A Quick Look at Milan's 2010/2011 Serie A Campaign
By Tim Fontenault (Member) on August 17, 2010 - Bleacher's Report
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/438030-a-quick-look-at-milans-20102011-serie-a-campaign
Massimo Cebrelli/Getty Images Once again, Milan begin their quest for their first Scudetto since 2004.
Milan are looking to improve on a season which saw them take seventy points from thirty eight Serie A matches last season. Also, for the second time in three years, they were knocked out in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions' League, falling 7-2 on aggregate to Manchester United. The Rossoneri were knocked out in the quarterfinals of Coppa Italia.
The season begins August 29th with a match against Lecce, who were promoted this season after being sent down to Serie B in 2009.
The club have made a couple of changes leading into this season.
One notable change is in sponsorship. Milan are now sponsored by Emirates Airlines, whose name appears on Milan's uniforms.
To more important changes, the most noticeable will be the mutual parting of the club and one year and done manager Leonardo, who will be replaced by 2008/2009 coach of the year in Italy, Masimilliano Allegri, who joins from Cagliari.
Several players left the club. Among them are Dida (end of contract), Marco Storari (sold to Juventus), and Guiseppe Favalli (retirement). Mancini and David Beckham both returned to their respective clubs after loans from January to June.
Several new faces enter Milan this year. Marco Amelia and Sokratis Papasthapoulos (known simply as Sokratis or Papa) join from Genoa, with Amelia on loan with an option to buy. Mario Yepes joins from Chievo Verona. Milan are also expected to complete a deal for Kevin-Prince Boateng very shortly. The Ghanaian international is in Milan ahead of an anticipated sale from Portsmouth to Genoa who will immediately loan him to Milan with the option to buy.
The talk at the Milanello is very positive, despite arriving on July 20th to the site of fans displaying banners of protest and lack of confidence in the club, primarily the front office, in regards to the inactiveness in the transfer window over the past several seasons.
The talk is rightfully positive. Milan have a chance to right the ship this season. Leonardo was not the right man for the job. He is an inexperienced coach. In fact, Milan was his first club after having been the technical director at the club for several years. Allegri is a very experienced coach, and one who is good at getting more out of his team than anyone expected. Did anyone really expect to make an eleven point leap and climb from 14th to 9th in his first year at the club? Granted, they did finish 16th last season on 44 points, but last year seemed to be a year when anybody could have finished anywhere. The only teams we knew were safe at the top were Inter and Roma.
I say rightfully because this team does have a chance to do something positive this season. The club will return to the championship campaign healthy and hungry. Part of the problem last season was the inability for Milan to remain healthy all season. Pato, Ronaldinho, Borriello, Pirlo, Gattuso, Seedorf, Ambrosini, Nesta, Silva, and the majority of the rest of the team, was hurt at one point or another last season.
The loss of Pato was very harmful to Milan's pursuit of second place, which they were in contention for until Pato went down against Udinese, however, it was the midfield that gave the most trouble, as the line was the most inconsistent, unhealthy, and out of shape part of the pitch for Milan.
Milan have been in pursuit of a midfielder for some time, with the names Clint Dempsey, Keisuke Honda, Robinho, Giovanni dos Santos, and more being thrown about. Reports have placed Kevin-Prince Boateng at the Milanello as he is prepared to join the club this week.
As I have said in earlier articles, I believe that in order for Milan to compete, all they truly needed was to sign a young, talented midfielder the likes of Boateng. The additions of Papa and Amelia, along with the return to health of the critical players up top and in the midfield make Milan contenders.
It is impossible it seems to predict the lineup of the club heading into the 29th, as everyone has their own ideas. I will do the best I can to formulate a line up here:
GK: Marco Amelia
RB: Gianluca Zambrotta
CBs: Alessandro Nesta, Thiago Silva
LB: Luca Antonini
DM: Kevin-Prince Boateng
CM: Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini (C)
AM: Ronaldinho
FWs: Marco Borriello, Pato
Subs:
GK: Christian Abiati
DFs: Sokratis Papasthapoulas, Daniele Bonera
MFs: Gennaro Gattuso, Mathieu Flamini, Clarence Seedorf
FW: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Milan may also consider taking advantage of some young Primavera players. When it comes to Coppa Italia or league matches before the Champions' League, players like Alexander Merkel, Giacomo Beretta, and Mitja Novinic may get the call-up. They are also likely replacements should anyone get hurt, a very likely situation. Merkel has been a standout in the preseason and could get the call as a replacement midfielder before Ignazio Abate.
Milan need to take advantage of a schedule that saves the adversity for November. The first three games are where Milan need to set the bar, as they face promoted clubs Lecce and Cessana, as well as Catania.
The end of September sees ties against Lazio and Genoa, two challenging teams. Milan needs to play these teams the way they did in the first half of the season last year, when they defeated both: 2-1 against Lazio and a 5-2 thrashing of the Giofrani. The second half saw a 1-1 Lazio draw and a 1-0 loss to Genoa.
After seemingly less competitive matches with Parma and Chievo Verona, Milan end October with Napoli and Juventus, but the tough gets tougher.
After a break against Bari, the Rossoneri and Allegri begin the first past their toughest four week stretches of the season.
Since the schedule repeats at the opposite venue in the second half of the season, Milan will twice have four week spans where they are tested against Palermo, Inter Milan, Fiorentina, and Sampdoria, all teams that competed for the Champions' League spots eventually won by Inter, Roma, Milan, and Sampdoria. Palermo swept Milan last year, in 2-0 and 3-1 thrashings while Sampdoria defeated Milan in a crucial late April match.
This is where Milan will be tested. This is when we find out everything we have wondered about Milan. How will Allegri handle the big matches? How strong is the defense? Can our goalkeepers perform the way they did in years past? Most importantly, how competitive can our midfield make us? Despite the aging, can they perform at a high level? Will a couple of small signings be enough?
After the torture of those four matches, Roma and Udinese lay in waiting in the final five fixtures of the first and second half. If all goes well, Milan should end up in a spot to enter directly into the Champions' League Group Stage next season.
I should not say torture, expect Milan to take at least seven points from these four matches. Milan appear stronger, more lively all across the field, healthier, and ready to play. This is definitely not the Milan of the past three seasons. Expect this team to be competitive and go far in all competitions this season. I know we all say that this year is the year every single year, but this year seems different. I am not saying they will definitely win the Scudetto this year, Inter are still very strong, but they will make it a challenge for the San Siro rivals.
You want an early Coach of the Year candidate? Masimilliano Allegri could quite possibly win the award again this year, as Milan should improve greatly on the seventy points last season, as they look to become the Milan of old.
Here are some quick player notes:
Players who will star: Pato, Ronaldinho, Thiago Silva, Andrea Pirlo, Luca Antonini
Players who need to have big seasons: Marco Borriello, Massimo Ambrosini, the goalkeepers (Abiati, Amelia), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Players who need to improve: Ignazio Abate, Oguchi Onyewu
Young and upcoming: Alexander Merkel, Giacomo Beretta, Ignazio Abate, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Newcomer of the year: Kevin-Prince Boateng
For the team:
Serie A: 2nd Place
UEFA Champions' League: Quarterfinals
Coppa Italia: Semifinals