The rumors flying around the Internet recently have been focused on the makeup of the 2010-2011 Inter squad.  Will Balotelli move to Manchester or London (or Madrid)?  Will Maicon reunite with his former manager?  At some point I think every player on the roster has been rumored to move to another club.

But what’s interesting is that this offseason it’s Inter Milan, and not AC Milan, that is dominating the transfer stories.  Silvio Berlusconi’s club is famous for lavishing potential players with grand tours of the facilities, bringing maximum publicity to the club and its dealings so that it is hard to read any Serie A site without seeing an update on Milan.  They always target the high-profile players, bringing in the Ronaldinho’s of the world in their eternal quest to dominate the Italian soccer scene or at least the Italian soccer press.

The lack of big-splash signings are a product of numerous factors, but the biggest may be the behind-the-scenes in-fighting in the organization over money.  Berlusconi continues to be dogged by rumors he is selling the club, despite issuing statements saying he will continue to own it.  It has become apparent that money is an issue for the organization, with AC Milan saying it will not pay full price for Ibrahimovic in a potential transfer from Barcelona.  This could of course be a negotiating ploy, but I have my doubts as the club has suggested even potentially doing a (gasp!) loan deal for the striker!

It doesn’t hurt that the influence of Adriano Galliani, the club’s vice president, may be waning.  The two are at odds over whether Ranaldinho is leaving, with the owner publicly saying the Brazilian can leave if the price is right.  After settling on a third manager in three years Berlusconi may think it is time to make some replacements at the top.

Regardless, AC Milan partisans are angry over the lack of action a year after the club finished third in Serie A.  However, are they correct?  Is AC Milan worse off than they were at the end of the season? It begins with their new managerial hire Massimiliano Allegri.  Looking at Allegri’s career reminds me of college football coach Brian Kelly, a man who improves every squad he coaches regardless of the level.  Three seasons ago Allegri guided Sassuolo to their first ever promotion to Serie B, then twice won the best manager award (Panchina d’Oro) in Serie A for Cagliari.  After trying a manager with no previous Serie A experience, Milan is wise to choose a manager with some track record of success.

On the player side, rumors are flying (Clint Dempsey in, Ronaldinho and Huntelaar out?) but there has been very few actual transfers.  One deal they did make was signing a co-ownership deal with Genoa for keeper Marco Amelia after selling Marco Storari to Juventus.  Amelia is competition with Abbiati who has been ok but not dominant, and the 28 year-old Roman has a little national team experience.  Besides Storari Milan have not lost many players, but have rid themselves of Mancini and Matteo Darmian.

For fans used to an active transfer market this Milan team seems to be setting itself up for failure.  But the upgrade on the bench will help provide stability to the squad – hopefully no more formation shifts mid-season.  Also, if Ronaldinho and Huntelaar are shipped out, the squad will suffer offensively but it is not an insurmountable loss.  Dominic Adiyiah (he of the Suarez “Hand of God 2″), Pato and Inzaghi are a good start up front, and if AC Milan is smart it is looking for one more starting striker.  In short, this team is not far away from contention for a scudetto – I would start worrying a month from now if this club is the same but not yet.

As always, it pays to take all off-season transfer rumors with a grain of salt.  But one rumor within the realm of possibility suggest a move of pure genius by the Rossoneri.

Yahoo Sports is reporting that Fulham star and American national team member Clint Dempsey has been targeted by AC Milan for a potential transfer bid.  The club reportedly has been impressed with Dempsey’s play in England and South Africa, enough so to pay roughly $12 million to add him to their roster.  His match-winning goal in Fulham’s defeat of Juventus in the Europa League also proved to Milan scouts that he could play against Serie A’s best.

Dempsey has been successful in his three year stint with Fulham.  Last season he scored seven goals in 29 Premier League matches, and his Juventus goal has been referred to as the most famous goal in Fulham history.  Internationally, Dempsey’s profile has never been higher, scoring the “Hand of Clod” goal against England and drawing the match-tying penalty kick in the U.S.’s loss to Ghana in this year’s World Cup.  With Roy Hodgson leaving Fulham for Liverpool, now is a good time for him to leave.

But within the context of AC Milan’s actions the past two years does it become clear how genius a signing of Clint Dempsey would be.  From a tactical perspective, Dempsey’s move to AC Milan would simply add him to a list of high-profile strikers the club already possesses.  He would battle up-front for playing time with Ronaldinho, Borriello, Pato, and maybe Huntelaar.  The midfield is equally crowded, but for a team that underachieved last year Dempsey could compete for time.

But the significance is that Dempsey is not just another striker, he is an American soccer star.  Remember that AC Milan last year signed Oguchi Onyewu, the injured American defender who is playing “for free” this year because of his injury.  A healthy “Gooch” is a valuable addition to the defensively challenged AC Milan, but more importantly he is also very popular among US soccer fans.  A Dempsey signing would mean two American stars on the pitch for AC Milan, increasing the clubs already high visibility among American fans.

American soccer fans, especially those converted by the last two World Cups, are looking for international squads to pull for and follow when the World Cup ends.  I suspect many will gravitate to teams with American stars – witness American fans of Everton.  Maybe this is not AC Milan’s primary reason for signing two Americans (they are very talented after all) but the ability to market two of the country’s most popular players could lead to tapping a new market.  Imagine the potential sales of Dempsey AC Milan jerseys.

Also factor in AC Milan’s travel schedule.  This year the club played a friendly in a near-sold out RFK Stadium against a dreadful DC United team, as well a May 30 friendly in Chicago.  Last season the club teamed up with Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Club America to play in the World Football Challenge, which allowed the Rossoneri to play in Atlanta, Baltimore, and Foxborough.  While it may be coincidence, the US friendlies combined with the signing of two American stars shows a strategy of tapping into a rich American soccer market.  And the strategy is a good one that could make one of the world’s richest soccer clubs even richer.

Fans of AC Milan have suffered through a bad four weeks, beginning by losing to short-handed rival Inter and most recently suffering a devastating defeat in their Champions League match versus Manchester United.  This comes the same week that Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi criticized Leonardo’s managerial style and encouraged him to allow his team to play more freely.

Italian clubs have been criticized for being too quick to pull the trigger and fire a manager, if for no other reason than a quick boost to the club.  We’ve seen a debate over whether Jose Mourinho should be let go by Inter Milan, but what about his cross-town counterpart?  Should Leonardo be fired?  Make sure you vote in the poll at the bottom of the post, but first here are two contrasting views on what should be the fate of the Milan manager:

AC Milan Should Fire Leonardo

To be honest, it was a mistake to hire him in the first place.  No one can dispute his sterling international reputation and his legendary status for Milan, but as we see too often in all sports, the famous players often make a poor manager or coach.  That seems to be the case here: a player that has so much natural ability cannot explain to players who may not have that same ability how to play at the highest level.

Before looking at a disappointing Serie A campaign, let’s look at Milan’s Champions League record this year.  It is a pedestrian 2-2-3, with a bad loss at home in the group stage to FC Zurich, hardly an international powerhouse.  In fact, their home record in the Champions League is 0-2-2, which bodes ill for a club with aspirations of winning the tournament.  Of course, this week’s debacle (again at home) against Manchester United is what has prompted this discussion: despite a lead 3 minutes into the contest Milan let Wayne Rooney (who, maybe they heard, is kind of good) roam wild and score two of United’s three goals.  They have now put themselves in an almost impossible hole: going to Manchester United (where United is 15-3-2 in all competitions) likely needing to win by two or more goals.

The Serie A situation doesn’t look much better.  Milan sits in third place, only two points behind Roma but nine points behind Inter Milan.  This was a great year to catch Inter, who has failed to seize control of Serie A and has seen high-profile players fail to live up to their promise.  Leonardo is 0-2 against Inter by an aggregate score of 6-0.  Ronaldinho has been inconsistent at best, despite his amazing talent, and major signing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has been called a “poor-man’s David Trezeguet“.  Their defense has been inconsistent and a major weakness this year. 

What Milan has consistently shown is underachieving talent that is just good enough to be competitive at the highest level, but unable to take the next step to dominance.  The club needs a manager with experience managing a major organization to take this team to the next level.  However, it will have to compete with Juventus possibly for that person.

AC Milan Should Keep Leonardo

A first-time manager can be a dangerous thing – no matter how long you have been in the game, the adjustment from player/commentator to a person who is responsible not only for training but for roster moves is a major one.  Now consider that adjustment on the world’s largest stage – a larger than life owner, a club steeped in tradition where you were a star, a roster that is expected to compete for all the major titles.  An experienced manager could struggle under the pressure, much less a new hire.

What then should we expect from Leonardo?  I would argue the biggest yardstick to determine his fitness to manage a club is his ability to adjust his style.  He can see his mistakes and learn from them.  He has already taken his coaching courses, which incidentally are not required for UEFA, to help expand his tactical horizons.  After a slow start to the season, he shifted to a 4-2-1-3 tactic, which has resulted in increased scoring and a re-emergence of Ronaldinho as the dominant player he can be.  He clearly is learning on the fly but adjusting well.

In the Champions League, AC Milan has struggled a bit but pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the tournament so far – a 3-2 win at the Bernabeau.  Granted, they played poorly against Manchester United, but a 2-0 scoreline could advance them.  A hard task, but not impossible considering Ronaldinho’s play and the boost of an extremely motivated David Beckham.

Their Serie A situation is also not dire.  They are 4-1-2 in 2010 including a 3-0 victory at Juventus.  Granted, most of their remaining tough matches are on the road, but they are a respectable 4-5-2 on the road, and have not lost at home this year in Serie A.  Their roster reads like an all star team, and Silvio Berlusconi will do anything he can to improve the club. 

The season has not gone as well as Milan fans have hoped, but Leonardo is improving as a manager every day, and the club will remain in the race both for the scudetto and the Champions League trophy.

Objects in your mirror are closer than they appear

Inter’s 0-0 draw at Napoli was their second draw in as many matches.  That coupled with AS Roma’s 4-1 result over Palermo means i Lupi are within seven points of the league leader.  The match also extends Roma’s win streak to six matches; their last draw was at Cagliari on January 6 and their last loss was October 28 at Udinese.  Roma is hot at the right time, and with the Totti/Toni tandem they have the talent to make a run at first.

Don’t you forget about Milan

The stars shined for AC Milan on Saturday in their 3-2 victory over Udinese.  Big-name signing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar netted two goals and Ronaldinho assisted on all three goals.  The attention this week will be focused on their Champions League match with Manchester United (which may be why Beckham was rested for this match?) but if this match is an indicator, they are beginning to harness their considerable talent at a good time.  If their superstars can contribute consistently, then they certainly can overtake Roma, as well as make a long-shot chance at first.

Welcome back Juventus

Congratulations to Alberto Zaccheroni for his first victory as manager of Juventus.  Instead of their usual late lead blown, the Old Lady scored the go-ahead goal on an Alessandro Del Piero penalty to notch their first win since December 5 over Inter Milan.  Genoa fans would point out that the penalty was rather suspect, as Del Piero may have been victim to clumsy feet rather than a trip.  Regardless, Juve for the first time in over a month are on the correct side of the ledger and only one point back of the final Champions League spot.

Welcome back also to Sampdoria

Four wins in a row have vaunted the Blucerchiati into a tie for the final Champions League spot.  This weekend they vanquished a struggling Fiorentina club 2-0 with one of the goals scored by rising star and former Viola Giampaolo Pazzini.  Currently Sampdoria are tied with Napoli but behind in goal differential.  Next week’s match versus Inter will be one not to miss.

Lazio looks to have righted the ship

Zaccheroni was not the only manager to get his first win this weekend; congratulations to Edy Reja on winning his first match as manager of Lazio.  They beat mid-table Parma 2-0 for their first win since January 6.  Currently they are two points clear of relegation, so Reja has a job ahead of him to achieve his goal of keeping Lazio in Serie A.