Category: AC Milan

Vermaelen Links With United Stalled

For the past few weeks Thomas Vermaelen has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United as the Belgium defender is a summer target of Louis van Gaal but the transfer has been stalled. In the previous season Arsene Wenger opted to play with Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny for the majority of the campaign which forced Vermaelen on having to sit on the sidelines of the team for a significantly long period of time.

Following the departure of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic from Old Trafford, the new coach of Manchester United wants to reinforce his defensive department and Thomas Vermaelen has turned into a top target. The Belgium defender can be used as a left-back or at the heart of the defence as a centre-back and that’s one of the main reasons on why Louis van Gaal is attempting to secure his services.

Having already signed Luke Shaw just demonstrates the importance that Van Gaal is setting into the backline of his team and a versatile player such as Vermaelen will improve it even further.

If Vermaelen does remain being an Arsenal player for the upcoming season, he will likely have to settle once more on a place in the sidelines of the squad considering the superb partnership of Mertesacker and Koscielny which allowed Arsenal on having one of the best defences of the previous season having only conceded 41 goals.

A move to Manchester United will allow Vermaelen to play a pivotal role in the club at Old Trafford as a first team player but the transfer will ultimately depend on whether or not Arsene Wenger is going to allow the Belgium defender on joining a rival club and how much Louis van Gaal is prepared to offer for his summer target.

KAKA WANTS MLS MOVE

Ricardo Kaka announced a few days ago that he would like to play in the United States and the Brazilian is even considering his future with Ac.Milan and will happen at the end of the season.

The former Real Madrid player has a contract with the Italian club which runs up until 2015 but there is a clause in his contract which will allow him to make an early departure away from Ac.Milan if they are unable to qualify for the Champions League.

The Champions League is out of the reach for the club which means that if Kaka truly wants to settle in the last few years of his playing career somewhere where there is less pressure, he has a chance of doing just that during the summer.

The captain of the club, Riccardo Montolivo is hoping that Kaka remains with Ac.Milan for a few more seasons but it will ultimately depend on the Brazilian’s decision.

“Kaka will evaluate his situation but only at the end of the season. We will try to qualify for the Europa League in order to give him a further motivation to remain at Milan, even though I’m certain that he is aware of the prestige this club has.” Montolivo told Milan’s website.

Kaka arrived from Real Madrid in September of 2013 after playing with the Spanish club for 4 seasons but his time in Spain was limited with just a few matches on the actual playing grounds as he had to settle with plenty of time on the sidelines of Real Madrid and even with the departure of Jose Mourinho, things didn’t change for the Brazilian midfielder.

When Carlo Ancelotti was appointed as the successor of Jose Mourinho, there was an air of expectations and changes involving a few Real Madrid players such as Kaka and Casillas but unfortunately for the Brazilian, he still had to settle with more time on the sidelines than on the pitch and he ultimately decided to leave and return to Ac.Milan.

SEEDORF AIMING HIGHER

The manager of AC Milan, Clarence Seedorf, doesn’t know at which position his team is placed in the Serie A points table. He says he doesn’t have a look at the table and he won’t have a look at it until the ongoing season gets over.

As per the Dutchman, rather than viewing the points table, it’s important for him to think about the next game. He reckons if you are consistently performing well, you don’t need to worry about your position in the points table because it will take care of itself. Continue reading SEEDORF AIMING HIGHER

AC HUMBLED

AC Milan were left humbled after a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Atletico Madrid on aggregate in the last 16 Champions League outing of the season. Milan came into the second leg with hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals, as they trailed the Spanish outfit by just one goal. However, things quickly turned sour after Diego Costa scored just two minutes into the second leg. Milan got one goal back through Kaka’s header, but it was not enough to prevent the club from capitulating in the second half.

Seedorf has laid the blame for this performance in the second half on the hands of former manager Massimiliano Allegri, who he thinks did not keep the fitness levels within the players at an optimum level. The club conceded two goals in the second half to give the scoreline a flattering look towards the Spanish club, but Seedorf reckons that the competition was much more even over the course of two legs. He has also said that the decision to become the manager of Milan is something that he does not regret because he is confident that the club can regain its former status pretty quickly.

Seedorf has managed just one win in the last five matches. He says that the club would have done extremely well have a qualified for the quarter-finals, which would have paid huge dividends economically.

“You could see after the second goal that the team struggled psychologically to react, as they often do. The second goal turned off the light and sapped the energy from the team. We analysed the situation together. Obviously the Champions League was an important objective for us and economically for the club. We had played well in the first leg and showed in the first half tonight we could play on a par with Atletico, but couldn’t be consistent for the whole game,” said the manager.

TAARABT SIGNS

Ac.Milan signed QPR’s Adel Taarabt on a loan deal which will be seeing the 24 years old player remaining with the Italian club up until the end of the current season but he has already been featured in 3 matches for the Serie A team and has already impressed everyone around him.

Taarabt scored his 1st goal for Ac.Milan when they were facing off against Napoli as the team of Clarence Seedorf suffered a 3-1 defeat. The 2nd goal that Taarabt scored in his Serie A stay was during the match against Sampdoria which was played just a few days ago.

His contributions to the team are not going unnoticed as Ac.Milan are going through one of their worst seasons in recent times and his goals have helped the squad on climbing up a few spots in the Italian league.

Seedorf praised the characteristics that Taarabt has and according to the Dutch coach, the player from QPR is able to play on all 3 positions behind the striker.

‘’I am satisfied with how he has been performing since his transfer. His versatility adds a lot to the team. He can play in all three positions behind the striker’’. Seedorf revealed.

QPR is believed to be willing on selling Adel Taarabt in the summer and if his performances continue going as strong throughout the remainder of the season there is no doubt that Ac.Milan will be interested in extending the contract of the Moroccan footballer.

Vincenzo Morabito is the agent of Taarabt and he is optimistic about Ac.Milan signing his client on a long term deal.

‘’I really think Taarabt will be purchased, even if the last word is Milan’s. Adriano Galliani should be given credit for believing in Taarabt. I expected he would do well, but his start has been amazing; I’ve been surprised especially by his physical condition, it’s really excellent. Milan will decide, but I think he’ll be bought’’ Morabito said.

SEEDORF TAKES OVER

The former Netherlands international, Clarence Seedorf, has been appointed as the new manager of AC Milan. A lot of people all around the world have been stunned by this.

Seedorf had been playing professional football in the first half of the ongoing season and no one would have expected to see him managing a top team like AC Milan in the second half. He announced his retirement a couple of days back and in the same press conference; he revealed that he was going to join Milan as manager.

Milan had started this season under the guidance of Massimiliano Allegri, but, they performed pathetically in the first half of the season and as a result, the board had to give the axe to the manager. That was not surprising at all. The speculations had been made since the last few weeks about the sacking of Allegri and it happened eventually, but, what happened after that took people by surprise. Just a few hours after Allegri’s sacking, the news came through that Seedorf had hung his boots and would take over as Milan boss.

Many former Milan players has put question marks on this decision of the board and rightly so. To give charge to somebody who has no experience at all in this field and that too in such a tricky situation can’t be termed as a sensible decision.

While talking to the reporters yesterday, Marco van Basten who has been considered as a legend at Milan said, “Appointing Seedorf is a huge gamble. It’s not an ideal situation to bring in a completely new manager. He would be under pressure straight away. For me, it’s not the smartest of decisions.”

Seedorf is supposed to make his way to Milan later tonight.

BALOTELLI CONCENTRATING ON AC

Former Inter Milan player, Mario Balotelli brushed aside all of the rumors concerning him with a move away from Serie A as Chelsea has already showed interest in signing Balotelli but the 23 years old striker is more concentrated in making appearances with Ac.Milan and get them to the top.

“I have always said that I do not watch out for the distant future,” he told Sky Italia.

“I am thinking about doing well against Genoa [at the weekend] and not about the market in either January or May. I am happy at Milan and I am happy to be here.”

The head coach of Chelsea, Jose Mourinho wants to add more attacking options for his team and Balotelli is a priority on his list alongside As.Monaco’s Falcao.  Mourinho and Balotelli worked together in Inter Milan and the Portuguese tactician was a fan of the playing style of the Italian player.

Ac.Milan is going through hardship as Massimiliano Allegri cannot get positive results in Serie A and if things do not change in the next few matches, there is a big possibility that he will be sacked and replaced as the pressure keeps on building up for the former Catania coach.

Even with the recent arrival of Ricardo Kaka, Ac.Milan still struggle to get themselves into the higher spots of Serie A. Out of their 6 last matches in the league they have only won 1 match which was against Udinese back in October which sees the Italian titans sitting in the 10th spot of the Italian league.

Ever since they offloaded Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to PSG they started going on a downhill ride with none of their players being able to fill in the boots of the Brazilian defender or the Swedish forward as they failed on signing anyone up to the same caliber as them.

PRESSURE MOUNTS

Pressure on the Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri increased after the 3-3 draw with Bologna during the weekend. As a result of this result, Milan have only two victories in the last five matches. They have taken just five points from the opening five matches of the season, which sees them in the 12th place of the table. Allegri’s future was under a lot of doubt even after getting the team into the top three last season, and the speculation has increased even more after this very poor start to the campaign. Allegri, though, said that he was happy with the performance of his players after the Bologna match.

Even though they opened the scoring in the 12th minute through Poli, Milan were down 3-1 just after the hour mark. They would have been easily defeated in the match had it not been for the late goals. Robinho scored in the 89th minute to make the score line 3-2, while Abate’s injury time goal gave Milan at least a point from the match. They will be playing against top opposition like Ajax in the next few matches. Their only victories in the last five matches have come against Celtic and Cagliari.

The next league match will be against Sampdoria at the San Siro, and three points is a must if Allegri is to remain in the job.

“We knew it was going to be a tough season and to make it into the top three will be very difficult. But by Christmas we will be in much better condition in terms of form and league position. Other teams have started well and we have dropped a few points. But the side is improving and I have complete faith in the players. We can’t rely on individuals,” said Allegri, who was without the suspended Mario Balotelli for the match.

ANTONINI EXPECTS

AC Milan defender Luca Antonini has said that the club should not miss out on the qualification for the Champions League next season. Milan made the most incredible recovery seen in the Italian league in recent years to finish in the top three last season. They were in the bottom half of the table by Christmas, but they completed a stunning turnaround to finish in the third place by the end of the season. Antonini has said that he does not want a repeat of the same, as he wants Milan to comfortably qualify for the Champions League every season.

Milan are one of the prestigious clubs in this competition, as they have won this trophy an incredible seven times in their history. This is only second best to Real Madrid, who have a record nine trophies. Further, being in the Champions league also helps the club to sustain the massive wages since it provides more than £ 30 million in revenue alone. Progressing further in the knockout stages of the competition helps club’s earn more money. Antonini has also said that he wanted dreams of winning this prestigious European competition and also the Italian Serie A title as well.

After a lot of discussions about his future, Massimiliano Allegri looks set to stay with Milan.

“We are preparing for the play-offs of the Champions League because without Milan there is no Champions League. We are concentrated on working to achieve the important objective of qualifying for the Champions League. Milan’s objective must always be to reach the top, to obtain the best result possible, so first we are determined to get beyond the hurdle of the Champions League play-off, then we’ll see,” said the defender.

Milan have made a couple of signings in the transfer market, but they are yet to spend huge money.

THIRD IN REACH

AC Milan have the opportunity to potentially seal the third spot in the Italian Serie A with a win over, during the weekend, but manager Massimiliano Allegri is aware of the fact that this will not be an easy feat. Allegri has managed to bring about a huge change in the Milan fortunes this season. The team were struggling down near the bottom of the table, but they are within touching distance of reaching the Champions League qualification spots. However, the work is not done yet because of the threat from Fiorentina in the final few matches of the campaign.

Allegri is aware of the fact that a win against Roma will be enough for his team. There are only two matches left in the season and AC Milan have a four point advantage over their main rivals Fiorentina. However, if Milan lose the match against Roma, then Fiorentina will certainly be back in the race for the top three. Fiorentina manager Vincenzo Montella, though, has said that he is not extremely optimistic about his team’s chances of finishing in the third place. He reckons that they have ultimately left themselves with too much to do at the end of the season. Milan’s final match of the season will be away to Siena.

“We hope to take the win on Sunday against Roma that would mathematically guarantee us third place. But we have to remain focused,” said Allegri ahead of the match with Roma. “Our season has been very positive and we’ve made few errors. We can’t change anything, but we have no regrets. I want to consolidate this fourth place,” said Fiorentina manager regarding his team’s chances of finishing in the third place. Fiorentina’s last two matches will be against Palermo and Pescara. They have a four point advantage over Udinese.