What We Learnt from the Milan Derby

Last weekend’s humiliation at the hands of Inter taught us many things.

Ultimately, it showed us that Milan are far from the finished product despite what previous performances this year may have indicated.

But, most of us knew this already and even though the team has done magnificently so far this season, much due to the good work of Leonardo, it was only a matter of time before we met a team that knew how to combat us and nullify our armory.

So what exactly did the Derby teach us, or at least confirm what many of us knew already.

1. Gattuso is finished, end of story .

The little feisty Calabrian was recently brought back into the side with the injury to Seedorf being the main reason. And for a couple of weeks there it seemed that Gattuso may still be a useful asset.

Three great wins in a row, including the demolition of Juve in Turin, helped cover over the many cracks that had been appearing in Rino’s game. But the derby last week reminded us all just how much Gattuso is finished as a player.

He was slow and not his old physical self and he almost seemed confused at times. It was no coincidence that Schneijder completely controlled the game (until his sending off) and had he not been sent off, Inter would have run away with victory earlier in the piece and perhaps with more goals.

The Gattuso of old simply would not have let this happen. The Gattuso of old could stop world beaters like Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo.

But the Gattuso of today simply cannot keep pace and a player like Schneijder, who is no Zidane or Ronaldo, now runs rings around Rino. As sad as it is to say, Gattuso is finished and for Milan’s sake, he must move on.

2. Leo has much to learn.

Our rookie Brazilian tactician has performed wonders this season. Though it was an awful start to the season, the loss of Maldini and Kaka would have made it difficult for any manager without mentioning the limited resources available to him.

How Leo has managed to turn things around and have his side play some of the best attacking football on the continent is simply an amazing achievement.

But, even with this said it has to be admitted that Leo was found wanting last week by Mourinho. Jose is a master at nullifying the opposition’s armory and last week in the derby he once again demonstrated this mastery.

Milan had scored fourteen goals in the four previous matches before the derby, but Mourinho prepared his side so well that we barely got a look in on goal let alone score a goal.

Leo failed to anticipate Mourinho’s moves and therefore did not attempt to change things in order to catch Mourinho off guard. By not changing things, our play became predictable and Mourinho had the time to easily prepare to thwart it.

In addition, by not changing things around Leo clearly did not attempt to expose Inter’s weaknesses and in the end we paid for this.

In the end, Leo was completely outmatched by Mourinho and it showed. Despite Leo’s great achievements so far this season along with his visible and significant development as a coach, he still has much to learn before he can compete with the world’s best tacticians.

3. Inter have the best team in Italy…by far.

One reason why Inter so comprehensively beat us was simply because they have a better squad. Their squad has more depth, quality, hunger and class than ours, and in the derby, it clearly showed.

Not only is Inter’s squad superior to ours, but it is far superior to any squad in the peninsula. Juventus, Roma, and Napoli do not even come close.

If there were more stronger sides in Serie A, if every week the games were harder, our team would be stronger because it would have to be.

But ever since Calciopoli, Italian sides have been greatly weakened apart from Inter who are the one team that have strengthened since the scandal.

And it has shown in previous seasons as the Scudetto has been a mere formality for Inter to claim and it continues to show this season and it is purely because Inter have a far superior squad than other club in Italy.

4. We need new players.  

Whether we risk large sums of money or buy some cheap young but good talent, it does not matter, we need new players. In midfield especially, we the aging legs of Gattuso have gone and Ambrosini will not be far behind.

Seedorf, Favalli, Kaladze, Jankulovski all need to be released, sold, or whatever. In their place, we need quality and youth.

One lesson of the derby that was abundantly clear was that our midfield is too slow. Rino is finished, we know that, but Ambrosini even finds it tough against quality opposition that has more youth despite his many inspired performances this year.

At the back, the fact that we were forced to play Favalli in place of Nesta is incredible. For Nesta has been a major injury risk for a number of seasons now, and for Favalli to be the back up is testament to a lack of ambition from the board.

We are in real need for new talent and we need to get rid of some players that have been at the club for too long. Investment is needed if we are to catch Inter.

5. Ronaldinho may be back….but he still is not his old self.

Ronaldinho’s recent performances have been inspiring. In light of his recent performances, many, myself included, have lauded with joy that the Brazilian maestro is back. The match against Siena certainly provided a strong argument for such a claim.

However, despite his return to form, Ronaldinho is still not quite the player he once was and one suspects, as age takes affect, he will never quite be that same player.

The Ronaldinho of old could single-handedly win the big matches. The Classico of a few seasons back when the Real Madrid crowd gave the Barcelona No. 10 a standing ovation following a sensational two-goal display is a good reminder of not only how good he was, but how good he could be even against the best in the world.

This season for Milan, Ronaldinho has recovered much form, however, in the big matches against Real Madrid and Inter for instance, his impact has been minimal. In particular, his two derby displays this season have been extremely poor.

The Brazilian is back in many ways. Scoring goals, providing assists and making himself without doubt the new talisman for Milan this season.

But, the Brazilian has lost his pace and acceleration rendering him not as effective against the best teams in the world.

Therefore, he may be back but it is not the Ronaldinho of old we are seeing, but rather a reinvented Ronaldinho, version two if you like, who is still a phenomenal player to have.