Who is the best all-time defender?

You're a captain, you have to lead your team. When your team-mates look you in the eye, they must believe in you. 
You're a defender, never give your tactics away. Be invisiable and dangerous, don't give up any ground to your opponent. Gauge your movements to the very last millimetre.
Football is a game of centimetres with a very small margin of error. Pass just a fraction too early or too late and it's a foul. A second too quick or too slow and you've missed the ball. But you're surrounded by the centimetres you need to win, they're there every minute and every second of the game. You have to fight for every one of them, you have to run yourself into the ground for them. You have to fight tooth and nail for that centimetre. Because when you add up all those centimetres, what you get is the difference between victory and defeat. 

Every football fan should see this video, it has facts and interviews with the best (Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Maradona, Vieri, Boban, Arrigo Sacchi, Costacurta to name few) admitting who made them suffer more during their clash with opponents defenders.  

read more

Happy birthday to Paolo Maldini, Il Capitano today turns 44!

Club career

Our "Capitano" today turns 44. Let us remember with joy what a remarkable carrier Maldini had with Milan jersey. He is irreplacable, unique and one of the best all-time defender. Let's hope his son who is part of Milan's youth will have Maldini gen in him. Now let's pay tribute to Maldini's Milan carrier.

Paolo Cesare Maldini (born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender, being adept with either foot although naturally right footed. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club. During that period, he won the Champions League five times, as well as seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana, five European Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups. He played for 14 years for the Italian national team, making his debut in 1988 before retiring in 2002 with 126 caps and four World Cup participations.

Maldini played at a world class level for his entire career spanning 2 and a half decades, and won the Best Defender trophy at the UEFA Club Football Awards at the age of 39. He came second to George Weah for the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 1995, the closest a defender had ever reached to winning the award, until Fabio Cannavaro, a fellow Italian won the award in 2006. He was also the Milan and Italy captain for many years and was considered a leader amongst leaders by fellow footballers, leading to the nickname "Il Capitano" (the Captain). Paolo's father Cesare formerly played for and captained Milan, and is a successful national U-21 manager.

Maldini made his league debut in the 1984–85 season on 20 January 1985, replacing the injured Sergio Battistini in a match against Udinese at the age of 16. It was his only league appearance of the campaign, but he was in the starting eleven the following season. The 1987–88 Scudetto marked Maldini's first trophy, and the first of seven league titles, with the club. He was also part of Milan's undefeated Serie A champion side in the 1991–92 season. The back four that included Maldini and fellow long-timers Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassotti is widely considered one of European football's most formidable defensive quartets of the 1990s. Following Baresi's retirement, he would also form a formidable and successful partnership with Alessandro Nesta.

In addition to winning his third Champions League and reaching the 1994 World Cup final, Maldini became the first defender ever to win World Soccer magazine's annual World Player of the Year Award. During his acceptance speech, Maldini called his milestone "a particular matter of pride because defenders generally receive so much less attention from fans and the media than goalscorers. We are more in the engine room rather than taking the glory."He then singled out Milan captain Franco Baresi as a player who "really [deserved] to receive the sort of award I have received."

Maldini played his 600th Serie A match on 13 May 2007 in a 1–1 draw at Catania. On 25 September 2005, Maldini broke Dino Zoff's Serie A appearance record after playing his 571st league match against Treviso; seven days earlier, he had played his 800th game in all competitions for Milan. On 16 February 2008, Maldini reached 1,000 senior games with Milan and Italy when he entered as a substitute against Parma.

Maldini has participated in eight UEFA Champions League finals during the course of his career, which is bettered only by Francisco Gento, who also appeared in a Cup Winners' Cup final, bringing his total European finals to nine. Maldini has lifted the trophy five times, the latest coming in Milan's 2–1 victory over Liverpool in the 2007 Champions League final on 23 May 2007 in Athens. In an interview with ESPN that aired prior to the broadcast of the 2007 final, he labeled the 2005 Champions League final, a match that Milan lost on penalties to Liverpool after blowing a 3–0 half-time lead, the worst moment of his career, even though he had scored the fastest-ever goal in a European Clubs' Cup final just 51 seconds into the match, in the process also becoming the oldest player ever to score in a final.

Maldini announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2007–08 season, saying that he would do so with "no regrets."However, following Milan's elimination from the Champions League by Arsenal in March, Maldini stated that he would possibly delay his retirement for at least a further year. He signed an extension on June 6 that kept him at Milan for the 2008–09 season On 18 April 2009, Maldini announced that he will be finally retiring at the end of the 2008–09 season.

On 17 May, in the Friuli Stadium, Maldini played his 900th official match for Milan in a league game against Udinese. Maldini's last match in San Siro was on 24 May, in a game lost 3–2 against Roma. There was a small controversy when the Milan fans known as "Brigate Rossonere" protested against Maldini as he said goodbye. His last appearance for Milan, and his last game as an active player was on 31 May 2009, in the last match of the season, against Fiorentina, which Milan won 2–0. Milan retired his number 3 shirt, but it will be bequeathed to one of his sons if one makes the club's senior side.

International career

In 1986, Maldini was called up by his father Cesare to the Italian U-21 side, where he earned twelve caps and scored five goals in two years. He made his Azzurri debut at the age of nineteen on 31 March 1988, in a 1–1 friendly draw against Yugoslavia, and made one appearance for Italy at the 1988 Olympics. Maldini featured in all four of Italy's games at Euro 1988, and participated in his first World Cup in 1990, where Italy lost to Argentina in the semifinals on penalties.

Maldini's first international goal came in his 44th career match, in a 2–0 friendly win over Mexico on 20 January 1993. He captained Italy at the start of the 1994 World Cup, losing to Brazil in the final on penalties. He was named in the Team of the Tournament, 32 years after his father received the same honour at the 1962 World Cup. Euro 1996 would see Italy eliminated in the group stage, and the quarterfinals of the 1998 World Cup. Italy did reach the final of Euro 2000, but lost to France in extra time.

After Italy were eliminated in the 2002 World Cup round of sixteen, Maldini retired trophyless from international competition as Italy's most capped player. He scored seven international goals, all coming in home games. He spent over half of his 16 years as an international as team captain, wearing the armband a record 74 times.

In February 2009, Italian head coach Marcello Lippi declared his support for a testimonial match for Maldini, stating that it would give him a chance to play for the Azzurri for a final time.Italian Football Federation offered him a place in the line-up in a friendly match against Northern Ireland. However, Maldini rejected the offer, saying that he wanted to part with football in an "official" match.

Retirement

Prior to his retirement, Maldini expressed that he would never be moving into a coaching career. He was offered a position that would have reunited him with his former manager, Carlo Ancelotti, by joining Chelsea as a coach having reportedly met with Ancelotti and with Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich, to discuss such a possibility. On 30 June 2009, Ancelotti announced that Maldini had turned down his offer to become part of Chelsea's coaching staff.

Team	Season	Serie A		Coppa Italia		European Competition		Other Tournaments		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Milan	1984–85	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	0
	1985–86	27	0	6	0	6	0	1	0	40	0
	1986–87	29	1	7	0	—	—	1	—	37	1
	1987–88	26	2	1	0	2	0	—	—	29	2
	1988–89	26	0	7	0	7	0	—	—	40	0
	1989–90	30	1	6	0	8	0	1	0	47	1
	1990–91	26	4	3	0	4	0	1	0	35	4
	1991–92	31	3	7	1	—	—	—	—	38	4
	1992–93	31	2	8	0	10	1	1	0	50	3
	1993–94	30	1	2	0	10	1	2	0	46	2
	1994–95	29	2	1	0	11	0	1	0	43	2
	1995–96	30	3	3	0	8	0	—	—	41	3
	1996–97	26	1	3	0	6	0	1	0	36	1
	1997–98	30	0	7	0	—	—	—	—	37	0
	1998–99	31	1	2	0	—	—	—	—	33	1
	1999–00	27	1	4	0	6	0	1	0	38	1
	2000–01	31	1	4	0	14	0	—	—	49	1
	2001–02	15	0	—	—	4	0	—	—	19	0
	2002–03	29	2	1	0	19	0	—	—	49	2
	2003–04	30	0	—	—	9	0	2	0	42	0
	2004–05	33	0	—	—	13	1	1	0	47	1
	2005–06	14	2	—	—	9	0	—	—	23	2
	2006–07	18	1	—	—	9	0	—	—	27	1
	2007–08	17	1	—	—	4	0	2	0	23	1
	2008–09	30	0	—	—	2	0	—	—	32	0
Career Total		647	29	72	1	161	3	15	0	902	33

read more

FLASH NEWS: Aquilani, Robinho, Kaka, read more

• Aquilani could sign the 2-year contract with Milan as soon as next week, according to Corriere dello Sport.
• Corriere dello Sport also reports that Aquilani wants €3.5 million from Liverpool to terminate his contract with them.
• Sky Italia reports that Aquilani could be loaned for another year to Milan with an obligatory buy-out clause set at €1 million
• Milan and Liverpool would then share the expenses for Aquilani's salary by paying 50% each (roughly €1.25 million each).
• Aquilani could sign the 2-year contract with Milan as soon as next week, according to Corriere dello Sport.
• Corriere dello Sport also reports that Aquilani wants €3.5 million from Liverpool to terminate his contract with them.
• Sky Italia reports that Aquilani could be loaned for another year to Milan with an obligatory buy-out clause set at €1 million
• Milan and Liverpool would then share the expenses for Aquilani's salary by paying 50% each (roughly €1.25 million each).
• Gazzetta dello Sport claims that the primary reason why Flamini hasn't extended yet is because that he doesn't feel valued by Allegri.
• Santos could make an official offer for Robinho soon, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
• Malaga have made an offer of €15 million for Robinho and an annual salary of €6m for the player, according to reports from Spain
• Dídac Vilà’s agent was at Via Turati two days ago, according to reports from Spain
• The agent allegedly told Milan that his client wants to join Valencia. They want to sign him on a loan deal with a buy-out option
• However, Milan want the buy-out right to be obligatory and not optional
• Corriere dello Sport reports that Kakà's entourage will be in Madrid next week to discuss the annulment of his contract.
• A few days ago, Galliani and Florentino Pérez talked about the possible transfer of Kakà to Milan, according to Corriere dello Sport
• Milan are interested in signing the 19-year old midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia from Lens. Lens value him at €3m. (Corriere dello Sport). An Geoffrey Kondogbia Youtube Video follows.

read more

(VIDEO) Happy Birthday to Urby Emanuelson, who turns 26 today!

Let's wish a warm Happy Birthday to our player Urby Emanuelson, wish him health and hope he will fullfill his potencial. Next follows the full Urby stats on Milan jersey.

Urby Emanuelson Player Profile

Squad No: 28
Position: Defender
Age: 26
Birth Date: Jun 16, 1986
Birth Place: Netherlands
Height: 1.76m
Weight: 68 kg

Last season for AC Milan

2011/12 Italian Serie A 

GAMES GOALS ASSISTS SHOTS

    30              2         5             35

read more

AC Milan 1-0 Napoli..chances and the goal !!!

Plenty of chances, chaotic second half for Milan, one missed penalty by Kaka and an own goal scored by "our hero" Denis. Milan is in a excellent form on last 11 matches and that leads them up to the top of Serie A table. Next match is against Lecce, hope it will be another win for our team.
P.S. Napoli's Lavezzi's great prospect, demon speed great technique all in all hope Milan Board consider in signing him.
These are words that Galliani and Ancelotti said after the match: “We’re satisfied, I’m not celebrating yet, I will need the entire night to remove the adrenaline. We won against a great team, Napoli with Iezzo who saved various situations and played a great game. In this wonderful evening I saw extraordinary players. I would start from Christian Abbiati who finally returned to us. For the entire summer we were after him to return. He’s the wonderful goalkeeper who following a great save at Perugia, awarded us the Scudetto. And then I would also add some words on professor Favalli. He’s fantastic, he always understands what can happen, he proved this tonight. He predicts every situation. Gattuso? In an angry way I told him that I command her and that he wouldn't have left. I remember well what happened last summer. We could not lose Gattuso, he must remain calm. To leave this squad he must stop playing football. He motivates everyone, the environment and the dressing room, he cannot leave for all that he does during the week and not only for the grit and the charge who puts on the pitch. Many compliments also to Bonera, a player who is improving a lot."- Galliani

“We are very happy, after a long time we returned to the top of the standings. I am happy because following the difficult start to the season, we recovered quickly. I'm very proud of this group. Tonight we played in particular conditions, for this reason I tried to field a tactic we had used against Bologna and exposed us in defence. Our full-backs moved with balance, Gattuso was a filter whereas Bonera and Favalli were not rightly aggressive. With these situations we managed to play a great second half, but already towards the end of the first half,. 11 and 11, we managed to impress a good rhythm. Napoli takes advantage of the counter attacks and in the first half we controlled. I’m proud of everyone. Now we must be more courageous and I don’t think there will be people relaxing. Favalli? He’s very intelligent, more than the norm. He’s playing great with Bonera, he’s manna for us, in a critical moment for the defence. The competition is motivating, at times I‘m often to choose forced to make painful decisions like that of leaving Shevchenko in the stands. Zambrotta and Jankulovski? Good game by them, they had to wait for their wingers and they played very well wit intelligence. The handball? It was evaluated as healthy, but better that it went like this." -Ancelotti

read more

Atalanta 0-1 AC Milan + Kaka goal...

Tough win for Milan, now only a point behind the leading trio Inter, Udinese and Napoli. Borriello assited an excellent ball to Kaka who in a world class style scored an wonderfull goal.

The starting line up for Milan: Abbiati; Zambrotta, Bonera, Maldini, Jankulovski; Gattuso, Flamini, Ambrosini; Kakà, Ronaldinho; Borriello.

read more

Beckham set to join Milan in January

Yes this time this information is also confirmed by Milan VP Adriano Galliani who said: " Beckham will join Milan in January transfer window on loan until the end of Calcio season and then we will try and make the deal permanent", so the obvious question that most rossoneri and Italian soccer fans ask is: "Is this a smart move by Milan management?" From economical point of view this could actualy work out well for Milan, Beckham is a brand and could also attract other players like Fabregas to join Milan maybe even next summer. From playing point of view depending on his age (33 years old) maybe he has no pace he had once but he still has the type of long passes and together with Pirlo and Seedorf they will "feed" Pato and Borriello with precise passes and create lot of scoring opportunities for them.
Watch the video that reports CNN about Milan latest signing, David Beckham.

read more

Milan 3-0 Sampdoria Goals....Forza Milan !!!

Not a good 1st half totally different 2nd half after Kaka's entry instead of Pato's place. Ronaldinho slowly but surely discovers his form hope he continue to be more consistent on the matches to follow.

read more

AC MILAN - ARSENAL...Preview

read more

AC Milan 1-0 Fiorentina, Pato Injured+The goal

76' PATO


It was tough match, with dirty challenges from the both side. Milan was mainly with no idea, Pirlo was short with creativity ideas that will enable scoring chances to Gilardino. He was average as usual, also Gattuso was missing on the midfield where Milan had no fire or whatsoever to fight for the ball. Pato got in from the bench and immediately the match got the fire that was much needed and Pato 5 minutes later scored with a brilliant Kaka pass, and also magic Pato finish.
Other moments that should be mentioned are Seedorf didn't looked that happy that was substituted by Ancelotti, in matter of fact he was very angry and he even didn't shake hand with Pato while he was substituted.
Pato has injured himself and that didn't look like naive injury, I'm afraid of more serious injury Pato's about to face. Let's hope for that that will not be the case, Milan already has 2 injured attackers.
Thats all for now, for the latest Pato injury news after few days.
Forza Milan!!! Forza Rossoneri!!

UPDATE: Pato Injury news:
Latest news say if the injury's minor he will be out from 2-4 weeks, but if the injury's more serious than first thought he will be out for 2 months. This are unofficial news about Pato injury status, this is what Carlo Ancelotti said after the match:
"Hepicked up a pretty serious sprai,we need 48 hours to evaluate the extent of the injury."
Milan for next Sunday match will play without classical attacker, Ronaldo, Pato and Inzaghi are injured while Gilardino will miss the match due to yellow cards he collected.

read more

Reggina C. 0-1 AC Milan

read more

AC Milan 2-0 Genoa Goals and More !!!

GOALS: 68' Pato


82' Pato


Chances wasted by Milan:









Forza Milan!!! Magnificent Pato magic in San Siro. It was not a promising first half for Milan, but then a total domination second half for Milan. Pato was the hero, 3 matches 3 goals for Milan plus he had plenty of chances so he could have score like 4 goals against Genoa side. Let us fans enjoy and celebrate Pato's terrific performance it was a great gift his performance for the Rossoneri.

read more

AC Milan 1-2 Atalanta+ALL GOALS

I had no chance to watch this match but while I was reading players ratings it was easy to finish- Milan played one excellent half and the second it was opposite with the first one. The players got tired, Pirlo was once again a genius with the ball, Pato good first half "nowhere to be found" second half, Oddo's continuing with his terrible form, another 3point cost error from Kaladze (he did the same against Inter) and what should we say about Gilardino?!? Milan is loosing the breath for the 4th place that will be a disaster for a team with Milan caliber.
And Ancelotti as allways has a "face" to comment stupid errors rewarded by also humiliating defeats:
"We played very well in the first half, opened the scoring and had the chances to extend our advantage. It was very negative to go into the break with a 1-1 scoreline, we deserved more.In the second half we tried to get back in front, but a defensive error allowed Atalanta to score their second goal and then close up all the spaces, so it became far more difficult.
The second half was a step backwards, but I must say this team has not played a better first half this season in Serie A.It was a mistake [by Kaladze], the pitch was slippery and this can happen. It was a mistake that cost us dearly."
Well Mr. Ancelotti those errors Milan has paid with two defeats and now when Dida took a "break" will Kaladze overtake his role of doing stupid 3point costing mistakes?!? isn't it enough?
Is it that hard to ask from the board few new YOUNG players to be bought, and confessing that Gila has no future at San Siro?!?
He is risking a lot by putting on fire young Pato, thats a lot of pressure. LEAVE THAT KID ALONE, give him time and space I dont think he should be a starter in every match. Just as Kaka took Rui Costa's place step by step the very same should be applied for Pato too. This can damage his carrier and it's not fair expecting from him miracles from the start.
This is all I had to say..... We can say goodbye to Champions League next season.....

read more

Pato football world reactions!!!

This was Pato's first ever goal in the first official match in San Siro for AC Milan, reactions from all over football world are full of support and praise for the raising Milan star. He kept his promise to us (fans) and scored his first goal in Milan shirt. However, not only Milano left breathless with Pato's game performance, but everyone had to say a praise for him (Pato), now in few sentences will read what others said and think about Pato's first match for Milan:

Juve coach, Claudio Ranieri was among the first to react and give his praise to Pato:
“There are some extraterrestrials in football and from what I saw yesterday at San Siro, Pato is certainly one of them. He played like a 30-year-old, with personality, and the headlines of all the newspapers today are just for him".


Paolo Maldini about Pato:
"You can always understand the talent of a footballer, however the personality of a player can only be seen during the match. He passed this examination with distinction. There will be difficult moments ahead, however this is a football player with extraordinary ability.”




Ronaldo his teammate and Pato idol said:
"I'll give him ten out of ten, considering how much pressure and expectation he was under.
Playing in front of a San Siro crowd at the age of 18 can't be easy, but he was excellent."



Former Napoli and Maradona teammate also said few words about Pato:
Pato will become the best player in the world. I'm convinced he will be the best player in Serie A during the second part of the season.
I agree that he's similar to me,and Ancelotti's words flatter me. Pato is very quick, he decides what to do in a split second. He also sees the goal well and has the hunger for victory.
He wears the number 7 shirt like I did at Napoli, where Diego wore the number 10 shirt and [Bruno] Giordano wore the number 9."

read more

Grande Milan, Pato scores+ All Goals!!!

What a fantastic match Milan had, this was match that was played with a heart. Milan started pretty well with an immediate offensive line up from Carlo Ancelloti with two attackers upfront (Ronaldo and Pato) and one attacking midfielder (Kaka') right behind them. The result of such an game came just after 15 minutes when Ronaldo scored his first from two goals on this match. The communication between Brazil trio Ronaldo- Kaka- Pato was in the highest possible level and they have played just one official match together, which means that the half season that remains should be bright for Milan. Ronaldo made fantastic comeback with two goals, Kaka was magical just like always and Pato has shown that he is the future of modern world football. Other players that should be said a word or two are Seedorf (who scored the 2nd goal for Milan) and Pirlo who was remarkable and showed why he's one of the best assistants today. A match full of emotions for our young star Pato, he was excellent at this match by scoring in his debut for Milan. On Pato's history record will be noted that on 13.01.2008 against Napoli, Pato has scored the first goal in his carrier for AC Milan in an official match. Forza Milan, Grande Milan, Superb Milan!!!!

Ancelotti congratulates Ronaldo for successfully comeback, praises Seedorf and Pato for their performances:
"He has great quality. It was his first game and some mechanisms must be perfected. However he was very, very good.
Pato has pace, the ability to turn and shoot.
We could see that in training as well, so now we have to work on how to provide him with better service. He certainly has the talent.We had a risky approach, but that was necessary at this stage of the season to get the victory and the team responded well.
Napoli’s first goal came because we were unbalanced, the second was Kakha Kaladze’s error for the penalty.
Massimo Ambrosini obviously has to put even more work in with this system and it’s tough.
He did a lot better in keeping his position in the second half. Ronaldo and Pato have never played together, so a few risks were bound to be taken.
It is a problem we have to face in the future and it won’t be an easy decision, as we have a great midfield and wonderful strikers," responded Ancelotti.
In some games we will need someone to step aside and will use those occasions so that players can have a breather to be fresh all the way to the end of the campaign.I would always like to see Seedorf play with this spirit and he was probably Man of the Match for me.
He was involved in every move and we all have to be very alert to make the most of this system. Seedorf feels he is a Trequartista and played a crucial role in winning the Champions League last year. He is not the only one who must make a sacrifice for the team, but everyone has to work together for the squad"

read more