• Home
• Archives
• LiveScores
• LeagueTables
• Trophies

News Feed

Berlusconi expects Ronaldinho to take centre stage

AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi said he expects Ronaldinho to make up for the loss of Brazilian countryman Kaka this coming season.

Milan sold star player Kaka to Real Madrid for 67 million euros and have so far failed to attract any major signings to the club over the summer.

They had been trying to land a striker but missed out on VfL Wolfsburg’s Bosnian forward Edin Dzeko and are unwilling to meet Sevilla’s asking price for Brazil starter Luis Fabiano.

It has left fans frustrated, fearing the club will not be able to improve on last season’s third place finish in Serie A.

But Berlusconi, the Italy Prime Minister, says it is high time for Ronaldinho — Milan’s marquee signing last summer — to step up and show the form that saw him twice crowned world player of the year.

“He needs to be the extra man this season, that’s the responsibility of a sale we were forced into making,” Berlusconi told Mediaset.

“But this (sale of Kaka) will give Ronaldinho space. All the other players also want this to be Ronaldinho’s year. He’s 29 and in top shape physically.

“All he needs now is the desire to be decisive for this Milan team and I believe we can have faith in him.”

As for signing his compatriot Fabiano, Berlusconi is adamant his team will not be held to ransom.

Milan are rumoured to have offered 14 million euros while Sevilla want something closer to 20 million euros.

“I don’t know what chance there is of Luis Fabiano arriving but this season we want to concentrate on youth,” added the president.

“We’ve added Gianmarco Zigoni, who is a promissing young player and that’s the direction we’re pointing to.

“Then there’s (Marco) Borriello, Pato, (Filippo) Inzaghi; we’re not lacking in attack.

“We’ll see, we’re not going to spend silly money in a moment such as this when we are experiencing financial difficulties.”

ROME (AFP)

Tags: A. But, ac milan, asking price, Borriello, centre stage, compatriot, countryman, edin dzeko, extra man, Filippo, filippo inzaghi, financial difficulties, high time, Inzaghi, Italy, luis fabiano, MADRID, Marco, Marco Borriello, mediaset, Milan, milan team, pato, real madrid, ROME, ronaldinho, Serie A, SEVILLA, silvio berlusconi, star player, VfL, world player of the year

Related posts

• Real´s Huntelaar heading to AC Milan – report (0)
• AC Milan chasing ´a top class striker´: Berlusconi (0)
• Ronaldinho responds to Milan call (0)
• Ronaldinho ready to lead Milan to glory (0)
• Fans protest outside Milan training base (0)
• Ronaldinho says smile is back on his face (0)
• Inzaghi still enjoying his football (0)
• Why would Milan sell Kaka now and not in January? (0)
• We´re still the best, trumpets Berlusconi (0)
• Vucinic denies Beckham winning debut as Pato shines (0)
• Milan and Madrid draw to move closer to qualification (0)
• Ibrahimovic and Melo hold key to Italian pride (0)
• Fabiano rules out City switch in favour of Milan (0)
• Berlusconi ´blasts Ancelotti´ for failed title bid (0)
• Berlusconi unsure about Pirlo’s future (0)

Ranieri on Juventus brink ahead of Milan trip

ROME (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri could be about to take charge of his final match in the Juventus hot-seat as the Italian giants travel to AC Milan this weekend.

The Old Lady of Turin have not won in their last five Serie A matches and now sit third in the table, 11 points behind leaders Inter Milan and four behind second-placed Milan with four matches left.

A defeat would all but mathematically end their hopes of a top two finish and speculation in the Italian press this week claims that such a scenario would see the former Chelsea and Valencia boss shown the door.

Ranieri still has a year to run on his contract but while Juve had previously backed him publically, they have failed to do so this week.

“In football first you need to get some results and then you can talk,” said president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli.

“Obviously we want to hold onto third place but we still believe we can finish second.”

He also praised Ranieri but could not bring himself to give him a vote of confidence.

“I have expressed great esteem for Ranieri. I can still remember the match against Chelsea (in the Champions League where they narrowly lost 1-0) as if it was yesterday.

“Against a great team, I remember my Juventus players in London and here in Turin almost matched them. Ranieri knows that he has to demonstrate that Juve can perform like this again.”

That won’t be easy against a Milan team that have won their last five matches, scoring 13 goals in the process.

Evergreen forward Filippo Inzaghi has been in brilliant form over the last two months, scoring 11 goals in his last eight matches and with Kaka returning to his sparkling best, and getting in amongst the goals, Juve are sure to be in for a tough night at the San Siro.

Whilst Milan’s recent resurgence has seen them charge up the table, if they do lose to Juve, bitter city rivals Inter could claim the title.

Jose Mourinho’s team travel to Verona to face Chievo in the first of potentially four championship deciders.

With a seven-point lead over Milan, Inter could win the title at any moment in the next four matches.

However, Chievo are fighting to avoid being dragged down into the relegation slugfest — currently Reggina, Bologna, Lecce and Torino are fighting it out to be the one of the four that escapes the drop — and this will be far from an easy test.

Even so, Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani admitted it is only a matter of time before Inter claim a fourth scudetto in a row.

“The season isn’t over, there’s still four more matches to play and the numbers will be added up at the end,” he said.

“Even if the title isn’t quite locked up, let’s not be funny, it’s not possible to claw back seven points in four matches.”

The other undecided race is that for fourth place and Champions League football next season.

Fiorentina are in pole position for that and travel to Catania on Sunday with Genoa, who travel to Atalanta, breathing down their necks, just a point back.

AS Roma’s hopes of finishing fourth all but died last weekend with a 0-0 draw at home to Chievo.

They have won only two out of their last nine league matches and trail Fiorentina by eight points.

Fixtures

Saturday

Lazio v Udinese, Sampdoria v Reggina

Sunday

AC Milan v Juventus, Atalanta v Genoa, Cagliari v AS Roma, Catania v Fiorentina, Chievo v Inter Milan, Lecce v Napoli, Siena v Palermo, Torino v Bologna

Tags: ac milan, Bologna, catania, champions league, CHELSEA, city rivals, Claudio Ranieri, Filippo, filippo inzaghi, final match, genoa, Giovanni Cobolli, hot seat, inter milan, italian press, Jose, jose mourinho, juve, last two months, lazio, london, Milan, milan team, napoli, old lady, Palermo, resurgence, Roma, San, san siro, Serie A, speculation, team travel, turin, Valencia, verona, vote of confidence

Related posts

• Inter Milan one win away from title (0)
• Mihajlovic expecting mixed reaction on Inter return (0)
• Maldini and Ancelotti set for San Siro farewell (0)
• Juve looking to overcome injuries to keep up with Inter (0)
• Mourinho dismisses ghost of Lazio past (0)
• Italian coaching merry-go-round set to kick in (0)
• Pressure mounting on Mourinho´s rattled Inter (0)
• Juve playing for pride not title (0)
• Buffon boost as Juve seek to salvage season (0)
• Milan and Juve hoping to capitalise on Inter problems (0)
• Inter slump to shock Napoli defeat (0)
• Seedorf fires Milan back to winning ways (0)
• Milan stay in Serie A hunt with Catania win (0)
• Milan edge minnows Novara as Juve bounce back (0)
• Juve´s ´dead coach walking´ looks doomed (0)

Italians worry over talent drain

ROME (AFP) – Teenage striker Federico Macheda’s staggering impact at Manchester United has sparked a raging debate in Italy on how to stem the exodus of the country’s brightest talents.

Macheda’s startling goal-scoring start to life as a United senior player has fans here wondering what’s so wrong with their own football that their best young players move away.

Once the predator, Italy is now feeling what it’s like to be the prey and the economic muscle of the English Premier League is largely responsible for that.

It was for financial reasons that Macheda left Lazio to sign for United while just 16, but now Italy want UEFA to intervene to stop other young players being prised away.

According to Ciro Ferrara, a former rugged defender with Juventus but now head of the club’s junior section, it’s not Italy’s fault that top players are being poached.

“You can’t talk about a failure of Italian football, international rules have changed,” he said.

“(UEFA president Michel) Platini has to intervene, UEFA have to stop the exodus of our young footballers to foreign shores.

“Players are often taken away by paying off their families but the rules shouldn’t allow it.”

Macheda is not the only young player to have been tempted by United as they also pinched midfielder Davide Petrucci off Lazio’s city rivals AS Roma.

But according to another player seduced by United, it is Italian clubs who are at fault for not giving young players enough of a chance.

Giuseppe Rossi left Parma for United at 17 before being sold to Spaniards Villarreal. But for spending half a season on loan back at Parma in 2006/07, the 22-year-old has spent his entire senior career playing outside the country he represents at international level.

“Why don’t I play in Italy? It’s not my fault. Clubs make their decisions and I make my own,” he said.

“The important thing is to show off your skills in front of a big crowd. And when you play you have a chance to be seen.

“Italian football is changing, giving more chances to young players. That’s the right decision because the talent is there.

“In England and Spain everything is different, they have more patience. Barcelona have three or four 20 year olds in their first team.”

An example of the apparent unwillingness to give youth a chance can be found at AC Milan, who last season saw the emergence of two teenage forwards – Brazilian Pato and Italian Alberto Paloschi.

But while Pato has gone on to become an established first team regular, Paloschi was allowed to leave for Serie B Parma during the close season.

With marquee signings Ronaldinho and Andrei Shevchenko failing to make an impact, and Marco Borriello injured, Milan have instead turned to veteran 35-year-old forward Filippo Inzaghi to lead the line.

In fairness, Inzaghi has been enjoying an Indian summer to his career with 10 goals in his last seven matches, but Milan have been criticised for not taking a chance on youth and kept hold of Paloschi rather than Inzaghi.

It may not be a bad thing for his career, though, as he has seen plenty of first team action in Serie B, scoring nine goals in 32 appearances.

He may well be plying his trade regularly in Serie A next season and getting more playing time than he would have done with Milan.

But even so, Ferrara thinks teams in Italy need to take more risks on young players.

“It’s a mistake not to spend much money on the youth system and give players a chance to emerge, even to go on the pitch and make mistakes,” he said.

“It takes time for them to develop. But teams have an obligation to win and they choose a less risky path, but even that doesn’t guarantee victories.”

Tags: Alberto Paloschi, andrei shevchenko, B Parma, Barcelona, city rivals, England, English Premier League, exodus, federico macheda, Filippo, football international, footballers, Giuseppe Rossi, italian clubs, italian football, Italy, juventus, lazio, Manchester, manchester united, Marco Borriello, Michel, michel platini, petrucci, predator, premier league, prey, Roma, ROME, rugged defender, Serie A, Spain, striker, uefa, Villarreal

Related posts

• Macheda highlights Serie A’s impatience with youth (0)
• United paid 1.5m to Macheda´s family: Lazio boss (0)
• Milan focus on Champions League return (0)
• Kaka deal highlights Serie A decline (0)
• How did United’s Macheda get away, asks Italy (0)
• Ibrahimovic and Melo hold key to Italian pride (0)
• Beckham surprised by AC Milan start (0)
• United teach Inter and Barca how to avoid the jitter bug (0)
• Torres ready to commit future to Liverpool (0)
• Ranieri dreaming of Chelsea revenge (0)
• Ranieri dreaming of Chelsea revenge (0)
• Mourinho calls for Vidic ban, hails Serie A (0)
• Mourinho achieves Inter minimum in first season (0)
• Milan defeat hands Inter fourth straight Italian title (0)
• Lazio claim foul over new United star Macheda (0)

Hat-trick hero Inzaghi steals Beckham show

MILAN, Italy (AFP) – Veteran forward Filippo Inzaghi stole the show from David Beckham with a hat-trick as AC Milan returned to winning ways in a 3-0 success over Atalanta at the San Siro on Sunday.

The script seemed to have been written for Beckham to score the winner on the same day that it was announced he would stay at Milan until the end of the season, but instead it was his 35-year-old team-mate whose treble proved decisive.

Perhaps more important for Milan, who’ve been in disarray on the pitch recently, going out of the UEFA Cup 10 days ago and losing at Sampdoria in the league last weekend, is that the victory gave them a five-point gap over fourth-placed Fiorentina, who lost 2-0 at home to Palermo.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti said Inzaghi had helped lift the club out of a crisis.

"He gave us a real helping hand. It was a tough match and for most of the first half Atalanta caused us problems," he said.

"Then Pippo’s ability to find the right place to be in allowed us to end the match well.

"We were in a crisis and now I hope that this result has put an end to the crisis."

Only the top three in Serie A will go straight into next season’s Champions League group stages with the fourth place finisher having to negotiate two qualifying rounds.

With his contract uncertainty behind him, Beckham seemed to have a new lease of life and he was even given a free role behind forwards Inzaghi and Pato by Ancelotti.

The former England captain initially thrived in that position, dictating the play with his array of passing.

One raking 50-yard crossfield ball sent Pato scampering away towards goal while a clever flick with the outside of his boot to find Mathieu Flamini drew gasps and a round of applause from the stands.

His crosses were also causing havoc and it was from one of those that Milan took a seventh-minute lead.

Atalanta failed to clear a dangerous ball in from Beckham and Marek Jankulovski picked up the loose ball before firing it across the box for the unmarked Inzaghi to poke home.

Andrea Pirlo also tried to muscle in on the Beckham show and planted a 30-yard free-kick onto the roof of the net.

The visitors were at times dangerous and Tiberio Guarente forced Christian Abbiati into making a diving one-handed save on the half hour.

Abbiati was soon called back into action to keep out a Gianvinto Plasmati header at his near post as Atalanta caused problems for Milan’s backline in the air.

After the break a clever Beckham pass played in Pato but Andrea Consigli rushed out to block his attempted dink finish from close range.

The fragility of a single goal lead was brought home on 64 minutes, though, as Atalanta’s Brazilian midfielder Ferreira Pinto flashed a shot just past the far post.

So it was with as much with relief as joy that the crowd met Inzaghi’s second on 71 minutes as the goalmouth predator for once beat the offside trap to latch onto Pato’s chip and take the ball around Consigli before slotting home.

And moment’s later Inzaghi was once again in the right place at the right time to tap in Gianluca Zambrotta’s pass from close range.

After that Ancelotti took both Inzaghi and Beckham off to give the fans the chance to show their appreciation for both players.

There was no change to the top three in Serie A as Inter Milan and Juventus both won on Saturday, 2-0 at Genoa and 1-0 at Torino respectively.

Serie A top scorer Marco Di Vaio also scored a hat-trick as Bologna thrashed Sampdoria 3-0.

Written by: AFP

Tags: ac milan, Andrea Consigli, andrea pirlo, atalanta, Bologna, carlo ancelotti, champions league group, christian abbiati, David Beckham, disarray, England, england captain, Filippo, filippo inzaghi, flamini, genoa, group stages, Italy, juventus, loose ball, Marco Di Vaio, Marek Jankulovski, Mathieu Flamini, Milan, milan italy, new lease, Palermo, pato, Pippo, place finisher, point gap, San, san siro, Serie A, team mate, winning ways

Related posts

• Inzaghi joins 300 club, Inter maintain lead (0)
• Kaka saga doesn´t distract Milan from victory surge (0)
• Vucinic denies Beckham winning debut as Pato shines (0)
• Maldini and Ancelotti set for San Siro farewell (0)
• Inter Milan one win away from title (0)
• Inter look to put Euro disappointment behind them (0)
• Seedorf fires Milan back to winning ways (0)
• Milan give Maldini perfect send-off (0)
• Milan edge minnows Novara as Juve bounce back (0)
• Milan and Juve hoping to capitalise on Inter problems (0)
• Inter sweep Milan aside to close in on fourth straight title (0)
• Ranieri on Juventus brink ahead of Milan trip (0)
• Milito spoils Beckham´s day as Genoa earn Milan draw (0)
• Milan boss Ancelotti dismisses departure rumours (0)
• Italian coaching merry-go-round set to kick in (0)