With a new year upon us, the January transfer window will be opening up soon. While normally we don’t see super-stars switch allegiances in this period, but 2011 could be different. The names of Klose, Toni, Gilardino, and Kaka have been circulating, but can we really expect these players to move in January?

Starting at the top of the table, AC Milan seem omnipotent with the team they already have. Ronaldinho will probably be leaving for Gremio (the club where he started his professional career)  in Brazil. While the Brazilian would be glad to return home, AC Milan are trying to squeeze anything out of Gremio, and Galliani has put an 8 million Euro price tag on Ronaldinho.

AC Milan fans shouldn’t worry that one of their Brazilians will be leaving, the replacement is already training with the team in Dubai. Antonio Cassano seems to be the perfect replacement when Ronaldinho leaves, and he is probably and even better partner for Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front. But AC Milan are looking to sign another creative Italian, Andrea Lazzari, to help out the already overpowered attacking sector of the team. Massimiliano Allegri shouldn’t have too much trouble bringing the 26 year-old to the San Siro considering that he coached him last season.

The rossoneri will also try to do some work regarding Kevin-Prince Boateng who belongs to Genoa but is on loan at AC Milan. It is very possible that Milan will try to give half of Alberto Paloschi for half of Boateng, but we will have to see what Genoa want from Milan for the Ghanaian midfielder. It should be a fairly quiet transfer market for AC Milan, but you never know with Berlusconi.

Lazio are looking to buy this transfer market, and there are multiple names circulating as to who they want as their new center-forward. While Bayern Munich‘s Klose would be the dream, it is more likely that Manchester City reject Santa Cruz could join. Sadly there have been problems regarding that deal as well, and it seems like Santa Cruz isn’t interested in a loan or transfer to Lazio. So now the name which has been mentioned is Federico Macheda‘s. The young Italian currently at Manchester United could return to Italy for a loan (or permanent transfer) deal.

Inter Milan are searching for a few players to buy, and while the names of Kaka and Fernando Torres have been mentioned, it is doubtful that Moratti will be splashing the grotesque amount of cash needed for those players. Instead Inter are chasing Zaccardo to strengthen the defence, and the wild idea of Patrice Evra of Manchester United has been floating around. Ilicic of Palermo is unlikely to be bought in January and so is Udinese‘sSanchez, both might be additions made this upcoming summer. For now Inter have got Ranocchia from Genoa, but there could be few other signings until the summer of 2011.

Juventus are looking at some possible deals, but nothing has materialized yet. While the big rumours have been around a possible swap Gilardino-Amauri, it is more likely that the Fiorentina forward arrives for a hefty transfer fee, without a swap. What is needed for Gilardino’s arrival is some cash, and Juventus might find it in the form of selling Sissoko. The Malian has been observed by Wolfsburg, and a deal worth around 10 million Euros could be struck sometime soon. The money from selling the midfielder could be used to get a proper forward to finish off all of Krasic’s delightful crosses, Edin Dzeko maybe?

Roma has sold Julio Baptista to Malaga for around 2 million Euros and it seems like the giallorossi have managed to agree a deal with Behrami of West Ham. Another unhappy Brazilian at Roma had apparently decided to leave, but it now seems that Adriano will be staying with Roma. Unless it is a successful season for him, expect him to leave for Brazil this upcoming summer.

Which possible tranfser are you looking forward to most? Share your comments below!

Finally this power struggle is over. It was inevitable that the Spaniard was not going to get anything from Massimo Moratti for this January transfer window, and Moratti got fed up with Benitez’s strange demands. It all seemed slightly better when Rafa Benitez had guided his team to the World Club Cup title, but after the final against TP Mazembe, Benitez decided to stoke the fire with some strange comments.

“I deserve respect. I’ve carried all the blame and all the responsibilities, but the club had promised me three players in August. Nobody arrived. Now there are three possible options: or the club has a project and buys four players right away in January, or we go ahead like this with the coach as the only one to blame, or the president talks with my agent and we find another solution.”

Benite continues his rant,

“Last year Moratti had spent 80 million for five players, all starting eleven players, this year with a new coach he has spent zero. I don’t know why, he had projected a market plan which then wasn’t executed, because of the [UEFA] financial fair play or something else. After the summer I was disappointed one-hundred percent.”

And so, Benitez had tried to earn himself some respect and transfer funds with these defiant comments. While it seems like Benitez is right in many ways, he approached solutions in the wrong way. It is true that Moratti spent plenty for Mourinho and didn’t spend anything for him, and it is true that Benitez has been carrying basically all of the blame, but ranting like this won’t get you very far with the president he has.

In a certain way, it seems to me that Moratti almost welcomed the option of firing Rafa. Moratti decided to go for a “softer” coach after Mourinho’s arrogant demanding time, and if Benitez worked, problem solved, if he didn’t Moratti would just bring someone else in. It’s almost as if Benitez was never meant to be a long-term coach, almost just a transition coach who wouldn’t put up much of a fight. Yet Benitez tried to fight, and now he is without a job.

The man who will replace Benitez could be considered another “softie” compared to Jose Mourinho. It’s the youthful Leonardo who had previously managed AC Milan before Massimiliano Allegri had replaced him.  While Inter fans may be thinking, “Why would we want an AC Milan reject?” the solution is relatively simple.

At AC Milan, Leonardo was in a similar position that Benitez was with Inter. An aging squad, a president who prefers not to spend money, and a group of slightly divided players. Leonardo did his best with that side, arriving third in the Serie A, 12 points off of the scudetto winners Inter Milan. Now Leonardo has a chance to work with a better team than that AC Milan team at the time, and it seems like Massimo Moratti is lining up some players to bring in this January.

Right now the name which has been circulating is Andrea Ranocchia, the 22 year-old central defender already partially owned by Inter. The deal between Genoa and Inter is being negotiated right now, and it’s almost 100% certain that Leonardo will have a new central defender to work with in 2011.

Along with Ranocchia, some other names have been floating around, even if they look like very unlikely possibilities. Kaka from Real Madrid could have a shock return to the Serie A after his poor spell in Spain, and Riccardo Montolivo of Fiorentina could join Inter in January as well. You may think that these are ludicrous possibilities, but Moratti could decide to unite new Brazilian with new Brazilian, and create a team which could maybe challenge for the Serie A title.

VS.

The 5-time World Champion (and official national team of the Metellus Family) Brazil announced their roster for the highly anticipated Feb. 10th friendly vs. 4-time and current World Champion, Italy. Its a roster that was surprising due to its omissions and additions.

The most glaring omission is the red-hot Juventus striker, Amauri who has carried Juve all season after his move from Palermo.

His omission from the squad could push him to play for Italy. The Brazilian born goal poacher has Italian citizenship and Marcelo Lippi could use a hungry striker to spice up the Azzurri attack. It looks like Dunga chose Adriano of Inter Milan instead of Amauri.

Another surprise was the addition of Fiorentina midfielder, Felipe Melo.

The central midfielder got his 1st call up and looks to be the successor to players like Emerson and Gilberto Silva. Dunga regular, Diego will not appear for the Seleção and it appears that Ronaldinho’s inclusion came at the expense of Diego.

No surprise however that Dunga pilaged the Italian Serie A for this friendly against Italy. 11 of the 22 players called to the team draw checks from Serie A teams with AC Milan having 4, Inter & Roma with 3 each and Felipe Melo representing Fiorentina. Here is the complete list of players for the February 10th friendly vs. Italy.

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Doni (AS Roma)

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (FC Barcelona), Adriano Correa (Sevilla), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Lucio (Bayern Munich), Luisao (Benfica), Juan (AS Roma), Thiago Silva (AC Milan)

Midfielders: Elano (Manchester City), Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Josue (Wolfsburg), Anderson (Manchester United), Felipe Melo (Fiorentina), Julio Baptista (AS Roma), Kaka (AC Milan), Ronaldinho (AC Milan)

Forwards: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Robinho (Manchester City), Adriano (Inter Milan)

According to the official website of the Italian National Team, figc.it, Marcello Lippi will announce his roster on February 7th. The match will be played in London at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

Adidas hit another high with the 2008-2009 presentation suit series, receiving a Serie A Talk 9.0 product rating!!!

The Pros

I’ve had this suit for the last 2 months (courtesy of soccerpro.com) wearing it everywhere outside and inside the house. During my indoor training routine the suit’s lightweight construction and formotion cut wasn’t constrictive or caused me to overly perspire. 

 I was clearing snow from my driveway last several days, and surprisingly in -10 celsius weather the mesh lined pants/trousers stood up keeping me warm .  The pre-suit is a very easy and enjoyable fit never mind an attention getter with those wanting your opinion on AC Milan.

Lets look at presentation suit details,

• 100% polyester plain weave, ForMotion system,
• mesh lined jacket and mesh lined pants. The jacket has a funnel neck, contrasting panels, 3 stripe branding
• frontal zip, pockets on sides, straight top and trousers bottom, 
  bottom leg zips; Drawcord on elastic waistband,
• Adidas brandmark on left thigh;  embroidered Adidas logos
  embroidered AC Milan Club Crest on left chest and on right thigh, officially club licensed product
• embroidered Rossoneri knick on the back collar (very nice, has that Ferrari feeling)

The Cons

This review would have been a 10 out of 10 if not for two drawbacks,

• the price tag of ~$110 to $120US
• the pants managed to do well in both cold and hot temperatures but the fabric doesn’t look to be water repellent. Training in rainy weather would quickly become less enjoyable

Final Words

The Adidas AC Milan presentation suit comes in at least two colour variations (see pictures), and Adidas has also released  versions of the suit for other club partners including, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich.  If you are an active player, travelling fan or simply a couch potato wanting to support your team from home in comfort, take a look at the Adidas presentation suit or any of the other available SoccerPro.com training suits

If you are considering head wear consider the matching Adidas ACM Woolie.  This gear comes in several additional club designs and has a price point of $15.00 to $20.00US and it’s double lining has a softer fleece underside.

 have all the soccer gear, youth soccer apparel and nike soccerballs you could want.

additional pictures to follow in our review section

Seedorf Speaks Out On Possibility of Kaka Moving To Manchester City

(click on image for BBC audio feed)

AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf says he would be surprised if team-mate Kaka were to move to Manchester City before the end of the January transfer window.  Seedorf admits the Brazilian could leave the San Siro in the summer and has indicated in other interviews money would not be the only motivating factor.

Related Posts

Serie A Talk – The Anglo Angle: Kaka and Adriano Reject Move to EPL
EPL Talk – Manchester City Raise Kaka Bid To £243 Million
EPL Talk – Poll: Is Kaka Going to Manchester City?

The promised whirlwind transformation at Manchester City FC will have to wait a bit longer and it won’t include Kaka.  The Brazilian superstar has turned down an outrageous offer from City which some sources are indicating is as high as £300,000 per week to quit Italian side AC Milan. 

Kaka said yesterday: “I am extremely happy here. I want to grow old at AC Milan.” continuing the player indicated he had already refused important offers prior to Man City and stated his objective is to become, in the future, the captain of Milan.

Kaka Highlight Reel

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In other news Kaka’s Brazilian teammate Adriano has rejected a move to Tottenham. The player’s agent Gilmar Rinaldi said: “There will be no Tottenham for Adriano, he will stay at Inter”
Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was on hand at the San Siro stadium to watch Adriano play against Genoa in the Coppa Italia, and had flown to Italy Tuesday evening to prepare a move for the Brazilian hotshot after reports of Inter manager Mourinho wanting to unload the troubled striker.  These reports of unrest are conflicting with The Sun paper quoting Rinaldi saying,  “Mourinho has already said he wants Adriano at Inter and therefore there is nothing for me to add.”

Related Articles

The Sun – Kaka snubs Man City switch
Yahoo News – Kaka douses Man City transfer talk
The Sun – Adriano rejects Spurs move
The Independent – Ronaldinho rift at heart of Milan deal

The term “Galáctico“ has become a bad word in football since Real Madrid’s experiment of every year bringing in “superstars” failed.
 
Los Merengues went through chaos in that time period with too many coaches and too few trophies especially considering the talent they bought. The Galáctico time period from 2002-2006 saw Real Madrid become the richest club in football but it was also an era of bad personnel decisions.  

The arrivals of Ronaldinho, David Beckham, and Andriy Shevchenko to the San Siro along with the presence of Kaka and Paolo Maldini have garnered comparisons to a new Galáctico era with the Galácticos moving east from Madrid. To Milanistas it is a bad analogy because of the turbulence & lack of success of Real’s Galácticos but Milan will make it work. There will be harmony and success for Il Rossoneri and here’s why:

1) Coaching Stability
Since Vicente Del Bosque’s regrettable firing in 2003, Los Merengues went through 5 coaches until the end of the Galáctico period in 2006 when Fabio Capello came in and re-established Real’s domestic championship form. In that same time period Milan has had one coach, Carlo Ancelotti. During the same time period Ancelotti led Milan to a Champions League trophy, Scudetto, and Italian & UEFA Super Cups.

2) Defense
The old adage that “Defense wins championships” is wrong. Balance wins championships you need both a strong offense and a strong defense. Real Madrid’s Galácticos had a strong offense but a weak defense. Real’s mistake was being stingy with Claude Makélélé and not paying him his worth to the team. Dismissing the old warrior Fernando Hierro was also a massive error.  Compared to Milan, that have players like Gennaro Gattuso & Massimo Ambrosini in the midfield making it easier for Kaka & Ronaldinho to operate.  Do not forget veteran defenders like Alessandro Nesta & Paolo Maldini who have won everything in club football and could almost play blindfolded. Its much easier for attacking midfielders to do their magic when Gattuso types are backing you up.

3) Redemption
In the sporting world, there is no better motivation than coming back. The motivating power of proving that you can do something is what drives most professional athletes. Ronaldinho, Shevchenko, and even Beckham all have something to prove and need to redeem their status as greats by performing well at Milan.

Ronaldinho’s “fall” at Barcelona is well known. Since the ’06 UEFA Champions League Final he’s been more Ronald than Dinho. He should be fiercely motivated to return to the form that made him 2-time FIFA Player Of The Year and a Barca icon.

Shevchenko needs to make himself relevant again after his failed tenure at Chelsea and show the world he still the goal scoring monster he was before being lured to Stamford Bridge by Roman Abramovich.

Beckham is still a marketing cash machine but he has been disappointing since his move to the L.A. Galaxy. Becks has to prove again that he can play well in the highest levels of European football if he wants to continue to be considered for a spot on the English national team.

In comparison, by the time Zidane, Figo, and Ronaldo joined Real they had nothing to prove they were superstars at the height of their powers and at that time neither of those three had to crawl from depths as deep as Dinho, Sheva, and Becks.

4) Leadership
How can any kind of leadership be established when you have 5 different coaches in a 4 year span. Carlo Ancelotti has the respect of Milan players cause he’s been there for what seems like forever and he is backed up 100% by the Milan board. From a player perspective, Who was the leader of Real Madrid’s Galácticos? Raúl, Zidane, Figo? Who knows. Raúl is an icon at Real Madrid but he is not a leader in the Real locker room like Rossoneri icon Paolo Maldini is in the Milan locker room.

Milan is more concerned about trophies than glamour.  When you have a solid coaching situation, a real emphasis on defense, players with something to prove, and stable leadership from the top of an organization down to the pitch then a Galácticos team can win trophies and capture the imagination and cash of the footballing world.  Milan’s Galácticos will succeed where Real’s Galácticos failed.

Calling all Milanista, I got it wrong and admit it but what’s more important is understanding why.  The key to today’s victory was manager Ancelotti getting back to basics. Take a look at the starting XI, leaving Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko on the bench was the right move. 

Ancelotti would instead go with young Pato, Marco Borriello and a Pirlo-less midfield which supported the front two while providing breathing room with goals.  

Midfielder Clarence Seedorf opened the scoring in the 8th minute after a failed attempted to lay the ball off to Kaka. Seedorf’s pass would ricochet off a Lazio defender back into his path and from ten yards out the big man made no mistake in burying it behind Lazio keeper Juan Pablo Carrizo.
 
Milan looked dangerous much of the first half but during the 25th minute, a lack in concentration on a threaded pass by Goran Pandev, allowed Lazio forward Mauro Zarate to slip the defensive line and gain a equalizer. Ten minutes later, defender Gianluca Zambrotta would restore the Milan lead with an absolute cracker from far out on the right. Travelling from right to left the ball curled across the front of goal ending up in the far side-netting, 2 -1 home side at the half.  

Second half action saw Milan’s Brazilian crew, Alexandre Pato and Kaka, provide insurance goals three and four. Pato’s was an exceptional header well placed and away from the keeper’s reach.  The young man would make way for Ronaldinho in the last quarter and there was one spot of magic when Ronaldinho partnered with Borriello in splitting the defense, and foiling the offside trap, with a well feed ball. Borriello open on goal struck low and hard but keeper Carrizo managed to block the shot.

Although Lazio had several excellent chances to draw closer, they could not capitalize on their opportunities. The visitors lost belief in any comeback and in my opinion it all vanished after Pato’s 48 minute header.  The substitution of Pasquale Foggia for Mauri was a good move as the player created all kinds of problems for the Milan midfield with his runs forward but the decision to bring Foggia on was left too late by Lazio manager Delio Rossi.  

Final Thoughts

Gattuso was back in the starting XI which was a surprise to me. His early return from injury will be good for the team but is it good for him?  Jankulovski played a very physical game, I didn’t count the fouls but he did receive a yellow card and no chance of taking him off early with the limited bench. Brazilian international Kaka is returning to 100% fitness with his second start for the Rossoneri, his creative flair in the midfield has been sorely missed. Finally old-timer Ambrosini made several key plays in breaking up the Lazio attack and all in all the Milan midfield performed reasonably well without Andrea Pirlo. Time will tell if Ancelotti has found the right formula.

Lineups

Milan: Abbiati; Zambrotta, Maldini, Kaladze, Jankulovski; Gattuso (Emerson 78), Ambrosini, Seedorf (Flamini 64); Kaka; Pato (Ronaldinho 71), Borriello

Lazio: Carrizo; Lichtsteiner, Siviglia, Rozenhal, Kolarov; Brocchi (De Silvestri 79), Ledesma, Matuzalem (Meghni 68); Mauri (Foggia 62); Zarate, Pandev

Goalscorers: Seedorf 8 (M), Zarate 25 (L), Zambrotta 35 (M), Pato 48 (M), Kaka 61 (M)

Goal Highlights

The 2008-2009 season starts end of month but several big names will be missing come opening day.  AC Milan especially are showing their weakened status with several poor performances in pre-season, including a 0 – 5 loss to London’s Chelsea last week in Russia. 

Who do you think will be the most obvious missing link come match day 1, August 31 ?

references:

Football Italia – Chelsea Crush Mutant Milan
Goal.com – Ancelotti Hopes To Avoid New Humiliation

Clarence Seedorf, Kaka and Alessandro Nesta are all smiles for the camera as they pose in their new Rossoneri kit.

The first choice shirt has 5 red bands and 4 black ones in the front, wider compared to last season, which also continue on the thighs; the sleeves are black with 3 red stripes. On the back there is the writing ROSSONERI, in black, on a red background.  Milan will also be sporting an all white away jersey with a white on white cross situated over the left hand front of the jersey.  AC Milan continue in their partnership with Germany’s Adidas.