[Danny]

In a nutshell what are your expectations this season - challenge for a CL spot, win the league, win the CL, perform credibly in the CL?

What do you expect of your Milan this season in light of some of the changes made?

[MizNelson]

Here's a badly-written piece written by a betting site, of all things. I love reading articles like this in which little research seems to have come into play. (Some particular annoyances bolded by yours truly.)

Part 1: Predicting the Starting 11 for AC Milan

If there is one club that comes even close to the reputation of being called the “best club in the history of the game,” it is definitely AC Milan.

Milan was founded in 1899 by Herbert Kilpin and 5 other English men. Milan is one of those clubs that have spent most of their history in the Italian Serie A while it has only been a part of Serie B for two years which was back in the 1980s. The club has been so successful that it has won 18 titles recognized by UEFA and FIFA. Boca Juniors is the only club other than Ac Milan that has won 18 titles.

Milan has won four world titles, which exceeds the amount of Boca Juniors or any other club in the world and it is a world record itself. On the other hand, they have won 7 UEFA Champions Leagues. Only the Spanish Club Real Madrid exceeds this amount as they have won the same cup 9 times. They have also won the European Super Cup for a record number of 5 times and they have been the winners of the Cup Winners’ Cup twice.
In the domestic League, AC Milan are the third most successful club as their local rivals Inter Milan recently broke through and won 18 titles while AC Milan have won only 17. At number 1 it is Juventus who have won 27 Serie A titles, more than any other Italian team in the world. There is only one competition that Milan has never won even though they have been a part of it and that is the Europa League. Milan’s home ground is the same as Inter Milan as they both share it and the match between the two sides is a thriller. The ground is called San Siro and it is the biggest ground in Italy at the moment. With the Italian Prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, the owner of the club; the club is one of the wealthiest clubs in Italy and the World.

After the “amazing” managerial era of Carlos Ancelloti back in 2001; Milan became a great club and even won the Champions League once. AC Milan had great players back then and players that could do wonders when they were given the ball but after he left, in 2009, the club totally changed. Leonardo took over the post as a manager and totally failed to deliver as the team did not even win a single title during that season. Soon, he left the club and Massimiliano Allegri took his place. Even though Leonardo was the coach who helped his team throughout the Champions League and helped his team grasp a win against the amazing Spanish team Real Madrid, he still didn’t manage to win a single title throughout the season as Inter Milan were crowned champions under Jose Mourinho.

This time around, Allegri has taken over AC Milan and with a few key players already out of the squad and a few coming of age; it is going to be difficult for Allegri to rebuild a good team. Below is the 11 man squad that Allergi might play during his reign as manager with AC Milan:

Marco Amelia:
The goalkeeper who is on loan from Genoa has been handed with the number 1 jersey. He started his career with the Italian team Roma and has spent a lot of time on loan and this time, is going to be a part of AC Milan. AC Milan has always been criticized for their goalkeepers. Dida and Abbiati have always failed to impress throughout their time even though Dida was the goalkeeper for Brazil. This time he is not going to be a part of the squad and Marco Amelia is going to take his place between the two poles. Last year, it was Abbiati and Dida’s mistakes that led to Milan’s failure and Allergi was clever enough to realize this fact therefore he got Amelia on loan to help Milan win a few trophies. Marco Amelia, the current number 1 is the best choice for AC Milan and is definitely going to feature in the starting 11.

(bettor.com)

1. What four world titles have we won, exactly?
2. Carlos Ancelloti. 'Nuff said. (Psst...we won the CL twice with him.)
3. So he says that Leo failed to deliver and later praises him for beating Real. M'kay.
4. I think I'm suffering an Allergi from reading this.
5. Dida and Abi...I won't even go there.
6. He apparently believes we're trying to win "a few trophies" by signing Amelia, while ignoring the fact that Abi is our current #1.
7. Lastly, Milan have indeed always been criticized for our GKs. Lorenzo Buffon, Seba Rossi, Giovanni Galli, Villiam Vecchi...all bums, the lot of 'em.

This post has been edited by MizNelson: Aug 26 2010, 07:57 AM