Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Italian Edition: Is This The Downfall of AC Milan?


Is this the end of the glory days for AC Milan? Is it now all over for the Milanistas? No more summer spending, no more trophies, nothing? Silvio Berlusconi, the man who rescued Milan from Serie B in the late 80’s and led them to their current glory whilst being celebrated as the club with the most international trophies in the world, was once adored and idolized by all the Rossoneri fans around the globe. This same man is currently a popular hate figure amongst many diehard Milanistas for what is seen as the deterioration of the club season after season. Berlusconi, along with Galliani, are blamed for all the recent failures of the Milanese club. Can they rescue Milan once again?

It all started with the sale of Shevchenko. Before the 2006 World Cup, Milan had one of the best squads in the world. However, they had finished trophyless for two seasons in a row. Was it time for Ancelotti to go? Was it time to start a new era? After the World Cup, Sheva went to Chelsea. Ancelotti and Pirlo almost went to Real Madrid, only for Berlusconi to block the moves at the last minute. Milan never really replaced Shevchenko, instead they bought Ricardo Oliveira from Real Betis. He turned out to be a major flop in the peninsula. Kaka was then seen to be the one to ultimately replace Sheva. In the Serie A the club’s form was terrible, up until the January transfer window arrived. Massimo Oddo and Ronaldo were signed from Lazio and Real Madrid respectively as short term replacements to quickly fill the gaps. Milan’s form started improving domestically but their main focus was on the Champions League. By the end of the season Milan had become European Champions. Kaka stepped up and filled Shevchenko’s boots, Ancelotti, Pirlo, Seedorf, Gattuso, and Nesta all had their magical moments. But was this enough to rely on for the future? Wasn’t it time to rebuild despite success? Time to incorporate some youngsters whilst still on a high? Berlusconi and Galliani didn’t think so, according to them AC Milan was a team full of “Experienced Champions”.

Eventually no big name players were signed, and no weaknesses were improved. No new defenders, no new striker (not until January anyway, when Pato was able to play), just Emerson, another Real Madrid reject. Despite being a former Serie A great with Roma and even Juventus he had become old and slow. Something heavily associated with Milan at the time. That season turned out to be the worst of this decade for AC Milan. They finished in a humiliating 5th spot, after being knocked out from the Champions League by Arsenal, failing to even qualify for the quarter finals. However, according to Berlusconi and Galliani it still remained a successful season after Milan lifted both the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup. But for the Milan fans, it was a humiliating season. Ronaldo was injured all of the season and played only 1 game and a half, Milan’s form at the San Siro was horrific, and the Rossoneri giants had to rely on an 18 year old kid nicknamed “The Duck” to save them from more embarrassment.

Last summer however was an improvement. Milan at least acted in the transfer market, however being unable to acquire original targets such as Adebayor and Ivanovic, Milan ended up with Ronaldinho and Senderos. Zambrotta, Antonini, Borriello, Shevchenko, and Abbiati also arrived. Hardly a Champions League winning squad, but definitely an improvement from the previous season. With no Champions League to play for, Milan crashed out of the Uefa Cup early against Werder Bremen, and finished the season 3rd in the Serie A. Obviously, Berlusconi and Galliani had had enough and it was time for Ancelotti to go. Leonardo was destined to fill his boots, with every Milanista hoping he’d pull a Guardiola. Was he the right choice? We’ll have to wait and see.

Despite all the facts mentioned above, the biggest hit to AC Milan has to be the sale of Kaka. Milan’s #1 star, the club’s main marketing image, the player destined to be the next captain and finish his career at Milan. It turned out to be all lies, all the rumors were true, and eventually Kaka did leave Milan for Real Madrid. Okay, life goes on, and a player leaving isn’t the end of the world. Instead of Berlusconi and Galliani spending the money from the Kaka sale to reinforce and rebuild the squad, they decide to use it to “balance the books”. What has happened? What has happened signor Berlusconi? Don’t you like AC Milan anymore? Turns out that Berlusconi wants AC Milan to function as a company now, so no more personal cash to help the club. With Serie A’s image declining season after season, Milan, and all the other Italian clubs, can’t afford to spend as big as English or Spanish clubs. So, no Kaka replacement, or no stars to be signed. Even when Milan fans got a glimmer of hope when Galliani said that Milan will rely on the youth, the Cissokho deal fell through and Werder Bremen refused to sell Dzeko.

With rumors about Pirlo and Pato leaving for Chelsea, and Milan linked with absolutely no one in the market, is this the end for the great AC Milan? Or do Berlusconi, Gallliani, and Leonardo know what they’re doing? Milan has always came back stronger time after time, will it be the same now? Or is this the start of the downfall of AC Milan? Only time will tell…

2 comments:

cynn.bee said...

great post
I only read 1/2
but it's 5:35am here, so don't blame me ;)

Anonymous said...

go barcelona