Good News From Milano

And finally, before the transfer market closes (January 31) AC Milan bought a star. Young, talented and unsettled, Mario Balotelli is coming back home. The transfer saga has been going on since the start of the transfer period. First he was mentioned as a potential new AC Milan player alongside Rossoneri's favourite Ricardo Kaka, but with the fail of Kaka's transfer to Milan, Balotelli was also excluded. But one interview changed it all. Milan's vice president Adriano Galliani was asked what the chances of Milan were for bringing Kaka, Beckham, Drogba and Balotelli. He said: "For Kaka, Beckham and Drogba, there is 101% chance they are not coming, but for Balotelli there is 99.9% that he is not coming". So that 0.01% proved to be a turnout. 

When the negotiations first started, Manchester City wanted £37 million. That was nowhere near what AC Milan were ready to offer. Milan first tried to get Balotelli on a loan, but the Manchester City bosses turned that offer right away. So then Milan offered £20 million. Through the following days, officials from AC Milan flew to Manchester probably every other day to negotiate. Milan stood firm on their offer, but not Manchester City. They lowered the price to £32 million. Then they were asking for £29 million, few days later for £27 million and the final day it was £25 million (including bonuses). Milan never changed their offer of £20 million. The agreement came this morning with a price of £20 million plus £4 million for bonuses. Balotelli will make £4 million per year which makes him the highest paying player on the squad.

Now the attack is consisted of all young players, El Shaarawy, Niang and now Balotelli. I think that AC Milan is doing a good thing with this transfer, making the squad younger which was their goal from two years ago. Balotelli will arrive tomorrow at Milanello and he’ll go through medical procedures. On Thursday he’ll have his first training session with the team and on Friday will be he’s official presentation to the public. I’m looking forward to seeing him in the Milan shirt and hoping he’ll help Milan reach the Champions League this season. Forza Milan and Benvenuto Balotelli!

Atalanta - AC Milan Pre-game

It's the weekend and that means football. So today I'm going to write a pre-game preview including stats and latest information about my favourite team, AC Milan.

It's round 22 in Seria A (Italian League). AC Milan will face Atalanta in Bergamo at the Atleti Azzurri D'Italia Stadium. The game is played on Sunday, 27/1/2013 at 3:00PM local time.

AC Milan is at the 6th position on the table with 34 points, 15 short of the leader Juventus which played a tie game today in Torino against Genoa. AC Milan has 10 wins, 4 ties and 7 loses with +10 goal difference. Atalanta on the other hand is on the 13th place on the table with 23 points. Atalanta has 7 wins, 4 ties and 10 loses with -12 goal difference. In the last 6 Seria A games, AC Milan has won 4 matches, 1 tie and 1 loss. Atalanta has 1 win, 2 ties and 3 loses. Their last win was against Parma on December 8th, 2012. In their previous head-to-head matches, out of 5 games, Atalanta won the last game in September in which Cigarini shook Abbiati's net in the 64th minute and left the "Rossoneri" embarrassed in front of their own fans. In the previous head-to-head games AC Milan won 3 times, and once both teams split the points. But since September, AC Milan has improved and matured more then ever. They've recovered back from the loss of their biggest stars (10 starting players left AC Milan in the summer transfer period) and they are attacking the league's top places that lead to the Champions League. For this match, coach Allegri called up the 23 following players: Abbiati, Amelia, Gabriel, Abate, Antonin, Bonera, De Sciglio, Mexes, Yepes, Zaccardo (new signing), Constant, Zapata, Boateng, Flammini, Montolivo, Muntari, Nocerino, Bojan, Traore, El Shaarawy, Niang, Pazzini and Robinho.

I'm looking forward to easy 3 points on this one. Forza Milan!

First Post

I guess introduction would be appropriate for a first post. I am a second year student in Sheridan College studying Advertising. After I graduate my hopes are on getting a job in this field, preferably in an advertising agency working in the media department or on accounts. This is my first blog, intended for the Interactive Marketing class and I hope I'm doing this right.

I come from Macedonia, that's a beautiful country in Europe for all of you who don't know. I've lived there my whole life, it's my home and forever will be. I usually go back there twice a year, once for New Year and again throughout the summer. But, for now my plans are on continuing my education in Canada, finding a job here and getting on with my life here. Home is where the heart is, but you never know where you are going to end up in life.

My interests are football, football and football. And no, it's not American football or rugby, it's football. That's what it's called everywhere else in the world, and that's how it should be. I've been playing football all my life, starting on the streets, then playing for a youth club in my town, then moving on to a bigger club in another town and finally playing professional football. I don't play professional any more, but I still play it. I was part of the Sheridan soccer varsity team last year, but this year I got injured and I'm just taking it slow and playing for the Sheridan extramural team.

I appreciate you taking your time and reading my blog, my next posting will probably be soon, and I'm going to end this off with a little advice. There is a difference between football and American football. Thank you.