It's the big one. And the first time I've been optimistic about in a long time.

What I wish to see against Inter:



Abbiati has cost us too many goals in such a short period of time, it's time he sits his @ss down!

Abate has been doing good, but for this kind of game, he's someone I'd rather not play. Antonini is more stable, plus he won't have to face Maicon, cr@p as he's been lately he's still world class and can pull something out at any time.

Ambro in front of the defence is just amazing, it's where he should play, no more of this cr@p with Pirlo playing there trying to defend while the other mids are god knows where. Flamini and Boateng the obvious other choices, Flamini will keep it tight while still moving the ball around while Boateng is the energy we need to keep it moving. Please no Rino or Seedorf, or even Pirlo in that midfield 3. We need to beat Inter at their own game, their strength lies in the midfield. And we need to have muscle in there. Not Pirlo and Seedorf trying to twinkle toe their way in.

Pirlo the obvious choice as AM. Seedorf did well today, but he faded as soon as the clock hit 60.

Robinho is the obvious choice for such a high tempo game if Pato is injured, which I'm assuming he will be. Robinho's finishing is worrying, but hopefully today's goal will give him confidence.

You're on a roll, Han. Let's make it count fellas, about time we tasted a win against the boys in blue!

Well I'm just hoping that I'll keep on rollin'

This is the first time in I don't know how long we're going into the derby top of the table and most importantly above Inter. Hopefully it will give us that mental push to win this.

Han, I like your line-up, but Maicon RB, Abate RB, Antonini LB..... what makes you think Maicon and Antonini won't face each other while two RB's would?

So yeah... Abate + Zambrotta should start... Abate has been doing well, he earns and should start.

Agreed. I wonder how much of that has to do with me posting right after you create the next thread. I did so in the last one or two you opened. I guess we'll find out. At the end of the day, I just want a match worthy of the derby between the two clubs of the best footballing city in the world.

Lots of passion, skills, and intense atmosphere. Has been a while since we had that, 2008 actually.

As much as I'm doubtful of Pirlo's capacity to play as a trequartista, Ambrosini has been doing so well in front of the defense it'd be a pity to relieve him from there. So I'm going with han's line-up as well.

Abbiati has been awful lately, so picking Amelia would be only logic, though we all know it won't happen. Zambrotta usually plays well against the big sides, and I still trust Antonini more than Abate. Boateng and Flamini should be untouchable. If Allegri prefers Gattuso over any of them, he'd be making a huge mistake. They complement our midfield perfectly. And up forward, Ibra + Robinho is the only choice we have, considering Pato and Inzaghi are injured.

X, why do you doubt Pirlo as the treq? In my mind he can do at least as well as Zee or Dinho if not better. At this point in their careers he has more stamina than both and neither has blistering speed either. Its not like Pirlo isnt creative enough for the job. Wit Ambro, Flamini, and KPB we should have a mid that can lock down and provide Pirlo with some support for attack when needed too.

Can't say I dislike your lineup Han, but I must say it doesn't seem realistic. I think I'd prefer it actually (Especially Amelia).

Realistic looks like this, I think:



This is assuming Pato doesn't find fitness before the game.

theres no way allegri will bench abbiati =[ just praying he doesnt stuff it up in one of the most important matches of the season

On paper it is RB vs RB, but on the field, if Maicon is playing on Inter's right and Antonini on our left, then Antonini has to be the one that handles Maicon


Now don't try to take the credit Also everyone remembers the topic starter, and no the one who posted the 2nd comment


Flamini simply cannot be dropped, Allegri would be mad to do so, also Seedorf for this game is asking for trouble. He couldn't handle more then a half yesterday against Palermo and the frist half was played at a really slow tempo. Imagine him trying to play 90 against Inter, such a high tempo game. He'd be dead by half time. also Pirlo is becoming a huge liability in that midfield 3 against strong teams. He needs to be moved forward, where all he has to worry about is creating, something that he's great at.

Also Abate is just not going to cut it for this game. Zambro, if he's fit, should be playing

I suppose Oddo's still out? Part of me likes the idea of Abate going up against the much slower Chivu. Also like the idea of Pato on the right flank.

Do Flamini and KPB have the lungs to play 3 matches back to back. I don't think there is a problem with Rino starting and Ambro playing more box to box. KPB worried me a bit in that last match.

I bet you that Rino who hasn't played for an entire week would get tired before a Flamini or Boateng that have played every last 3 days.

Also Ambro is not a box-to-box, he makes an @ss out of himself trying to play that. He's a holding DM, play him there FFS.

If Pirlo is really out, play Dinho or Seedorf behind the strikers. As long as that midfield 3 is strong, energetic and keeps control of the midfield we won't have problems no matter who plays as the AM

Well box-to-box is the wrong term. I meant someone who stays in and around to congest the mid-field area. Block passing lanes as well as who can get the ball and make a decent pass. Also Ambro's runs into the box are pretty good.

Rino can just stay and watch Sneijder and Coutinho.

Maicon is injured. Samuel as well. If Benitez choses for this lineup im gonna laugh SO hard!:


Cambiasso and Sneijder probebly will make the match. To bad, because their midfield is **** without those two. And I hope Zambrotta will return in time and leave Abate on the bench. Abate will not do well against Eto'o.

The 4-3-1-2 formation suits Milan very well. There is the right balance in this lineup. It's a formation where everyone gets the best out of himself (like Seedorf and Pato).
Abbiati has a bad run, leave him out!

I hope to see:


Any news on Pato or Pippo btw?

Totally cannot imagine going up against Inter without the fire of Rino and the steel of Ambro in there. By all means take Rino out in the 60th...but he needs to be there in the beginning.

And damn it...why Pippo..why??!!!!!! Pippo-Ibra with Robinho playing Energizer bunny is quickly becoming my attack of choice.

Look how just few days ago we all tried to play it fair and spoke about the poor Inter with so many injuries. And now - we have the same problems.

Good. Will make it a lot sweeter if we crush them. And a lot less bitter if they crush us.

Oh finally the ronaldinho debate finished and we are finally the top of the board with a great game to come. It is our first set ball (to early to mention match balls) and if we win we put them in even bigger trouble so the win is a 10 points play. About the lineup Binho and Ibra work really well and they shoved it a lot of time so i they will start for shure. About the midfield , Boa and Flamini should be untouchable like Ambro and pirlo but those are maybe too much because i think R80 will start. He crushed them once, he will do it again, so i think it would be a Ambro, Pirlo, Boa with R80 upfront (I already know all the opinions). For the defense i would prefer Zambro over Abate for the derby and other defenders that everyone want : So Zambro Nesta Thiago Antonini. And the final word I would really wanted to see Amelia between the post but this is pretty much impossible. We NEED the win so much.

FORZA MILAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

But you said:

Or who is 'he'? I thought you meant Maicon there, since Antonini is and never has been world class. Now I'm really confused. Also: if you read my post clearly I said exactly the opposite from what you seem to have thought you read.

Also, I forgot that Maicon won't even play. Anyway, why don't you think Abate isn't good enough for this kind of game? He is doing good like you said, including against REAL MADRID's Cristiano Ronaldo. While Antonini has been poor this season with a lot of defensive liablities. Really... you are living, once again, in the past. Zambrotta needs to play, yes, agreed there, but instead of Antonini.

If we win this 6-pointer I say we will have completed like 20% of the road to the Scudetto.

Oddo is still unavaible?

I'd rather see the Antonini-Zamborghini combo as well.

We don't win an away derby since February 27, 2005..
I hope that will change !

Probable starting line-ups from Sportmediaset:

Inter (4-2-3-1): Julio Cesar; Santon, Lucio, Cordoba, Chivu; Zanetti, Stankovic; Sneijder, Eto'o, Pandev; Milito.

Milan (4-3-1-2): Abbiati; Abate, Thiago Silva, Nesta, Antonini; Flamini, Ambrosini, Gattuso; Seedorf; Robinho, Ibrahimovic.

Pato and Inzaghi won't be making it for sure, and it looks like Pirlo will be out as well. That said, our line-up looks good. But god, do we really have to play Gattuso? What does Allegri really see in this guy? We need at least a box-to-box in that midfield to support the attacking manoeuvre, and if you take off Boateng, we'd be stuck with Gattuso and Flamini to do that, who are both holding midfielders. Really, really bad choice. Our midfield was great against a tough side as Palermo, there's no need to change it FFS!!!

Regarding Inter, apart from the sure absences of Samuel and Maicon, Cambiasso shouldn't be making either, like Thiago Motta, Mariga and Muntari.

Has Zambrotta become third choice or isn't he fully fit?

Even though both Pirlo and Pato (for sure the latter) won't play, I'm still sort of confident. Seedorf and Ambrosini seem to be good backups for the positions Pirlo can play, and of course thankfully no Ronaldinho. Though, it really sucks that Pato is out for a decent time. Also one of our few forward backups (Pippo) is out for a long time, also not helping our case. With Zlatan and Robinho as our only forwards available our biggest issue might be finishing.

Why should we play Rino?? Boateng, Flamni and Ambro are all beter options. If Rino does play he will be a problem for us.


If Dinho or Seedorf play then the midfield 3 behind them cannot contain Pirlo. Imo Seedorf and Dinho are both players I would avoid for this type of game. But since Pirlo is most likely out, one of them we start. Now I'm of the oppinion that as long as that midfield 3 is solid ie Boateng, Flamini and Ambro, then the AM choice won't really make that much difference since he won't have to work that hard , just keep his position close to the others


I was referring to Maicon. Anyway, I don't understand how we've jumbled it up so much


Imo that midfield will be our undoing. Rino, Ambro, Flamini? Come on! Rino cannot play. Just like against Bari, that midfield would struggle to hold the ball for longer then a couple of seconds, also how Allegri can justify playing Rino over any of those other 3 I'll never know!

Also if you're going to play Seedorf then he's going to need some help when pushing up, that's where boateng comes in. Rino will make a fool out of himself trying to move the ball forward, and chasing Sneijder or Eto'o down with no positive outcome. Seedorf I'm a bit worried about in terms of how long he'll last. Anyways if it's not working Dnho can come off the bench.

My point is, the attacking 3 doesn't matter, as long as Allegri gets that midfield 3 right, which just has to be Flamini, Ambro, Boateng. If he gets that right then the rest of the team will benefit. Especially the AM and Ibra and Robs

Not Rino, all I think of regarding him and Inter is that stupid red card and penalty given away.

Is that all you can think of? Djee, no wonder. There is a huge difference between that Rino and current Rino.

Not that much of a difference... Rino now, is not even part of the shadow of his former self. Imo he should do himself a favour and not tarnish his reputation by making a fool out of himself in such games

LOL, what? Not much of a difference?

1: it's pointless to compare players to what they have been, what's important is how they are now, and Gattuso is much better than he was last season. He went from our worst midfielder to one of our best midfielders. Though, we seem to have many good midfielders, it's hard to pick.

It's not like other midfielders in our current squad are as good as that famous former Rino you're talking about.

2: Gattuso did make a fool out of himself last season, but this season is different. Gattuso is far from making a fool out of himself this season, and I don't see why he would coming weekend. When it comes to defensive duties Gattuso is our best bet (when it comes to our midfielders) which is very important against a side like Inter, so Gattuso is no problem (seriously guys), but someone who you should consider to start vs Inter. Of course feel free to conclude that it's better to start with Flamini, Ambrosini, Seedorf and Boateng (assuming Pirlo can't start) as our midfielders, because I see the reasons why to start them over Gattuso, but I also see the reasons why to start Gattuso over other midfielders we got. Some of you guys are really too harsh on Gattuso.

1. It is pointless. But this Rino you're talking about is not that good. Which seriously pains me to say. The man chases shadows for practically 90 minutes straight. Lets mediocre players nutmeg him, etc. This Rino is not good enough to be a starter for us, and certainly not one of the best mid we have. Flamini, Boateng and Ambro are all better choices, for hundreds of reasons. Aside from you and Wacko Jacko, no one wants Rino to be starting, we saw what happened against Real, for all his heart and passion, Real kept slicing our midfield like hot knife through butter, simply because Rino couldn't keep up and do his job.

2. Rno made a fool out of himself this season as well in the big games. You talk and talk about not wanting Dinho anywhere near the pitch in the big games, but I really don't understand how you would want Rino playing in such games, and imo the DM poisition is a far more crucial position then the AM. Rino losing the ball in a bad area, or him letting someone like Sneijder or C.Ron run through him (which he did) and we've got serious problems

Of course you don't mention about Gattuso winning the ball so often, etc. And hello? If one player is a problem it's Ronaldinho. I understand you prefer others over Gattuso, but to say he's not good enough? Come on...

The number of times Rino won the ball, I can count on one hand. How is that good enough for the DM? Pirlo probably won more balls then him!! If you see Dinho as a problem, an attacker, then I seriously don't understand how you wouldn't view Rino as a problem. He plays in one of the most crucial positions. Dinho plays like cr@p? We have trouble scoring. Rino plays like cr@p? We conceed... I'd rather not score then conceed if it really came down to a choice. Just for the record, I think both are problematic in top games (Dinho and Rino, Seedorf as well, but we have our backs to the walls with Pirlo and Pato out If it were up to me non of those 3 would be playing in the Inter match). Inter fans are hoping for Rino to play, that should be enough to convince you

You were singing Boateng's praises just a couple of weeks ago, he's been doing great and really gives us that final ingredient we were missing in midfield. Rino when compared to Flamini and Ambro, has no business being on that pitch, unless both are injured. If you go back through threads you will see the countless arguments me and kurt had about Rino, but sadly Rino is no longer good enough to be a starter for us. Especially when we have such better options to play instead of him. Also Rino vs Boateng shouldn't really come into this, since both are completely different players.

I would prefer Gattuso to start over Boateng in this match. It's going to sound strange since Gattuso got the red card last year, but I think Boateng might be a little too reckless in a match of this pressure, and much more of a red card threat. I say let the experienced Gattuso bring it in the first half and have Boateng come in when Gattuso runs out of gas, at a point where he's seen the match/atmosphere/tempo from the sideline and hopefully is able to get in the flow of it easier than at start.

First of all, it's so annoying I only see you reading this topic after you posted, that's annoying when it comes to editing my posts. I edited the Boateng part away, because indeed he has been good, though Gattuso has been even better IMO (and I prefer Flamini over Prince, at least for now), but I agree they are different players. That's also a reason why I edited it away.


Huge difference is that Dinho plays cr@p all the time, while Rino does rarely (this season), and when Ronaldinho plays cr@p it causes A WHOLE LOT more than just us having trouble scoring. In fact, playing Dinho makes our whole team, mainly our midfield, and therefore also our attack, play like cr@p.

_________________________________________


It doesn't sound strange at all. Those are very good reasons I have been thinking about also.

So you want a Rino, Ambro, Flamini 3 man mid against Inter? Uneccaptable imo. That midfield won't be able to control the tempo, simply because non of them are ball players, all are destroyers. Which would be a big problem, against BARI we conceeded twice while playing those 3, simply because we had no control over the tempo of the game, against Palermo we had complete control simply because of the midfield3 we had in place and only conceeded because of Abbiati


It's not my problem that you're slow


Imo that problem was so far from Dinho/Seedorf/Robinho related. Before when we had that Pirlo, Boateng, Rino midfield we played every option at AM, never really worked, why? Not because of Seedorf, Dinho or Robinho. It was precisely because of the 3 behind them. Seedorf barely ran against Palermo, but he looked good, why when before he looked like cr@p? because those 3 behind him quickly won the ball, covered him, moved the ball quickly to his feet and Boateng and Flamini were always available to him when he ran forward. All of this is something we didn't see when we had Pirlo, Rino and Boateng. You had Pirlo defending, Rino doing god knows what and Boa running like a headless chicken all over the place. Thus the AM, no matter who that is would find it tough, Dinho/Seedorf/Robinho dropping behind the circle to try and get a touch? Never going to work. Imo it wasn't the players but the system.

Rino is good for the smaller games, I have no trouble with it if Allegi wants to rest someone, but please for the love of everything pure in this world, don't play him against Inter!! I want to win this so bad like you wouldn't believe!! I know some Inter fans that are going to the San Siro, I want them to come back disappointed and miserable

Agreed, great post, han. Great post.

Don't think I ever read that from you

The midfield 3 from last night needs to start again, they were solid, mobile and did control most of the game. Rino can be back up.

Also i feel Amelia should be given a start, Abbiati is very shaky just now. I am losing confidence in him game by game.

Ibra Robbie upfront. Pato and Pippo out, saddens me a lot but it will be interesting to see which forwards come onto the bench.

Just because the forth midfielder or the AM wont have a hard work Roni should start because whenever he started he made few assists but never really helped to defend but in the attack he is still good. And pirlo and Roni can apsolutelly play together but pirlo should play the DM then and not always put everything on dinhos shoulders because lets be honest pirlo never defend so well because he likes to play with the ball in his feet , so this isnt just ronis problems this is a little bit deeper. Bah, simply it is not important who plays because they are all big players but they just have to give everything on the pitch and the result will come for sure, i just hate watching Pirlo and Dinho and Seedorf walking in the moment the teams are pressing us, or even better when they have the ball and those three just watching, this is my only problem with them, for other things, they are unique.

In the big games only one of Dinho. Seedorf or Pirlo can play imo. And the obvious choice there is Pirlo.

For smaller games where the tempo is really set by us, and the opposing teams park the bus then I'm ok with Pirlo replacing Boateng in midfield and Dinho or Seedorf playing the AM position, but for such big games, we need to have that muscle as well as energy and stamina in midfield. Thus it shouldn't contain Pirlo. Pirlo should be up relieved of defensive duties and only focuses on creating. While the midfield 3 work hard around him

I totally disagree, we should understand him while he is not defending but we are killing Seedorf and Roni while they are not defending and they shouldnt play because pirlo isnt defending. I think he would defend if Mou would coach him. We have double criteria here, we cant justify pirlo for the same thing we kill Roni and Seedorf. I agree Pirlo should play but i dont understand the thinking, why he shouldnt defend? He is a midfielder, creative but he still needs to cover the player.

Pirlo defends all the time. Especially when Gattuso plays and leaves him all alone at the back because he goes on horrible and futile runs. He shouldnt have to defend because we have four other midfielders who are more physically capable when they do what they are supposed to.

LOL i love it. it's soooo true. Gattuso should have retired after 2007... this is just overkill

Rino will not be playing in the usual box to box role. He will be playing as a pure DM who doesn't deviate more than 10 yards from the centre circle.

I'm pretty confident it will work. In the last match KPB was the one person who looked like upsetting the balance when we were defending, simply because he was nowhere to be seen. I keep wondering why people see him running like mad and thinking he's got great energy..when the fact is he's doing it to cover the spaces left over.

In any case, it's a toss up for me between Flamini and KPB. One of them will start from the bench.


-------------DEFENCE-----------------
---------------Rino--------------------
-----Ambro----------Flam/KPB-------
-------------Zee/R80------------------
--------------------------Robinho-------
------------Ibra-------------------------


If Pirlo is fit, I'd play him and Robinho/R80 in a 4-3-2-1 formation...with Ibra as sole striker. Robinho will definitely need to drop deep in our match.

at at rino place for me and flamini and kpb the remaining 2 in midfield.... then i think ibra should play behind the main stiker but if it is robinho not too sure bcoz robinho has been terrible with finishing..

What main striker? It turns out Robinho and Ibra are the only strikers we have left. Pato and Pippo are out.

yea for this match ibra should play closer to goal but in general i think he should be behind the other stiker. had robinho not been missing those stitter i would have played him ahead of ira but we cant afford to miss any of face to face chances against inter

Robinho's finishing is terrible these days. so is Ibra's. if there's anyone who can score for us, it's Ambro.

How is it a toss up Jack? Rino has been average at best while Flamini in my eyes has more then done enough to steel Rino's place in the line-up. Also a 3 man midfield with 3 DMs should never happen, just too much destroyers, and no one who can really play the ball around, control the tempo etc. KPB is the final missing piece to that.

Flamini indeed has been doing very well, while Boateng not so much lately. Not saying he has done bad, but others have done better. What you guys want from Boateng, Flamini is doing it better. So Flamini needs to play, while Boateng, not necessary. I prefer Gattuso, he and Flamini are beasts, I like that against Inter. Since we have no Pirlo, it has to be Ambrosini in his position, and Seedorf as AM. So my preference goes to Seedorf in front of Flamini, Ambrosini and Gattuso(or MAYBE Boateng - both options are fine to me, as long no Dinho starts of course).