Best game: Without question, the 3-0 home thrashing of Man United. That was the one match that got us thinking, "Hey, you know, we could actually win the whole thing once again." We never gave up hope, even after we lost the first leg 3-2 and were seemingly on our way out. The 2-0 win at Bayern is a close second.
Worst games: Inter sweeping the season series for the first time in over 20 years. That had many of us in a despair that maybe our time had indeed passed and Inter were the new kings of Milano. Our Coppa Italia nosedive against Roma (both legs) had me up in arms. I'm not counting the Lille loss because we already had our group sewn up and therefore fielded the second unit.
Best player: Not even close in terms of the CL, and I don't even have to say his name. Without him we may not have even made it out of the knockout round. Then there's Gattuso, simply for being, well, Gattuso. Though he was disappointingly blah in the final, Seedorf was a man possessed in the second half of the season. And the way Sandro picked up from where he left off after the injury, it's as if he'd never left.
Honorable mentions: I'm definitely including you-know-who here. For all the kvetching about his form, he kept us afloat earlier this season and had a bevy of clean sheets when we couldn't score to save our lives, and was outstanding in the CL group stage. Ronaldo gave us a much-needed kick in the pants domestically. Though his play has considerably declined, Maldini contributed the usual and oh-so-important intangibles in his limited match time. Bonera stepped up after an awful start to the season, and Pirlo kept his form steady despite running on fumes after the World Cup. Max regained his Fourth Quarter Ambro (killer in the clutch) status.
Worst player: I'll have to say our biggest dud was Oliveira. Even after the kidnapping ordeal ended, he regularly froze up whenever he got the ball near goal. As usual, Gila and the CL were like hot bacon grease and cold water (oodles of missed shots and The Dive Heard 'Round the World), but I'm cutting him some slack because, his attitude notwithstanding, 15 Serie A goals isn't too shabby. Nobody was expecting Borriello to perform any miracles, but the sheer stupidity that resulted in his doping suspension alone warrants his inclusion.
Disappointment: This may sound anathema to some of you, considering the aftermath of Udinese last week, but Billy's performance in our 3-1 CI loss to Roma stood out the most for me. Two goals were the result of his mistakes and had many wondering if he'd remained for one season too many. Perhaps our expectations of Storari were impossibly off the chart after his debut vs. Livorno, but six goals in the next two appearances isn't going to cut it. He and Oliveira were living proof that a solid debut does not a season make. Dida did have us teetering dangerously on the brink vs. Bayern and ManU, but thankfully turned it around in both return legs. And what on earth were we doing, losing 2-0 to newly-promoted Atalanta earlier in the season?
Expectations before the season started: Let's just say I make a lousy prognosticator. With Juve gone, and given Inter's usual domestic mediocrity, in all honesty I expected Milan to cruise to the Scudetto, with Gila picking up the scoring reins that were left behind by Sheva's desire to learn English. Then Calciopoli. Then the 8 points out the window. And then Inter's unexpected storm through the league. Many of us here even let the word "relegation" slip past our lips. Suddenly, 2007-07 had become the dreaded "transition year." Therefore, hello, third consecutive trophyless season.
Turning point of the season: One fateful stretch in February and March. People were saying how Milan weren't good enough and had an easy CL group (which we did, of course) when we squeaked by Celtic. The 2-2 Bayern draw at home seemed to reinforce this tenfold. Then we blanked them in their own backyard. Ronaldo brought the fire that had been missing from our Serie A campaign for nearly all season. The end of Contractgate finally provided some stability in the keeper stable, and to expect Dida to immediately pull off miracles the very next day against Inter was unrealistic. I attribute all of the above to the much-mocked trip to Malta that incredibly paid off in spades.
Moments: Billy's heartfelt send-off. The fact that there were three English teams in the CL Final Four and all of them went home empty-handed. Carletto's deserved elation following more than 18 months of Galliani's "vote-of-confidence" bushwah. Just the overall feeling that we'd banished Istanbul to the history books, but a small part of that night will forever remain like a scar.
Best transfer: First time in nearly three seasons that offseason and January transfers paid off. Ronnie, well, that's obvious. Gourcuff helped out here and there but he's handcuffed by Carlo's reluctance to play him for large stretches. Favalli went from bust to cult favorite when he magically transmogrified into Favallinho in April. Oddo was a shrewd pickup. Just needs to work on crosses.
Worst transfer: Grimi. What was the purpose of bringing him here, Berlu, other than for him to be our token Argentine and collect butt splinters on the bench?
Best goal: Kaka chugging down the pitch like a bullet train and splitting Artur Boruc's wickets to score the goal that got us into the quarterfinals.
Moment I lost patience with the team: When we once again displayed our recent Coppa Italia ineptitude, losing to AC Arezzo (!) and, as previously mentioned, our horrow show against Roma. Then the stretch back in September-October when the strikers couldn't hit water if they kicked the ball into the Pacific. It was so bad back then that Marek was our leading scorer at the time (with two Serie A goals)! And the agonizing months and months of the management's endless pratter about Buffon and Ronaldinho.
Key factor for CL success: Assuming we're talking about this season, the belief in ourselves. Sounds corny, I know, but it allowed us to end Bayern's 16-year home CL winning streak, and SAF's string of unbeaten return legs following a ManU victory.
What I want to see next season: More of the same late-season form. And the C-word: consistency, especially in Serie A. That's what allowed Inter to lock up the Scudetto so early on. We should not blow off Serie A and save our best just for the CL. At least we'll have Ronaldo for a full season if he can stay healthy. And we MUST accept the fact that 2008 will likely be Paolo's last season. Yes, he's an undisputed Hall of Famer, but you saw his sheer exhaustion as he waited in line to receive his medal. If he plays beyond next season, he'll barely be able to walk. And I've said it a zillion times, but our D needs new blood. Besides the advancing age of Paolo, Cafu is fast becoming Mr. Irrelevant.
Well, that's my take on the season, and forgive me if I forgot anything important.