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| Wednesday 16 July, 2008 |
| Blog: Wrong-aldinho |
| Milanisti may be hailing the arrival of Ronaldinho today, but Antonio Labbate thinks the Brazilian isn’t needed at San Siro |
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So Milan have finally got their man. Pending the outcome of a medical later today, which will be passed unless he breaks the scales, Ronaldinho will complete his move to the Rossoneri for around £16m. Yet it doesn’t make sense, it just doesn’t make sense.
How many times have we heard Vice-President Adriano Galliani plead poverty this summer after being scared off by the valuation of some of Europe’s top stars? So it is somewhat amusing that the same individual would fly off to Spain and spend the money he has on a player that the Italian giants seemingly have no need for.
The Brazilian represents the icing on the cake to Milan’s transfer campaign, but the problem is that the cake is crumbling. What real wisdom is there in adding Ronaldinho to a squad which already consists of Kaka, Alexandre Pato and Clarence Seedorf? Especially when the side is crying out for reinforcements elsewhere. Who’s putting together the outfit’s transfer strategy? Alessio Secco?
Even if we forget the club’s need for a new No 1 – Silvio Berlusconi has never spent big on a goalkeeper – it’s quite clear that the club should have invested in a fresh central defender and, especially, a centre-forward. Instead, boss Carlo Ancelotti will now have to design a side which is overflowing with attacking midfielders and second strikers, but no target man who can head a ball.
The reality is that Milan perhaps needed Ronaldinho two years ago when they first made their interest clear, not now. He could admittedly turn out to be the signing of the century if he can return to the player we all loved to watch in 2006, but back then he was a certainty and today he is a gamble. A massive one at that.
That’s why this move stinks of a Berlusconi PR exercise. He’s primarily bought Ronaldinho for himself and for the fans, not for the Coach. After all, it is no coincidence that the deal with Barca was completed less than 24 hours before Milan meet up for pre-season training. Expect Berlusconi to fly into Milanello later today to take the plaudits for a transfer which the club insist is a coup, but one which in the long run may turn out to be a costly error.
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He's still world class, but an attacker would have been good!
Mikkel
I admit, Milan did need a centre-forward but the signing of Ronaldinho is a superb one. Ancelotti will just have to adapt the team to play more like Roma do. They play neat football without the need of a dedicated striker. Maybe it’ll all work out fine in the end. Dinho wants to show that he is still a great player and he can do it. If he starts playing the way he did two or three years ago then I think we’ll see another Scudetto for Milan!
Farhad, Luton, UK
It's clear once again that Ancelotti is being ignored by Berlusconi and Galliani who buy names to appease themselves and the fans. It is perhaps Ancelotti's lack of resistance to them that has ensured his safety despite horrific failure in the last two seasons.
Flamini was a good signing, however, he too was unessential – though not to the same degree as Ronaldinho. I cannot figure a formation where Milan can play their best players. One thing is for sure though, Ronaldinho will provide some much needed cash in return, simply from his presence. Milan fans will rush out to buy Ronaldinho shirts to hide the pile of other big name failures Milan has taken on in recent years – notably the fat Ronaldo, Gilardino and Vieri.
One major issue with Ronaldinho's signing – and subsequent cashing in on – may be the issue of his squad number. Would anyone want to take a guess at his number with 9 & 10 taken? Gilardino's abandoned 11 shirt is likely, but it will make a mockery of Nike's R10 campaign in a similar way that Ronaldo's transfer to Real would see C7 come up against Raul for that number. It may sound stupid but this will be of major annoyance to Nike and they will pass that headache on to Milan who will have to try and suit all parties.
K Gilmour, Glasgow
This article is just written by someone who doesn't know much about soccer or Milan. Who has seen Milan play last season has recognized that there are no chances created if Kaka or Seedorf are not at their best. Ronaldinho is what Milan needed most. When there are no chances upfront they don't need a striker who is able to head the ball in. Milan haven’t had a header since Bierhoff.
With Ronaldinho, Milan have a player who fits perfectly with Pato and Kaka and who is able to decide a game on his own. Who would be so stupid and choose a goalkeeper instead of Dinho at the age of 28? This is complete nonsense. Milan will probably have the best offence in Europe now.
Dominik Ruter
As if Milan didn't already have enough ageing, fading stars! Bring back Shevchenko and you'll have a full house! Perhaps they're trying to emulate Southampton from the early 80s!
Richard Pardey
Who would be so stupid and choose a goalkeeper instead of Dinho at the age of 28? Sebastien Frey would be of more use to this Milan than Dinho.
Craig ‘stupid’ Jones
If Amantino Mancini is worth £10m, then a former World and European Footballer of the Year is a bargain at £16m. Despite an injury hit season, Ronaldinho still scored goals for Barcelona. He is of similar age to Mancini but comes with more goals, international recognition and a career filled with personal, club and international honours.
Yes he is a gamble, but the same applied to every player that a club signs. Look at Sheva. He went for double what Ronaldinho has, and he has turned out to be the biggest and most expensive flop in Premier League history. If Milan didn't take gambles on so called washed out and so called overrated players like Seedorf, Pirlo, Cafu, Inzaghi and many more, then they wouldn't have had the seven or so fruitful years.
He has come to an organisation that expects hard work in a family environment. Ronaldinho has already showed dedication to his sport by taking a pay cut, and I have no doubt we will see his hunger come the first day of the season. There are no guarantees in football, but no one can say they wouldn't be happy with Ronaldinho joining their beloved team. Who do you support Labbate? Maybe sour grapes?
Rosario
How good is Ronaldinho? The fact that only Milan and Manchester City seriously wanted him speaks volumes. And everyone should ask why Barcelona didn’t want him anymore. City had a lucky escape!
Dario, Manchester
The best signing of the season so far. I think only Ronaldo or Messi, or my super hero Kaka, are better than Dinho at the moment. But who knows what will happen next season when he wins the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup...
Abdulahi
Milan played horrible football last season because most times, the passes were not coming in. Gilardino looked a flop because he was starved of clear-cut assists. Now Milan can still play well on a bad Pirlo day because we now have someone that can hold and pass the ball well. The world is already at our feet. Thank you Berlusconi. Milan for life!
Dimeji, Nigeria
Dear Mr Berlusconi & Mr Galliani, what on earth are you two thinking by splashing £16m for a former star? Is it for better merchandise and season ticket sales? You have Kaka, Alexandre Pato and Clarence Seedorf already, you don't need any other fantasista. While Inzaghi gets older, slower and weaker, you don't have any real target man – a powerful striker with aerial ability.
We need a bomber like Didier Drogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Splashing £20m on Berbatov or Huntelaar would be better than the money spent on a rusty Ronaldinho. And what about the defence? Finally Mr Ancelotti, what kind of formation will you play next season? 4-2-3-1? Remember that you don't have a real centre-forward.
Aldi
As a Milan fan I am absolutely ecstatic. How can anyone not be happy to have Ronaldinho in their team? In addition with all this talk of centre-forwards, it is obvious that you have not been watching Milan play in the last few years. Ancelotti has been continually trying to sneak in the Christmas Tree formation because he prefers to have a number of creative players in deep positions rather than out and out strikers. This is the reason Gilardino struggled so much.
Now he can get away with playing that formation because he will have Ronaldinho, Kaka and Seedorf behind Pato. Pato may not be an English style centre-forward, but he undoubtedly has shown he has goal poaching tendencies. If that does not work then we have got Borriello and Inzaghi.
Meanwhile, if you look at our squad you will see we have six centre-backs (Nesta, Kaladze, Bonera, Maldini, Simic and Digao) so that's the reason we have not signed a centre-back. I admit goalkeepers are a worry, but Kalac did well last season and Abbiati has been in and around the Italy squad for a long time. Looks like a complete squad, though as usual a little old!
Fred, London
Milan fans are living in a dream world. They’ve only signed Ronaldinho because they couldn’t afford a centre-forward. If Adebayor was available for £16m then they would have got him, not the Brazilian. Turning to Fred’s defence of the defence, well that is laughable. Nesta is class, but Bonera and Kaladze are liabilities, Maldini will have fitness issues, Simic isn’t trusted by Ancelotti and Digao is there because his brother is Kaka. Milan are incomplete.
Tony G
How much ignorance. Bonera was one of the best central defenders in the last campaign, if you push me I would say even better than Nesta. Kaladze is a rock. The problem is not the centre of the defence, it is the defensive midfielder where a tired Pirlo and a below level Gattuso sucks in the defensive aspect. The lad who said that Bierhoff was the last good header specialist forgot a guy who scored some goals with the head – Andriy Shevchenko. Ask Inter about him...they love him!
Francisco Natteri
Ronaldinho is probably this season’s best buy for AC. We needed him and Italian football needed him. I’m sick of all the good players going to teams like Man City or West Ham. Serie A is the place to be. Best fans, best stadiums, best clubs, best players.
Ronaldinho will get his form back with Milan and they will bring the best out of him. Look at Seedorf, Pirlo, Inzaghi, even the so called fat Ronaldo. Ronaldo did not do too bad – 8 goals in 14. If he was fitter we would have seen the best of Ronaldo.
Plus we don’t need Adebayor. Borriello is just as good and will have plenty of opportunities to score with the likes of Ronaldinho, Seedorf, Kaka, Pirlo, Pato. C’mon, even I would score with those five behind me.
To be honest we need some new young defenders. Why didn’t we sign Daniel Alves from Sevilla? He would have suited our style of play and he is exceptionally good. Or even Dossena from Udinese who went to Liverpool? I hope that none of our defenders will get injured because the season is long and hard and we will not have cover. Galliani look at our defence please!
Gino
Labbate completely missed the point. The signing wasn't about bringing in a player to help the team win. The signing was based on profits. With the addition of Ronaldinho the club immediately sold approximately 3,000 more season tickets and will sell God only knows how many Ronaldinho shirts!
Everyone knows Emmanuel Adebayor would have been the better signing at this point. The club needs a tall, powerful centre-forward. They already have their creative playmaker in Kaka. But let me ask you this, how many more season tickets/Adebayor shirts would the club have sold if they signed Emmanuel Adebayor? Not many!
I reiterate, Mr Labbate, you can attack the decision all you want but this was the right move for Milan. It's not about winning the UEFA Cup this upcoming season. It's about putting people in seats and shirts on people's backs. I'm guessing you never tried your hand at selling did you?
Mark Pozzi
Anyone who watched Milan last season would know that one of the biggest problems was the midfield. Whenever Pirlo or Kaka were ‘off duty’, due mostly to exhaustion, we struggled to break down opposition and create for the strikers to finish. Seedorf blows hot and cold – more cold than hot, actually – so in most games the attack is always isolated from the midfield. So in this regard, Dinho is a much-needed addition to the squad. True a striker or a central defender might be more of a priority, but to say buying is purely wasteful is too simplistic. He might be a gamble, but it is a gamble worth taking.
Sani, Kano, Nigeria
The money is not an issue because Milan will make that back and most likely a profit from shirt sales and merchandise, much like Real Madrid did with Beckham. The problem is that Ronaldinho will never be the same player he was at Barcelona due to the two things players can do nothing about – injuries and old age.
I know 28 is not old, but Ronaldinho’s game is based around explosive acceleration that he will simply not have anymore. He will need to adapt his game, like for example Michael Owen who quickly realised that his serious knee injury meant that his pace over the first 10 metres will no longer shake a defender.
Ronaldinho reminds me of Ronaldo who did have a great 2002 World Cup and a few good years for Madrid, but never looked like the player he was at Barcelona or PSV when he was arguably the greatest striker of all time.
Ronaldinho like Figo, Zidane and Ronaldo, has had his prime when it seems as if everything they touch turns to gold. All players have around two or three years at the absolute top before they decline. Obviously they don't become bad players, but they are not the same player they once were.
In footballing and commercial terms Ronaldinho was a deal I feel Milan could not turn down even though on a team basis they knew they should. Milan are slowly becoming the retirement home for Serie A which is a title no team wants.
John |
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