May I take
this opportunity to wish all followers of Milan and ForzaMilan.com
a HAPPY NEW YEAR.....Pierre
Transfer
market to reopen
Italy's
transfer market will reopen from the 2nd January to the
31st January 2002. A number of transfers shoudl be expected
with every team trying to strengthen their squads. Milan
are also expected to strengthen their squad following
the serious injuries to Inzaghi and Maldini. Another area
which Milan are trying to strengthen is the right full
back position with Oddo and Ze Maria as possible targets.
This web site will be keeping you posted with the latest
news.
Leonardo
back at Milanello
Leonardo
made a surprise visit to Milanello. The Brazilian was
enjoying a holiday in Italy after leaving our squad during
last year. He has now joined another famous 'rossoneri'
team in Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo.
Milan
after Codrea
Rumanian
midfielder Paul Codrea is being mentioned as joining Milan
soon. The 20 year old midfielder has been targeted by
Ancelotti. He currently plays his football in Serie B
with Genoa, but has been sidelined with injury for some
time now.
27/12/2001
January targets
Galliani
has been saying that Milan will not get any new players
in January 2002. Rumours state otherwise. The players
linked with Milan are Dalla Bona and Cudicini (Chelsea),
Baiocco, Dellas, Ze Maria and Vryzas (Perugia). Obviously
not all will be able to join Milan, but some of them undoubtedly
will.
24/12/2001
Rui Costa injury update
Yesterday's
Rui Costa's injury is still a bit of a mystery. Doctors
in Lisbon, where the player is holidaying right now, have
seen the player and diagnosed that he has no broken bones.
However, he does have some damage to muscle tissue and
possibly ligaments. Recovery time will be established
on his return to Milano. Shevchenko commented that Rui
hurt his leg very early in the game but wanted to continue
the match.
Moreno
refuses Perugia
Javi
Moreno has reportedly refused a transfer to Perugia. Milan
are trying to obtain the services of Zizis Vryzas and
have offered Moreno in exchange plus cash. Milan are now
going to try to offer Kutuzov to Perugia plus cash for
the Greek forward who is also wanted by Lazio.
After
eight years of Milan unable to win the last game of the
first round Milan managed to turn the tables against "fatal
Verona". It was also thanks to the welcome return
of Max Ambrosini, who even managed to put Milan ahead
a few minutes after he came in with a superb header. Ancelotti
played yet a new line-up with Helveg, Costacurta, Chamot
and Kaladze as a back four. In the centre Pirlo, Donati,
Rui Costa, Jose Mari and Gattuso with the sole Shevchenko
up front.
Milan
started on the run and quickly took control of the midfield
area of the pitch. A Shevchenko lob, from a Pirlo pass,
saw the ball hit the bar with Ferron well beaten. Minutes
later a Jose Mari header went just out. Verona tried to
react and a Colucci shot was saved by Abbiati.It was then
Jose Mari who hit the post from a header. Another Jose
Mari header into Ferron's hands. A stupendous Rui Costa
shot was saved by Ferron, then Pirlo missed the opportunity
to hit the ball first time. The first half ended with
two posts for Milan, but no goals.
Ancelotti
decided to insert Ambrosini for Donati for the second
half and what a decision it was. Ambrosini started winning
ball after ball in the centre and Milan were back in control.
From a free kick on the right Ambrosini rose above all
to head to put Milan ahead. Milan tried to close up the
match but a Pirlo free kick saw Ferron perform a miracle,
seeing him punch the ball from the top corner of the net.
Shevchenko had another chance to close the match when
he was on his own and chose to try to pass the ball onto
Pirlo but Oddo made an incredible clearance to corner.
Malesani made a few changes and soon they were attacking
furiously. A Gonnella cross saw Cannavaro shoot into the
empty net after Abbiati had saved, but only into the defenders
path. A Seric shot, saw Abbiati save and Milan seemed
cornered. Then Rui Costa fell down akwardly and the worst
was feared with the San Siro in complete silence, but
he came back limping onto the pitch and trying to keep
Milan afloat. Added time was 5 minutes and Milan continued
to try to win the match and in the very very end it paid
off. A long ball towards Shevchenko saw Ferron
punching badly, with Contra smacking a brilliant first
timer into the net.
It
was a very close game which saw a determined Milan win
all three points, but most importantly it also saw the
return of Super Max who even managed to score the first
goal which won him the vote of Man of the Match for the
determination he showed in the 45 minutes he was on the
pitch.
22/12/2001
Coloccini could return to Milan
Fabricio
Coloccini could be making a return to Milan's ranks soon.
In fact, given the good displays with Alaves recently,
Ancelotti has asked the club to bring him to Milan as
soon as possible.
Milan
offer 80 billion lire for Cannavaro
Milan
have made an offer to Parma for Fabio Cannavaro of around
80 billion lire. The player would only be available next
June.
20/12/2001
Maldini ... out for two months.
As
was predicted yesterday Paolo Maldini's injury was a serious
one, but fortunately less serious than was at first thought.
The player could easily have lost the rest of the season
and the World Cup. It is now expected that he will be
able to play in about two months. He has to wear special
supporting gear on his left knee to walk for the next
month, then start rehabilitation, a process expected to
take another month.
Misfortune
continues to strike at our team and it is now Maldini
who is seriously injured. Looks like the season is becoming
an injury hit one and Milan are losing players faster
than recovering them. Maldini was seeing hitting the turf
in the first half when a knee distortion, with the probabilitythat
the ligaments are damaged as well.
Milan
did not play well in the first half but controlled the
match until ex Milan defender Sala found a great shot
from just outside the area to put Atalanta ahead. At this
time Milan were in sever shock because they had just witnessed
the injury to the captain Maldini and their minds were
clearly elsewhere.
In
the second half the team seemed to have a new spirit.
probably the pep talk consisted of a "let's play
for Paolo", because suddenly the team revved up.
Shevchenko and Jose mari became constant threats and Sheva
equalised in the 54th minute after Taibi had made an incredible
save, Sheva proceeded to nod past the keeper again, beating
Carrera in the process as well. Shevchenko was close to
scoring a memorable goal soon afterwards when he dribbled
past at least three Atalanta defenders before curling
a ball towards goal, but Taibi made an incredible save
to clear to corner.
Milan
continued to press till the end but only had another chance
through Moreno who was pulled before he could get to the
ball.
18/12/2001
Bjelanovic ...
Varteks
Varazin striker Sasha Bjelanovic could be heading for
Milan very soon. Milan seem to have concluded a deal for
close to 15 billion Italian lire with his club. Milan
should be transferring Javi Moreno to Betis of Seville
in the next transfer window and have thus secured a replacement
with Bjelanovic.
A
rare but costly mistake by Paolo Maldini gave Roma all
three points in a balanced match at the Olympic Stadium
in Rome this evening. The goal came from a bad pass with
Totti's shot being deflected and palmed by Abbiati who
could not keep it from sliding into the net.
Ancelotti
fielded a new side with Jose Mari making his debut to
partner Shevchenko up front. Roque Junior replaced the
disqualified Costacurta and Umit, partnered Albertini
and Gattuso in the centre of the midfield. Kaladze lost
his place in this game.
Roma
actually scored during Milan's best period of the match
but not much could be done today. Shevchenko tried hard
tog et into thematch and the scoresheet but did not have
the necessary chances. The best chance for Milan came
from a Rui Costa free kick which was saved to corner by
a good Antonioli.
In
the second half Jose Mari found the net but the goal was
disallowed by Collina for a foul which honestly I could
not see after numerous replays. The last chance for Milan
came at the very end but Roque Junior's header was saved
by Antonioli.
Milan
did not play badly but lacked the finishing touch in front
of goal. Roma's goal was a lucky goal and Milan must now
look forward to gaining three points in midweek against
Atalanta to get back into the fray. One must also add
that this is the first time that Capello has managed to
defeat Ancelotti in the 5th encounter between the two
managers.
13/12/2001
Milan - Lazio...postponed
The
Coppa Italia match between Milan and Lazio which was to
be held this evening had to be postponed due to snow.
The match will now be played on the 9th January, 2002.
12/12/2001
UEFA Cup draw
Milan
have ben drawn to player Dutch side Roda Kerkrade in the
next round of the UEFA Cup. Milan will play the first
leg in Holland on the 19th or 21st February with the return
leg at the San iro on the 28th February.. Roda have eliminated
Icelandic side Fylkir, Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv and the
French team of Bordeaux. If Milan get through to the next
round they will meet the winner of the match between Parma
and Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Honour to
the "Enemy"
One
cannot but mention and honour the death today of Inter
vice-President Peppino Prisco. The 80 year old died from
a heart attack yesterday. Prisco was always joking about
his "hate" for Milan and his obvious love for
Inter. Paolo Maldini commented that "beating Inter
in the derby without Prisco, will never be the same".
Daino
off to Perugia
Danielo
Daino has been passed on to Perugia for a loan period
after the full back decided to elave Derby County and
return to Italian football.
11/12/2001
Redondo back in January
Finally
the Redondo saga sees a light at the end pf the tunnel.
The player who is in Spain getting fit could be playing
for Milan in a few weeks. The player has been training
and currently has recovered from his injury.
9/12/2001
Lost points !!!???
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Shevchenko
23', Del Piero 47' (pen.)
MILAN
(4-3-1-2): Abbiati; Helveg, Costacurta, Chamot, Maldini;
Gattuso, Albertini, Umit (27’ st Contra); Rui Costa;
Shevchenko, Javi Moreno (20’ st Simone).
Ancelotti
chose a experienced rearguard and Albertini, Ümit
and Gattuso to the midfielder. Javi Moreno was given the
honour to partner Sheva up front. Juve got most of the
early posession and Nedved got the first chance by driving
his freekick dangreously into the Milanese area but luckily
it sailed over all players out to a goalkick. A few minutes
later it was Del Piero's turn to convert a freekick. He
did much better but Abbiati made a heroic save to keep
the scoreline at 0-0. Del Piero got another chance to
take a freekick but this time he shot it high over. Trezeguet
also got a chance with a header, but he coundn't keep
it down. 23 minutes into the game Andrij Shevchenko broke
into the history books by scoring a goal that was out
of this world. Picking up the ball midway into Juve's
half he fooled 4 Juve defenders and finished with a marvellous
shot (bringing to mind van Basten 1988 and Savicevic 1994).
Anyway Juve kept on attacking and Del Piero was lucky
to get another chance to shoot a freekick after the ref
made the first of numerous mistakes in the match. Anyway
Del Piero struck the freekick over the goal again. Trezeguet
was then again in the area to cause some panic, but the
ever-present Maldini cleared with an acrobatic header.
Ümit then had one of few Milan chances with a header
that Buffon unnecessarely tipped to a corner. Albertini
got the last chance but his shot was not accurate and
hard enought to cause trouble.
Second
half started with a lot of controversy. Nedved was subsituted
for Zalayeta, and the Uruguayan player was only on the
pitch for a minute before he made a swandive and fooled
the ref to give him a penalty. No matter which angle the
showed the situation from, it never seemed to be any contact
between Zalayeta and a Milan player. So this was another
easy penalty to the Juve record. Rest of the match was
a constant Milan pressing. Juve seemed very happy that
they were helped by the ref to gain one point so they
didn't waste any more power on attacking. Milan got their
chances also thanks to that. Moreno got the best chance
from a Sheva pass, but his shot was kinda weak, causing
some trouble for Buffon anyway. Slowmo showed that ball
had crossed the line before Sheva got the pass to Moreno
so if there would have been a goal it should't have been
a legal goal. Simone then soon substituted Moreno. Sheva
himself also had a good chance that was wrongly called
for offside, otherwise he would have been all alone with
Buffon. Next chance was Ümit's but his acrobatic
shot was completely mishit and he had to leave the pitch
soon after that. Contra was the one to come in. He did
pretty well and also had a good shot that Buffon saved.
Albertini had a freekick in the end that he drove high
and wide, while Sheva tried his luck from a similar position
but he instead hit the Juve-wall.
Since I ws away and could not see the match, many thanks
to Marko for his write-up.
6/12/2001
Milan through !!!
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Niculae
51', Javi Moreno 94'
SPORTING
LISBON: Tiago; Beto (81' Quaresma), Cruz, Babb; Cesar
Prates (63' Pedro Barbosa), Rui Jorge (77' Tello), Joao
Pinto, Hugo Viana, Paulo Bento; Niculae, Jardel.
MILAN:
Abbiati; Helveg, Roque Junior, Costacurta, Maldini; Contra
(87' Laursen), Gattuso, Donati, Kaladze; Rui Costa (71'
Javi Moreno), Shevchenko.
Milan
made it through to the next round of the UEFA Cup by drawing
away to Sporting Lisbon in a difficult match played in
front of a packed stadium. Ancelotti fielded an eleven
based on counterattacking manoevers with a back four of
Roque Junior, Helveg, Costacurta and Maldini. In midfield
Contra, Gattuso, Donati and Kaladze with Rui Costa helping
Shevchenko up front in a sort of 4-4-1-1 line up.
Milan
immediately were intent on slowing the pace of the game
to the lowest possible level and were seen passing the
ball around just trying to keep control of the ball. However,
when Sporting got the ball and increased speed they were
not at all dangerous.
In
the 51st minte Sporting went ahead. Jadel found Niculae
who shot immediately. Abbiati was covered and did not
see the ball till the very end with the ball finding the
corner of the net for a brilliantly taken shot. Milan
felt the pressure but thanks to a superb Donati, in lieu
of the injured Albertini, managed to hold on to the area
between defence and midfield together with the untiring
Gattuso.
With
pressure on the increase Milan were relying more and more
on rare counterattacks. Towards the end after Moreno had
come in for Rui Costa, Milan had two chances to equalise.
The first saw Moreno ran half the pitch all alone, but
when he tried to dribble past the keeper, he failed to
go past. His second and only other opportunity came in
the 94th minute when Shevchenko found him in the area
and with his back to the net Moreno turned superbly his
defender and shot into the roof of the net in one sweeping
movement.
The
match was nothing to write home about, but Milan managed
to come out of the Lisbon stadum without a loss and are
through to thenext round of the UEFA Cup.
5/12/2001
Operation a success
Today
Filippo Inzaghi underwent surgery in Rome. The operation
was deemed a success but the player will be out of action
for three to four months. The medical staff reported that
they did find the ligaments damaged and that the operation
was necessary.
Milan
in Lisbon
Milan
are already in Portugal. The team left today after a light
training session at Milanello to play the return leg of
the UEFA Cup against Sporting Lisbon tomorrow.
4/12/2001
Inzaghi to undergo operation
It
is now official. Filippo Inzaghi will undergo the knee
operation as predicted yesterday. At best the player should
be back in action in about three months.
Inzaghi's
substitute
Names
are being mentioned for a substitute till Inzaghi recovers.
Among them some impossible ones, some unlikely and some
highly probable ones are being sought out or rumoured
to be in touch with Milan's management. On the imporbable
front are Nicholas Anelka, Patrick Mboma and Sergei Rebrov.
On the possible ones are Brazialian striker Euller and
Zisis Vryzas. Euller can come to Milan on a free transfer
since his club, Vasco da Gama are in dire debt trouble
and are not even paying the player. More likely is the
arrival of Greek Perugia striker Vryzas. Milan have offered
two players on loan, Umit Davala and Jose Mari and a sum
of money of around 10 billion Italian lire. Perugia seem
intest, however, of luring Javi Moreno rather than the
other two. A solution is expected in the next few days.
3/12/2001
Injury news
After
yesterday's clash against Chievo Milan lost two important
players. Inzaghi's suspected knee ligament injury will
keep the striker out for two to three months. Serginho
will be out of action for for about one month due to a
distortion to his left leg. Inzaghi's injury means that
Milan will probably have to look to the transfer market
to replace the prolific striker. Names are already being
mentioned. Darko Kovacevic, Luca Toni and Nicholas Anelka
are on Ancelotti's hit list.
Some
good news
At
least Milan could dish out some good news today after
what happened yesterday to Inzaghi and Serginho. Albertini,
Javi Moreno and Massimo Ambrosini trained regularly with
the first team today and played two mini-matches at Milanello.
Hopefully they will be fit to play soon.
Viareggio
Tournament
Milan
have been drawn with Feyenoord, Salernitana and New York
in the Group 1 of the Viareggio Youth Tournament.
In
an incredible match not for the faint hearted, Milan beat
Serie A leaders Chievo by three goals to two at the San
Siro stadium. Ancelotti rested Costacurta. Laursen and
Chamot played central with Maldini, a welcome return and
Helveg on the flanks. In the midfield sector Gattuso,
Donati, in for the injured Albertini, Rui Costa and Serginho.
In attack Shevchenko and Inzaghi.
Milan
started a lot better than Chievo and soon got control
of the match. After an early Serginho run which was cleared
by Manfredini, a Rui Costa corner created havpc in the
area and Corradi was seen pulling down Laursen. Referee
Cesari waved play on. Milan found the goal after 15 minutes.
A surging Serginho run and cross saw the Brazilian cross
for an onrushing Inzaghi to head home easily.
At
around the half hour mark came Milan's moments of distraction.
Manfredini found Marazzina on the left who just tipped
the ball past the onrushing Abbiati for the equaliser.
Three minutes later, from a corner move Laursen completely
lost Corradi who headed home eaily to put Chievo ahead.
Chievo had not merited this lead however their enthusiasm
had taken them to these heights.
Milan
had totally disappeared from the pitch and were confused
about how to stop Chievo's advances. It was then Shevchenko
who made a good run on the left but was was unlucky when
unable to find Inzaghi or score after he had beaten three
Chievo defenders on the run.
In
the 58th minute Eriberto pushed Shevchenko for a penalty,
although to what extent we shall probably never know.
Shevchenko took the penalty himself and easily beat Lupatelli
by sending him the wrong way for Milan's equaliser. After
the match Chievo manager Del Neri said that the penalty
was a clear foul on Shevchenko and Cesari did well to
give it. In a match full of dubious episodes one cannot
but mention the clear handsball off a Kaladze cross in
the second half.
A
couple of minutes later Milan lost Filippo Inzaghi. The
player tried to head a cross but finished hurting himself
badly and had to abandon the pitch crying. Milan were
still resolved to try their utmost to win the match and
Shevchenko was seen doubling his efforts.In the 65th minute
Shevchenko headed past Lupatelli from a perfect Rui Costa
cross to put Milan ahead in this incredible match.
Milan
tried to slow the match down to make up for the man down
situation. Abbiati was seen making a couple of fine saves
off Eriberto and Franceschini. In the meantime we hope
that Inzaghi and Serginho can recover from their injuries
as soon as possible.
30/11/2001
Milan - Perugia exchange deal
Milan
and Perugia could be exchanging two players each next
January. The players in question are Baiocco and Ze Maria
who will move to Milan and Daino and Umit Davala who will
head towards Perugia.
Milan
fourth richest club
Milan
are the fourth richest club in the world according to
official statistics published today. Milan are the first
in Italy behind Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern
Munich who head the table.
Moreno
could be Fulham bound
Javi
Moreno has been requested by Fulham to go on a loan deal
till the end of the season. The Spaniard who never managed
to find good form in Italy could be well tempted to go
ahead with this move to gain some playing time in London.
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