Ronaldinho to AC Milan - Time for rest of Europe to get scared

Ronaldinho set for Milan move - Ronaldinho has agreed initial terms with AC Milan and the Serie A club will now speak to Barcelona about a deal, Milan and the player's agent have said.

The 28-year-old Brazilian has had a difficult few months at the Nou Camp because of injury and loss of form and a move has long been mooted.

Former Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff, who remains an influential figure at the club, said Ronaldinho should leave at the end of the season.

This is one heck of a coup on Milan's part - Scary for fans of all the other clubs in Europe. Milan have easily been the best club in Europe over the last two decades. And just when you thought that they were on the downside; with a team full of veterans finally feeling their age - as reflected in an early exit in the Champions League and struggles in the Serie, the Rossoneri strike back.

This club is not going to give their rivals any breather. They are not going to go through a long re-building phase. They are past masters at rebuilding a side on the fly and will do it again. Ronaldinho is the most critical piece of the puzzle and the other minor pieces will fall in place shortly. While Chelsea and Inter Milan with all their money have failed to build one Champions League -winning side, AC Milan have already done it four times ( winning 6 titles in the process). And I will put my mortgage on them doing it once again pretty soon.

Their success as exemplified by the Ronaldinho example has been built on mastery in the transfer market. They target the best attackers in the world and just go out and get them. From Van Basten to Kaka, they have always managed to beat their European rivals at getting the top talent. Ronaldinho from Barcelona will be an addition to the impressive list.

How scary would a combination of Kaka and Ronaldinho be?

Kaka almost single-handedly carried Milan to the Champions League title last year and Ronaldinho inspired Barca to victory the year before that. Need I say more?

They will give opposition defenders enough nightmares to have them queuing up for sleep disorder treatment. Usually, the presence of two players of this quality leads to ego clashes- look at Barca which will forever rue letting Ronaldinho go. But managing massive personalities is another of Milan's strengths. They are run like a small family club; have you ever heard of a big time player leaving Milan acrimoniously. Never.

Some people will be comforted by the sight of Milan's creaking defense and lack of a top striker. Just wait till the end of the season. Sheva has been itching for a return and Didier Drogba has also been dropping hints about a Milan move. Expect others to pine for a place in the Milan side. Who wouldn’t want to play alongside Kaka and Ronaldinho? They are great creators as well and any striker will benefit from the chances created by the Brazilian duo. As for the defenders, expect Milan to reinforce their defensive troops from within the Serie A with minimum of fuss. Everyone wants to win titles and your chances are infinitely better if you play in a Milan side with Kaka and Ronaldinho.

The Ronaldinho news just increased the pressure on Barcelona, United, Chelsea and Liverpool. This season could be their best shot at the Champions League crown in the near future. Milan will be back to torment them next year.

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Two reasons why Sir Alex is finally sleeping peacefully

Manchester United have an excellent record in the first half of the season against their fellow members of the top 4. They beat Chelsea at home, Liverpool away and had the upper hand in a drawn game against Arsenal. While the frontline and defense have performed admirably in these games, the men in the middle have been the real difference makers. They have won every midfield battle enabling their side to control the flow of the game. And this for me has been the biggest positive for the Red Devils from the first half of the season.

The role of the ball-winning midfielder is crucial in modern football. Especially, for attacking sides which often leave their defense exposed. A top-class, unselfish midfielder protecting your back four is a prized possession; the absence of which gives any manager regular sleepless nights. The rise and the fall of Real Madrid with and without Claude Makalele is the perfect example of how valuable these guys are. Most of the successful sides in Europe have had a quality guy in this role. Chelsea with Makalele again, AC Milan with Gattuso, Arsenal and Inter with Patrick Viera and Bayern Munich with Owen Hergreaves.

Roy Keane filled this role admirably for Manchester United during their dominant run in the Premiership. His decline and subsequent exit was largely responsible for United hitting a trough and playing second fiddle to Chelsea and Arsenal. Last year’s squad played glorious attacking football on their way to the title but was far from being a perfect team with glaring inadequacies – like when it came to ball –winning, as cruelly exposed by AC Milan in the Champions League semis. A title encore was highly unlikely without the necessary additions to the squad.

Fergie was acutely aware of the problem at hand and had been fairly active in the transfer market, trying to fill the hole. His targets included Javier Mascherano, Marcos Senna and Owen Hergreaves. Among the lot he was particularly keen on Hergreaves – a player Bayern were equally committed to hold onto. Fergie came close to getting his hands on both Mascherano and Senna, but preferred to bide his time for Hergreaves. Quite clearly, in Fergie’s eyes, the Canadian-born Englishman was the perfect fit for united. His relentless pursuit finally bore fruit at the start of the 2007-08 season. While this purchase was on the lines of the expected for united fans, what sir Alex did next left them gaping at his supposed impulsiveness. On a trip to Portugal to strike a deal for the new ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’ – Nani, he also bought the defensive midfielder Anderson. The Brazilian did not come cheap, was largely an unknown quantity and not expected to figure even on the United bench; with the midfield choc-a-bloc with quality players. He was considered a luxury Sir Alex could do without having already spent quite a fortune bringing in new players.

Anderson did nothing extraordinary in the pre-season to change the status quo in his position in the midfield pecking order. He got a lucky break when first Scholes and then Hergreaves got injured. The Brazilian grabbed the opportunity with both hands and has gone from strength to strength ever since. So much so, that on Hergreaves’ return, Fergie has often played them together. The emergence of the challenger seems to have had a positive influence on Hergreaves and the ex-Bayern man has delivered all the promised goods.

United cannot believe their good-luck. They asked for one ball-winner and got two class performers. This gives them the insurance of a quality replacement incase of injuries and the luxury to give each player enough rest to keep them fresh throughout the season. The duo has ensured that the team has developed a hitherto unknown defensive solidity – a quality critical for the European battles to follow. They break opposition attacks well before it gets to the United defensive third. This spares the defense long spells of duress; ones which mostly lead to a fatal error. The attack is better than ever and treble chants are emanating again.

Last season’s clash between United and Milan was billed as an encounter between Kaka and Ronaldo. The intervention of Gennaro Gattuso made it a no-contest in Kaka’s favour. In the 1999 Champions League final, United sorely missed the services of a suspended Roy Keane, escaping with a lucky victory. With the double-whammy of Hergreaves and Anderson, a repeat of either mismatch is highly unlikely

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Glory Glory AC Milan

AC Milan are the toast of Europe once again. And even though, I bitterly hate them for beating Man United, I’ am conferring another title upon them. They are quite simply ‘The best team in Europe over the last 20 years’ and the competition is not even close.

Statistically speaking, they have won 5 UEFA Champions League/European Cups in the last 20 years and made the final on 3 other occasions. Real Madrid come closest with 3 titles and Barcelona have won 2. Their tally of 8 finals’ appearances is twice that of Juventus, who are second with 4. And remember they were banned for a year by UEFA in 1991; a time when they were at the peak of their powers.

Their record becomes even more impressive when you consider the fact that their successes were not the outcome of one lavishly assembled ‘dream team’ which dominated for a stretch, like Real with their team of ‘Galacticos’ winning two titles in 3 years or Juventus making 3 consecutive finals, but of 4 very distinct teams involving 3 rebuilding exercises. The stiff competition in Europe and the obscene bidding for top talent makes it difficult enough to assemble one champion side (Just ask the likes of Chelsea and Inter Milan). Rebuilding and winning again is something which the likes of Man United, Ajax Amsterdam and Bayern Munich are still striving for, and something which Barcelona and Real Madrid have managed to accomplish once each. (Barca in 2006 after 1992 and Real in 2000 after 1998). Milan have done it thrice- just try appreciating the enormity of their achievement.

The team which won in 1989 and 1990 was built around the Dutch trio of Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten. Post their departure, they won in 1994 with Dejan Savicevic and Boban leading the way. Andriy Shevchenko was the star of the 2003 champions and 2005 runners-up side. And this time around they were led into battle by the young Kaka.

So what is the secret of Milan? What is the fundamental principle employed by the club in creating the perfect template for success in Europe? What lesson do they have for Mr Abramovich?

The broad answer to that would be ‘continuity’. Unlike many Spanish and English clubs, Milan have always been under the ownership of Silvio Berlusconi and the former Italian premier has maintained the same basic tenets in running the club. Not for him the major over hauls and frequent changes.

In Berlusconi's time, Milan have had a succession of like minded Italian managers, who have preached the same basic playing style. From Arrigo Sacchi to Fabio Capello and Alberto Zaccheroni to Carlo Ancelotti, Milan teams have always been an efficient unit combining the best of fluid attacks and classic Italian ‘Catenaccio’ defense.

This style has been executed by the successful marriage of foreign imports in attack and home bred defenders. Milan have always gone for the very best in their choice of attackers, picking up the likes of Sheva, Van Basten, Kaka and Gullit. And, in their pursuit of a rampant attack force, they have not forgotten the virtues of the Italian school of defense. The back four was anchored initially by Franco Baresi , who handed over to Paulo Maldini and now the reigns lie in the hand of Alessandro Nesta; each one of them the best practitioner of the Italian defensive arts.

Milan’s policy of long term planning and continuity has created a ‘big happy family’ atmosphere at the club. Players rarely if ever leave the club in their prime. It took the personal friendship of Roman Abramovich and a fee of 30 million to lure Shevchenko away. Many join the coaching team and back room staff, helping the new recruits imbibe the same philosophy, which, they practiced all their lives as players.

And finally all the good work leads to good karma. Imagine getting the Dutch trio after they led Holland to the European championship of nations, Sheva after he powered tiny Dynamo Kiev to Champions League semis, Kaka after he starred at the World Cup and Savicevic and Boban after they led Red Star Belgrade to a European cup victory; without getting into a bidding war with any club. It’s in stark contrast to the continued bad luck of local rivals, Inter Milan, who in spite of spending millions of dollars more over the same period, have just one semi-final appearance to show for it. After all they are the masters of ‘change’. In all my time as a well informed football fan, which, is around 15 years, I have seen owner Moratti build a new team from scratch under a new manager with a new philosophy 3 times already!!!!. No wonder the likes of Ronaldo, Cannavaro and Roberto Carlos keep running away.

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