Milan has been one of the most prestigious clubs of all time, but in recent seasons they have been giving their fans a wild roller coaster of emotions. in the 07-08 season they had a very disappointing campaign finishing 5th in the Serie A which is unheard of and in the following season they started out well. the acquisition of Ronaldinho added a little spark to the offense with him partnering his Brazilian fried Kaka. as the season went on they lost that spark Dinho was disappointing and they were falling back into that phase of bad results, some were begining to believe "here we go again" ...
in January of that season David Beckham was signed on a loan deal from the LA Galaxy and their season sparked at that point, finishing 3rd in the league was definitely an improvement from the season before. it may have carried over to this current season (09-10) for them to push for the Scudetto.
Summer arrived and the big spending Madrid took their Brazilian playmaker/goalscorer away from them (Kaka) and their manager Carlo Ancelotti migrated to Chelsea .... this was considered a big blow for them as they want to challenge the likes of Inter Milan and Juventus for the title. Rumors were circulating about their interest about Luis Fabiano and Edin Dzeko, those might have been the missing pieces for them get the attacking power needed. instead they went to the Real Madrid discount centre to get Klaas Jan Huntelaar who is a good striker but i think he has nothing much to contribute to Milan with their style of play. they also lost out on Aly Cissokho and it just was not looking good for them.
the season started and they started out poorly, as they struggled to get points from anything at all. the critics were calling for Leonardo's head (myself included) .. things seemed to be repaired with a win in Marseille but that was short lived because it was backed up with some big losses which included one in the San Siro vs. FC Zurich (yes you read right) ... now the supporters were starting to turn their backs on them.
then.. October 21, 2009 in the Santiago Bernabeu the veterans from Milan pulled off a shock result vs. Real Madrid winning 3-2 ... since then, they have looked like the AC Milan of old coming from 12th in the league jumping up to 4th .. Ronaldinho has been getting back his stride and Alexandre Pato is growing into the role everyone wanted him to fill ... Seedorf and Pirlo have turned back the clock and playing like if it was 2007 when they won the Champions League.. it has been looking good for them and they will be looking to continue this form.. David Beckham will be back for another loan spell with them, i think this can propel them to that level they need to be at to win the Serie A he brings a diferent dynamic to the game and it would be very interesting to see how Leonardo uses him in this squad.
I am interested to see how they go about the January transfer window and manage the rest of the season, because the players they have now i don't think will be able to keep up this level of play throughout the season. hopefully they can return to the days where they were feared by everyone.
your thoughts ....
Im not impressed by Milan. They're in good form at the moment but i have my doubts about how long the old legs can play at a consistent level. Beckham is arriving in january and i think its a terrible move. Adiyiah should also be arriving and if he is given a fair shot he could add some youthful exuberance to this team which is well needed. At the moment i still see them finishing outside the C.L spots.
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