LAZIO ARRIVE ON TUESDAY | AC MILAN



The final midweek round of the Serie A season will take place next week and Milan face Lazio at the San Siro on Tuesday for the 68th time.

(In the photo - action from Milan-Lazio on March, 28, 2010)

MILAN - Three days after the game at Catania, Milan are back in action on Tuesday when they will play Lazio in the 23rd round of the season at the San Siro.

Of the 67 games, Milan have won 39, drawn 19 and lost just nine. The Rossoneri have scored 136 goals, eight of those have come from the penalty spot.

Last season's match finished in a draw with Marco Borriello scoring for the home side, with Lichsteiner equalising. The last Rossoneri success was on September 21, 2008 which finished 4-1, with Pato and Kaka on the scoresheet as did Zambrotta.

The season before that was also a 1-1 draw and before that Milan won 2-1 with Filippo Inzaghi and Ricardo Oliveira scoring. The game in 2005-06 ended 2-0 thanks to two goals from Kaka. The encounter in 2004-05 was on February 6, 2005 and once again it was 2-1 for Milan. This time Andriy Shevchenko and Hernan Crespo were on the scoresheet.

The last Milan defeat was back in 1989-90 which finished 1-0 with Paolo Maldini scoring an own goal.

The game with the most goals came on October 18, 1992 which finished 5-3 to Milan: 13' Gullit, 15' Papin, 34' rig. 61'pen. Van Basten, 80' Simone (MILAN); 21' Winter, 52' Fuser, 65' Signori (LAZIO). And on February 8, 1931, 5-3: 13', 82' Capra, 14', 54', 87' Moretti (MILAN); 9', 79' Piola, 65' D'Odorico.

Lazio will come into the game on the back of a home win over Fiorentina and are currently on 40 points, with 12 wins, four draws and six defeats. They have scored nine and conceded 10 goals but have only picked one point in the last four away games, with that draw at Genoa.

BACK TO WORK | AC MILAN



Milan were back training this morning after their win at Catania last night

MILANELLO - After defeating Catania, Milan were back training at Milanello to prepare for the game against Lazio at the San Siro on Tuesday.

The team started the session at 10.30 with the players going through a light work-out in the gym for half an hour.

The players then divided into two groups with those who played last night remaining in the gym; Abbiati, Roma, Pato, Flamini, Oddo, Papastathopoulos, Oduamadi, Jankulovski, and new-arrival Didac Vilà, in his first work-out, went out to the central pitch for a five-a-side game which Massimiliano Allegri watched.

The players then worked on some tactical drills. As for individual players, Pirlo ran lengths of the pitch, Seedorf went through his own work-out and after spending the first part of the session in the gym, the defender ran some drills out of the pitch.

Allegri will hold his press conference tomorrow at 14.00 and the team will train at 15.30..

I think it's time for us to accept the fact that Sokratis will never be considered a valid alternative, at least as long as Allegri will be our coach. The fact we've now signed Legrottaglie must be like a kick in the teeth for the poor guy.

or maybe he just isn't good enough?? I don't know it could be alot of things but he hasn't shown anything on the field that screams out starting 11.

Not good enough? What has Bonera done that showed any potential at all? When he replaced Nesta, he played a superb match. I the Coppa game he was also more then solid. So I'm not inclined to say he's not ready. If he isn't ready, the Strasser and Merkel are galaxies away.

And yet, Papa who has committed errors which if measured are 10% of Bonera still only seems to break in when a body is injured.

So true. If Papa was frozen for the Cesena game from the beginning of the season, Bonera should have been banned for life for the Udinese disgrace. But yet Allegri still trusts him. I'll be really disappointed if Bonera is gonna be our CB tomorrow.

Put Legrottaglie instead of Papa.

or maybe he just isn't good enough?? I don't know it could be alot of things but he hasn't shown anything on the field that screams out starting 11.

A win here and even with 15 games to go after it, you'd have to start thinking there's only 2 teams realistically in the title race. Everyone else will be 9/10+ points behind even if they win their game in hand.

Time to start getting excited if we pick up 3 points!

I think we'll win han. Lazio are quite a beatable side. Plus, they have their own absences, Zarate and Floccari most of all.

Just play Pato. this is a home game and he likes scoring against Lazio.

I am quite certain Pato will play from the start.

There is no logical reason as to why Bonera should be ahead of Sokratis in the pecking order aside from Allegri being a douche rolleyes.gif

Hopefully...

Question is, who will he come in for? Robinho or Cassano? Both have their pros and cons imo

Question is, who will he come in for?

Easy, Cassano. Allegri won't bench Robinho, he's having a great moment. Cassano isn't ready yet to play two games in a row. Here's the probable line-up:



I'd say, defense aside, that's a very competitive line-up.

If Abate won't be available, then expect Oddo to play on the right. The rest should be confirmed. Also, I'm really curious to see Dídac Vilà play some minutes.

I just wish thiAgo could play cb for this one... Also is sokratis injured? I can see merkel doing well against a team like lazio outside of foggia and zarate there is no speed on their team imo. With kozak in form i would hate to play bonnerA. Maybe bonnera has a rich daddy who does some buissness with berlu. Its the only way his inclusion could warrAnt sokratis' exclusion

No, Sokratis is not injured. He should be on the bench. Zarate and Floccari won't be available for Lazio. They'll be playing with only one striker (Kozak) supported by Hernanes and Mauri. Thus, I think playing Thiago in front of the defense is a good idea for this match. But it's not like we have any other solutions in midfield anyway.

First of all, he's called Oduamadi, without the 'n'. Secondly, why are you so obsessed with him? I'd give you right if you called Strasser or Merkel, or even Verdi, but Oduamadi has proven nothing. He was a joke in pre-season, and I remember that one performance against Catania in September, when people started laughing at his clumsiness. I'd pass if I were you.

it won't happen but i'd love to see D. Villa and Odumandi play this game smile.gif

I know that talking about shirt numbers is very childish, but why can't they choose normal numbers, like 2, 5, 12, 22, 24 etc? Jeez!!!

I was specifically talking about Vila.

As for the players you mentioned, Dinho (as well as Binho) and Ronaldo picked #80 and #99 simply because #10 and #9 weren't available. and Cassano wore #99 at Samp as well so it's not unusual.

Don't know about Luca...

FLAMINI IS BACK | AC MILAN



This afternoon the Rossoneri had their final training session ahead of tomorrow’s Serie A clash against Lazio. The team trained on the central field. Coach Allegri’s men first did the warm-up, then worked on ball possession and tactics before playing a match amongst the squad. Flamini and new signings Didac Vilà and Legrottaglie trained with the rest of the group. All three have been included in the squad for tomorrow’s game against the Biancocelesti.

(IN THE PHOTO Flamini in the group)

MILANELLO - Milan’s season continues without a break. Two days after the away game at Catania another massive match awaits the Rossoneri, as coach Allegri’s team is set to host Lazio at the San Siro tomorrow evening.

The team began training on the central field at 15.00 CET, after Massimiliano Allegri’s pre-game press conference. The first twenty minutes were dedicated to warm-up, then passing drills in couples and groups of three followed.

Afterwards, the Rossoneri did a series of ball possession exercises for about 20-25 minutes, before coach Allegri had them work on tactics, with the match against Lazio in mind. The session finished with the usual match amongst the squad.

As for individuals, Nicola Legrottaglie and Didac Vilà completed the entire practice with the rest of the group, as did Mathieu Flamini.

At the end of the session, coach Allegri named his squad for tomorrow’s game against Lazio:

Abbiati, Roma, Antonini, Bonera, Didac Vilà (no. 35), Jankulovski, Legrottaglie (no. 66), Oddo, Papastathopoulos, Thiago Silva, Yepes, Calvano (no. 54), Emanuelson, Flamini, Merkel, Cassano, Ibrahimovic, Oduamadi, Pato, Robinho.
Unavailable: Amelia, Abate, Nesta, Zambrotta, Ambrosini, Boateng, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Strasser, Inzaghi.
Suspended: Van Bommel.

KEY WORD IS INTENSITY | AC MILAN



Against Lazio the will need to play 'with great intensity, right off the start’, said Massimiliano Allegris in his pre-game press coneference at Milanello today. The Rossoneri coach also welcomed new signing Nicola Legrottaglie, who is set to train with his new teammates this afternoon and then probably will get called up for tomorrow’s game against the Roman side ‘to give a hand’ if needed. As for the formation, coach Allegri said that ‘Ibra will play, I’m still to choose between Cassan and Pato. We’ve lost two men in midfield, but Flamini is back’.

(In the photo, coach Allegri during today’s press conference at Milanello)

MILANELLO – This is what Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri had to say in his pre-game press conference this afternoon:

ON THE FORMATION
‘I’ll see later this afternoon, after the training session. In midfield, we have lost two players, Ambrosini and Van Bommel, to injury, but Flamini should be available again. He’s the only one to recover for this game.
Just as before the game at Catania, I can confirm that in attack Ibra will definitely play, but I don’t know yet about the others. Robinho may play and could be in the starting eleven tomorrow, because physically he’s fine. Then I’ll have to choose between Cassano and Pato. Antonio has played more lately and despite not being in top form from a fitness point of view, he’s been doing well and I’m satisfied with him’.

ON LEGROTTAGLIE’S ARRIVAL AND ON THE TRANSFER MARKET
‘We discussed it with the club and the management was ready to make a quick a move. We’re at the most difficult and most important stage of the season and we have a lot of injured players. In midfield, a lot of players are missing, but they are expected to recover before the injured defenders. Nesta and Zambrotta are still undergoing rehabilitation and Abate is still unavailable as well. We could use Legrottaglie’s experience. This afternoon he’ll train with us and then he could be available for selection for tomorrow’s game.
If his transfer was triggered by Thiago’s new position? Yes, but as I’ve already said, most of all because the injuries suffered by Nesta and Zambrotta, apart from Abate’s problems. Someone like Legrottaglie can be useful and could give us a hand.
A mark out of 10 to Milan’s transfer campaign? I won’t say 10, because 10 would mean perfect and I don't like considering anything that perfect. So I’d say 9’.

ON THE TEAM AND THE SEASON
‘The most important thing for is my players’ commitment. Also on Sunday, they all were ready to help the team. Jankulovski, who this season practically didn’t play before, gave us a hand. as did Oddo again after great performances against Genoa and Napoli before getting injured and then against Bari in the Italian Cup. Yepes is doing a good job as well and so does Papastathopoulos. When I make my decisions I’m serene, because I know that those who’ll play will give their best.
Now I have a lot of players at my disposal, but I think I’ll have no problems managing the squad, but choosing players to field. Those who won’t play in a given match will have to accept my decision calmly, but of course they shouldn’t just put up with it. All of us need to have only one thing in mind: winning. The Champions League list? Yes, it’s true that we’ve promised to Inzaghi to put him on the list. Hopefully, he’ll be available late March and that he’ll have the chance to play for us in the Champions League’.

ON MILAN-LAZIO
‘Lazio are doing pretty well, have great players and a strong team spirit. We’re at a crucial stage of the season, we can’t afford to lose points now. Our objective is getting at least 80 points, which in my opinion should be enough to win the championship. So we need 11 more wins. We have to take one game at a time. Lazio are very strong technically thanks to players like Hernanes, Mauri, Ledesma, Matuzalem, Brocchi and and at the back have a solid defence. They’re good at counter-attacks. We’ll need to be careful and determined. The match at Catania, the one against Lazio and the game against Genoa are three fundamental encounters for us. We’re not looking too much ahead, as I said, we want to take one game at a time.
An adjective for tomorrow’s match? It’s a difficult question. It will be a match in which we’ll need to play with great intensity. It will be important to approach the game with the right attitude. They tend to lower the pace and so we’ll have to try to maintain a high intensity’.

ON ALEXANDRE PATO
‘If he’ll play tomorrow, I’ll expect a great performance from him, like the one he put in against Sampdoria and Cesena, when he was a substitute. Pato’s qualities can’t be doubted and this goes for every Milan player. The championship, the Italian Cup and the Champions League are three competitions in which you have to play with great intensity if you want to do well, as it showed against Catania. At the Massimino, Pato was set to come on in the second half, he warmed up, but then fortunately I waited to make the substitution. If I hadn’t, we would have finished the game with 9 players. I’m very pleased with what he’s doing’.

ON THE WIN AT CATANIA
’It was very important for us because of the three points and because we managed to win the game thanks to sacrifice and determination. You always have to give all you have and because of this I need everyone. Merkel? He’s played a lot recently, he worked a lot in the first half and did great things in a difficult game. For a youngster like him it was a good testing ground’.

I was specifically talking about Vila.

As for the players you mentioned, Dinho (as well as Binho) and Ronaldo picked #80 and #99 simply because #10 and #9 weren't available. and Cassano wore #99 at Samp as well so it's not unusual.

Don't know about Luca...

Cassano wore the 99 at Sampdoria as a tribute to Ronaldo after he chose 99 at Milan
So it's only natural that when he arrived at Milan and 9 was obviously out of the question, 99 would be his to wear.
I actually find 99 acceptable for some reason too, aside from other exceedingly larger and awkward double digits.
I think I can thank R9 for that too.