AC Milan Dilemma: The Veterans' Legion

With an average age close to 31, AC Milan’s first-option squad is undoubtedly one of the oldest actually standing in the professional football panorama.

And, while others have been eagerly and steadily seeking for youth and freshness, rossoneri's executives have all these years clearly made a bet to keep maturity and experience.

Given the results in the last five years (two Champion's league titles, runners up in 04-05, semifinalists in 05-06, one Serie A scudetto, sub-champions in 04-05, one European Supercup, first Europpean team to win the World Club's Cup), one is tempted to say they haven't missed the gamble

However, each time we see the likes of Maldini, Seedorf, Jankulovski, Gatusso, Ambrosini, Inzaghi, Favalli, etc. lined up in the pitch for another game, we devoted rossoneri supporters are recurrently prompted to ask ourselves the same question: for how long?

For how much longer could they stand? Their names and presence for sure impress. But can we say the same for their play?

Back in the 06-07 Champion's league first knockout round, no one could have ever guessed that ran-out-of-fuel rossoneris could be the team that on May 23, 2007 in Athens, would be lifting the Champion's league trophy for a historic seventh win.

This team had been beaten by Lille in the knockout group stage, almost thwarted by a defiant celtic side who saw them pass with an anemic 1-0 on aggregate, and nosedived in their own domestic competition where they paid the heavy price of being point-penalized for their involvement in Calciopolis.

But they were the team to lift that trophy. 

Right when imperiously needed, people like Seedorf or Pirlo gave their best performances of the whole year.

They helped AC Milan defeat clubs like Bayern Munich, a superb Manchester United side who no one predicted to lose, and an always hard-to-die Liverpool, who at the time was a better and more mature team than the one who had won over AC Milan just two years before.

Of course they counted with the invaluable help of an extraordinary Kaká and his 10 goals baggage; but few doubt that the team’s game relied largely in the boots of the "elderly". This subsequently fuelled the dilemma: To which point can experience prevail over youth; expertise over muscle? Are they really that old, after all? 

As a result of this, amidst celebrations for the victory, the unavoidable retirement to be assumed by a few was put on record for another year.

Several months later, aging rossoneris were outclassed by a magnificent and stylish Arsenal side seething with youth, who deservedly doomed the titleholder’s hopes of defending the crown.

Many of us saw in that Arsenal a replica of the AC Milan 10 years younger, and the debate was once again opened: Haven't we risked too much in betting for maturity, rather than freshness? Haven’t we committed a mistake, by delaying the retirement of some players?

That season saw rossoneris plunging into a misery beyond any possible calculation, as they failed to secure even a required fourth place in the domestic tournament to enter the Champions' league qualifying rounds, on behalf of a more in shape Fiorentina.

At the end of it, with no titles to show and an overall poor display throughout the year, everyone expected a massive burning at the stake. Many voices inside and outside the club expressed concerns about what was seen as an indolent and conformist attitude from some players, among the usual problems related to age. 

A total rebuild was at sight. 

Instead of that, what they gave us was a “facelift”: Abbiati, Zambrotta, Boriello, Flamini, Senderos and Ronaldinho were in, while Gourcuff, Simic, Digao, and Gilardino were out, the first three in loans to Bordeaux, Monaco and Liége.

Cafú, Serginho and Ronaldo were freed, and Schevchenko was last-gasp secured with a free cession from Chelsea. Beckham is to come for three months in January. As many of us felt that this was simply not enough for our expectations, the average age of the full squad, with all the acquisitions, was lowered from 31 to 28.

But the first team squad average age, considering the usual “first options” Ancelotti has at hand, remains at 30.5, still high.  

As for the quality of the new players, the names of Ronaldinho, Shevchenko and Zambrotta were remarked. Ronaldinho is definitely a world-class player, formerly a world's best; but he had spent the previous one and a half years eating paella and drinking caipirinhas at parties around Barcelona and Sao Paulo. By the time he arrived at Milan, he was light-years away from that extraordinary shape he once displayed at Barça. 

Regarding Shevchenko, some kind of black cat must have accompanied him since he abruptly left the rossoneri two years ago on grounds of a “better formation” for his kids in England. After such a move, he had been merely a shadow of what he once was, voted the worst acquisition ever in the EPL.

In the case of Zambrotta, he’s visibly far away from that fantastic winger he was a few years before, though still has some dynamite in his boots.    

We needed to reinforce overall that disastrous defense which was the achilles’ heel of the iniquitous last season, and we predicted a rush of fresh blood at such respect. But what was evident is that in Milanello, not everyone shared the same idea. 

There were concerns about this being the product of the bulletproof conviction of AC Milan’s executives in a project that has seen its service life extended, or their stinginess in acquiring new players (Galliani was quoted many times complaining on how expensive prices were in the market; somehow a peculiar comment coming from the richest Italian club according to Forbes).

The “all-new” AC Milan 2008 started the season with two consecutive defeats, something which rapidly triggered rossoneri’s alarms and fears, among accusations for insufficient reinforcement.

However, after 13 Serie A journeys, we discover AC Milan clinched into second place in the table, three points behind leaders Inter and three points ahead of third placed Juventus.

We’ve witnessed great, flashy performances from this team, as well as poor ones. But most importantly of all, the “oldsters” seem to have so far resisted Inter’s pace, especially if we take into consideration that at the same level in the previous season, they were 11 points behind them.

Again, AC Milan’s executives seem to have won the deal; but again, sudden fears prompt the same question among us:

For how long?

We cannot say it’s still “early” in the season; and neither can we state that this team has dissipated all doubts surrounding their play.

Can we rest assured that, in a place that maybe should be renamed from San Siro to San Lazarus —given the ability of this club to raise the dead and moribund (with the notably recent exceptions of Rivaldo and probably Emerson)— the ideal balance between youth and maturity is likely to be reached soon? I cross my fingers for that.

Pirlo, Seedorf and Inzaghi were considered discards when AC Milan picked up them, and look how the castoffs have done since that. Pressure keeps raising, as we reach the midpoint of the 2008-2009 Calcio tournament.

With archrivals Inter at the top of the table, being only one scudetto behind AC Milan count of 17, there’s no room for mistakes. Milan’s veterans know this is probably their last chance in stairway to glory, and I have the feeling that they don’t want to retire empty-handed.