)

When you look at the new men, one thing stands out – with the exception of Gourcuff they’re all Italian. Now consider Inter, they have NO Italians in their Midfield or Forward line , and only 3 out 8 Defenders and 2 out of 3 Goalkeepers. Radically different gameplans I’d say .
Inter Squad

No.9

 

I read that AC is considering a bid on Real's Ronaldo!

Van Nistelrooij has been dropped form the Dutch team in favor of up and coming star Huntelaar...Seems the days of Ruud as an international under Van Basten are over!

 

All there appears to be from Milan is rumours of considerations. Their squad of forwards is sound enough, but lacks depth. In the event of injury or other reason, they could quickly find themselves in the same position as England in the World Cup – having to push midfielders up front.

AC have said they are looking at little fat Ronaldo, which Madrid have made clear are not fussed about keeping and have set a low nominal price of £11m. If they do get him, he’ll have no option but to return to fitness as Milan govern player’s life round the clock when they are on duty .

Others Milan are considering (irrespective of what current owners are saying), are Torres, Trezeguet, Suazo, Drogba and even Huntelaar .

Curious about Van Nistelrooij being dropped, new England manager has just said the same about David ‘useless’ Beckham. Maybe the pair can be useless together in Spain .

No.9

 

The dust has far from settled in Italian football, but clear images and indicators continue to emerge.

Milan keep their pundits guessing by simply not saying much. A current popular press view is that they are waiting to see if they qualify for the Champions League proper before getting their cheque book out again. In addition, they’ve reversed an earlier decision not to challenge their current League points penalty of –8, and have joined a new round of appeals. Meanwhile, coach Ancelotti gave new boys a workout in a friendly against Atletico Madrid in La Coruna, and pulled a 1-0 win courtesy of Ambrosini.

AC team: Dida; Bonera, Simic, Favalli, Jankulovski; Brocchi, Vogel (Kaka 65), Ambrosini (Gattuso 74); Gourcuff (Cafu 80); Amoroso (Foggia 60), Borriello (Gilardino 84)

Talking of Ambrosini and giving new boys a run out, National Team boss, Roberto Donadoni, who replaced Mr World Cup Lippi, has his first friendly on Wednesday against Croatia. Recalled after a near two year absence is AC midfielder Ambrosini, plus a full array making their Azzuri debut.

Goalkeepers: Marco Amelia (Livorno), Flavio Roma (Monaco)

Defenders: Daniele Bonera (Milan), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giulio Falcone (Sampdoria), Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina), Christian Terlizzi (Sampdoria), Luciano Zauri (Lazio), Cristian Zenoni (Sampdoria)

Midfielders: Massimo Ambrosini (Milan), Gennaro Del Vecchio (Sampdoria), Massimo Gobbi (Fiorentina), Fabio Liverani (Fiorentina), Stefano Morrone (Livorno), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Franco Semioli (Chievo)

Forwards: Andrea Caracciolo (Palermo), David Di Michele (Palermo), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Mauro Esposito (Cagliari), Cristiano Lucarelli (Livorno), Tommaso Rocchi (Lazio)

Hmm…..pick you names to watch for the future, I’ve put mine in italics .

’Err...is that the same Roberto Donadoni that..... Yes, was formerly the ace winger for AC Milan and Italy, including a spell at the New York Metros, last played in 1998 and most recently coached Livorno .


Meanwhile, Roma had a poor pre-season game against Valencia in Spain losing 2-0, with 2 Red Cards . Chevio drew 0-0 with Middlesborough while Torino lost 2-1 to minnows Cuneo .

And, Atlanta has shown interest in Milan’s Simic, (please sell at any price ), and wandering loony, Christian Vieri, who begged Sampdoria to sign him, got signed, then said he didn’t want to play before kicking a ball, cancelled his contract, retired, came back, was told to sod off, may now be taken in by Torino. Whether it’s to play football or sell programmes remains to be seen .

No.9

 

AC stroll to a friendly defeat

Yes, only a few days after their friendly win in Spain, AC went down 3-1 to Deportivo La Coruna. Various press reports include statements like; ’never seemed to try much’, ‘no heart in the game’ and ’a shadow of the team that had won against Atletico Madrid’. Coach Ancelotti tried out a 4-3-1-2 formation and used keeper Coppola instead of Dida, for the whole match.

Milan rest for two days before returning to train for their Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade on 23rd August.

After their massive summer spend, Inter has stated there are ’open to offers’ for some of their players as they acknowledge they are ‘star rich’ and want to head-off problems of only being able to play 11 men at any one time. Likely candidates are Adriano, Martins and Recoba.

And, Pavel Nedved, of Juventus and Czecho, who threatened he might retire during the World Cup, first declared he would end his football days at Juve, now says he will retire from International football after the Czech Republic’s Wednesday friendly against Serbia.


No.9

 

Does the new Italy coach act in films when not coaching – or is it the other way round

Roberto Donadoni (AC and Italy)

__________________________Alfonso Arau (The Wild Bunch, Three Amigos +)
No.9

 

Juventus coach Didier Deschamps has set his sights on winning the Serie A title in two years' time.

The Frenchman has also set his side a target of 95 points to earn promotion from Serie B at the first attempt this season.

Juve were relegated to the second division for their lead-role in the Italian match-fixing scandal and, unless Friday's appeal overturns it, will begin the new season with a 17-point deficit to make up on the rest of the league.

However, Deschamps is confident that whatever handicap they have, his side will be among the country's leading teams by the end of next season.

"If we can win 95 out of the possible 126 points, we should make it and Juve in Serie A would be challenging for the title," he said.

"(Mauro) Camoranesi and (David) Trezeguet are staying here, and that is 100 per cent certain."

------------

BTW, if Buffon stays will he also get to play for his country??!

 

Several pre-season International friendlies fired off last night. Convincing wins for Holland v Ireland (4-0), Germany v Sweden (2-0) and France v Bosnia (2-1 : just about) – and England . Yes, with most of the World Cup team playing, but excluding dead wood like Beckham and ‘that Swede’, England thumped Greece 4-0. For me it was just so nice to see Terry Venables back on the England management bench.


Meanwhile, Italy sank 2-0 to Croatia . Is this the end of the World Champions? Not quite – Donadoni stuck to his plan to try out new players and new ideas. None of the World Cup winners played, though goalkeeper Amelia was in the World Cup squad to understudy the great Buffon. Actually 7 men won their first Azzuri cap last night and all 6 substitutions were made. Other team places were made up by former Azzuri players who haven’t played for Italy for some time.

Donadoni said: It’s always disappointing to lose, but it’s better to try our ideas in a friendly than a serious match. I knew I wouldn’t help matters by calling up so many men at such short notice when we are all on holiday. However, the game was very useful and no one will be out of the squad because of it. At the beginning of September we have a serious game and I promise I won’t be ‘experimenting’ then.”

No.9

 

The wins by Holland and Croatia were rather expected- many people who bet had them as "sure" cases and won "big money" by them.

The game we did not expect to end that way in Finland was Finland vs North Ireland 1-2. However very typical of the Finnish game, again!

I guess my worst moment watching the Finns took place back in 1988 against West Germany and I was just five minutes late but as I sat I noticed Rudi Völler scoring it 2-0 for West Germany....It ended 4-0 but I watched it until the end!

 

Spain winger Joaquin has revealed his desire to leave Primera Liga side Real Betis before the transfer window shuts in two weeks' time.

"I have achieved everything that is possible at Betis," he said in Spanish daily As.

"I have told (Betis coach Javier) Irureta that it is time for me to leave for another club."

The midfielder, who is contracted to Betis until the summer of 2010, said he had been the subject of a 15million euros (£10.2m) bid from Valencia, who are willing to include Uruguayan winger Mario Regueiro as part of the deal.

--------

Juventus will face up to their future on Friday when their latest appeal against their relegation to Serie B is heard in Rome.

 

In the ongoing saga of trial and punishment in Italian match-fixing, CONI mediation between Juventus and the FIGC ended 0-0. Lawyer Angelo Piazza, a judicature, said: “I had to accept the impossibility of reaching an agreement between the Federation and Juventus. The club demanded a return to Serie A and refused to discuss a reduction of the points or the stadium bans. There was no room for debate.” Juventus now consider taking matters to the TAR tribunal or the European Court. Rossi of the Federation said: “If I join a private club, then I have to respect the rules. I can’t just steal the silverware and then complain bout it.”

Meanwhile, to recap on major moves in the big 3 to date since last season:

Juventus lost:
Cannavaro (Real Madrid); Pessotto (Retired); Thuram (Barcelona); Zambrotta (Barcelona); Blasi (Fiorentina); Emerson (Real Madrid); Olivera (Sampdoria); Vieira (Inter); Ibrahimovic (Inter); Mutu (Fiorentina) and Paolucci (Ascoli)

Inter signed:
Grosso (Palermo); Maicon (Monaco); Maxwell (Empoli); M Dacourt (Roma); Vieira (Juventus); Choutos (Reggina); Crespo (Chelsea) and Ibrahimovic (Juventus)

AC Milan lost
Abbiati (Torino); Digao (Rimini); Marzoratti (Empoli); Stam (Ajax); Rui Costa (Benfica) and Shevchenko (Chelsea)

signed
Coppola (Ascoli); Bonera (Parma); Borriello (Treviso); Brocchi (Fiorentina); Favalli (Inter); Foggia (Ascoli) and Gourcuff (Rennes)

Several Italian sports papers insist AC will sign Rafael Sobis of Porto Alegre to replace Shevchenko, if, they win against Red Star next week .

And, 30 year old Francesco Totti, who announced his International retirement at the World Cup, may now change his mind following talks with the new national coach Donadoni. Scoring 10 goals in 58 matches and frankly with not doing much in Germany, is it worth it? Maybe we’ll see on 2nd September against Lithuania .

No.9

 

Teamtalk on AC Milan (??!)

According to reports, the Italian giants will move for the chubby Galactico if they qualify for the Champions League group stages on Tuesday night.

The Rossoneri take a 1-0 lead into the second leg of their qualifier against Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade.

And if they prevail, signing Ronaldo will become their number-one priority on Wednesday.

Ronaldo has already had one spell at the San Siro, starring for Inter Milan from 1997 to 2002 before leaving acrimoniously for Madrid.

Milan only have two frontline strikers after the departure of Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea - Filippo Inzaghi and Alberto Gilardino.

And the arrival of Ronaldo would be a massive pre-season boost for Carlo Ancelotti.

The one problem for Milan in sealing a deal could be Madrid's desire to take another Brazilian - midfield superstar Kaka - away from the San Siro.

New Bernabeu president Ramon Calderon said during his election campaign that he'd sign Kaka if successful, but so far he's been unable to deliver on that boast.

The player recently signed a new contract with the Rossoneri, but Calderon could play hardball and demand Kaka as part of any deal for Ronaldo.

 

Well, fatty Ronaldo is on their list, and Kaka favours his signing the most as he’s an old mate, but, Italian press still maintain the prime target is Rafael Sobis .

AC have named a squad for the Belgrade game – 22 men! We probably won’t know who’s actually playing till they walk out, but we at least know Maldini and Nesta are still on the sick list . Costacurta will continue to Captain.

Following the nil result at conciliation, Juve have decided to take their case to the civil TAR courts. This however, is a two edged sword. Not for the fact that matters could delay the start of the season, but, not only could the court decide not to reduce Juve’s penalties, they could actually increase them .

Meanwhile, Lyon appear to be bidding for Juve’s David Trezeguet and Mauro Camoranesi (who is desperate to leave), while Fiorentina is chasing Jonathan Zebina. Juve are adamant there will be no further departures and have been super-gluing Camoranesi’s shirt to his back, (this is a joke OK ).

Speaking of jokes, the latest is that wandering loony, Christian Vieri, has offered his services to Juventus – ”even if they play in Serie B”. Err……thanka you……don’ta call us……we’lla call you…… is a f’kin loony

No.9

 

Zidane headbutted but Henke Larsson back in Sweden knows better ways to teach the opponent (??)



Does not look to have much body behind the punch but anyway Henke is accused of hitting a player in the belly during a match...and of course the man in yellow fell down like...Christian Ronaldo...

 

Red Star red faces – Milan win 2-1

AC progress to the next round in the Champion’s League after winning their return away game to Red Star Belgrade 2-1 tonight – giving them a total 3-1 win overall.

And, first blood was again drawn by Super Pippo Inzaghi after half an hour. Second goal with some 11 minutes to go, courtesy of ‘my old Dutch’ Clarence Seedorf.


So Lippi, you silver haired old goat, you were told Inzaghi was playing his best ever, and when you let him on he scored, but you kept on with your nunce Juve mates in the World Cup didn’t you. Good job you’ve naffed off, and I hope you do go to Man U, you deserve each other.


No.9

 

Uncle Mourinho...what happened?? ( Chelsea lost 2-1 ...)

Mourinho : "Overall, the performance was not good, the team did not play well. They were too passive, reacting just to the game - when they scored the first goal, you had a reaction.

"We were not leading the game. There are no excuses."


And talking about interesting turns in the world of football:

Wantaway Arsenal forward Jose Antonio Reyes is reportedly set for a £11 million move to Madrid - but with Atletico, not Real.

 

Don't think that's as amazing as Ajax losing the Champion's League battle of the bacon to Denmark .

And, AC Vice President has advised press the Ronaldo offer is just about over. Madrid want £8m more than Milan feel he's worth, and Kaka . Dream on Madrid, keep the fat nunce. Milan have also been considering Vincenzo Iaquinta - good choice and a bargain for £7m .

No.9

 

We are stunned, no.9.... Of course it is a debacle of the first order that Ajax gave a 2-1 lead away. They played really well in the first half, only to give it away completely in the second half....

"Tragic" coach Henk ten Cate called it. It showed the inexperience and youth of this team. This is a major set back. Not just for Ajax, but also for the points for next season's championship, with only PSV competing now. Next year Holland has to fight for the second CL place with the likes of Belgium, Switzerland and Austria....

But good on AC that they made it. Not that I expected anything else. I out my money on them reaching the semi-finals at least.

 

I stared at the result myself for several moments Stev, then checked it on the web. As Sadman knows, ‘Shi-ite happens’, but I would have put my money on Ajax . It wasn’t possible to see the match here – maybe if I had some elaborate satellite system, which I don’t – just like I couldn’t see the AC game .

Remember before the World Cup, we identified Milan were over ripe with senior players, and in need of young replacements. Well, I think they have been attending to the young replacements and have some excellent prospects signed-up. However, I remain apoplectic about the back four and goalkeepers . In addition, some of the activity, or inactivity, of the directors just leaves me baffled .

They had a deal with Juve to swap Buffon for their second string keeper plus some cash, then went and sold their man to Juve’s city rivals, Torino? They keep hanging on to the Australian keeper they should never have bought in the first place, and you know what I think of Dida . They continue to drag Simic around while they don’t seem in a rush over Oddo? Nesta’s ongoing injury is a real blow, but then he was supposed to be leaving? – like Pirlo??? If Cafu gets injured there are real problems.

All the time wasted messing about with strikers. Crespo should have been brought straight in as a short term measure. And what was the Ronaldo thing all about, I would have offered something like £5m on a ‘there if you want it’ basis and left it at that. They have a chance for Iaquinta which they should break a leg to take. Inzaghi and Iaquinta are fairly similar peas of the same pod – these men are fast and accurate when it counts.

I do hope they get their finger out and soon. They’ve got Athens, Lille and Anderlecht in Group H of the Champions League, and the first game is 13 September. I see Ajax would have been grouped with Man U………hmm. Still, poor ‘ole Inter are grouped with Bayern Munich, Sporting Lisbon and Spartak Moscow. Gee, I’m so sorry for our Milan neighbours .

No.9