I think we have 2 Udine-Milan match threads....

(actually, you've got more need for it than dst, trini. Fishdoll hasn't forgotten the Gerrard picture that made his eyes bleed!)

Thanks to both of you for opening the thread(s)!

UDINE, AS ALWAYS
5/11/2009 11:07:00 PM
At Udine he made his debut, with Liedholm on the bench. Against Udinese at S. Siro, the party for the 20 years in football. Saturday again Udine: Paolo Maldini's 900th official match. Always with the Rossoneri shirt.

MILAN - Udinese, Udinese, and Udinese. When the big arms of football history embrace Paolo Maldini, here is once again the team from Friuli at the crossroads. It happened on 20 January 1985, the Sunday of the Serie A debut of Cesare's son, with a draw at the Stadio Friuli between Udinese and Milan. It happened on 16 January 2005, in the Sunday where Italian football celebrated the 20 years in football of the Rossoneri captain and former national team captain, with 3-1 victory against Udinese. It will happened again next Saturday, when Paolo Maldini will play his 900th official match with Milan's shirt. Where? At Udine, where else.

Perfect last night against Juventus, judged as one of the best Rossoneri players in the evening match, Paolo Maldini is playing with class and pride. Where the first quality starts and the second begins isn't known, as they are so intertwined. One thing's for sure: Paolo, as always, is at the service of the team. But his real strength is his self-respect. After the important matches he is playing individually, no one will ever say Cesare's son retired too late. Aerial play, runs: Paolo is still there, against anyone, who's next. He is ending his career as a world-class player at 41 years old.

Now it's time to write another piece of history. Where in 1985 there was Selvaggi, and now there is Quagliarella, the great Paolo Maldini achieves an incredible target. In the same stadium as his first official match, when he was worried about his oral test at school the next day, he will play his 900th. Four World Cups later, with a record amount of appearences with the national team, and a palmares with 26 titles (Italian, European, and World) won with his club. A transcendental champion, respected by everyone, Paolo Maldini is a precious good for football at all levels.

Fishdoll's in a good mood today.

+1 cookie (or +1 card, if preferred) to dst, trini, and mtl as well.

In the same stadium as his first official match, when he was worried about his oral test at school the next day

Nesta AGAIN trained with the team.

Please PLEASE let this be the beginning of his resurrection!!!

Welcome to Coldest!

Call ups:

Dida, Kalac, Perucchini

I don't like the way Pato's been thrown away from the XI and become a late substitute after all he did over the season. hope I'm wrong and he starts this game, but I should've known not to think he was in Carlo's good books already.

Fishdoll ugh. We've got Rizzoli to ref the game.

Here is Mediaset's projected lineup. Also ugh.
Milan (4-3-1-2): Dida; Zambrotta, Maldini, Senderos, Jankulovski; Flamini, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf, Kakà; Inzaghi.

MILANELLO - These are the declarations of the Rossoneri's coach Carlo Ancelotti, who spoke today during a press conference at Milanello, on the eve of the clash against Udinese:

ON TOMORROW’S CLASH AGAINST UDINESE
“Tomorrow it will be an important game. The team knows what it must do: we want to reach as soon as possible the three points which will assure us of the mathematical qualification to the next Champions League. From now until the end of the season there are three difficult games and we don’t want to arrive to the match against Fiorentina in need of points. For this reason, we want to win tomorrow.”

ON THE TEAM’S MOMENT AND THE FORMATION AGAINST UDINESE
“The team is fine, apart from the two suspended players Favalli and Beckham, all the players are in a good condition for tomorrow.

“Dida has recovered, he will play tomorrow. In defence Zambrotta, Senderos, Maldini and Jankulovski. Midfield with Flamini, Pirlo and Ambrosini. Then there are three players for two places: Seedorf, Pato and Inzaghi (Kaka’s place is taken for granted).”

ON THE INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS
"Nesta started to work in the past week with the team, apart from continuing his specific work. He must still find an acceptable physical condition, but he could play before the end of the season.

“Borriello is more behind Nesta and I don't know if he will manage to work with the team before the end of the season. However, he’s in the recovery phase.”

ON THE SCUDETTO
“The key to Milan’s league for the Scudetto race is in the home game against Reggina which we drew on the eve of the derby and the injury to Kaka. We lost two important points in the standings and Kaka’s unavailability for two months was felt.”

ON UDINESE
“Udinese are a team in good form, they are coming from five consecutive wins and found the condition they had at the start of the season. Both Milan and Udinese are two teams who are going through a good moment. They have found back the velocity and quality in their game, a team that starts often counter attacks and takes advantage of the game of its attackers. It’s a very dangerous formation.”

ON THE TRANSFER RUMOURS AND HIS FUTURE
“There is no new news to what I said before and there is no Chelsea-Milan issue. There is a lot of fantasy talk, I’m at Milan and I think that it’s a big fantasy and grotesque to think that I can make a transfer market for a club who I’m not tied to. Tomorrow we’ll see what happens, I don’t think that in the case of a win anything will happen, but we'll see tomorrow. On Sunday I'm free and I can do what I want, actually I will be at my dad's home to celebrate his birthday. Obviously, at times it’s like I’m living at Big Brother….However it won’t last long because May 31 is close by to everyone and we shall arrive to it quickly.”

ON SILVIO BERLUSCONI’S DECLARATIONS
“I think that it’s useless to comment the declarations made by president Silvio Berlusconi or wait for a phone call because yesterday’s denial by the president was quite strong, therefore I believe that there is no need for any comment.

“The president had already spoke to Galliani when we were at Tirana and already back then the president had denied. I don't think that there is the need for a phone call from him to me.

“My rapport with the club is a good one, very warm and affectionate.”

ON THE RONALDINHO’S TRANSFER RUMOURS
“I did not speak to Galliani, but our will is that of holding on to Ronaldinho, but then if the player wants to leave for many reasons, we will evaluate.”

ON THE RAPPORT WITH GALLIANI
“With Galliani I have a very strong rapport, very warm. It’s been like this for a long time, it’s an attachment which consolidated in time, now we’re in perfect harmony.”

ON THE RAPPORT WITH GALLIANI
“With Galliani I have a very strong rapport, very warm. It’s been like this for a long time, it’s an attachment which consolidated in time, now we’re in perfect harmony.”

He's kind of conveniently forgetting the press conference in Tirana there, isn't he?

But Fishdoll nudges Didafan to look at the part about who's playing!

And I personally cannot believe that he would list Seedorf as the player that will fight for 1 of the 2 attacking positions, first of all if the midfield spot is opened becuase of Becks' suspension then that is were Seedorf should be played, in HIS NATURAL position, he has nothing to do with the striker and AMs, since he is certainly nothing close to that. Second, why aren't Dinho and Sheva concidered to either partner Kaka in midfield or partner Pippo or Pato in attack.

Both have showed that they are in far better form then Seedorf is. I'm just really fead up with this entire Seedorf cr@p. It's obvious he's not in form and he doesn't give a cr@p anymore, imo he should get an express ticket to the bench. But it will never happen because he is Seedorf, had this been any other player, I'm certain that he would be sitting in the stands instead of strting every week

Didn't that article get translated? Oops and Fishdoll blames dst-the-meaniehead for the lapse!

Before the friendly in Tirana, there was a prematch press conference with Ancelotti, Galliani, etc. One of the journalists asked Ancelotti about his future in light of the 'it's all carletto's fault' statement attributed that morning to Berlusconi. Ancelotti appeared - so the reports go - quite ready to answer the question but Galliani stepped in and answered for him, stating that he would 'answer for my friend Carletto'. This is what a lot of the English papers have picked up and are basing the 'Ancelotti to Chelsea' rumors on.

I think it's a fact that we have to sooner or later get over; as long as Carlo is the coach, it's going to be the same story about Seedorf. I think for the sake of our mental health (!) we have to forget about it.......

ON THE RONALDINHO’S TRANSFER RUMOURS
“I did not speak to Galliani, but our will is that of holding on to Ronaldinho, but then if the player wants to leave for many reasons, we will evaluate.”

*cough*

No it's true. Galliani has always supported him. If it was not for Fester, Berlusca would have surely fired Carlo after the Istanbul fiasco. He has always been supporting Carletto and so have some players, namely Maldini, Seedorf and Kaka.

I don't think either support him, but both like having him at Milan becausethey can do whatever they want and he won't complain.

No it's true. Galliani has always supported him. If it was not for Fester, Berlusca would have surely fired Carlo after the Istanbul fiasco. He has always been supporting Carletto and so have some players, namely Maldini, Seedorf and Kaka.

In just under 2 hours, Miz.