Don't Be Misled By AC Milan's Catastrophic Preseason

At a quick glance, AC Milan's preseason may seem a little disastrous.

Of the seven preseason friendlies they've had so far, they've only won one (against Seria B team Verase), drawn one, and lost five.

I'd say that's pretty disastrous. However, upon closer examination of the team's hectic schedule and not having any time to prepare or train together, coupled with some of the players they've had to play instead of their regular starters, it's not so bad.

To begin with, Milan had maybe three or four training sessions before they played their first friendly against Verase. That match went quite well, with Milan winning 2-0 and Ronaldinho looking especially impressive.

Just two days later, the Milan squad departed for the US to play the LA Galaxy, and then take part in the World Football Challenge. This is where the plot, and the more importantly fixture, thickens.

In their first game in the United States, AC Milan played a very entertaining 90 minutes vs the Galaxy, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Once again, Ronaldinho was impressive. He looked very sharp on the ball and his physical form was much improved.

Just three days later, Milan played another entertaining friendly vs the Mexican First Division team Club America. This one ended in a 2-1 result with Milan conceding late on due to Onyewu's inexperience. Again, Ronaldinho played very well and impressed.

Two days after that, Milan played against Chelsea. Again, although Milan conceded in the early minutes of the game, they gave a very good account of themselves and actually controlled the game for most of the time; had it not been for Cech, they might have won.

Then just another two days after that, Milan faced Inter, who hadn't had a game for five days and had loads of time to prepare. That was Milan's worst performance yet, going down 2-0. Quite simply, the team looked tired from kick-off to the final whistle.

Three days after that, having flown halfway across the world and still reeling from jet-lag, Milan faced Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena for the Audi Cup.

Milan succumbed 4-1 to the German giants, and looked dead throughout the game, letting them put in three goals in the final 13 minutes. The Milan player's legs just gave out.

And finally, just 24 hours after playing the Germans, the Argentinean club Boca Juniors beat Milon on penalty kicks in a third place playoff.

Milan redeemed themselves somewhat with a fine performance, as they actually were ahead 1-0 until the 88th minute.

Basically, what this illustrates is a Milan team that was physically pushed to the limit and exhausted by their packed schedule.

They played a game every other day, and if you also figure in the travel time, the fatigue that it causes, and the jet-lag, then you start to see a clearer picture as to why Milan were performing so bad.

Another interesting thing to consider is when exactly those goals that Milan conceded were scored. For instance, in the game vs Boca Juniors, Milan was pretty solid defensively until they took off Nesta and replaced him with Onyewu, who almost instantaneously lost his marker in the box and allowed him to head in the winner without even pressuring him.

Against Chelsea, Kalac should have done a lot better with the seventh minute Drogba goal. Sure, it was a beauty with a lot of power on it, but Kalac had a clear view of the player far out and had loads of time to see it, but his reactions were super-slow.

Then in the game vs Inter, Onyewu again is to blame for the goal in the second minute. He gave up his near post, did Kalac. All I have to say about Kalac is, thank God he is Milan's fourth choice 'keeper, because that man is a catastrophe.

In the game vs Bayern Munich, Milan scored in the 81st min to make it 2-1, only to give up two more goals later on. It's interesting to note that the entire backline was substituted just before that capitulation: Zambrotta (74' Antonini), Nesta (63' Onyewu), Thiago Silva (74' Kaladze), and Favalli (63' Oddo).

What this shows us is that AC Milan's horrible preseason so far is due not because the team isn't good enough, but rather because they were pushed to play a game every two days or so, and had little or no time to train and regain their fitness after nearly two months off.

They were just plain exhausted.

I think it's still too early to say exactly what kind of season Milan will have, but I don't think they'll perform as badly as their preseason form indicates.

With a little more time spent in training and a bit of a break from flying across the world twice in a week, they ought to be fine. I think they'll definitely be in the top three in Italy and I expect a good run in the Champions League.

What do you think?