Fiorentina - AC Milan Preview 07/04/2013

Post 10 :)


It's been a long season, and a good one for Riccardo Montolivo. I'm starting this post with him because we all know he was Fiorentina's captain for 7 seasons. Now he returns to Stadio Artemio Franchi (Fiorentina's stadium) in the Rossoneri's shirt as Milan's sub-captain. 

Riccardo Montolivo in Fiorentina

Our toughest series of matches in this final half of the season starts Sunday at lunchtime with a trip to Firenze to meet La Viola. Despite being down, they are not out, and they would desperately like our third place spot. Also, they beat us 3-1 back in November at the San Siro, so they definitely know how to punish us. Will Milan pull out the win, whether by our own volition or by our infamous luck? Or will this match finally be our breaking point?

After Galliani cunningly complained about the abnormalities of the season due to the Is Arena right as Fiorentina were facing Cagliari, only 3 points behind us, Fiorentina’s woes actually got worse. First, they did go to Is Arenas, after all, and they ended up losing and dropping three precious points. Then they lost Jovetic to injury and Gonzalo Rodriguez to suspension, too. Ouch. And, of course, Milan pulled off the win away to Chievo, so here they stand 6 points behind us and without a couple of key players. Will this be their breaking point?

Milan has a not-so-secret ingredient we didn’t have in November in Super Mario. Well, that, and Allegri also stopped tinkering like a compulsive gambler with the lineups. Certainly, those are significant advantages to the team that failed to defend the San Siro in November. But on the flip side, we also have Montolivo. Despite him playing very well for us, and quite consistently, I might add, Fiorentina’s former captain is coming home for the first time to the fans who hate him for leaving them for Milan. Needless to say, the expected banners, whistles, and jeers, as well as the overall emotion for him could prove to upset his game.

As for Allegri, he could have a mostly-full squad to choose from, including Constant and Niang back from their flu bouts and hopefully Pazzini back from his injury. It was Pazzini who pulled back one goal for us and ruined Viviano’s clean sheet back in November. But Allegri is undoubtedly going to start Balotelli and El Shaarawy up front. Who starts in that third spot will depend on fitness and whom Allegri trusts, too.

Our midfield is likely to consist of Montolivo, possibly Ambrosini, and one or two of our utilitarian-but-not-decisive midfielders. And the defense… well just when you think it’s predictable, Allegri has a lot of choices. Will Zapata and Constant get their starting spots back? It’s hard to say. I think we all pray that we won’t see Bonera again, or Antonini, for that matter. Most anyone else could do a decent job. And of course, Allegri would have to be crazy or Abbiati injured to start anyone else ahead of him.

This will be a tough match. They will want to close the six point gap we’ve managed to put between us, we are still chasing Napoli for that second place spot. They are missing their talisman in Jovetic, and we… well, we are still pretty lucky. Both teams are at crucial points in the season and both will fight to the final whistle for a result. This game could easily be either team’s breaking point. Hopefully Fiorentina's.

Forza Milan!

And for laughs, check out Robinho making fun of Boateng's new hairstyle today:

Boateng's new hairstyle

Chievo 0:1 AC Milan 30/03/2013

The Rossoneri had their fourth win in a row in Serie A. This time, Chievo fell down on their knees on their home stadium.

In the second last match of the 30^th round in Serie A, AC Milan played in Verona against Chievo and won with the goal from Ricardo Montolivo. The Milan number 18 had a superb game where he scored the only goal in the 90 minutes on the soaked Chievo stadium. Montolivo scored in the 25^th minute. It was a series of free kicks awarded to Milan that got the game started. Super Mario Balotelli was the executioner of all of them. Now the Chievo goalkeeper did a decent job with keeping the ball out of the net. But in the 25^th minute, a hard right footed shot left made the keeper.

The Rossoneri succeeded in holding the 1 goal advantage until the end to get the much needed three points. With these three points, AC Milan are still in the race for the second place in Serie A. Unfortunately, Napoli beat Torino 5-3 and that left Milan still 2 points behind them. Now we are just hoping for a bad result for Napoli which would mean AC Milan stealing the second spot which reserves a spot in the Champions League for next season.

3 Things We Learned From The Game:

Super Mario is expected to score in every game now.  Against Chievo, he came close about a dozen times and it was his thunderous strike from a set piece which was parried by the goalkeeper right on the foot of an onrushing Riccardo Montolivo who netted in comfortably. Balotelli almost repeated the same trick minutes later as he thumped in another low free-kick sensing the Chievo keeper Christian Puggioni’s weakness with the dead ball situation, but this time Puggioni cleared the ball before the Milan players could get it.

Milan continued to dominate large spells of possession in the water logged Cheivo pitch and Balotelli fired in as many as 5 free-kicks before the half time break and if not for Chievo’s resolute defenders Balotelli could have scored an hat-trick. His average rating Serie A matches should tell the story of the player’s improvement since his move to Milan.

On Sunday 7 April at 12:30, Milan travel to Florenec to face Fiorentina at the Franchi stadium in the city.

What's Happening With Milan?

After the worst start in 70 years, this Milan team has experienced a run of form that seems to have surprised even themselves, to a certain degree. Since November 17th, Milan have only lost one game in Serie A, with 10 wins in 15 league games. All of this while making it to the Coppa Italia Quarterfinals and still playing in the Champions League, including a perfect game against Barcelona. While many have speculated and jumped to conclusions as to how this was possible, I have a few theories of my own. 

My friend from Macedonia recently asked me if I thought Allegri deserved the credit for Milan’s turnaround, to which I replied no. If anything, he was responsible for a turnaround needed in the first place. Not only for his insane changes in tactics and lineups, but also because morale seemed to be in a free fall. Just before Berlusconi’s first visit to Milan, he reportedly told the players in training “You’re not all here with your minds and this is why we are losing. … If we carry on like this, we’ll end up in Serie B.” Allegri was also blaming the individual errors of the players for all of the losses. His press conferences had grown increasingly scattered, and it seemed that he put the blame in a different spot each week. Perhaps most telling is a quote from Allegri himself from 2011:“A good coach is one who doesn't make you lose games.”

So it is also interesting that in a reported interview to a foreign magazine in November, one of the players gave his manager’s motivational speeches a 4/10. When asked about his owner’s motivational speeches, he rated Berlusconi 11/10. And not coincidental, I think, that the change in form happened when Berlusconi began making his motivational speeches to the players. 

So where do I give the credit for the turnaround? First and foremost to the players. They did what they were asked. They made themselves available for every match. They worked hard, and when they needed to, they worked harder. It didn't matter which formation Allegri fielded, nor how often they got a start, they kept their noses to the grindstone and worked.

They also endured the criticism of the fans and the media. Even Galliani publicly criticized at least Abbiati (vs. Napoli) and Nocerino (vs. Torino.) The players have shown individual and collective strength and optimism as well as a drive to succeed and to help Milan win. So much youth, yet so much talent. This squad are breaking stigmas and records alike and challenging what everyone thought of them over the summer.

Secondly, Luck. Not only have so many of our opponents dropped points and endured runs of poor form, a lot of ref calls have been in our favour  If you look at all of the matches listed above, Milan have been awarded 5 penalty kicks, 4 of them decisive in the final score. We were also given 3 own goals by opponents, and a goal that should have been offside (although only one own goal was decisive in that match.) Additionally, our opponents have gone down to 10 men for 40 minutes or more three separate times, giving us the numerical advantage. Call it luck, Karma, referee errors, our opponents’ bad luck, this factor has been decisive in Milan’s incredible run of form this year.

And finally, Allegri. But I still can’t laud him like others do. Had he not coached so poorly for the first three months, Milan likely would never have been in such poor form in the first place. So he looks good by first having made the team look so bad? But to his credit, he has stayed under intense criticism from everyone, especially management. Also to his credit, after going on a lineup changing spree like a woman with her first credit card, he reigned himself in and stuck with the 4-3-3 formation. And while he still continues to struggle with certain parts of the lineup, such as defence  the stability he has since provided has allowed our boys to shine.  There are other factors, of course, but for me, I would rate these three as the most influential, with management coming in fourth with the same caveat as Allegri – they did some good things, but also affected the team very negatively.

We have a team with heart, a lot of luck all the way around, and a coach and management that are sticking with them, even if they've done a bit of kicking and screaming. The only question that remains is how far will Milan take this revolution? Stay tuned through the end of the season to find out.

AC Milan - Palermo 17/03/2013

It's the 29th round of the Italian Serie A and AC Milan host Palermo at the San Siro. Milan were feeling lucky again today, but this win wouldn't be chalked up to luck. I chalk it up to grit and determination, and taking advantage of a team that were bottom of the table and missing three of their best players. Before you get upset, I don’t mean any disrespect. This is what champions do: get the win no matter the weather, who is available, or who the opposing coach is. Our boys didn't play beautiful football today. But they played with determination, and they won. Sometimes it’s pretty, sometimes it’s ugly, but the result is the most important statistic in the end. History won’t necessarily recognize that this three points came at the expense of the team at the bottom of the table. History will show a win next to Milan’s name. Bottom feeders for the win.

The match really started in the 8th minute, when Aronica pulled Balotelli down in the box. The ref rightly called for a penalty (which was okay to give so early in the game, because Napoli had already had one even earlier!) Seriously, Balotelli stepped up, cool as you like, and BAM. Milan 1, Palermo 0. Certainly not the way Palermo wanted to start things off, I am sure.

It was in the 66th that Milan earned the win. Niang crossed it into the box, two of Palermo’s defenders missed it, and even Sorrentino bobbled it about, but Balotelli, always in the hunt, found the ball and simply tapped it in over the prone keeper. 2-0 Milan. That goal probably won’t make it into the highlight reels for goal of the year, but it solidified the danger of Milan – we’ll get it done, one way or the other. Top of the table team or bottom dweller, when we are not playing well as a team, we have weapons of mass destruction capable of getting the job done.The rest of the match saw Milan play pretty much the same… Niang and De Sciglio feeding crosses in from the left (with Niang being a natural centre forward, and De Sciglio being a right back, of course.) Errors, errors, everywhere, leading to Palermo chances, for a total of 9 shots (3 on goal) in the match. Meanwhile, Milan had our average 61% possession and 12 shots (4 on target) and a mediocre performance overall.

                                                     AC Milan 2:0 Palermo

An interesting thing that I noticed and I read online afterwards was the reaction of El Shaarawy when he was subbed. He went straight to the changing rooms. Amelia tried to stop him but Antonini told him to let it go. After the game Allegri didn't have any comments about that moment, and Balotelli in his typical way said: "El Shaarawy went straight to the dressing room? I would have done the same because it was cold. I would have taken a shower".

FC Barcelona - AC Milan 12/03/2013

This week, returning leg, at Camp Nou Barcelona will be facing the Italian giants AC Milan. Milan has an advantage of 2:0 with the goals of Saley Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng. 80 thousand fans will be booing the 11 Milan players to stop them from scoring again because away goal advantage is the worst thing that could happen to a team in the Champions League. Tuesday at 20:45 local time in Barcelona, one of the greatest matches in the world is happening. All football lovers will be watching this match.

Since Milan last met Barcelona three weeks ago in Milano, Barcelona lost to Real Madrid twice in five days. So even beating the bottom of the table Deportivo La Coruña 2-0 on Saturday can’t have given them all of their confidence back. On the other hand, Milan beat Genoa on a late Friday night with the 2 goals from Pazzini, who is not going to be available to coach Massiliano Alegri. Same thing with Mexes, he sustained a muscle injury on Friday’s game and had to be substituted. Allegri tried to rest Abate and have him prepared for Tuesday’s match, but because of Constant’s direct red card, Allegri was forced to make a change and put in Abate in play. He played for about 20 minutes, which isn’t that much, but still, he didn’t rest the whole game.

The bad thing about AC Milan is that Barcelona has all their stars rested, well, without any injuries and ready to get back at AC Milan in order to continue in their fight for the European title. I hope that Allegri will put something out his sleeve to retain that 2 goals advantage. A win, a tie or even a 1 goal difference loss will send Milan through. Milan don’t have the best line up for this match, without Balloteli ruled out due to the cup-tie he has since he played for Manchester City in the first half of the season, but are still not that bad. Looking back at October, who would’ve thought that Milan would be knocking on Barcelona’s door and trying to get them knocked out of the Champions League. Milan has had luck this season, getting back in 3^rd place in the Serie A. Let’s just have a little more luck in this game so we see AC Milan in the quarter finals. Let’s give Barca fans something they can wine about.

Tuesday, 20:45 local time, Camp Nou, FC Barcelona – AC Milan

Forza Milan!

Cagliari - AC Milan 10/02/2013

Matchday 24, not a good day for AC Milan. Final score Cagliari 1-1 AC Milan (45' Ibarbo; 82' Balotelli). Lots and lots and lots of chances in from of the home net, but was it no luck or lack of motivation?

Milanisti were commended by coach Pulga on their sporting help to get this match played on the island. But I wondered, as I started watching the match, which island it was? Instead of Sardegna, home of Cagliari, it felt like the island from the TV show “Lost.” However, one sporting gesture deserves another. Astori was kind enough to earn a red card 10 minutes from time, earning us a penalty to equalize this match. Galliani, you know what to do. Get that boy a transfer back to Milan this summer! As for this match, I guess you could say that all is not lost.

Now Milan are at the 5th position, again. Next one is on the 15th, Friday, against Parma. They are a skilled team placed deep in the heart of the Seria A table at 10th place. The last game Milan faced Parma, they tied 1:1 at 'Ennio Tardini' stadium in Parma.

This is the disallowed goal for Milan in the 94+ minute:

AC Milan - Udinese 03/02/2013

Again like last time, I'm going to write a preview about this week's game. But this time, after the preview I'll also write about the highlights of the game. 

AC Milan face Udinese Calcio on Sunday when the clock points 20:45 at Stadio San Siro for the 23rd match day of the 2012/13 Serie A season and Massimiliano Allegri has named his squad for this game. Didac Vila, Philippe Mexes, Mattia De Sciglio, and of course Nigel De Jong are unavailable due to injuries and fitness problems. New signing Mario Balotelli is part of the squad but Bartosz Salamon is not. Masiliamo Alegri took the following players for today' match: Goalkeepers: Christian Abbiati, Marco Amelia, Gabriel and Lazar Petkovic. Defenders: Ignazio Abate, Luca Antonini, Daniele Bonera, Mario Yepes, Cristian Zaccardo, Cristian Zapata. Midfielders: Massimo Ambrosini, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Kevin Constant, Mathieu Flamini, Riccardo Montolivo, Sulley Muntari, Antonio Nocerino and Bakaye Traore. And strikers Mario Balotelli, Bojan Krkic, Stephan El Shaarawy, M'Baye Niang, Giampaolo Pazzini and Robinho.

FORZA MILAN!

Ac Milan will play in the following formation: AC Milan (4-3-3) – Massimiliano Allegri
Marco Amelia; Ignazio Abate, Daniele Bonera, Cristian Zapata, Kevin Constant; Mathieu Flamini, Riccardo Montolivo, Antonio Nocerino; M’Baye Niang, Mario Balotelli, Stephan El Shaarawy. Mario Balotelli wasn't supposed to be in the starting eleven, but do to an injury at warm up, Giampalo Pazzini will not be able to play. 

And now for the highlights of the game. Massimiliano Allegri started Balotelli with Stephan El Shaarawy and M’Baye Niang and the trident that only has 60 years of age between them showed plenty of promise. It was Balotelli 25 minutes to find the back of the net after El Shaarawy’s ball somehow arrived to the legs of SuperMario who put Milan in front. Milan were brilliant in the first half and looked comfortable against a poor Udinese side. However, Udinese improved in the second half and Milan’s performance was much poorer. Milan lost a lot of possession and could hardly create anything. In the 55′ minute Giampiero Pinzi equalized following a defensive mistake from the Rossoneri. Milan weren’t good in the second half but the Balotelli debut dream continued in the final minute of the game (94′) as he converted a penalty after a non-foul on El Shaarawy. Milan can celebrate but Udinese can certainly complain about the horrendous decision of the referee Valeri to award Milan a penalty in the last Milan on the game. Milan are now 4th.

Final Score at San Siro: AC Milan 2-1 Udinese 

The one thing I enjoyed watching after this game was Tiziano Crudelli's reaction to the two Balotelli goals!