Milan: Stockpiling Old Men and Brazilians
By: Martha | March 26th, 2007
Just when they almost had us convinced they’re going to start bringing in younger players (Bonera helped, and then not-ancient Oddo showed up too, further decreasing the average age of the team), Milan turn around go after a guy with a walker, as if to reassure us that nothing has really changed.
The oldster in question is Ze Roberto who, after a decade in Germany, is currently plying his trade at home in Brazil with Santos. His contract there is a 10-month one, so he’ll be free to wander wherever he likes this summer and, probably thanks to his impressive performance at the World Cup, Milan still have a jones for the player despite his advancing age (he turns 33 this summer). Reports suggest that a deal has actually already been agreed to bring him to Milan, but Ze Roberto is doing this crazy thing where he’s actually refusing to talk about where he’s going until this season is over. What the hell is that? Isn’t he supposed to be telling the press all the places he wants to go, thereby raising his own price? I’m not sure, but I think this might be something called class — weird.
Done deal or not, it’s hard to know where Ze Roberto would play if he went to Milan. He’s played as a winger for most of his career but at the World Cup and with Santos, he’s adopted a central, playmaking role, ala Andrea Pirlo. Which, you know, is one slot Milan definitely do not need filled. He does, however, have quality (as well as surprising pace — witness the sick third goal in this video) and that Brazilian nationality Milan so love — if he doesn’t cost too much, they could do worse.
And, speaking of Brazilians: Bayer Leverkusen’s Juan — who is expected to leave the club this summer — wants to move to Milan, largely because all his national team homies are there. Man alive: At this rate, the next Milan derby could very well turn into a Brazil v Argentina battle, with an Italian or two wandering around the fringes.
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Comments
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this is stupid.. this is lla lega calcio ITALIAN SOCCER! if you want to have the whole brasilian national team playing for you then go coach the brasilian national team. i dont understand why clubs like Inter dont believe in their homegrown talent enough that they have to sign the entire Argentine national team. does italian soccer not have a cap as to how many non - italian can play on a team? I checked Inter’s roster and this season they have a total of 33 players on their team and out of all of them 7 are Italian…7!!!! does this not seem weird to anyone else? This doesnt even give teams like Ascoli a fighting chance in serie a so what then is the point of promotion to serie a from serie b if the teams dont even have a chance becasue their bank account isnt as big as other teams like Inter
Posted from
Canada
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The same thing happens in other leagues, as well. Like clockwork, when England struggles in a major international event, someone in the press attacks Arsenal or Chelsea for bringing in foreign players rather than molding home-grown talent.
As frustrating as it might be for purists, the goal of all these leagues is to win and, if they’re playing within the rules, you can’t really blame the top teams for spending money on foreign players, if they think those players are what they need to win.
Posted from
United States -
They really should limit the number of foreign player in Italy, may be to maximum of 5 players each team, and 3 players each game.
Posted from
Australia
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