28th August, 2002	Slovan Liberec	2	Milan	1
-		-		-
Scorers	46' Slepicka (S), 85' Langer (S)	-	20' Inzaghi-	-
Line-up	Kinsky; Pilny, Johana, Holenak, Janu; Papousek, Hodur (74' Blaha), Langer, Szoncak (66' Ancic); Slepicka, Nezmar	-	Dida; Simic, Laursen, Maldini, Kaladze; Gattuso, Pirlo (81' Dalla Bona), Seedorf; Rui Costa (69' Rivaldo); Tomasson (60' Ambrosini), Inzaghi	-
Formation	4-4-2	-	4-4-2	-
Manager	Skorpil-Csaplar	-	Carlo Ancelotti	-
Referee	Duaden Ibanez (Spain)	-	-	-
Yellow cards	Langer (S)	-	Seedorf (M)	-
Red cards	92' Langer (S)		-

Milan got through to the Champions league but lost today to Czeck champions Slovan Liberec. Milan dominated the first half taking the lead through Inzaghi but two distractions in the second half gave Liberec hope. Milan's goal came from a Rui Costa assist who found Inzaghi unmarked. The striker cooly slotted home with a well angled shot.

Carlo Ancelotti tried a new interesting experiment. He played Pirlo in front of the defensive four made up of Simic and Kaladze on the flanks with Maldini and Laursen in the centre. With Pirlo in midfield Ancelotti played Rui Costa, Seedorf and Gattuso. Tomasson and Inzaghi played up front with Dida in goal.

Milan dominated easily the first half managing to create numerous chances which were mainly missed by Tomasson and Inzaghi. The game could easily have been sewn up for the rossoneri. However, yet another defensive blunder right on queue at the start of the second half saw Slovan reemerge from their doldrums. The equaliser came from a cross which Maldini and Laursen did not manage to clear onlt to the see ball fall to Slepicka who scored from an acute angle to Dida's right.

milan again took control of the match and after numerous substitutions on both ends finally saw Rivaldo make his Champions league debut for Milan. the Brasilain did not get many opportunities to shine since Milan were defending and Slovan trying to attack furiously. In the end Milan's defence held on for qualification to the next round. The draw for the next phase will be held tomorrow.

27/8/2002 Costacurta rejoins Milan

Alessandro Costacurta has rejoined Milan. The player after talking to several clubs has decided that Milana re the best option for him. The reduction in wage is immense. The player used to earn 2.5 million Euros a year will now settle for 750,000 Euros a year. After 12 years with Milan all we can say is welcome back Billy !!! Your experience will be much needed.

24/8/2002 More exchange deals

Following Berlusconi's declarations that it is imposible to buy Nesta, Milan's management are looling elsewhere for a possible solution. The latest rumour is yet another exchange deal with Inter. Inter still have problems on their left flank and Milan have a central defender problem. The outcome could be an exchange deal between Serginho and Cordoba. Cordoba, like Simic, was once a Milan target but Inter got hold of him first. Serginho at Milan is now definitely surplus material with the arrival of Rivaldo and with players ike Rui Costa, Seedorf and Pirlo it will be difficult for him to get match time. Add to that the fact that he is 31 years old and Cordoba just 26, this means Milan would definitely get a better deal all round, yet again.

24/8/2002 Pirlo for Bonazzoli ?

Milan and Parma could be exchanging players. Pirlo is wanted by Parma whilst Milan are in the hunt for a striker to replace Shevchenko until he fully recovers. Milan had already tried to lure Bonazzoli before and Pirlo could be the right material for the exchange deal. Galliani and Sacchi should be talking this deal over in the next few days.

21/8/2002 Tassotti second in command

Mauro Tassotti has been temporarily promoted to second in command after Carlo Ancellotti since coach Giorgio Ciaschini was involved in a serious car accident last week.

Rivaldo to quit Selecao ?

Rivaldo wants to concentrate solely on Milan and has shown interest in quitting the Brasilian soccer team. Rivaldo might make the official announcement today. This is welcome news for Milan since the player would not have to travel to and from Brasil every time the team has a friendly or otherwise.

Two friendlies

Since the serie A will start late, September 15th Milan have organised another two friendlies. The first is on the 1st September in Naples against Napoli. The second on the 8th of September against Sampdoria.

20/8/2002 Serie A to start late

This years Serie A will start late. The date now is September 15. For Milan this is good news. Ancelotti welcomed the move by looking at the positive aspects. He said players who started training later than the others, like Rivaldo, Dida, Roque Junior, Abbaiti and Maldini will have time to recover to the levels that the other players are in. Add to that the fact that Milan gain two weeks on the Shevchenko recovery and thats even better. Jokingly he also said that he prefers to play to Modena in the first match rather than Udinese who he considers his bogey team.

19/8/2002 Shevchenko out for two months

Andriy Shevchenko underwent an operation in his left knee today. he will be out for two months.

18/8/2002 Milan beat Juventus

Milan beat Juventus 3-1 after the taking of penalties in the Luigi Berlusconi Trophy in Milano today. Again, it has to be said that the Milan defense did not concede any goals. Rivaldo played all the first half and 15 mins of the second. The best chances fell for Tomasson but he saw Buffon save of his right footed shot.

Trofeo Berlusconi today

Milan will today play Juventus in the now yearly Trofeo Berlusconi. Rivaldo is expected to make his debut with Tomasson replacing the injured Shevchenko. The Ukranian is expected to miss at least one or two months on the coming season due to his knee ligament injury.

Berlusconi Trophy history:

1991 Juventus-Milan 2-1

1992 Milan-Inter 1-0

1993 Milan-Real Madrid 3-2

1994 Milan-Bayern M. 1-0

1995 Juventus-Milan 0-0 (6-5 pen.)

1996 Milan-Juventus 1-0

1997 Milan-Juventus 3-1

1998 Juventus-Milan 2-1

1999 Juventus-Milan 1-0

2000 Juventus-Milan 2-2 (7-6 pen.)

2001 Juventus-Milan 1-1 (3-2 pen.)

17/8/2002 Shevchenko injured

Andriy Shevchenko has injured his left knee. The Ukranian is to be flown to Antwerp to be visited by the top knee specialists in Europe to examine the extent of the damage.

14/8/2002 Super Pippo, goal number 34

14th August, 2002	Milan	1	Slovan Liberec	0
-		-		-
Scorer	Inzaghi 68'	-	-	-
Line-up	Abbiati (46' Dida); Contra, Roque Junior (25' Laursen), Maldini, Kaladze; Gattuso, Ambrosini, Rui Costa, Serginho (61' Seedorf); Shevchenko, Inzaghi	-	Hauzr; Pilny, Johana, Holenak, T. Janu; Capek (70' Papousec), Langer, Hodur, Zboncak; Slepicka (94' Ancic), Nezmar (83' Blaha)	-
Manager	Carlo Ancelotti	-	Skorpil-Csaplar	-
Referee	Plautz (Austria)	-	-	-
Yellow cards	Gattuso (M), Serginho (M)	-	Pilny (S)	-

One cannot say that Milan played the match of their lives today. They were slow and very predictable in the first half, lacking ideas although Rui Costa looked in great form. But the rest of the team lacked the legs to carry them through most of his plays. Milan nearly scored in the opening minutes when an Ambrosini free header just missed the post with the keeper soundly beaten. From then on it was Slovan most of the time with Milan never really creating any danger. Slovan also managed to hit the post with Abbiati beaten.

The seocnd half saw a better Milan. Serginho, who had an off day was substituted by Seedorf who balanced the team. It was from a Seedorf cross that Milan scored. The keeper fumbled the cross and Inzaghi pounced on the opportunity like a vulture to scramble the ball home from a metre.

In the last minute Shevchenko hit the bar from a good choral Milan move. This could have sealed the match and Milan's qualification to the next round.

Milan are still way off form to be judged. Contra started badly but recovered to play well in the second half. Gattuso and Ambrosini in midfield played their hearts out but are still far from full match fitness. The defence, espevcially after losing Roque Junior and Abbiati was not a solid affair and maybe the management has still to find a decent central defender to flank Paolo Maldini.

12/8/2002 Numbers

These are the official shirt numbers for AC Milan players for the coming season.

1 FIORI, 2 HELVEG, 3 MALDINI, 4 KALADZE, 5 REDONDO, 7 SHEVCHENKO, 8 GATTUSO, 9 INZAGHI, 10 RUI COSTA, 11 RIVALDO, 12 DIDA, 13 BA, 14 SIMIC, 15 TOMASSON, 16 CHAMOT, 18 ABBIATI, 20 SEEDORF, 21 PIRLO, 22 CONTRA, 23 AMBROSINI, 24 LAURSEN, 25 ROQUE JUNIOR, 27 SERGINHO, 28 DALLA BONA, 30 BORRIELLO, 32 BROCCHI, 83 AUBAMEYANG

11/8/2002 No Nesta

Milan have officially pulled out of the Nesta deal after offering 26 million Euros over three years. Cragnotti, lazio's president, however, rejected the offer, stating that nesta is valued at a much higher price.

10/8/2002 Target .... Alessandro Nesta

Milan and Lazio are in talks for the transfer of the Italian defender. It is now up to Berlusconi to decide whether the dfender is worth the cash Lazio want for him. Talks are being held in Sardegna to try to reach a conclusion on this deal. the player is still 26 years of age and already has a wealth of experience behind him making him a future stalwart at Milan, if the deal goes through.

Domoraud to Espanyol

Not being in the Champions League list issued the day before yesterday, it was obvious that something was on hold on the future of Cyril Domoraud. The player has been transferred on loan to Espanyol for one season.

8/8/2002 Champions league list

Milan have submitted to UEFA the list of players eligible to play in the Champions League. The list is as follows:

GOALKEEPERS: Abbiati, Dida, Fiori

DEFENDERS: Chamot, Contra, Helveg, Kaladze, Laursen, Maldini, Roque Junior, Simic

MIDFIELDERS: Ambrosini, Ba, Brocchi, Rui Costa, Dalla Bona, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Serginho

ATTACKERS: Borriello, Inzaghi, Rivaldo, Shevchenko, Tomasson

6/8/2002 Kutuzov joins Sporting Lisbon

Vitali Kutuzov has joined Sporting Lisbon for one year. The deal is similar to that of Donati whereby the loan period is predefined and both players will definitely return to Milan.

4/8/2002 Milan lose to Liverpool

Milan finished last in the Centenary Cup organised to celebrate Real Madrid's centenary. The team lost both games 2-1. Against Liverpool Milan went 2-0 down to goals from a Simic own goal and a Baros header. Dida played the whole match this time with Ancelotti making numreous changes throughout the match. Of the four clubs taking part Milan were the latest to start training and therefore could not physically compete. However, Tomasson pulled one back in the second half against Liverpool after missing a good chance in the first half.

MILAN-LIVERPOOL 1-2
MILAN (4-4-2): Dida; Simic (1' st Aubameyang), Domoraud (1' st Laursen), Maldini, Kaladze; Contra (19' st Ba), Pirlo (20' st Serginho), Ambrosini, Seedorf; Shevchenko, Tomasson (30' Borriello st ). Manager: Ancelotti
LIVERPOOL (4-3-1-2): Kirkland; Henchoz, Hyypia (1’ st Carragher), Traore, Babbel (37’ st Riise); Gerrard (26’ st Murphy), Barmby (30’ st Diouf), Biscan (12’ st Hamann); Smicer; Heskey, Baros. Manager:Houllier
Referee: Mejia Davila (Spain)
Scoreres: 32’ pt Simic (autogol) (M); 37’ pt Baros (L); 11’ st Tomasson (M)
Yellow cards: 14’ st Carragher (L)

3/8/2002 Milan lose to Bayern

Milan lost to Bayern Munich in the Real Madrid Centenary tournament. The match ended with a 2-1 score. Milan's goal was scored by Pippo Inzaghi after 10 minutes of play with a superb first time shot into the corner of the net. Bayern equalised from a free kick move through Tarnat on the 22nd minute mark. After numerous changes on both sides Bayern took the definitive again from a direct free kick through Scholl after 29 minutes into the second half. Seedorf hit the post for Milan. The rossoneri now meet Liverpool tomorrow for the 3/4 place final.

Milan – Bayern Munich 1-2 (1-1)

Milan (4-4-2): Abbiati; Simic, Laursen, Domoraud, Kaladze; Brocchi (15' st Ambrosini), Gattuso, Rui Costa (24' st Pirlo), Serginho (12' st Seedorf); Inzaghi (34' st Borriello), Shevchenko (12' st Tomasson). Subs: Dida, Contra, Maldini, Ba. Manager: Ancelotti.
Bayern Monaco (3-5-2): Kahn; Feulner (24' st Ze Roberto), Kuffour, Linke (1' st R.Kovac); Tarnat (1' st Salihamidzic), Thiam, Ballack (1' st Scholl), N. Kovac, Jeremies; Elber (1' st Pizarro), Zickler. Subs: Wessels, Sagnol, Fink, Hargreaves. Manager: Hitzfeld.
Referee: Esquinas Tomes (Spa)
Scorers: 10' pt Inzaghi (M), 22' pt Tarnat (B), 29' st Scholl (B)
Yellow cards: Gattuso, N.Kovac, Salihamidzic.

Dida wanted by Man. City

Dida is being sought after for a loan period at Manchester City. With Peter Schmeichel injured, City have a big problem in goal. In the meantime, Galliani has stated that Ba, Domoraud and Brocchi have requested to remain at Milan. Galliani said that they will stay at Milan, given the number of matches the club will play this season.

1/8/2002 Milan - Udinese on day 1

Milan will play at home to Udinese on the first day of the Campionato on the 1st of September. On the second day the team will face Modena at Modena. A full schedule is available under Schedule Rd1 and Schedule Rd2 .

Donati moves to Parma

Donati has been transferred to Parma for a loan period of one year. This could be the spark to ignite the Cannavaro move to Milan.

31/7/2002 TIM Tournee

Milan played two half times, one against Inter and a second against Juventus today in the now customary TIM Tournament. Inter beat Milan 2-0 in the first 45 minutes with Milan putting up a very good display of attacking / pressing football managing to create numerous chances, but failing in all. In the second match Milan beat Juventus 1-0 by the solitary Shevchenko goal in the 17th minute. The second encounter was marred by 3 expulsions. Davids and Contra were sent off for fighting whilst Dida was sent off for handling the ball just outside the area.