I have to admit when I woke up this morning and saw this, I almost passed out:

MILANO, 8 settebre – «Kakà all’Inter? E’ una bella idea». Così il presidente dell’Inter, Massimo Moratti, sull’indiscrezione del Corriere dello Sport – Stadio relativa all’ipotesi dell’acquisto dell’ex milanista Kakà da parte dei nerazzurri a gennaio. «L’ho letto questa mattina sui giornali -ha detto Moratti-, è una bella idea, ma non è venuta a noi».

If you can’t read Italian it basically says Moratti doesn’t mind the idea of having Kaka come to Inter…then came Fester’s response…

Galliani non si ferma più “Vorrei Balotelli rossonero” L’a.d. del Milan: “Abbiamo fatto ottimi affari con Raiola, di Mario non abbiamo parlato ma non nascondo che un giorno mi piacerebbe vederlo in maglia rossonera. La risposta dei tifosi dimostra che è tornato l’entusiasmo, ora sarà Allegri a decidere se giocare con due, tre, quattro punte”

Again sorry if you can’t read Italian, but it seems like Fester has gotten rather chummy with Zlatan’s agent, Raiola, a guy who actually is considered a fool and an idiot in footballing circles, and because of this we have an inside track to Mario Balotelli. More alarming is the last sentence claiming Allegri needs to decides if you he plays two three of four strikers…here we go…

OK, so if you are like me at this point you are scratching your head. If you tend to err on the side of fanboyism then you are giddy with excitement, but please, hold your excitment. Not but 8 weeks ago the idea being preached at Milanello was fiscal responsbility and the goal of positioning Milan for a bright and self sufficient future. Where did that all go and what have we done in the process!?

Getting in bed with Raiola was not really the best move in the business, yes his stable of two players, Balotelli and Zlatan, is impressive, but his negotiation tactics and loud mouth make him more of an nuissance than an asset. He also has a way of making sure his players are paid exorbitant wages, which I will discuss further in a second. It is all well and good if Milan have a fast track to Balotelli but do we really want to add the terrible tantrum throwing Italian to the mix of already emotionally challenged egos on this team?? As it stands we are already on a slippery slope of making sure players have ample playing time and “feel wanted.” Isn’t that precarious chemistry dangerous enough as it is?

Now to delve into the utter lack of fiscal responsibility at Milan this summer. Yes it is an election year, and it is actually far more prudent for Silvio to spend money on Milan and lock in the tifosi votes, then to spend it on campaign advertising. Typical campaign advertising costs in Italy are upwards of 100-200 Million Euros, buying Zlatan and Robinho cost far less. So most tifosi are convinced, and old Silvio gets a few million votes in return, smart business. But what happens long term? With the purchase of Zlatan and Robinho, Milan now have the highest wages in Serie A, a dubious honor, especially if you don’t win anything. Not to mention that Zlatan, Ronaldinho, Pirlo, Pato, Flamini and Robinho make up some of Serie A’s highest paid players. How can this be sustained, and why suddenly the turn in spending if only a few months ago we were dead broke!? If you haven’t noticed I don’t like being lied to…

As Milan take the field on Saturday against Cessena, consider this. Zlatan makes more money himself, around 9M Euros (Net), then the entire payroll of Cessena. Steven Appiah, former Ghana Captain and International player, will line up opposite Milan Saturday earning a paltry 150K Euros!! How is that for some perspective? Now I can’t fault a player for exorbitant wages, the foolishness rests with the Club that pays them, but now that Milan is top of the spending list, it means this winning some this season becomes all the more important, or breaking the bank and our future will be all for naught.

Since Berlusconi delivered Allegri two shiny new toys at the close of the transfer window, the hot topic across Milan tifosi has simply been, can Max play them all? So far this has generally divided the tifosi into two camps, the first being of course he has to play them all, and the second being much more rational and logical stating that it would be impossible. We haven’t even factored in old senile Berlusconi’s choice, which will most certainly be something to the effect of, “Allegri is a great tactical mastermind, and while he knows only a bit less than I do, any great tactician, such as myself, can see that playing all four of our great champions is the only way for Milan to move forward!” Senile…CHECK.

All in favor…

Initial reaction of any fan should be that playing all four of those offensive minded player is suicide. To provide balance you would require not one, but two Rino Gattuso’s circa 2005-2007. Now if you consider a 4-2-3-1 as the viable formation this may actually work, but having Dinho and Robino in the wide positions of the offensive line would almost require that the LB and RB stay pinned back and render Pirlo a man without a place because Allegri would have to turn to two solely defensive minded midfielders to play in front of the defense.

Now before you say, oh that would work. Let’s take a closer look. If Allegri chooses Ambrosini and Flamini/KPB, it would require either of those two players to provide consistent high percentage passes to the attacking group of four. Because neither is an elite passer of the ball it would actually force our attackers to drop a bit deeper to receive and give our opponents a bit of breathing room in their defensive third. So much of the success against Lecce in week one was predicated on Milan’s ability to keep the field compact in the opponents half, so losing that would be foolish. It also leaves the team highly exposed against a team that likes to play a horizontal possession game. Can you imagine Ambro and Flamini chasing pass and after pass in the midfield against Barcelona!? It would be like watching men against boys, while we had four players waiting statically for our team to win possession, it is not conducive to the high pressure high tempo game Allegri proved this team was organized and capable of in their first match.

All against…

The key to a successful team is depth. With a crowded fixture list and potential for injury it is imperative that the team has players capable to step in and fill key roles while others are hurt or rested Last season the team struggled when Pato was injured, and even more so with the loss of Nesta, losing close games and being embarrassed in others. This season while midfield depth has not been addressed, there seems to a bit a bit more strength on the bench with Sokratis, Yepes in the back and now Robinho in the attack. The versatility of a guy like Robinho means he can play on either flank in the pseudo 4-3-3, with Pippo able to spell Zlatan in games where the big man may need a be rest. With a smart rotation of those five players up top there is no excuse for a drop in pace or tempo of any player. Ronaldinho/Pato is struggling or dogging it in a match, have a seat, Robinho in, it is that simple and now the same goes for everyone in the attack!

Historically strong Milan teams have always had strong benches and while this is not the strongest, it is better than it was just a few weeks ago. With the additions we can now seriously consider compete on two fronts, scudetto and the CL, if not three with our youngsters in the Coppa Italia. The added depth also pushes players to their limits in training, stay motivated, and allows Allegri to have the choice of who is the strongest man for the match. This is very good, in fact, much better than forcing a mix of players that may not prove the most efficient route to a result.

So while it may not be the best option to play all four players, it certainly doesn’t mean it will be impossible to get them all on the pitch. If the 75th minute comes and we are down in a match, there is no reason we can’t chase a goal with all four attackers flying at the opponents’ defense. Maybe Pirlo gets injured or needs a break and Seedorf is not effective deep, so Allegri morphs into a 4-2-3-1. These are all versatile options that make a team both dynamic and difficult to plan against because they have the ability to evolve with a simple substitution.

As a coach, I have a strong admiration for Jose Mourinho, simply because of his tactical awareness and ability to plan for his opponents. There is no better manager on the planet for putting his players in a position to earn a result, with that said I think he may actually be scared of our very own AC Milan. How does a master mind like Jose prepare Real Madrid for AC Milan now? Does he prepare for a 4-3-3, if so Allegri can mix it up and change the shape or tactic, something Leo didn’t have the luxury to do with a lack of players or even the tactical know-how as a rookie coach. Leo’s idea of solving a problem, throw more attackers at it! Things just a got bit more interesting for us and in the process a bit more challenging for our opponents! So let’s not go crazy, especially Mr. Berlusconi, by throwing caution to the wind an attacking like mad men, when keeping “a card up our sleeves” may actually be the ticket to some silverware this season.

Thank god for Thursdays, I didn’t have a chance to polish this tactics piece for Tuesday so another day of the week that starts with a T is OK by me. Really didn’t mean to rhyme there, maybe the win on the weekend has made me delirious, who knows…

My focus here is to hash out what made Allegri’s 4-3-3 from Sunday so different than Leo’s last season, which was often times porous, slow, and ineffective.

I want to start by mapping out Leo’s 4-3-3, as you can see in the diagram the ten outfield players cover a lot of space but the deployment of the formation leaves gaping holes in very attractive attacking channels for opponents. There is by no means nothing wrong with this formation, but its success depends solely on the players ability to keep their shape and to be individually talented enough, both offensively and defensively, to cover their space and quickly join into the attack.

When Leo relied on Seedorf to play the LM or RM role, he often times ended up in advance of Pirlo, forcing his opposite midfielder to cover ground behind Pirlo. So our midfield line of three, which was supposed to cover the entire field horizontally now looked like a vertical line of three creating acres of space for opponents to attack into. Throw in some marauding fullbacks and you have classic recipe for disaster. Players caught high up in the attack and opponents countering with pace and numbers leaving CB’s of any caliber at a disadvantage.

Fast forward to Allegri’s 4-3-3, the deployment of the attack was more compact centrally, but the actual playing shape of the team was more compact up the pitch as well. In classic Arrigo Sacchi fashion, Allegri wanted to make the field smaller for both his team and the opponents. This was the cornerstone of Sacchi’s Milan and appears to be the foundation that Allegri is choosing to build his Milan on. Yes, this system also requires a certain amount of tactical know-how and the ability to play quickly and more directly to maximize the number of players in the attack, but Allegri proved that this Milan is in fact capable of all those keys to success. Yes, the opponent was Lecce and often times their central midfielder players dropped so far deep that Pirlo was left wide open with acres of space, but with Milan’s new look attack, team’s will be forced to respect Ronaldinho, Pato and Ibra making that kind of space available more often than not.

The idea of a compact formation is nothing new, but if done properly can be devastating to an opponent’s tactical game plan. By moving the defense further up the pitch the moment Milan loses possession it puts every player in close proximity to the opponent allowing them to pressure the ball easily; but more importantly gives the opponent little to no space to operate or move the ball forward. Of course a good play-maker and a pacy forward can break this lack of space with a well placed killer long ball, but asking a team to make a bit of magic is far better than giving up acres of space on the defensive side of the ball! Opponents will then be forced to result to short, quick, lateral passes in which our midfielders can pounce and keep the ball well away from our goal and more often than not in the attacking third. A simple yet effective game plan that when deployed properly can have excellent results as seen here!

Simply put Allegri just added a bit of tactical know how to a classic formation to get this team firing on all cylinders. Will the desire and intensity last the entire season? I can’t quite say, but considering the fact that on the bench we have Robinho to cover Pato and Ronaldinho. Flamini, Rino and Boateng to cover in the midfield finding fresh legs and ball winners should not be a problem. If you don’t want to pressure the ball and fight for the cause, there is someone else waiting to take your place young or old! Add in the fact that Milan is playing with a new found directness towards goal and a speed I have not seen them play with since I was a child, the future looks a bit brighter than first thought.

FYI: There won’t be any updates until Monday or Tuesday. I am traveling to Cape Cod for a preseason soccer tournament which will make it very hard to post and the lack of news with the International break will make it all the worse. So I will leave you to your own devices, God help us all! If I can get something together before I leave it will post on the weekend.

Before I get my tactics piece up tomorrow, I need to rant. This is not necessarily a positive or negative, but more a meandering strand of thoughts and mixed emotions from easily the craziest week I have endured as a fan of this Club.

A few weeks ago, we were effectively left for dead, our only notable transfers were Sokratis and Boateng, neither World beaters, and our team looked out of sorts. New coach, new system, and players coming to training out of shape and mentally under prepared. But as preseason went on things started to change, a sense of pace was instilled in the tactics and as the first game drew near even our transfer news started to get “faster.” In the span of around 72 hours Milan had pulled of two of the most amazing transfer market coups this decade basically getting Zlatan and Robinho for a steal, but more importantly far less than they are actually worth! We may have doubted Berlu and Fester, and while I am still not sold on their shiny presents for the fans, the moves must be applauded.

Let’s be frank here though, at least for myself I need to be honest; I don’t like these players, neither of them. When I look at guy like Kaka, the humility, the demeanor, and the mentality on and off the pitch are all the things you look for in a footballer. When I see Robinho and Zlatan, I see, in a sense, the anti-Kaka, and while I don’t think this is terrible, I fear a bit the cohesion and chemistry of a team with so many egos. The one thing that always cures a problem such as this one is winning, and going from mid table flounders to very real contenders in less than a week should help. It needs to be said that both Robinho and Zlatan will most likely feast on the Serie A minnows, but the true test will come in the CL group stage and see if Allegri and his shiny new toys can get the job done.

Was a bit sad to see Borriello go, but this helped alleviate the sadness. So now we move on with a new look Milan, an attacking Milan, not really my cup of tea, but who knows maybe in a few months we will have Inter in our wake and even a defensive minded guy like myself will be a believer…but only time will tell.

On a side note, I am still learning and struggling with the new comments system. This is a change for a lot of sites here on the Offside so we are all getting used to it. My comments will no longer show my name but my profile ID/USERNAME gb383, until I can find way to change it! If you are having problems let me know I will try and make sure all comments are approved from regular readers and that we can avoid a lot of spam going forward.

A few months back without seeing the Serie A fixture list I made a commitment to cycle 100 miles for a Multiple Scelorisis Charity event, well that day had to unfortunately be the same day as Milan’s opener so forgive me if I am a little behind. Couple the ride with the start of the High School soccer season and my weekend got a little more hectic than I anticipated, but I watched the game last night, and got another fast forward viewing in to see if I had not in fact gone crazy from what I saw!

Before we go absolutely bonkers and anoint ourselves Serie A and CL champions, we need to put our feet back on the ground. Lecce is fresh up from Serie B, and following the second goal they looked completely demoralized. Take nothing away from the shear speed and intensity in which Milan played the first half, but I don’t think we will play another team all season who affords Pirlo or Ronaldinho so much space and in turn do not exploit the space left from shifting midfielders. However, with all that said, what Milan did in the first forty-five yesterday was absolutely fantastic.

Much of last year I complained about balance and how when Seedorf was in the midfield it made us weaker on the defensive side of the ball. For Seedorf to work in that role Ronaldinho would have to track back and hold up attacks, and what did he do? Absolutely that! Ronaldinho won more balls yesterday in forty-five minutes than he did all last season. He dropped back, he harassed players in possession and he no longer looked like a player on a foosball rod, HE MOVED. His extra effort proved exactly what Milan can do when that guy is on his game. Again, granted it was Lecce, and so much time and space will probably not be a weekly occurence, but he took his chances, made his runs, and gave a minute of reprieve and consolation to the fan boys fighting so hard for his honor. Simply put, if Dinho can show that much effort game in and game out this team will in fact be extremely dangerous.

The same can actually be said for Pirlo yesterday who also looked like a man possessed. It appeared that tactically Lecce was OK leaving him with acres of space making his job easier, but also the work of Ambrosini, who could float more forward than having to stand ten to twelve yards from Pirlo. Milan absolutely dominated the midfield, and because of that Pirlo was able to make his bread and butter long raking passes wide and inside on more than one occasion. Again, as I said with Ronaldinho, I don’t expect so much time and space every week, but his touch, his vision, and movement were absolutely vintage. Sadly, I don’t have the same heaping amount of praise for Seedorf who despite working very hard seemed lost time and time again, and out of position for the rest. His movement centrally seemed to visually confuse Ronaldinho and Antonini on more than one occasion and forced Antonini to “stay home” on defense more often than not, leaving our streaking LB out of the attack, which makes you wonder what will happen when he can occupy that flank leaving Ronaldinho even more freedom to go inside?! Borriello was also dissapointing playing with the weight of the Zlatan transfer on his shoulders, and unable to score despite provided his help on the first two goals. That weight is no longer an issue as it appears Aaron of the Juve Offside will get his wish with Borriello going to Juventus on a pseudo loan deal with interest from Napoli and Liverpool as well. Why not stay and fight for a place in a crowded fixture list is beyond me!? I also don’t get why we want to help out Juventus so much!?

The MOTM for me had to be Pato. I think we forgot how dangerous and special the kid can really be when he has a bit of freedom and is fully healthy. He popped up both right and center yesterday and his movement off the ball was top class forcing a wide eyed Lecce defense to bow down to his superiority. Yes he still couldn’t pass the ball if you were five yards away from him, but his running and finishing earned him high honors yesterday.

I want to talk a bit about Allegri but will save my discussion for a tactics piece on Thurdsay comparing this 4-3-3 to the one saw with Leo last season. But he needs to be commended for making this team play faster than I have ever seen them play, and play with a directness that resembled an EPL team squeezing the life out of their opponent. At first glance I wasn’t pleased with Seedorf or Bonera, but as soon as the whistle blew and everyone was flying towards the ball even Lecce looked surprised at this new pacey Milan. Not sure if that kind of intensity will last the season, but it lasted the better part of the match yesterday breaking not only Lecce’s will to play, but their resolve as well. It is a physically demanding style of play so the subs bench needs to be on notice as Boateng, Pippo, and Rino all saw time yesterday and will most likely deployed often as to make sure the team is firing on all cylinders and able to maintain such a torrid pace.

All and all, a statement game to start the season with both Juventus and Roma dropping points and Inter still to play. With a week off already it will give Allegri to fine tune his masterpiece and more importantly give Zlatan a chance to get re-acclimated with the Serie A. Word around the rumor-mill even has us linked to Robinho, but I think Zlatan is enough considering our glut of strikers and KJH still NOT on his way to Germany. Not to mention adding a tempermental Brazilian to our already tempermental Brazilian, Ronaldinho, may prove a bit of a chemistry issue seeing that Dunga used Robinho in place of Ronaldinho this World Cup. If we do in fact consider ourselves contenders following yesterday’s performance, I think a versatile back would go a long way in the depth department or even a midfielder that would prevent Allegri from having to turn to Seedorf in more defensive minded midfield matches. I will try and elaborate more on this, this week but back for sure on Thursday with a tactics piece.

I have to admit it is virtually impossible to write a proper preview for the Lecce match with an 800lb gorilla named Zlatan sitting in the room. This doesn’t bode well for me, and it doesn’t bode well for Milan either. The first match of the season should never be taken lightly as it sets the tone for the season ahead, and while a long season does in fact follow, if the scudetto is decided by a point or two, a loss early can be a deciding factor.


I will gladly admit I was all for Zlatan early in the transfer window, the idea back then was that Ronaldinho would be sent to the MLS, KJH sold for a sack of nickels, and Allegri moving this team forward into a new era. Instead we stand here now, with Zambrotta as our starting RB, Ronaldinho to sign an extension, and the only real significant first team purchase as Kevin Prince Boateng, who once acclimated will most likely replace Flamini in the starting lineup. We didn’t do enough to the rest of the squad to justify Zlatan, and we certainly won’t be doing ourselves any favors by spending two years worth of penny pinching on one single player with questions still on the table such as: What happens if Antonini is injured, suspended, or rested? Who plays when Zambro runs out of gas? Do we have anyone who can actually replace Pato in the starting eleven, and provide that kind of pace? Can Seedorf still go a full 90 in a CL match? If Nesta doesn’t make the full season can Sokratis be counted on?

These are not simple questions, these are questions that make or break a team competing on two fronts, and spending a big chunk of change that could have bought 3 or 4 players to solidify the squad just makes far more sense to me. If you have been following the blog at all yesterday, there was some top class discussion about the merit and value of striker if the team behind can’t win possession. Not to mention how does the inclusion of Zlatan affect the balance on the pitch? Can Milan really play with Ronaldinho, Pato, Pirlo, and Zlatan on the pitch and expect to defend a counter? Frankly, I don’t believe so, and should the deal go through, we will certainly find out…

Now onto more pressing matters, until Zlatan shows up here, for more than twenty four hours, he is not a Milan player. If past history has taught us anything (Suazo, Zlatan!?, and Cissokho) a deal is not a deal until that fella is on the pitch! There is a match on Sunday against Lecce, coached by a shrewd and wily Gigi Di Canio, who is not afraid to put his boys out on the pitch to gain a result. Lecce proved capable of scoring last season in Serie B, sometimes in bunches, and newly promoted teams always come out firing on the first day, this is not a match that should be taken lightly.

I find it rather ironic that Leo started last season with a 4-3-1-2 to disappointing results, and now Allegri may do the same. I do however feel it is far more likely that he uses Leo’s 4-3-3, an ironic fact as well. Outside of the GK, which is still up in the air for me at least, the squad will most likely be Zambro, Nesta, Silva, Ants, Ambro, Pirlo, Flamini, Dinho, Borri, Pato. We have discussed and analyzed the merits and short comings of this formation time and time again and I hope that Allegri chooses a more compact deployment than the acres of space left by Leo’s design. It will certainly be interesting to see, but more importantly will go a long way in proving Allegri’s merit and worth for such a high profile coaching position. With a new season always come excitement, apprehension and the hope for success, but Sunday will go a long way in proving or disproving all of that!

If you missed any of the week long season preview, check it out here…