Turns Out It’s Serie A’s Fault Milan Can’t Win in the League
By: Martha | October 25th, 2007
In his gleeful, post-thrashing press conference yesterday, Milan VP Adriano Galliani said “Playing in the Champions League is different. All teams play and let play.” Kaka, who was magical against Shakhtar, sang a similar tune after the game, bemoaning the lack of space in Serie A matches and pointing to that as the reason Milan are unable to “do what [they] want like in the Champions League.” Carol Ancelotti, too, was on the same page, blaming Serie A for his team’s domestic troubles. “We have difficulties in certain games,” he said, adding “In Europe there are more open teams and we can make the most of the characteristics of our players.” Hmm.
So … are Milan basically just throwing up their hands and saying something like “Yes, Italy, you’ve learned how to stop us. We surrender but, really, we’re still way better than you are”? Because that sure is what it sounds like. Assuming they’re not actually going to do that, this collective attitude nevertheless strikes me as both grating and sort of pathetic. I’d love to hear from some Milan fans here, but to me there’s an absurdly snobby tone to all this, as if Milan are a team that’s constructed for greater things, and really can’t be bothered to adjust to how teams play them in Serie A, even as they’re dropping points in every match.
Don’t get me wrong: Winning the Champions League is amazing, but I can’t imagine that Milan supporters are going to be willing to settle for fatalistic, mid-table mediocrity no matter what else they win, nor do I think Ancelotti will keep his job for long under those circumstances, no matter how sanguine his boss likes to sound on the subject.
Category: 
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
      |
Comments
-
What do I know but from an outsiders perspective, I think many Milan fans are resigned to the fact that the league is beyond reach and wasn’t even a goal by the teams’ executives. I think Carlo is a decent enough coach but his squad has been playing in relatively the same fashion for his entire time at Milan. It makes sense that the Italian sides have a “book” against the squad and are better prepared to frustrate their attack and break down their defense.
Their aversion to infuse any young blood into the side (and don’t talk to me about Gilardino) hurts them even more in the league. Emerson? Emerson? What the hell did they need Emerson for?
Good cup side, poor league side. I’d still take it if I was a Milan fan. There are worse things.
Posted from
United States
-
You make a good point Joe - the Milan approach has gotten stale, and the older players they have show a lack of creativity against a disciplined side. Once there was open space to exploit yesterday, they thrived and were able to exploit it. But in Serie A, play disciplined, mark Kaka as close as you can and you are on the way to a result.
If I were a Milan supporter, I wouldn’t be worried about the scudetto, I’d be worried about getting back into the top 4. Some of their players are not going to be thrilled if they are not playing CL football (say Kaka). And some players aren’t going to want to come to Milan if they are in the UEFA Cup (say Drogba). Someone isn’t going to make the champions league this year out of Inter, Juve, Roma, Milan and Fiorentina. So far, Milan are shaping up to be the odd man out.
Posted from
United States -
fair points. as a devoted milanista, it is with chagrin that i admit that we just don’t seem to care about the league as much as we should. and this problem starts all the way at the top with don silvio and trickles down to the players. our squad just isn’t deep enough for a 38 game season requiring many different tactical set-ups to deal with the variety of opposition out there, and that is berlusconi’s and galliani’s fault. carlo has been crying out for players for a while now, but silvio has been vetoing them all one by one.
for two seasons, we have been crying out for a new keeper, but galliani keeps showing his faith in dida. for two seasons, we have been crying out for a support striker, but the best he could do was ronaldo, who is indefinitely out with what seems like a pussy injury. now with jank injured we are in desperate need of a fullback…how well someone who can play both on the left and on the right like zambrotta would have fit into this team. instead, we have to hope that serginho can muster up one last competent season. next year we will need a centre back, too. we are falling into the trap of having to revamp our team too much at once when too many players either retire or decline. we should learn from bayern munich and not wait until we are left out of the champions league to start making changes within the team. it is this passive attitude of our directors that is the main culprit behind our domestic struggles.
as per emerson, he was an essential purchase for the champions league. without a third, true defensive midfielder, we would have no hope repeating, as we were left badly exposed last season when either one of ambrosini and gattuso was off the field. furthermore, ambrosini only had 60-70 minutes in his gas tank, although so far this season, his fitness has improved a lot.
Posted from
Canada -
great points vtec I has been obvious now for some time that all silvo and galliani care about is the champions league but now it is going to backfire for not making any moves think about it this way if juventus is not in serie b last season we are not even in the champions league this year.
It is great when we are winning the champions league but if you don’t produce in the league how the hell are we going to stay in the top 4. Great point about bayern munich i think the same thing will happen to us at this rate which is pathetic.
Posted from
United States -
Thanks a lot for your input, guys — I didn’t realized you’d be so clear-eyed about Milan’s weakness. What about tmc’s point, though — are you concerned that those weaknesses, along with an apparent unwillingness to even try to adjust in Serie A — will cost Milan a Champions League spot for next season? What then?
Posted from
United States -
well, if juve wasnt in b last year then the scandal never happened and we would have signed ibra and inter would have never “won” the scudetto and but that is a hypothetical that can never be tested…
milan will make the top four… i am pretty sure, i think, i hope…. we can still turn it around, and the season is long, we are “only” 5 points behind the fourth place team and we can change that to 2 this weekend..
there is no doubt that the managers care a lot more about cl than serie a but it wasnt always like that… sure a slight preference was always there, but we were always in contention for serie a up until that whole scandal dealio… last year we never had a chance, and this year is shaping up to be like last year…
but if we repeat what we did last year, this year… i think its unlikely to see a milan fan out there to say no thank you to the 8th champions league cup… doesnt change the fact that i would still like to see milan win serie a but winning the champions league is not a settlement, its equal if not better…
gattuso wanted emerson so he could rest awhile… what gennaro wants gennaro gets…
also martha, seedorf did say that the champions league style of play is no excuse for not winning in serie a… so its not everyone at the club… and although you see at as pathetic attitude, i see it as more of a statement of fact, really…all most of them are saying is that we play better against open teams - that is an obvious fact… galliani, may be a moron, but he still agreed that everyone has the right to play however they feel like it… so its not really,“Yes, Italy, you’ve learned how to stop us. We surrender but, really, we’re still way better than you are”? but more like, “Yes, Italy, you have learned how to stop us, and now we ought to figure out how to go about changing that… and oh, yeah we are better than most of you!” i would like to find anyone who can keep a straight face and say that this team doesnt have more quality than most of the teams we have played, and lost/drawn against…
Posted from
United States -
It’s not all that hard to be clear-sighted about this Milan team’s failings, when they stick out a mile you have to face up to it. Milan have learned to treat football like a business better than most clubs, and their style of doing it — European focus for telly rights money, lack of transfer activity in service of ‘not changing the character’ of a great, winning side — is more palatable than a lot of others. I do think this has backfired on them rather more than they expected, because mid-table mediocrity is not good business whichever way you look at it, and it’s definitely grating on club morale. Complacency you can accuse them of, but they have too much residual pride in that side - too much ‘quality,’ if you like - to find themselves okay with the situation they’ve got themselves into. They may be hedging and taking refuge in snobbery now, but they’ll fight tooth and nail to get into CL qualif positions next year, and there’s a good chance of their getting it.
Are they going to make it a habit? If Berlu wanted my advice, it’s not good business to do so. But only the seasons to come will tell us.
Posted from
India -
i don’t think that the players can be all that much to blame for all of this, to be honest. the christmas tree formation we have been using for the past two seasons in the league is an excellent, counterattacking set-up, as was demonstrated by the performance against shakhtar, but when the team holds 60% possession in a league game, it’s rather impotent. for those, we need a 4-3-1-2 formation.
instinctively, one would look at carlo for failing to adapt his tactics to the league, but when you examine why he keeps the 4-3-2-1, it becomes clear it is not his fault. for the 4-3-1-2, we need a seconda punta — a striker like shevchenko who can run with the ball, shoot from range, or carry it into the box creating space for his strike partner as well as the supporting midfielders. that is why ronaldo is desperately needed to return…well, not so much ronaldo, as a player like him. hence, i am blaming all our dropped points this season thus far on ronaldo’s injury and on management’s inability to cover for him in the summer. i am sure that once pato and ronaldo become available, carlo will not employ the christmas tree formation in the league any longer, unless, perhaps, against roma, and we will see improved success against the so-called serie a minnows.
Posted from
United States -
at the very least, if we were to be using a 4-3-2-1 in the league we would need a striker with a mean, physical presence, like luca toni, but berlusconi vetoed him. as it is, neither gila nor pippo have any physical presence at all and can be bullied off the ball by the smallest defenders.
Posted from
United States -
K, Milan’s individual superiority is exactly what frustrates me so much about the collective attitude (the fact that Seedorf doesn’t share it is sign #401 of his incredible class) — I can’t imagine actually sitting there and telling yourself you’re claiming some sort of moral victory by have better players, despite dropping points. I realize that’s not actually what they’re doing, but to me the unwillingness to buy players and/or adjust is basically the same thing.
Posted from
United States
Comments are closed
Home 
