Milan
kicked off with Ancelotti fielding a 4-4-2 line-up with
Contra and Kaladze on the flanks, Maldini and Chamot as
central defenders. Gattuso and Serginho on the wings,
with Ambrosini and Gattuso in the central midfield roles.
Up front Ancelotti fielded Jose Mari and Inzaghi. The
match started with Milan in clear possession of all the
areas of the pitch and with parma clearly intending to
counterattack. This worked vry well for Parma as they
had two clear chances within the first 15 minutes.The
first came when Di Vaio beat the defence on the run but
Abbiati saved the day with a stupendous save from point
blank range. However, on the 15th minute, Di Viao broke
lose again beating Chamot on the run and finding the angle
to the right of Abbiati, who this time could do nothing
to stop the ball from entering the net.
Milan
tried to react but Parma were still way back and Milan
had to find a way into the bunker. A Serginho good run
on the left saw his cross not met by anyway in the box.
The ball only needed a small tap into the net. Later on
a Gattuso cross saw debutant De Lucia punching clear before
Inzaghi and Jose Mari could get at it.
The
second half saw Ancelotti make a superb move much to everyone's
amazement at the time. Pirlo came in for Serginho. No
one understood this more but it proved to be the winning
move. Pirlo immediately took control of the area between
midfield and attack with Jose mari going left, managing
to create havoc. Ambrosini also was seen to the left giving
Milan clear superiority on this flank. Carmignani was
never able to counter this move although he tried hard.
On the 52nd minute a cross from Jose Mari found Inzaghi
having only to nod the ball home from a metre out for
a merited equaliser. Parma moved their men forward in
an attempt to win the game but they did not cater for
Milan's fury, who probably played the best match of the
season in this second half. Parma's reaction was a Sukur
header which Abbiati saved well and quite easily. Another
Jose Mari cross from left saw De Lucia punche clear with
difficulty. Soon later Ambrosini scored but Inzaghi was
offside when he passed the ball to him. Milan could have
taken the lead soon later. An Inzaghi header saw De Lucia
save on the line. Laursen came in to tap the ball in but
incredible De Lucia put a hand to it and sent the ball
to corner.
Inzaghi
the got the ball in the box and turned his defender but
again De Lucia made a great save. The 18 year old was
virtually keeping Milan out on his own at this point since
Milan were creating chance after chance.Di Vaio escaped
again but Laursen cleared just before the Italian shot
on goal. This was the last chance for Parma. From now
on it was all Milan. Maldini found Inzaghi in the area,
who again turned his defender but De Lucia again punched
clear.
Then
came the pearl of the match. A free kick from well outside
the area to the left saw Pirlo drift the ball into the
perfect corner of the net with everyone expecting a cross
from such a difficult position. De Lucia, outstreched,
did not stand a chance. Pirlo celebrated by taking his
shirt off and showing it to the fans.
Milan
now controlled the match and Parma were unable to react
but Inzaghi wanted to score another goal and he did. Pirlo
found him in the area with a delicately weighted ball
and super Pippo controlled and let lose a right footed
shot which found the corner of the net from an acute angle.
Posession
at the end was 33:13 to 25:29 in Milan's favour with the
score at 11-4 for corners. Pirlo was voted man of the
match and Milan and with today's results Milan jump over
Chievo in the table and are now just one point away from
Bologna.
29/3/2002
Operation a success
Costacurta's
knee operation was deemed a success and the player should
be able to run again in about 3 to 4 months, given that
no complications arise.
Milan
following French defender
Milan
have their eyes on French defender Armand of Nantes. The
U-21 defender is also being followed closely by Juventus
and Lazio. With Coco probably to remain at Barcellona,
Milan are looking for an alternative.
New
York match
Milan
and Celtic could be playing a friendly in New York in
aid of the September 11th attack victim's families. Talks
are underway to establich a suitable date for this envounter,
which could be the 18th of Mat, 2002.
27/3/2002
Costacurta to be operated tomorrow
Costacurta
will undergo an operation on his knee tomorrow morning
at Eeuwfeest in Antwerp, Belgium under Prof Martens. In
the meantime Shevchenko has to be revisited within seven
days to see to what extent he is recovering and to decide
when he can restart training.
Rui Costa
out 10 days
Rui
Costa's injury is expected to heal within 10 days. The
target is to have him available for the match against
Borussia Dortmund. In the meantime Helveg has recovered
and is training with the team again.
Galliani
to become President
Adriano
Galliani will become President of Milan very soon. Silvio
Berlusconi's son, Pier Silvio has declared that for the
sake of continuity and job knowledge he is the best and
most likely candidate to take over.
26/3/2002
Costacurta out 4 months
Alessandro
Costacurta will be out for at least 4 months following
his knee injury against Piacenza last Sunday. There are
no news as yet on Rui Costa's injury.
24/3/2002
Super Abbiati
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21'
Serginho (pen)
PIACENZA
(4-4-2): Orlandoni; Sacchetti, Cardone, Lucarelli, Mora
(20’ st Tosto); Gautieri, Volpi, Matuzalem, Di Francesco
(39’ st Patrascu); Sommese (10’ st Caccia),
Hubner. Subs: Nicoletti, Lamacchi, Cristante, Miceli
Manager:
Novellino.
MILAN (4-3-1-2): Abbiati; Contra, Chamot, Costacurta (15’
st Roque Junior), Kaladze (1’st Laursen); Gattuso,
Albertini, Serginho; Rui Costa (40’ pt Ambrosini);
Simone, Inzaghi. Subs: Rossi, Brocchi, Pirlo, Javi Moreno
A
superb Abbiati saved Milan and got all three points from
this difficult match against in form Piacenza. Thats the
good news. The bad news is that Milan lost Rui Costa,
Kaladze and Costacurta all through injury during the ninety
minutes.
Milan
started well on the attack but after taking the lead through
a well taken penalty on Serginho opted to defend the result.
This gave Piacenza plenty of opportunities but Abbiati
made at least two incredible saves off Hubner to save
the day. Inzaghi moved well up front as did Simone but
chances never reached our small forwards with Piacenza.
The
match started with an Inzaghi header who anticipated his
marker, but Orlandoni saved to corner. Soon later a Contra
cross saw Orlandoni having to punch to corner. At around
the 20th minute Inzaghi was pulled down in the area for
Trentalange to whistle the penalty much to Piacenza 's
manager Novellino who was furious.
From
here on it was mostly Piacenza. A Sommese shot was deflected
to corner but the ball was quite close. Minutes later
a Hubner header from 2 metres saw Abbiati make a super
reflex save somehow managing to punch to corner.
Milan
then lost Rui Costa. The unlucky Portughuese star looked
like having muscle trouble and had to be substituted by
Ambrosini. This added working legs in midfield but fantasy
lacked badly. A Mora shot the saw Abbiati save easily.
On
the 15th minute mark in the second half Milan lost Costacurta.
Hubner basically fell on Costacurta's knee making the
knee take an unnatural lateral movement. The knee was
badly distorted and our captain had to be stretchered
out. Milan at this point woke up again, probably wanting
to play for their captain but Piacenza were still dangerous.
Abbiati punched a ball clear off Caccia.
The
Abbaiti made his second super save off a Hubner lob after
Roque Junior made a terrible mistake. The lob was punched
over the bar by the outstreched Abbiati. The worst seemed
over until Tosto had a free header which went over the
bar much to the Milan's fan's delight.
An
important three points which should help in Milan's bid
to reach the 4th place in the table and a place in next
year's Champions' League.
22/3/2002
Milan vs Borussia Dortmund
Milan
will face Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final of the UEFA
cup. The matches are to be played on the 4th and on the
11th of April.
Metzelder
and Ibrahimovic
Milan
are taking a closer look at 21 year old deferder Metzelder
of Borussia Dortmund and at Ibrahimovic of Ajax in a bid
to strengthen their squad for the soming season.It seems
that the club has increased its offer for Ibrahimovic
in an effort to have alternative strikers up front. Javi
Moreno will be leaving for Atletico Madrid in the coming
months. Other alternatives are Bonazzoli, Carew and Salva.
Referee:
Herbert Fandel (Ger)
Yellow cards: Rui Costa, Abuksis, Ambrosini
Milan
reached a semi-final berth in the UEFA Cup after an absence
of 30 years. It was since 1972 that Milan last clinched
a place in this cup's semi finals and credit has to go
for a hearty display by the whole squad who were determined
to get through. Rui Costa managed to score the 100th goal
for Milan in the competition. Other statistics show that
this is Milan's first European semi-final since 1995.
Milan
took the lead immediately through a Rui Costa scorcher
free kick after Pippo Inzaghi was fouled outside the area.
Milan continued to press hard for the all important second
goal. Soon afterwards Simone saw his header too central
to create difficulty. On the 12th minute Simone tried
to curl the ball in but failed from a good position. Rui
Costa again tried his luck with a long range effort. The
keeper saved with some dificulty managing to scramble
the ball clear before the onrushing Inzaghi. A good Simone
move saw his cross shot hit the bar.The ball fell to Ambrosini
who somehow managed to fail to score.Milan kept up the
pressure and the lads were rewarded. The goal came from
a cross with defender Gershon heading into his own net
in an attempt to prevent Inzaghi from getting to the ball.
Milan were 2-0 up and at this point qualified but a single
goal from the Tel Aviv lads would have the team out of
the cup on away goals.
The
second half saw Hapoel willing to create pressure on Milan.
An Abuksis free kick was saved by Abbiati. Milan reacted
with a Gattuso header which saw the keeper run back into
his position to save the ball from entering his net. Abbaiti
then saved off a header by clearing to corner. Rui Costa
created havoc in the area and his shot hit the post. Again
it was Rui Costa with a long range effort but his shot
was again saved. Milan were visible tired with Inzaghi
hardly able to run and the pressure showed. A Pisont shot
went just out to Abbiati's left. the final shot of the
match was from Abuksis who saw his long range effort go
over the bar.
At
the end Milan were dead tired. Inzaghi had just come back
from injury. Ambrosini was also playing his first full
game in ages and Rui Costa is still not 100%. However
Milan gave it all they had and it was enough to get us
through to the semi-final.
19/3/2002
Senegal call up Sarr
Senegal
have called up young Milan defender Mohamed Adama sarr
for a friendly match against Bolvia. The match is going
to be played on the 27th of March in Dakar.
Transfer
talk
Milan's
future squad is being woven. Latest talk sees Milan in
the chase for a defender to be chosen from Thuram, Cannavaro,
Bertotto and Nesta. In attack there is also talk of a
possible exchange with Torino of Pirlo with Lucarelli.
Ancelotti is keen to add a weight factor into the attack
equation to use when needed. In the midfield area Dalla
Bona is still the major target with Tacchinardi keen to
join Milan from Juventus.
Ancelotti
fielded an attacking team in order to obtain a win which
would put milan back on track to try to clinch a Champions
league spot for next season. Milan attacked right from
the start and took control of midfield. the first chance
came after two minutes from a Serginho header which was
too central to trouble Bucci. Soon later a Kaladze cross
saw Bucci having to punch to corner. A few minutes later
it was Moreno all alone in front of Bucci but the Torino
keeper saved well. Again it was Moreno who anticipated
Galante but his shot just missed. The last chance of the
half fell to Costacurta who shot over the bar. At this
point Milan had seven corners under their belt to Torino's
none proving the extent of Milan's domination.
The
second half saw the much awaited return of Pippo Inzaghi
much to the crwod's delight. The forward immediately made
his presence felt creating space for jose mari. In fact
from a Jose Mari cross, Inzaghi was just late. Milan first
goal came after 51 minutes from a Kaladze incredible lob
over Bucci from an imposible angle. Everyone else had
given up on the ball which was on it's way out but kaladze,
somehow, managed to lure it into the net.
A
few minutes later. Contra was deemed to have downed Ferrante.
Ferrante took the kick and sent Abbiati the wrong way
for an unmerited equaliser. Milan were determined to get
all three points and a Rui Costa free kick over flew just
over the bar. Moments later a Serginho shot glided over
as well and minutes later on Inzaghi missed to shot from
a good position. Milan still moved forward and from a
corner Ambrosini headed into the corner of the net much
to the fans delight. Ancelotti made a few defensive moves
and had to suffer till the last second when a ball somehow
fell to Lucarelli who missed from the small box.
Ancelotti
was then free to punch the air in jubilation.
16/3/2002
Inzaghi is back
Inzaghi
today played a full first half with Tassotti's Primavera
squad. Under the watchful eye of Ancelotti Milan beat
Padova 2-1, although all eyes were focused on Inzaghi's
performance. The player will sit on the bench tomorrow
for the serie A match against Torino.
In
front of the five Milan fans who made the trip to Nicosia,
all the others were protesting against the team for the
recent string of poor results, Milan again failed to score.
Without Shevchenko and Inzaghi but with the return of
Max Ambrosini in midfield Milan played better than in
recent matches, but could not score.
The
only goal of the match came after 32 minutes when a cross
found unmarked Cleshenko, who's first timer hit Contra
and found the corner of the net. Milan pressed hard for
an equaliser, but the goal never materialised. An appeal
for a clear penalty was also rejected and Moreno also
missed an open goal but decided to pass the ball to Roque
Junior who was anticipated before he could reach the ball.
Not
all is lost after yet another dismal display and Milan
can look forward to recover this match. The problem with
Milan is clearly up front. The team plays well till the
area but then lacks inventiveness and the scoring touch
of Inzaghi- Sheva who are being sorely missed.
Today’s
defeat in Bologna is really bad news for AC Milan in view
of the qualification to next year’s Champions League.
The match was decided in the first half (goals by Fresi
and Cruz). The kids couldn’t manage to come from
behind
BOLOGNA
– The Bologna challenge was crucial in the fight
to gain the fourth spot in the standings and the chance
to play next year’s Champions League, but coach Guidolin’s
squad deservedly won and made it difficult for the kids
to reach their seasonal goal. Bologna is now 6 points
ahead of the Red-and-blacks.
The match began fifteen minutes later than scheduled,
because the kids had remained stuck in the traffic. After
only three minutes, Signori hit Abbiati’s woodwork
on a free kick, and Fresi put the rebound in with a header,
giving Bologna the lead.
AC Milan just froze and couldn’t put together the
smallest reaction. And 20 minutes later Bologna doubled:
on a timely pass from Signori, Cruz found himself all
alone in front of Abbiati, and after eluding him accompanied
the ball beyond the goal-line.
Only Simone and José Mari tried to threaten Bologna’s
defence, but Pagliuca always managed to save, and his
team-mates were always ready to counter-attack.
In the second half Ancelotti sent in Chamot and Javi Moreno
in the place of Kaladze and Albertini, to change the squad
attitude, but this had no effect at all. Pagliuca was
never in serious danger. Bologna added another great match
to their wonderful season, dashing AC Milan’s hopes.
Taken
from acmilan.com
9/3/2002
Shevchenko injured
Milan's
injury list continues to grow with now even Andriy Shevchenko
on the injured list. The player will not be called for
the Bologna away match due to a contusion he has to his
leg, from which he has not recovered yet.
Milan
to do away with the old guard
Milan's
revolution will start with the selling off of most of
the old guard. Rossi, Costacurta and Albertini are all
expected to leave the club at the end of the season. Only
captain Paolo Maldini has been confirmed.
8/3/2002
Gamarra, a Milan player
Carlos
Gamarra is a Milan player. The Paraguayan international
will be joining the club in June for a reported 6 million
Euro. The 31 year old defender actually belongs to Flamengo
but is currently playing for AEK Athens in Greek football.
6/3/2002
Hapoel - Milan in Cyprus
Milan
will be playing their away leg to Israeli Hapoel in Cyprus.
It has to be made clear that this decision was taken by
UEFA and Milan have issued a statement showing their disappointment
at this decision. In the statement Milan isued following
this decision it was said that sport should always overcome
the adversities of politics and war, but it seems sport
lost again this time.
Transfer
talk
A
lot of transfer talk is going on at the moment about posible
transfers. Latest gossip is Laursen to Tottenham and Brazilian
Kaka to Milan.
Milan
played a good match and deserved better than going out
of the derby without any points. They certainly played
better than Inter but luck was on Inter's side on the
day. With Costacurta in command of the defence Milan controlled
the match. With him out injured the team took a downturn
and conceded a soft goal. Guess this match reflects much
of the season Milan have had.
Milan
also found a superb Shevchenko, who was clearly the best
player on the pitch, creating havoc on every occassion
he got hold of the ball. With Milan in control of much
of the first half the best chance fell to Jose Mari, but
he misdirected an easy header. Other good shots by Shevchenko
were saved by Toldo with difficulty.
The
second half saw more of the same although Inter looked
a better side. Costacurta's injury created some problems
in defence and ventola ran off crossed with Abbiati saving
well but Vieri was on hand to knee the ball into the net.
Milan tried to react but given that they had played extra
time against Roda the team looked tired and demoralised.
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