AC Milan: Checking Up on the Rossoneri Ahead of Champions League Clash

On Feb. 16, AC Milan welcomes Manchester United to the San Siro in the battle that will see Il Diavolo and the Red Devils will go head to head in the first leg of their double fixture.

Up until a few weeks ago, the Rossoneri were still very much in contention for the Scudetto. However, their title aspirations came to an abrupt end after their second derby defeat to league leaders and city rivals, Inter Milan. With the Diavolo currently eight points off the pace, their title dreams are all but gone.

Leonardo’s men followed up the disappointing defeat by crashing out from the Coppa Italia to Udinese—directing their only hope for glory in the direction of the Champions League where Sir Alex Ferguson’s men poses the first obstacle.

From an historical perspective, Il Diavolo showcased an encouraging record against the Red Devils. In 2003 the Rossoneri triumphed in the penalty shootout and lifted the trophy at Old Trafford.

Two years later the duo faced off in the first knock-out stages where former Milan forward, Hernan Crespo, scored once in each leg as Milan progressed all way to the final where they eventually lost out to Liverpool in one of the greatest comebacks in history. 

In the season of 2006/2007 the pair clashed again, this time in the semifinal where United won the first leg 3-2 but went on to lose by a 3-0 scoreline in the return fixture at the San Siro as the Rossoneri went on to win their seventh Champions League trophy.

However, the question remains: does Milan have what it takes to make it all the way this spring?

Having shipped out Marco Storari on loan to Sampdoria, Christian Abbiati, Roma Flavio, and Didá will have to battle it out for the shotstopper post. The Brazilian is the undisputed first choice at the moment but despite his recent phenomenal form, the goalkeeper just as likely to aid a goal as he is to prevent it flying into the back of the net.

However, Serie A boasts better shotstoppers than Didá and although Milan arguably has good width, they have no star in this position.

Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva are pure class and probably make up Serie A’s best central defensive partnership. The duo provides unbeatable security to Didá and a sense of confidence to the players ahead of them on the field.

With old-timers Kakha Kaladze and Giueseppe Favalli with the decent Daniele Bonera as backups, the Rossoneri will pray that the first choices don’t succumb to injuries.

Full backs Luca Antonini and Ignazio Abate have played well above their capacity for some time now, but how long they can carry on with their rather encouraging performances remains to be seen.

They have decent replacements in Marek Jankulovski and Gianluca Zambrotta, but the Rossoneri are undoubtedly in need to strengthen this position as they need more speed and mobility down the flanks.

Leonardo has plenty of choices in the midfield with players who often step up their game when the occasion calls for it in Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, Massimo Ambrosini, David Beckham, and Andrea Pirlo. While Gattuso has rarely featured this season, team captain Ambrosini has showcased brilliant form this season and Seedorf’s creative qualities are not to be underestimated. Let’s not forget Becks’ trademark pin-point crosses and corners.

However, Pirlo has cemented his spot in the starting lineup despite so-so performances which mainly comes down to the deep-lying playmaker having no real replacement. Although Pirlo showcases glimmers of brilliance at times, he sometimes wrecks more havoc then helping his team mates and the lack of competition has been only come to be harmful to both the club—and himself.

In the offense, Milan boast pure class with the deceivingly quick Alexandre Pato, impressive center tank Marco Borriello, and the revitalized Ronaldinho. The mercurial Brazilian has returned to his former genius self and not only scores the goals, but also produces them one after the other.

The trio are together responsible for 24 of the 39 goals the Rossoneri has scored in the league so far. On top of that they have back-up in the form of veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi who may have lost some of his pace, but none of his hunger and desire.

Despite only winning twice in the group stages, the Rossoneri found the turnaround to their dismal start by winning 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu against Spanish giants, Real Madrid.

What the team lacks in depth and width they make up by sheer drive and their unbeatable experience on the continental stage where the team is notorious for delivering when it really counts.

A disciplined centre defense to keep players such as Wayne Rooney in check in combination with offensive and effective full backs will be key at the San Siro. Let’s not forget that veteran players such as Pirlo and Ambrosini will have to wake up on the right side in order to add another dimension to the game.

In other words, every moment counts and the slightest mistake could prove to be costly.

Adriano Galliani claims that Milan have the Champions League in their DNA—whether or not that’s true remains to be seen.