AC Milan Vs. Cesena: The Call-Ups and a Milan Squad Preview
Saturday will be a special day for Milan and their fans, as two of the biggest names in football have been called into the squad to make their much anticipated debut for the club.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho both joined Milan shortly before the transfer window closed a couple weeks ago.
With Serie A taking a week off after only one round of matches, it has been nearly two weeks of anticipation and impatience for Milanista everywhere.
Like a five year old who will not go to bed because Santa Claus is coming, their supporters cannot wait to unwrap their new toys.
Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri has called upon 21 players who will make the trip to Cesena, but only 18 are allowed to dress for the match at the Dino Manuzzi.
Alessandro Nesta, Clarence Seedorf, and Mathieu Flamini are all unavailable due to minor injuries. Nesta and Seedorf are prepared to rejoin the club for the match against Auxerre on Wednesday in the Champions League.
The following is a breakdown of the 21-man roster and who we can expect to be in uniform for the much awaited match against Cesena, Round One's big surprise, as they held Roma to a 0-0 draw.
The 21-Man Roster
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Goalkeepers
Christian Abbiati
Marco Amelia
Flavio Roma
Defenders
Luca Antonini
Daniele Bonera
Marek Jankulovski
Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Thiago Silva
Gianluca Zambrotta
Midfielders
Ignazio Abate
Massimo Ambrosini
Kevin-Prince Boateng
Gennaro Gattuso
Andrea Pirlo
Rodney Strasser
Forwards
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Filippo Inzaghi
Nnamdi Oduamadi
Alexandre Pato
Robinho
Ronaldinho
Not Called Up
Alessandro Nesta (Unavailable)
Clarence Seedorf (Unavailable)
Mathieu Flamini (Unavailable)
Bruno Montelongo
Massimo Oddo
Oguchi Onyewu
Mario Yepes
Looking at the Potential Lineup
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Massimiliano Allegri has 21 players to choose from to make his 11-man lineup and to make his 18-man total squad. Here is an idea of how it could look Saturday evening.
Goalkeeper: Christian Abbiati
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Abbiati did not have much trouble in the opening match against Lecce. He should not worry about his place as keeper. He has certainly earned the spot that he lost to Dida all those years ago and reestablished himself as the Rossoneri No. 1.
Defenders
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Left Fullback: Luca Antonini
Right Fullback: Gianluca Zambrotta
Center Backs: Thiago Silva and Daniele Bonera
Three of these are obvious, as Antonini, Zambrotta, and Thiago Silva have all established themselves as Milan's clear cut choices in their respective positions.
With Alessandro Nesta unavailable, Daniele Bonera should step in for him. The 28 year old was phenomenal in the opening match, playing in place of Zambro in the right back position. As an all-around defender, he should slide comfortably into his old position of center back.
With a strong performance once again, Bonera could make himself the definite No. 1 defender off the bench for Milan this season, a position he will most likely jockey with Sokratis for.
Midfielders
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Massimo Ambrosini, Andrea Pirlo, and Kevin-Prince Boateng
Again, Ambrosini and Pirlo, the captain and vice-captain respectively, are obvious choices and clear cut starters for Milan. Both are playing at a high level right now.
Despite receiving criticism over their ages, they are only 33 and 31 respectively.
Boateng made his Milan debut off the bench in the 4-0 win and a couple of times got into such a dangerous position that it was almost 5-0.
The Ghana international played very well and proved that he can be useful as a reserve midfielder. We will see how he performs filling in as a starter for Seedorf.
Many have criticized Milan's midfield, undeservedly I think. They may not be the strongest midfield in Europe in terms of talent, but this is a strong midfield unit that can still play at a high level.
They shouldn't have any trouble, especially this week.
Forwards
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Striker: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Left Winger: Ronaldinho
Right Winger: Pato
This is the area of the field everyone will be watching.
There is a great deal of debate as to how the new "Fantastic Four" attackers should be used, but especially four days before a Champions League match, it seems that a three-man unit is most likely and most logical.
Though I have expressed my belief that Milan can play with the four-man attacking unit, in this situation a three-man trident may be best. Maybe it will work well enough and they will stick with it, rotating between the forwards every match.
Robinho is least likely to start, especially with Ronaldinho and Pato already established as the wingers, as well as having more fitness than their compatriot at the moment.
Ibrahimovic is the obvious striker. I shouldn't need to go into more depth on that issue. He plays most comfortably up top and is absolutely not a winger.
When all is said and done we could be looking at one of the best attacking units ever assembled when you consider all the attackers.
Only time will tell.
Playing against the 40-year-old goalie of a newly promoted side and playing on a team bleeding confidence should make this a goal fest for Milan.
The Bench
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Goalkeeper
Marco Amelia
Defenders
Sokratis Papasthopoulos
Marek Jankulovski
Midfielders
Gennaro Gattuso
Rodney Strasser
Forwards
Filippo Inzaghi
Robinho
Match Prediction
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Milan win the match 4-0.
The Rossoneri are simply too strong for Cesena, who are going to have a tough time staying in Serie A past this season, much like Milan's first opponent, Lecce.
In the span of two weeks, Milan's attack has gone from strong to incredible and deadly, especially with the lack of top level experience in top flight football. With a keeper near retirement in the net for Cesena, Milan is going to rip the net apart Saturday.
With six points and a huge goal difference, Milan could be sitting pretty atop the Serie A only two matches in.
