So true, Miz.




They never learn! Darn, I hate people who think they're better than the language!

Maybe it does. But I'll never know as I only have one Maltese friend, and that's han. There isn't even an English Maltese dictionary available online.

So, the Italian press thinks Pirlo will at least be on the bench for this game and that he may play a few minutes.

The speculation has begun as to who will be benched when he IS back full time.

It's a movie about a person's cheak. So there, that wasn't a grammar mistake on my part, just you jumping to conclusions


We don't really have a word for porno


We try to keep the mystery in our language that's why we don't ship off dictionaries


Hopefully it's Ambro. Who are the Italian media leaning towards in the battle of the mids?

Nooooo! Not Ambro!

Don't worry. under Carlo all of the midfield old guards will be kept satisfied.

After Pirlo returns, I'm ready to bet, we won't play with more than 1 striker, we might even play parts of the games with no real striker at all. Carlo has a history of doing that.

Well we're only playing with 1 striker now and there is no Pirlo. I don't have any issues if we continue with the xmas tree but only if Ambro is the one to make way and not Seedorf.

@ kurt, I know you love Ambro but he's been in terrible form this season and he's ruining what little game we have right now. I would take Flamini over him any day of the week

Today's training has taken place.

After warmups the team was divided into groups.

Ronaldinho, Pato, Shevchenko, Emerson played calcio-tennis against Filippo Galli, Kaladze, Gattuso and Zambrotta. After a time, Filippo Galli and Zambrotta were subbed out for Senderos and Flamini.

Darminan, Favalli, Antonini, Maldini, Viudez, Pirlo and Jankulovski ran a course (with the little cones) at midfield.

Seedorf, Kalac, Ambrosini, Kakà and Borriello trained in the gym where they were joined by Bonera, Cardacio and Inzaghi after warmups.

Dida and Abbiati trained with the goalkeeping coach Villiam Vecchi.

Wow! The simple people of Malta.


If it's one thing I can't stand, it's civilizations who don't ship off dictionaries. Think you're too smart, huh?

Looks like it'll be this way.


One reason why Ambro's been terrible is because of the good form of Gattuso. I'll take Flamini too!

Well we don't have a lot of words for certain objects, for example a computer, a refrigerator, etc... And many other words that we just use the English term for.

Yes we are too smart for you lot, you would never be able to handle the Maltese language. Such simpletons!!!!


If you were to offer me Rino in top form and Ambro in top form, Rino would always win my vote

Unless it's about heading in a goal in the 89th minute. In that case I'll take Ambro. Rino can't score if his life depended on it, I can't believe how he got seven goals for Milan. It's one of the great mysteries of this world.

Yeah but in his overall game Ambro does not even come close in terms of comtribution to the team

He comtributes more. Of course, it has got nothing to do with contribution!

Jokes aside, the thing with Ambro is, he's an average player. In all departments. This also means he's gives his somewhat solid performance most of the time. Consistency is the word here. The way Gattuso had been out of form for the whole of last year, it allowed Ambro to sneak through. All said and done, he's probably the best backup we can have for Gattuso for the time being, at least. Unless Poulsen suddenly signs up for Milan

I think perhaps that some might be underestimating just what Ambrosini does for the team. A lot of the stuff he does goes unnoticed and for that reason, i think he's a little underappreciated. Those I know who have season tickets think the world of Ambro and don't forget: he was the one given MOM honors in Milan-MU of May 2007 - Gazzetta gave him an 8.5.

He does, but Gattuso somehow always manages to shadow him. Not only in Milan, but also in the Azurri NT. I used to think of him as one of the most underrated players in the last couple of seasons.

That season was probably Ambro's best and most consistant season, I'm not trying to take anything away from him. But he has more negative to his game than he has positive. He fouls too much, he's hot headed (not saying Rino isn't but since he is considered as Paolo's replacement for the captain's position I think it looks worse on him), he dwells on the ball way too much and ends up losing it most of the time, takes ridiculous shots instead of making a simple pass that would keep the games rythem up, and tries passes that Pirlo wouldn't even pull off.

Sure he hustles around and gets in the opponents' face but Rino can do that just as well without all of the above added to his game.

I think it's a personal preference but to me Ambro doesn't have the quality of Gattuso

I think both Ambro and Gattuso are worthy players, only when one of them is sitting on the bench! playing both of them at the same time just defeats the purpose of having balance between defense and attack.

Which games Rino starts and which games Ambro, depends on the opponent. Ambro has characteristics that Rino lacks, being a great header the most obvious one. and Rino on the other hand has his own uses. playing both of them when we're leading a game like the Derby Della Madonnina by 3 goals is a great idea! but that's it. starting the games with both of them keeps the team back from playing an attacking game and 'unlocking' the defenses. unfortunately that's something Carlo doesn't seem to agree on.

pirlo, seedorf, kaka, r80 putting them all in the team will be impossible when we are ( and should) playin 2 stikers.... with 2 stiker the other 4 midfielders cant be these bcoz none of them are defensive and under carlo consitution atleast 2 DMs are must so it is going to be either seedorf/pirlo and kaka/r80 in 2 stiker situation but to calm these players carlo will revert to one stiker and i think then seedorf will come either for pirlo or r80 depending on the situation omne thing is certain under carlo 2 of rino, ambro, flamini, emerson will play on current form rino and flamini

(picture of today's training from acmilan.com)


Today's training has taken place.

After warmups, which included laps around the perimeter of the pitch, there was tactical work.

There were two practice games. The first one was on a half-pitch and the second was on the full pitch.

Senderos, Pirlo, and Ambrosini followed the full training session with the team.

Il Capitano worked in the gym. Borriello trained part of the session with the team and part in the gym.

There will be one training session tomorrow along with the coach's pre-match press conference.

Borriello is out for a month!

what when

Mediaset is reporting that he strained his left thigh in training and may be out for a month.

link to clip of training accident.

Mediaset thinks that it'll be Pippo in his place in the lineup against Chievo.

There's nothing on acmilan.com yet.

ohh sad his season is going from bad to worse

OK, it's official: BORRIELLO IS INJURY PRONE!!


****.

pirlo back one stiker injured more of christmast tree then

Pirlo may only make the bench for this one... I don't think he'll start.

I hope Carlo goes Pato-Inzaghi up top with Borriello out...but most likely x-mas tree.

Noo!! Not Pippo, put Pato in there, someone that will actually do something other then getting caught offside a million times before he MIGHT score

I Agree ^
Pato- Borriello for this one. Has anyone else nticed that pato gets less time this season then last one? How is he supposed to get better if he plays less? Carlo Carlo Carlo

I don't understand Carlo's extreme hesitance to play Pato. Shoot, I think Oli got more playing time than he has.

I want 3, 4 or even 5 goals in this match, no more 1-goal victories. If we can't beat the Flying Donkeys at San Siro, comfortably, then we don't deserve to be competing for the title! Fingers crossed we'll have this one wrapped up by half time.

I think it has to do with Ronaldinho in the mix. At the beginning Carlo kept mixing up the positions; played him as an SS, as a LW, and also in the trequartista slot ... But mainly as the games developed, Ronaldinho seemed more effective as a LW, and from then on if ever Carlo wanted to play both Kaka' & Ronaldinho the formation is bound to be the X-mas tree.

But i agree with you completely, Pato has shown a lot of potential and understanding with this team that he merits a starting place. I'm sure he'll get some playing time, as there are two main competitions that Milan want by the end of the season, hence the squad will have to be very well rotated.

On this game, I think it will be a very heated encounter, but at the end of the day I hope Milan will get the three points

Are you sure about this? Cause UEFA Cup sure does seem like a bashtard child.


Are you sure about this one too? Jeez, Catania (1-0), Fiorentina (2-0), Cagliari (2-0), Palermo (3-0), Juventus (2-0) all had their way with Chievo. Anything less than three goals from us, would be a disappointment, really, with the attack and firepower we've got.

We'll see.

That assumes, acid, that the attacking firepower actually come to play. Mostly they haven't been in recent games.

That's very true, actually.

Pato doesn't play as often as last season, because he sux right now. There was some story about him being depressed because of Dunga's criticism. Ever since that story, he's been awful. Average 1vs1, terrible shot, no desire at all. He's just too young to meet the expectations. One day - maybe. Right now, I definetely agree with Carlo. I wouldn't rely on a player who gives the ball away in the most tense moments when we lead by one goal. Our worst attacker so far. And yes, I know he has more goals than Sheva and Borriello.

However, I can't agree with Sheva being a substitute forever. I think Pippo has more playing time than Sheva. This is ridiculous. What was the point of bringing him back? What's the point of Galliani's big mouth about our galaxy team since we play like a Serie B club? I wouldn't be at all surprised if Pippo is our only striker this Sunday. Much like the Bologna game.

Heated encounter? Well, I hope for something like 5:0 or even 6:0. It's about time for Milan-Show at San Siro. We have the players. Chievo is the second worst team in Serie A and seeing Reggina almost beating Udine for the Coppa Italia, I wonder whether they are actually better than those yellow clowns. 1:0 is almost like 0:0 with a smile.

Zd is going to bring the house down on this one..

Thats what I'm talking about. Ronaldinho needs to really step up more in the game play (not saying he is not doing anything, he is the highest goalscorer in Milan and he is really showing some good form), just a couple of those killer passes will do

Pato had plenty of opportunities to make his case and failed to score. To give him more opportunities would be playing favorites and not fair.

Pirlo is probably 20 minutes fit and should come on as a late sub. X mas tree when he steps on the pitch

(This is your second warning zd. Keep it respectful.) Max

Off topic, but when the hell do we actually play a Coppa Italia match already?

so pippo is also injured for this one ?

Decmber 3rd - against Lazio

Here's Mediaset's revised projected lineup:

Abbiati;
Zambrotta, Bonera, Favalli, Jankulovski;
Gattuso, Seedorf, Flamini;
Kakà, Ronaldinho;
F. Inzaghi

Very long prematch interview today.

Highlights:

* Zambrotta has a minor knock and will be a gameday decision. If he's not able to play, Bonera will play on the right.
* Ambrosini is not available.
* Pirlo won't be on the bench.
* Shevchenko is motivated and available and might be able to contribute well.
* Pato can play prima punta in Borriello's absence.
* Carletto wouldn't be drawn in on talk of Borriello's injury being tied to the public fight he's had the last week with his girlfriend.
* Favalli is preferred over Senderos in the center due in large part to Senderos' lack of match fitness and his long absence due to injury.
* When Pirlo returns, nothing will change, Milan will have an important player with specific characteristics who will be available to play.
* Ronaldinho scored goals that nobody expected, which have influenced games.
* The deal with Beckham is clear; he'll be at Milan a few months only and will then go back to LA.
* Nice words for Billy's coaching of Mantova. Ancelotti was pleased for the result and pleased for how he's acting on the bench (hard to say just what this means as I've not actually seen Mantova games). Ancelotti adds that Milan is grooming good coaches, fruit of the work that Sacchi began.

Don't agree on the Pato bit. He and Boriello are our most active strikers that play for the team, he drops deep tries to battle for every ball. And sure he might miss some chances but the cool head in front of goal will come with age and experiance, he can't aquire that experiance from the bench, he needs to be a regular for Milan. Maybe sometimes playing him out wide on the left as a wide midfielder could help by easing some of the pressure a striker has on him. But all the potential is there and playing Pippo ahead of him imo is wasting that talent for a guy that is 34 years old and close to the end of his carreer. Pato is the future of Milan while someone like Pippo doesn't really have anything left to offer us anymore. Boriello and Pato should be Carlo's priority.

As for the Sheva vs Pippo thing, personally it comes down to moments in the game. Who would I want to start the match if it was between the 2? That would be Sheva because he's a much overall better player then Pippo is. But who would I want to step in 20 minutes from time and hope to make a difference? Pippo obviously. He knows how to get on the nerves of the defenders, especially when they are tired after nearly 70 minutes of play Pippo would be a tricky customer to handle.

But since it's up to Carlo we all know he would much rather prefer Pippo over anybody else on that striker list. I personally am against it. But at the end of the day Carlo is the one making the decisions


Ok with everything except for Pippo, either Pato or Sheva should be starting, they will contribute a whole lot more then Pippo, he should be used as an emergency backup if we need a goal (not that we should against Chievo, but with Carlo's Milan you never know )

35


And it seem we're going for the Christmas tree again now I understand why some people said Ronaldinho wasn't needed (at least not more than a world class defender/goalkeeper). Carlo doesn't rotate key players. Kaka always plays and now after scoring these goals, Ronaldinho will be a regular starter too and that means we have to play the Christmas tree, even if we don't want to!

Having both Ronaldinho and Kaka in your team is great, only when you do rotate them. with playing both of them all the time they will be more in danger of fatigue, injuries, etc.

Anyway, I don't believe we can win the league going with this system all the time. Bologna, Genoa, Cagliari and Lecce games are already there as examples of how useless this system is against the midtable/bottom table Italian teams. not to mention our luck in games which we won while playing with this system [Inter (offside goal) - Napoli (deflected goal)]. the luck that finally ran out against Lecce.

so if zambrotta is not fit then we will have voldemort-favilli as our CB

Here are the call ups:
Abbiati, Dida,
Bonera, Darmian, Favalli, Jankulovski, Kaladze, Senderos, Zambrotta,
Cardacio, Emerson, Flamini, Gattuso,
Inzaghi, Kakà, Pato, Seedorf, Shevchenko, Ronaldinho.

Antonini failed a fitness test. Minor knock.

zambrotta is called up but it is still not certain tha the will play rite ?