AC Milan Replaces a Legend: A Few Candidates To Move To Replace Injured Inzaghi
AC Milan struck gold in the summer with the additions of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho to the Milan attack. Both stars have proved their worth and are central reasons to why the Rossoneri currently sit at the peak of the Italian Serie A.
Ibrahimovic and Robinho, with the help of fellow frontmen Alexandre Pato and Filippo Inzaghi, as well as the very occasional spark of Ronaldinho, have propelled the Italian front-runners to 21 goals this season, led by Ibrahimovic and Pato's six apiece. Only Juventus (23) have scored more goals than Milan this season.
However, Last Wednesday's triumph over the third best scoring club, Palermo, hit Milan with some serious injury blows.
Pato, the scorer of the first goal, went down at the hour mark. He was forced off and is now ruled out until January.
His replacement was Inzaghi, who recently became the all time leading goalscorer in European club competition with 70 goals. Super Pippo only lasted 15 minutes before going down during the action which earned Massimo Ambrosini a penalty for Milan. He has now been ruled out for the season.
At 37, many fear Inzaghi's career may be over. The next time he can take the field, he will be 38. Though always an incredible threat in front of goal, Inzaghi has not had an injury like this in a long time. Can he recover?
Where a fullback is still the most important need for Milan, nearly as important now will be finding a striker who can come in to replace Inzaghi and be a long-term piece to the Milan attack. Ronaldinho's future at the club is a shadow of mystery. Inzaghi's career may be over many believe. That leaves three quality forwards at the San Siro.
Massimiliano Allegri has done a great job rotating his forwards and always having fresh attacking legs on the pitch late in matches. He will want to get at least one striker this winter.
Many forwards have been linked with moves away from their clubs, many of them also linked with Milan. Here is a list of a few of those players and a couple words about their futures.
Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg)
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I'll just get it out of the way.
I'd love to see Edin Dzeko at Milan, as had been reported definite eons ago, but it will never happen.
Milan sat on their hands for months and months, unwilling to budge to get the Bosnian superstar. I simply do not see him playing at Milan.
If Dzeko was to move to Italy, it would most likely be to Juventus, who would undoubtedly become the biggest threat to Milan winning the Scudetto.
Alessandro Matri (Cagliari)
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Matri was a member of the Cagliari teams coached by Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri the past two seasons.
With five goals thus far this season, he is showing excellent form.
Matri has recently been linked with a move to Milan, but Allegri silenced those reports immediately.
Of course, this typical football tactic makes it hard to separate fact from fiction, so we cannot say for sure whether Milan have intentions of bringing the frontman to the San Siro.
If they did, it would be an excellent pickup by the club.
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
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El Nino was linked with Milan in the summer, which brought me a lot of hope and excitement.
Then I saw Torres at the World Cup this year. He provided nothing for Spain and was subbed off around the hour mark in each of his four starts. As a sub entering the match three times, he did very little. His only true moment of glory was setting up the Andres Iniesta goal in the 116th minute of a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in the Final.
Upon returning to Liverpool, things have slowly looked up for Torres. In 13 matches, the Spaniard has found the net five times, including both goals in a 2-0 win for the Reds over Chelsea, as Liverpool have hit a turnaround since being down in the relegation zone very recently.
With his excellent form, leading Liverpool in goals where the attack is very weak apart from himself, new owner John Henry and new manager Roy Hodgson may be unwilling to part with the superstar. Manchester City were ready to spend over $70 million US during the summer, but no such deal occurred.
I simply do not see Torres packing and leaving Anfield for any other club in the coming future.
Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
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Many of my fellow Americans would probably have me killed for saying this, but here it goes.
Landon Donovan is not the greatest American soccer player in the world.
That honor belongs to Clint Dempsey, the 27-year old Fulham star from the Lone Star State.
The Texan has been phenomenal since joining Fulham from New England Revolution in 2007 and currently leads the club with four goals this year. He was the hero for the Cottagers last year in the Europa League Round of 16 against Juventus, when his 82nd minute improbable chip from the 18 nestled into the back of the net to give Fulham a 5-4 aggregate victory on their road to the Final.
Dempsey's impressive performance at the World Cup, where he scored the equalizer for the United States in a 1-1 draw with England, earned the interest of Adriano Galliani and the Milan staff, who pondered a move for the American.
Dempsey's versatility which makes him able to play up top or in the midfielder makes him a great asset. I see Dempsey as a great pickup to play in the trequartista role once Seedorf retires, which is likely not far off. His skill on the ball and excellent distribution abilities make him a great play-maker. His scoring ability makes him all the more dangerous.
Rolando Bianchi
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Bianchi has starred for Torino recently as they fight to return to Serie A.
Unfortunately, they seem to be fighting a losing battle.
The club currently sits in 10th in Serie B.
Meanwhile, Bianchi is continuing from a 26 goal season last year with seven in 15 matches thus far in 2010.
His play has earned the interest of Milan.
However, one cannot help but wonder, is the sudden rise in goals a tribute to the less challenging defense of Serie B?
Instead of playing against Juventus, Milan, Inter, and Roma eight times a year, Bianchi is now playing second division teams. In Torino's last serie A campaign, 2008-09, Bianchi had one goal in 27 matches.
Only a return to Serie A will give a supportive answer. While he may prove to be a great, cheap investment, this may still be risky.
Lukas Podolski (Koln)
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The 25-year old star appears ready to once again leave FC Koln, who he rejoined after leaving for Bayern Munich a few years ago.
Podolski, who scored twice in Germany's run to the semifinals at the World Cup, is an excellent striker with a deadly finish. With 82 goals in 226 appearances in his career at Koln and Bayern as well as having scored 42 goals in 83 matches for the German National Team, Podolski is a threat to score whenever he gets in possession.
With his talent and speed, he could be a great asset to Milan's attack, potentially for cheap as well. Reports in the summer indicated that Milan were close to a move that would virtually be a trade with Koln, with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar going the other way. That deal fell through and Huntelaar has since joined Schalke 04.
Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls)
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No, this is not me being an American favoring American players.
This is me seeing an incredible talent emerge in the Mandela Challenge Cup.
The Colombian-born striker made his debut for the United States against South Africa on November 17th in front of 60 thousand in Cape Town.
It didn't take long for the youngster to make his mark.
Agudelo replaced Columbus Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers in the 61st minute of the match. He made a great impact in the attack, as he and Teal Bunbury led an assault on the South African net.
In the 85th minute, the Yanks made their breakthrough when Agudelo set up a one-two with fellow debutant Mikkel Diskerud where the Norwegian-born midfielder played the ball back to the striker who blasted the ball top shelf to beat the keeper.
The goal can be labeled the second historic goal by an American this year. Agudelo's goal came six days shy of his 18th birthday, making the 17-year old the youngest American to ever score for the national team.
It is only one goal, but the game against South Africa as well as Agudelo's excellent play replacing Thierry Henry for New York in the MLS Cup Playoffs make his career seem very promising.
Agudelo has great pace, excellent ball skill, and a fantastic finishing strike. Whereas other young prodigies Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore have failed to impress, given a couple seasons to find his form, this youngster could become a top striker in the world of football.
This is not a move I would recommend Milan making this year, but this player will surely be worth an investment soon.
Mario Balotelli (Manchester City)
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Baltotelli has failed to impress at Manchester City, which is strange because the 20-year old Italian has scored three goals in his four games. It seems as though Roberto Mancini wants nothing to do with Balotelli on the pitch.
Balotelli made his start with Inter Milan from 2007 to this past summer, before joining Manchester City.
Many truly expected Balotelli to trade his blue and black shirt for a red and black one. It is well chronicled that the youngster is an AC Milan fan from birth. He even showed up on an Italian talk show wearing a Milan shirt while still with Inter. People from the Curva Nord side of the San Siro did not take kindly to that.
Well, Balotelli decided to follow the money and maybe it was a good lesson for him. Going for the highest paycheck does not guarantee happiness. The Premier League is not for everyone. Balotelli could star at Milan.
Along with growing up a Milan fan, Balotelli has recently declared his desire to play with Ibrahimovic again. The two were teammates from 2007 until Ibrahimovic went to Barcelona in 2009. Balotelli says it does not matter where, he wants to play with the Swedish hitman.
Recently, Ibrahimovic has spoken about how happy he is with Milan. Whether it is at the end of this current four year contract or at the end of an extension, Ibra says he wants to end his career, which has seen him play at a respectable group of clubs (Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, now Milan), with the Rossoneri. Logically, this would mean that Balotelli would have to joint Milan to fulfill his dream.
That should not be too tough for the 20-year old. He also praised specifically Andrea Pirlo as one of his idols before saying that everyone on Milan would be a great player to play with.
If I had to pick a most likely candidate to join Milan, it would be Balotelli. The talented youngster could thrive at the club he grew up watching and supporting. With the desire to play with such talented stars like Ibrahimovic and Pirlo on his mind, it could make his work effort even more than it would normally be.
A signing of Balotelli would not come until the summer, but I would still count the Italian international as a favorite for a move to Milan.
Other Thoughts?
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This is only a small list of candidates to provide extra strength to a wounded attack.
There are many other possibilities out there.
If you feel another player would be an excellent fit, please comment below.
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