Kaka: Real Madrid dream, Milan's nightmare

Kaka:Real Madrid dream, Milan's nightmare

The Curse of Brilliance

Chapter two

By: Ramzi Tanani

If you had no chance to read the first part of this article, then either you go there first, or you pay extra fees for taking a short cut straight forward to this one. This part continues the analysis regarding the impact of losing your key player for another team. Today’s feast is Milan, and the roasted turkey is Kaka.

Once upon a time, Belusconi used to follow his heart. He used to do what he feels right. It clicked for him when he had the feeling to hire -an almost amateur- Arrigo Sacchi to coach Milan, and later on when he hired Capello as a coach (after a previous short trial). At the moment, what’s right for Silvio is what’s cheap. Do not dare to oppose that, he is the Italian chosen one after all, right?!

His hunch is just the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That’s how he ended up feeling that Ronaldinho will carry Milan to glory after the departure of Kaka.

But how can you blame him? He asked Ronaldinho, even before the season kick off, to promise to act as a professional. Ronaldinho started to tap and slap his lap while making the scout oath of behaving like Iniesta and hating all Interista and avoiding all kind of alcoholic fiesta. Don Silvio gave him that tender look of bless in return, tipped a kiss on his forehead before going calmly to the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and then jumping with excitement, waving his fists in the air, performing a Macarena dance and rubbing his hands with pleasure! “The following scudetto is mine! O’SoOOOOlo MioOOOOO!!!”

But the scudetto is not enough for the ambitious guru. He wanted to win the Champions’ league as well. So he made his plan at the heat of the moment, sending his bald bold hunter to bring him a Huntelaar. Io non parlo Italiano, but I wonder if “Borriello” is a bad word in Italian, or any Latin-derived language. He brought another striker to plant in the opponent box while Gattuso, Pirlo, and Ambrosini who are supposed to earn back the ball and deliver it into the box are 93 years old! Now don’t claim there is a Seedorf as well because that will boost their age to 126. How about that?! Spread the years on them anyway you like, it won’t look better.

Luckily Leonardo felt embarrassed to scream at a player who is as old as his grand pa during the training sessions and that’s why Milan had no chance but to give up on a raw talent like Emerson. And you don’t want me to start nagging about defense, do you?

I know...I know... They are doing well at the moment! They defeated Real Madrid! I couldn’t care less. Good luck, coach's creativity, and a good run of form is something. Bad managerial planning is something else.

I believe selling Kaka was a smart move /joking ended in the previous paragraph!/. Milan made the right decision selling Kaka, as the price offered was not realistic in my humble opinion. He is a good player, but he will not get any better than he is. He can’t carry the team on his own to titles any more. There are also lots of question marks regarding his injury consequences. Besides, for the money gained through this sale, Milan was able to make a series of smart buys that may not win them anything this season, but will prove significant for the club future and will put it again in the right position to compete on the highest levels.

On the good side, they have two quality young Brazilians in Silva and Pato. If you say they also have Dida I will ban your IP! I believe this Milan need a fullback as an urgent need. Strengthening the squad afterwards depend on how they will shape their tactical structure. The 4-3-3 is not a bad idea. But in this case Pirlo must be excluded from most of the defensive jobs at this age. He is the maestro and the best player to dictate the tempo and lead the team forward. He has to be the deepest of the three midfielders while the two other midfielders serve him creating defensive cover and as passing outlets. I like Ambrosini Grinta but I honestly feel depressed every time I see him playing in front of Pirlo. If Falmini failed to meet the expectations as a holding midfielder then a new defensive midfielder is needed. Flamini can work as a box to box midfielder in return saving lot of Pirlo calories by covering the spaces around him. Gattuso –who is an example of dedication- is not getting any younger, which is a shame. The offense is a bit tricky. I do not think having both Seedorf and Ronaldinho in the same selection is the best option. One of them with Pato and Borriello will balance the physical demands with the experienced technical touch. The 4-3-3 demands that the offense contribute defense wise, something Roni and Seedorf can do every once and while, but not on weekly bases. Besides, Having Borriello and Pato can help in keeping Ronaldinho as close as possible to the box edge when the team is in a defensive status. That’s where he has to receive the ball most, and then his teammates can position themselves without being worried that he may lose the ball as this is one of the qualities he still have. And they do not need to worry if he will be able to fax the ball to them in the box as this is another quality no one can deny. Another Pato-like player will be a bless. Doing the mistake of buying a pure wing will be regretted, regardless of how tempting it is for stretching the field and crossing the ball to Borriello and co. Milan has the right fullbacks for that role if when they are well covered defensively. The flank forwards as I like to address the “wings” of the 4-3-3 must have the ability to cut inside either as attacking midfielders to get advantage of the wholes or as second strikers in the box. Or else the lone striker will get isolated and contained.

Rating the overall process, if grade (A) means excellent and Grade (D) means bad while (B) and (C) are in-between. I give Milan a (C) grade for this season preparations. Especially that they are even ignoring some youth talents they have in the squad, while this is actually the perfect period to give them a try. But worry not! A young talented English player may join them next January, coming from the US.