Well, Digao was brought to Milan to persuade Kaka to stay at Milan so that he can be with his brother and not feel lonely (which is out of question now that he has a wife and son). But, yeah, that's the story.

And yeah, Brocchi is no good. But I don't know which team would like to buy him. Because I think he'd prefer to fattening up his bank account rather than getting some first team action with some small team.

Brocchi should have been sold to Fiorentina after he had that good season with them and Fiorentina wanted to buy him. But Carlo at the time asked for a defensive mid like Gilberto and instead our management brought him Brocchi back from loan. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Carlo Ancelotti is set to bring a star-studded AC Milan to the City of Manchester Stadium for this Saturday’s Thomas Cook Trophy match.
Over the next few days, mcfc.co.uk is building up to the visit of the Rossoneri by looking at some of the star names that the legendary Italian club currently boasts in it’s ranks.

Kaka

Kaka, full name Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, is the current World & European Footballer of the Year and a playmaker much-coveted by Real Madrid and Chelsea if reports are to be believed.

The 26-year-old, born in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia, moved to Milan from Sao Paolo in 2003 and proved to be an instant hit at the San Siro. He was part of Brazil’s World Cup-winning squad in 2002, but only appeared briefly in one game, however he featured heavily in the 2006 tournament. He has scored 22 times in his 59 appearances for his country.

Since joining Milan he has played an integral part in the Club’s recent string of honours, including the 2004 Serie A title and the 2007 Champions League win, where the Rossoneri gained a measure of revenge for their traumatic loss to Liverpool two years earlier by beating the Merseysiders 2-1.

Dida
91 caps for Brazil and two Champions League winners’ medals don’t tell the whole story of a turbulent career for the 34-year-old goalkeeper.

Dida, real name Nélson de Jesus Silva, joined Milan permanently from Corinthians in 2000 after a contract dispute had seen him loaned out to the Brazilian side. In one of his earliest appearances, against Leeds United at Elland Road, he dropped a long range Lee Bowyer shot into his own net for what turned out to be the deciding goal of that Champions League tie.

He will have fond memories of Manchester, as it was at Old Trafford where he saved three penalties in the Champions League Final shoot-out against Juventus. There was more controversy in Europe last season, when he was banned for two matches (reduced to one on appeal) for feigning injury after starting to chase a Celtic fan who had manhandled him on the pitch.

On the international front, Dida can count himself a touch unlucky to have won so many caps without featuring in the World Cup-winning sides of 1998 and 2002.

Paolo Maldini
Those of us of ‘a certain age’ will remember a classy young defender making his mark in the fine Italian team that made the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup. That player, Paolo Maldini, is still going strong at the age of 40 in a Milan side managed by a team-mate of his from Italia ’90.

A real ‘one-club man’ of the old school, Maldini has seven Serie A winner’s medals, and has won the European Cup & Champions League five times. His goal after just 51 seconds against Liverpool in 2005 is the fastest-ever in a European Cup/Champions League final – but Milan’s subsequent defeat on penalties, after throwing away a three-goal lead, haunted Maldini.

He captained the Azzuri at the 1994 World Cup, but he ended his 126-cap international career trophy-less in 2002, scant reward for one of the finest defenders of the last 20 years

Today we turn the spotlight on three more members of the talented AC Milan squad that will face City in the Thomas Cook Trophy match this Saturday.
Massimo Ambrosini

The solid midfielder has been at the San Siro since 1995, having transferred from Cessena, and he established himself in the Milan side after a loan spell at Vicenza a decade ago.

He was an integral part of the Serie A-winning sides of 1999 and 2004, and he also picked up winners medals in the Champions League triumphs of 2003 and 2007. Goals are few and far between for the 31-year-old, but he is a firm favourite with Milan fans for his loyalty to the club and his hard-working performances.

On the international stage, Ambrosini’s 35 caps so far have been spread over nine years. He missed out on the 2006 World Cup win, but was immediately recalled to the national side for the first game after the win in Germany, with his most recent cap coming in the defeat on penalties to Spain that saw them dumped out of Euro 2008.

Clarence Seedorf
This veteran midfielder has had a long and colourful career at both club and international level, and is the only player to win the Champions League with three different clubs – once each with Ajax and Real Madrid, and twice with AC.
The roster of clubs Seedorf has played for – Ajax, Real, Sampdoria and both Milan sides – shows how valued this classy operator is in the upper echelons of European football, and he has repaid that faith with league titles in Holland & Spain, as well as one with AC. Long-range strikes are a speciality, with one from near the halfway line in the Madrid derby ensuring cult status for him with Real supporters.

He has amassed over 80 caps for Holland since 1994, and is no stranger to the volatility of the Dutch national squad. His relationship with coach Marco van Basten saw him miss out on the 2006 World Cup, and after a few more fleeting appearances he opted out of selection for this summer’s European Championships.

Gennaro Gattuso
An old-fashioned ‘midfield general’ in the Franco Baresi mould, Gattuso had a spell with Glasgow Rangers 10 years ago that came to an abrupt halt when **** Advocaat took over at Ibrox. His time in Glasgow was not a total loss, as he met his wife while there!

After impressing for a struggling Salernitana side, AC came calling in 1999 and he has remained there ever since, racking up two Champions League wins and a Serie A winner’s medal.

The pinnacle of his career came two years ago when he was a vital member of the Italian side that won the World Cup. Gattuso made it an even more memorable occasion by dropping his shorts during the post-match celebrations on the pitch, much to the consternation of FIFA officials. He also shaved his hair off to mark the win - and they say there are no characters left in football. Goals are not his speciality, but predictably his only one at international level came against England in Peter Taylor’s only game in charge, a 1-0 defeat in Turin in 2000.

On the international front, Dida can count himself a touch unlucky to have won so many caps without featuring in the World Cup-winning sides of 1998 and 2002.

For the game, they'll be wearing the home jerseys, black shorts and black socks.

I love that. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

Training has taken place. (from acmilan.com's italian page. my translation)

The first 30 minutes of training were devoted to warmups with jogging, stretching, and working on abs.

Following this the group had a brief 10 v 10 practice game on the small pitch without keepers.

For the last 30 minutes the team played an 11 v 11 practice game on the regular pitch. Dida and Abbiati were in goal while Kalac trained with the goalkeeping coaches.

Digao, Borriello, Inzaghi, Kakà and Emerson trained separately in the gym.

At the end of training, Carlo Ancelotti posted the call ups for the game against Manchester:
Goalkeepers: Abbiati, Dida, Kalac;
Defenders: Antonini, Bonera, Favalli, Jankulovski, Maldini, Oddo, Simic, Zambrotta;
Midfielders: Ambrosini, Brocchi, Cardacio, Flamini, Gattuso, Pirlo;
Strikers: Paloschi, Seedorf, Viudez.

This week, Seedorf is a striker. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) The two new kids were called up.

The team will fly to Manchester at 4pm.

Carletto gave his pre-match press conference. Original on acmilan.com's italian page (link). My translation (sorry for any errors, did this quickly).

ON THE MANCHESTER GAME
'We're working well, trying to eliminate the issues that emerged at Moscow, and we're hoping that the game against Manchester City will show a positive response.
Dida will play in goal after a long period of inactivity. He's doing well in training and we hope tomorrow will be a confirmation of how well he's doing.
Paloschi will play in attack and Viudez will probably sub for him.
The defeat at Moscow has given us stimulation to avoid any more ugly games, to play well, especially in defense.

ON THE INJURED
I'm more worried about Nesta's situation than Kaka's, as the problem is more complicated. Alessandro has been out for some time. They're both unavailable and we're working to get them back. Kaka has a swollen knee while Alessandro has a back problem that's probably rather serious that we're trying to resolve. As regards recuperation times, I'm not a doctor but as of today there's no talk of any surgery.
Kaladze has a knee problem due to fatigue in training.
Inzaghi will be present against Juventus.

ON THE TWO NEW URUGUAYANS CARDACIO AND VIUDEZ
They're two young boys. Cardacio has more experience, he's a classic midfielder who can play in all 3 roles. Viudez has more talent, he's very fast. He's a seconda punta, reactive and very fast. On a technical level they're two different players as one's a midfielder and the other's a striker. I think they'll do well at Milan.

ON RONALDINHO AND PATO
I didn't see a lot of high speed in yesterday's Brazil-Belgium game. Pato moved more than Dinho but Ronaldinho is coming from a longer period of inactivity and I think that the two of them plus Diego will do well.

ON THE DEFENSE
I've read that there's talk of the possible arrival of Ivanovic, but as regards centerbacks, I hope to recuperate Nesta and Kaladze.