• Cassiano Gobbet destaca o bom momento de Alexandre Pato no Milan e questiona se não há espaço para ele na Seleção Brasileira. Clique aqui e leia mais.
• José Antonio Lima comenta a polêmica feita em torno de Henry e defende o francês de alguns absurdos. Clique aqui e leia mais.
• PVC critica justamente o técnico da Inter de Milão, José Mourinho, por sua incapacidade de encarar o Barcelona e ir bem na Liga dos Campeões. Clique aqui e leia mais.
• Sérgio Xavier faz seus agradecimentos ao meia Tcheco, mas também lembra de seus pontos fracos, em tom de alerta aos corintianos. Clique aqui e leia mais.
• Thiago Lavinas revela que Joel Santana pode treinar o América-RJ em 2010 durante o Campeonato Carioca, a pedido de Romário. Clique aqui e leia mais.
  

TSG Note: We might make this a regular feature if you guys like it. Yet another new series from TSG. We could go Michael Jackson “Man in the Mirror” Series or maybe…I don’t know, we’ll come up with something better.

In our recent weekend preview piece, we concluded with a musing that Arjen Robben was probably the most similar global player to Landon Donovan. For some reason, this topic or question is really intriguing to TSG. I think it’s probably piquing my interest because I want a chance to evaluate a true USMNT starting eleven, but without the emotional connection that I’ve developed for players (See Dempsey, Clint and Feilhaber, Benny).

You see Smithers...there is only one bad man on the pitch....and that's me.

For example, I think Michael Bradley to be spot on with Mathieau Flamini. Flamini is a good player, but hardly integral to the success of AC Milan and not a lock for a France national team recall. So Bradley’s spot on the USMNT? Not a lock either when I take my emotion towards Junior out of it. Well maybe a lock vis-a-vis the rest of our talent, but that remains to be seen.

Getting back to Donovan, I consider players that:

» Put immense pressure on the defense on the counterattack

» Generally track back aggressively on defense and are a factor once there

» Are prone to making the exquisite pass instead of firing the shot. The spotter for the assassin, not the assassin.

» Quality free and corner kicks for the most part.

So in addition to Arjen Robben, what present day player possesses a comprehensive grouping of these traits.

When we actually started putting our noggin to it, the task too more time to complete than anticipated. And for much of that time we had just the Robben written down.

After deliberation, here is our list, for better or worse, of players that could do an admirable Landon Donovan impression.

Arjen Robben, Alexander Pato, Giuseppe Rossi, Florent Malouda

So let’s hit up the comparisons.

Landon Donovan Stat Line, 2008-2009 (all competitions):

42 appearances, 22 goals, 7 assists

Arjen Robben:

See Landy? I too was once rich with hair.

Stat line: 49 appearances, 10 goals, 11 assists

Summary: Dutch national Robben is a newly transferred piece in the Bayern Munich machine, having lost out on playing with the new guard at Real. The 6′0” Robben typically deploys as a wide left winger in a 4-4-2 and a forward in the 4-3-3. AR is prone to the same inside lightening quick inside runs as his carbon copy bretheren for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Donovan demolishes Robben on goals for the last campaign.

Similarities: Ability to sweep in on the counter attack, threading-the-needle-passing, receding hairlines

Differences: Donovan plays defense, Robben’s not sure what that means. Robben is more fragile and can be considered a headcase.

Scoring: 6 (out of 10)

Giuseppe Rossi:

Ross-i: Def jamming....

Stat line: 45 appearances, 19 goals, 8 assists

Summary: I know, I know. Seeing this guy in mix for Landon lookalikes is like going for a header….and slamming head first into the goalpost. You only needed to watch Rossi’s two goals over the summer against the Yanks in South Africa.

Sims: Set pieces and crosses, and shooting. Left-footed.

Difs: Donovan again the better passes, Rossi the better striker. Rossi is less consistent.

Scoring: 7.5

Hey man, you're game looks just like mine.

Alexander Pato:

Stat line: 38 appearances, 15 goals, 5 assists

Summary: A stat line comparison between the two is somewhat unfair here as the Duck (the Portugese translation of Pato is duck) is really coming into his own this year. The 5′10” 155 pounder has been more of a beast this year. He’s effective on either wing and doesn’t shy away from contact or taking it to the hole. A sniper.

Sims: Both careen up the pitch on the counter. Ability to play both wing positions. Ability to slot the pass on the run from either foot.

Difs: National team respect (Pato is not getting call-ups, Donovan *is* the team), LD has an edge on defense. Pato is the superior scorer where LD prefers to defer.

Scoring: 7

Florent Malouda:

FM: C'mon TSG Community, give me the thumbers up!

Stat line: 66 appearances, 10 goals, 9 assists

Summary: The Chelsea player and French national has been a key supporting player in Chelsea’s run to the top of the EPL. Now a complimentary player, Malouda, in a manner very similar to Donovan with the Galaxy, was the dominant player on the dominant team (Lyon) in League 1.

Sims: Attacking off the wing

Difs: Stat line, Malouda is a more physical player than Donovan. Donovan is better on set pieces.

Scoring: 5.5

So, did we nail this one or are we missing a player–is Frank Ribery too aggressive? What about Robinho or an Aaron Lennon? But seriously, anyone else?

Your vote:

Landon Donovan photo courtesy Matt Mathai.

Click on the thumbnails to see full size (Bấm vào hình nhỏ để xem hình lớn):

Jumlah pemain muda berbakat atau yang sering disebut dengan istilah wonderkid terus meningkat.

Sejumlah diantara mereka telah bermain di klub-klub besar dan mulai merangkat masuk ke skuad inti sedikit demi sedikit, sebut saja Alexandre Pato di AC Milan,Mario Balotelli dan Davide Santon di Inter,Stevan Jovetic di Fiorentina,Federico Macheda dan Nani di Manchester United,Fran Merida di Arsenal,Bojan Krkic dan Lionel Messi di Barcelona,Esteban Granero,Gonzalo Higuain,Marcelo, dan Gago Di Real Madrid.

Tetapi selain pemain-pemain tadi masih banyak pemain berbekat lainnya seperti :

1. Gai Assulin

Gai Assulin

Pria kelahiran Israel tahun 1991 ini adalah slah satu produk pemain berbakat yang dihasilkan Perusaan Penghasil Pemain-pemain muda berbakat, yaitu Barcelona. Permainan Assulin yang luar biasa membuat ia disebut-sebut sebagai The New Messi. Sejumlah klub besar di Eropa sedang mengirim pemandu bakat untuk mengamati perkembangannya.

2. Sherman Cardenas

Sherman Cardenas

Pemain kelahiran Bucaramanga,Kolombia ini adalah pemain muda berbakat yang membela tim Atletico Bucaramanga. Pemain ini memiliki skill permainan yang sangat tinggi. Ia didaulat sebagai penerus Kaka meskipun belum banyak orang yang tahu. Video permainannya dapat dilihat di Youtube.com .

3. Bruno Mezenga

Bruno Mezenga

Pemain yang disebut sebagai The Next Adriano ini bermain di Flamengo. Di tim ini bakatnya mulai terlihat dan terasah. Bruno Mezenga meruapakan pemain termuda yang melakukan debut di tim inti Flamengo dalam sejarah Flamengo.

Sebenarnya masih banyak lagi pemain-pemain muda berbakat yang belum disorot publik tetapi, saya hanya mampu menuliskan sedikit saja.

Nah, klub-klub Eropa lebih baik kalian beli pemain-pemain Wonderkid seperti ini agar regenerasi dunia sepakbola dapa berjalan dengan baik.

Jika tidak percaya anda dapat mencari video pemain di Youtube.com dan meyaksikannya, memainkan game komputer Football Manager 2010 juga membantu mencari banyak pemain muda berbakat. Sejumlah pelatih ternama acap Sir Alex Ferguson dan Arsene Wenger juga memainkan game ini.

Menanjaknya performa AC Milan baik di Serie A maupun Liga Champions tak lain dan tak bukan adalah karena tangan dingin pelatih kelahiran Brazil bernama Leonardo atau akrab dipanggil Leo.

Leonardo

Memang pada awalnya kapasitas Leonardo sebagai seorang pelatih dipertanyakan dan sempat membuat AC Milan terseok-seok di papan tengah pada awal musim ini namun, penampilannya terus meningkat tajam dan menjadikan AC Milan berada di peringkat ke-3 klasemen Serie A saat ini.

Harapan pelatih asal Brazil ini untuk menjadikan Milan seperti timnas Brazil saat ditangani Tele Santana yang menampilkan permaina-permainan indah mulai terealisasikan dengan mengubah skema pohon natal peninggalan Carlo Ancelotti 4-3-2-1 menjadi 4-2-3-1. Berkat pergantian skema ini pula performa Alexandre Pato meningkat dan membangkitkan kembali Ronaldinho.

Adriano Galliani, wakil presiden AC Milan juga turut mengomentari perkembangan positif ini, “Milan menunjukkan jati diri sebagai tim yang ofensif” ia berujar.”Leonardo mengikut jejak Capello,” ungkapnya.

“Keduanya menjabat direktur dan klub memutuskan berjudi menggunakan mereka sebagai debutan, terlepas dari kritik.”

Apakah dengan menanjaknya performa AC Milan, kapasitas Leonardo sebagai pelatih telah terbukti ? Kirimkan tanggapan anda melalui komentar.

MILAN – Performa Alexandre Pato terus menanjak ditangan pelatih anyar Leonardo Araujo. Praktis, bomber AC Milan ini pun mengucapkan terima kasih atas petuah dan kepercayaan penuh yang diberikan sang allenatore.

Sejak tampuk kepelatihan Rossoneri digenggam Leonardo, Pato menjadi salah satu pemain yang mengalami perkembangan pesat. Sejauh ini, striker Timnas Brasil ini mampu membayar kepercayaan sang pelatih dengan tampil sebagai topskor Milan, dengan koleksi tujuh gol.

“Saya merasa sangat tenang dan percaya diri, sebab pelatih (Leonardo) selalu memberikan saya ketentraman,” papar Pato sebagaimana dikutip Football Italia, Rabu (18/11/2009).

“Saya tak pernah tertekan setiap kali bermain, dan ini merupakan hal yang fundamental buat saya. Saya juga banyak belajar darinya (Leonardo),” tambahnya.

“Saat pertama kali datang ke sini, semuanya tak mudah karena saya tak terlalu lancar berbahasa Italia (dengan pelatih terdahulu Carlo Ancelotti-red). Saya selalu tertekan karena takut berbuat salah,” kenang mantan bintang Internacional ini.

Dalam kesempatan ini, Pato juga angkat bicara terkait dua tandemnya di lini depan, Klaas Jan Huntelaar yang tengah kesulitan beradaptasi dan bomber gaek Filippo Inzaghi yang bertekad pensiun di San Siro.

“Mungkin, saat ini Klaas Jan Huntelaar juga tengah mengalami masalah seperti yang sempat saya alami (bahasa). Namun, saya yakin, ia mampu menyelesaikan masalah ini dan menjadi bagian penting buat kami,” tambahnya.

“Sementara Inzaghi, ia telah mencetak banyak gol di Liga Champions. Saya juga yakin, ia akan mampu menambah pundi-pundi golnya di masa depan. Sebab, Inzaghi adalah pemain langka, terutama saat berada di dalam kotak penalti,” tukas bomber 20 tahun ini.

“Kami semua bahagia memiliki Inzaghi. Saya harap ia akan tetap bertahan bersama kami di sini untuk jangka waktu yang lama,” tutup penyerang dengan nama lengkap     Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva ini.

Pada Giornata ke-13 Serie A, Milan akan menjamu Cagliari di San Siro, Minggu (22/11/2009). Pato dipastikan bakal menjadi ujung tombak Milan mendulang gol, guna terus menempel ketat Juve dan Inter Milan di puncak klasemen. Saat ini, Milan bercokol di posisi tiga klasemen dengan koleksi 22 poin. Rossoneri hanya terpaut dua poin dari Bianconerri (24) dan tujuh angka di belakang Nerazzurri.

(acf)

Sumber : OkeZone

No gol:

Times do Rio: os times do Rio fizeram bonito na última rodada na primeira divisão e claro, o Vasco voltou à elite.

Pato: vem sendo a referência no ataque do Milan jogo após jogo. Fica esperto Dunga!

Na canela:

Simon: o erro contra o Palmeiras foi absurdo e prejudicou a equipe contra o Fluminense.

Goiás: a equipe que lutava pelo título vem caindo pela tabela.

POSTADO POR NÓIA

Cubrimiento total en menos tiempo. Los pecosos se ponen eficientes.

Premier League: Liverpool en manos de los árbitros y una pierna de Steven Gerrard. Poca gloria y mucha pena en el Chelsea-Man U. Arsenal a lo Barça.

La Liga: Real Madrid 3 Agüero 2. Ibrahimovic iluminado. La primera cabeza rueda en Santander.

Europa: Van Gaal en problemas. Milán rejuvenecido. Lyon y Marsella dan ejemplo con su 5-5.

México: América recupera la economía con su regreso a la Liguilla. Lavolpe apunta a Colombia.

Argentina: Taladro para todos. Estudiantes aguerridos.

Brasil: Goles gordos y borrachos. Sao Paulo al mando.

Colombia: Cortina de humo Sub-17. Aparecen compradores al América, aunque no está en venta. Pasto llega a la B y se acerca a Sudamérica.

MLS: 180 minutos para un Beckham-Blanco.

Extra: Una defensa asesina.

A couple of very big (in my not-so-humble opinion, at least) matches went down this weekend, with some producing more exciting results than others. This week there was a double countdown to what I thought were two of the biggest Red v. Blue matches this year. In England we had arguably the two largest Premiership contenders in Chelsea and Manchester United going head-to-head, while in Italy Scudetto favourites Internazionale went testa-alla-testa with my beloved (but struggling terribly) AS Roma.

Football:

Arsenal 4-1 Wolverhampton – Sure, Chelsea and United are probably the two favourites in the Premiership race this season, but I’m not fool enough to dismiss Arsenal as also-rans just yet. For one thing, the Gunners are on a hot streak of 13 unbeaten matches in all competitions. For another thing, one of those matches consisted of something of an Arsenal youth squad (but then again, aren’t all their squads youth squads?) defeating admittedly-struggling Liverpool in Carling Cup play. On the other hand, this weekends performance in particular wasn’t all that impressive, and it might be more appropriate to say that Wolverhampton lost the match rather than saying Arsenal won it. The Molineux Stadium offered the Wolves no security, as the visitors went up 3-0 before the end of the first half, with 2 of those goals being put into the Wolves’ own net by their defenders Ronald Zubar and Joey Craddock. Cesc Fàbregas would provide the third. Andrei Arshavin added his name to the scoresheet in the second half, and Joey Craddock somewhat atoned for his errors by scoring a consolation goal (in Arsenal’s net, this time) in the 89th minute. Along with the result of the Chelsea-United match this afternoon, this win in Wolverhampton sees Arsenal climb to second in the League table.

Perhaps one day Drogba will follow the footsteps of Vinnie Jones to Hollywood.

Chelsea 1-0 Manchester Utd A fairly controversial match – but then again, it was always going to be. There’s bound to be a million gripes from United fanboys about the various ‘injustices’ committed against them today, so if you’re a Blues fan gloat with caution, because you’re likely to receive a long series of whines in response. Let me say a few things: Darren Fletcher’s foul was not a foul, Drogba should probably retire and become an actor, and Jonny Evans is a little punk. Many tempers flared during the match, and it seemed as if a full-out brawl was imminent at points, but alas they kept their heads and all that came of it was a flurry of yellow cards. It was nevertheless dramatic, though, with such highlights as the constant battle between Didier Drogba and Wes Brown providing (me, at least) with much entertainment. It would be Mr. Chelsea himself, John Terry, who would make the difference between the two sides, heading in what I believe was the only goal United have conceded from a set piece this year on 76′. I suppose that earns him a man of the match nod, but other contenders include Wayne Rooney, Nicolas Anelka and Michael Essien, who all gave 110% and played hard-nosed games (must’ve eaten their Toast’n'Butta this morning). Though Drogba’s theatrics were shameful, and he may have hauled down Wes Brown in the build-up to Chelsea’s goal, I have to call out Jonny Evans here, for his kung-fu kick to the chest of Drogba and then his tackle on Ricardo Carvalho long after the whistle. Horrific performance for the youngster; he should consider himself lucky that he wasn’t sent off. A win that sees Chelsea sitting 5 points clear atop the EPL table, and which should boost their morale for weeks to come. As for United; well I’m sure we’ll hear all about how they feel.

Manchester City 3-3 Burnley – Bad news all over Manchester this weekend, it seems. City have been struggling for weeks now, and had drawn their 4 previous fixtures. Well, make it five, Citizens. Newly-promoted Burnley are notoriously shoddy away from home, yet a late goal helped them to steal a point at the City of Manchester Stadium in a 6-goal draw. Burnley in fact took an early 2-0 lead over their hosts after Graham Alexander converted a spot kick and Steven Fletcher found the back of the net. City fought back, and goals from Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kolo Toure and Craig Bellamy saw them take control of the game by the 56th minute. However, they were unable to keep hold of that control and on 87′ Burnley substitute Kevin McDonald scored to bring his side level for once and for all. I’m sure Burnley won’t be happy to have given up that initial 2-0 lead, but all in all, this is a result which should leave Owen Coyle pleased and Mark Hughes with his head in his hands.

Futbol:

The dangerous duo nearly gave Los Blancos a run for their money.

Real Madrid 3-2 Atlético Madrid – Well, El Clásico never fails to disappoint. Even in a season where Atléti has struggled so badly that they have been forced to make a change in management, against Los Blancos they always bring their all. It seemed at first that Real would simply stroll to a Clásico win this season, after Kaká gave his side the lead on 5′, with Marcelo and Higuaín adding their names to the scoresheet on 24′ and 64′, respectively. However, Los Colchoneros would battle back late in the second half after Sergio Ramos was given his marching orders on 66′; a frenzied 2 minutes would see Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero pull two goals back for their side with 10 minutes left to play. Manuel Pellegrini’s men would ultimately be able to hold off their crosstown rivals, but Quique Sánchez Flores can at least take heart from his side’s spirited fightback. An exciting Clásico, to say the least.

Barcelona 4-2 Mallorca – Samuel Eto’o commented this week that if he had not been bound by his duties to Inter, he would have traveled to the Camp Nou to see his ex-sides face off against one another – he would have sat directly at the centre line so as to not betray his allegiance to one over the other. I gotta say, Sammy, from a Romanista’s point of view, I wish you’d gone. But I digress. Barcelona youngster Pedro gave his side an early lead on 10′, only for Mallorca’s Nunes to equalize from a corner kick just under 10 minutes later. Pedro wasn’t finished yet, though and on 39′ restored the lead to his side, smashing home the third rebound after Mallorca keeper Aouate denied teammates Thierry Henry and Sergi Busquets. The two would get their chance just a few moments later, when Busquets sent in a cross for Henry, who beat Aouate with a diving header to make it 3-1. Lionel Messi was introduced after the break to further increase Barca’s tally – he would eventually, but he would take his time, and it would only be from the spot after teammate Ibrahimovic was brought down in the area. Mallorca sub Alhassane Keita would earn one back for his side late into stoppage time, but ultimately it was too little too late and Barcelona would cruise to an easy victory.

Fußball:

Bayern München 1-1 Schalke 04 – Bayern have been demoralized over and over again the past two weeks, and were perhaps unenthused to face the stiff challenge of Schalke this weekend. Schalke sit above Die Roten in the standings, and looked to pressure the home side early, forcing them into rash challenges and using their wingers to cause Bayern problems on the break. Both sides traded chances in the early stages of the match, but ultimately it would be Bayern who would get ahead first, with a little bit of luck. On 31′ Holger Badstuber lofted in a long ball to Miroslav Klose, whose headed effort deflected off of Kevin Kuranyi and landed at the feet of Daniel van Buyten, who duly buried it. However, Joel Matip, making his debut for Die Königsblauen, was able to cancel out the home side’s advantage with a strike of his own on 43′. The teams would go into the half level, and when they came back it was all Bayern – Louis van Gaal’s men poured forward and for the better part of the half had their visitors pinned in their own end. However, no matter what Bayern did, they were unable to find the back of the net, and both van Gaal and Felix Magath’s sides would come away from the game with a point. Bayern need to get themselves out of this current slump if they are to have any chance of keeping alive their hopes of European and domestic conquest.

Calcio:

AS Roma 1-1 Inter – I think I’ll tackle this one in its own article.

Mauro Camoranesi makes the difference for Juventus once again.

Juventus 5-2 Atalanta – It seems that when Mauro Camoranesi is on form, so is La Vecchia Signora. Forget Brazilians and expensive summer signings (and those that are one and the same); the success of Ciro Ferrara’s squad depends on the performance of the Italian international, who has been with i Bianconeri since 2002. In the case of yesterday’s game, it was Camoranesi’s brace which opened up the scoring in a 5-2 drubbing of Atalanta. Felipe Melo, Diego and David Trezeguet would account for the other 3 goals on Juventus’s part, while Valdes and Fabio Ceravolo pulled back 2 for the home side. This is a very positive result for Juve; while Atalanta generally climb to midtable at the best of times, they are nonetheless notoriously difficult to defeat at home. With Inter tying Roma and yesterday’s drubbing in Bergamo, Juve move to 5 points off of first place.

AC Milan 2-1 SS Lazio – I give Davide Ballardini until the end of the month. After the horrendous loss to Villareal in Europa League play on Thursday, Lazio needed some kind of result to break them out of a long, long losing streak. Admittedly, this revived AC Milan team are not the easiest team to achieve it against, but if they are going to do it anywhere, it would be in their Roma’s house, the Stadio Olimpico. As it can plainly be seen, they did not achieve said result. Thiago Silva and Alexandre Pato both found the Lazio net with first-half goals to dash whatever hopes could still be held in the Curva Nord even before the halftime whistle. However, Lazio were handed a lifeline when Thiago Silva deflected the ball into his own net after some deft play by Mauro Zarate. After that own-goal, gli Aquilotti seriously threatened to equalize, with Tommaso Rocchi and Mauro Zarate both coming close to restoring parity. In the end though, AC Milan would grab a valuable 3 points, while Lazio return to their fortress of solitude media silence to ponder what continues to go wrong.

Fiorentina 1-0 Udinese – It took them 84 minutes, but la Viola were able to to squeak by midtable side Udinese with some help from a Juan Manuel Vargas strike. It was  night of missed chances for both sides; a race to the finish where both teams were misfiring on all cylinders. Fiorentina had the bulk of the chances, with 14 shots and 5 on target, compared to Udinese’s 7 and 2. However, only one of those shots would make a difference tonight at the Stadio Friuli, and it would be Vargas’ set-piece shot. That shot earned i Gigliati a victory which sees them only 1 point behind AC Milan in the standings, sitting comfortably in 4th place.

Ronaldinho scores another goal

The word peculiar is chosen in today’s headline about Ronaldinho because the Ronny we can see in the Champions League and the Serie A this season is a highly influential one, though very different from the Ronaldinho of Barcelona. He is slower, often disappears for long segments of Milan’s matches, and does less spectacular tricks, but he has been an indispensible part of Milan’s comeback after their mediocre start to the season. Since the Rossoneri started picking up points again at the beginning of October, Ronaldinho has been involved in close to every goal scored. The Brazilian might not be the driving force of his team’s attack any more, but when some magic is needed to score or set up a goal, he is there to oblige.

Anyone who was sceptical of Milan’s chances this year might have to take back their criticisms, as the team has really only lost three matches so far this season – two in the Serie A and against Zurich in the Champions League. After having gained only 8 points in their first 6 matches of the season, added to an absolutely terrible pre-season friendly run, Leonardo’s abilities, the team’s quality, and Ronaldinho’s value were all questioned. When the Rossoneri drew at home to Bari in the sixth match of the season, and subsequently lost at home to Swiss side Zurich, who are struggling in their domestic league and in Europe, things were looking gloomy. However, on match day seven of the Serie A, Milan drew 1-1 away to Atalanta, where Ronaldinho scored a late goal to ensure a point. Since then, Milan have not lost, and have in fact collected near all the points available to them. They are now only two points behind second and third placed Juventus and Sampdoria. Ronaldinho has been instrumental in this. Not only has he scored several goals himself, both penalties and in free play, but he has set up or been involved in almost all of Milan’s goals. This past week provides a great example. Against Real Madrid at home at the San Siro yesterday he scored the penalty that gave Milan a point. On Saturday, at home against Parma, he wonderfully set up both of Marco Boriello’s goals, which gave Milan the victory. Boriello’s second goal was a particular peach, a scissor kick after Ronaldinho’s lobbed pass. Ronny ran down the left side, got on the inside of two defenders and gave Boriello a pass he did wonderfully to convert into a goal.

Ronaldinho’s style is slightly different from the dominant attacking player he was at Barcelona. Perhaps age, and a certain saturation during his last year at Barca and his first at Milan, has begun to wear on his body, forcing him to change his style of play a little. Watching Milan’s games he cannot be compared to his heyday at Barcelona in terms of style of play, but perhaps it can be justifiable to say that after two rather low-key seasons, he is beginning to have the same impact on the Milan team as he did on the Barcelona team. When Milan is in desperate need of some magic, someone to turn the result in their favour, it is near always Ronaldinho who is there to provide that edge for them this season. Whether it is setting up Filippo Inzaghi, who is having an impressive season, or Alexandre Pato, who is beginning to score more goals, or striking one in himself, Ronny is proving his worth to Milan and to the quality of the Serie A for spectators. Though a quite different player to four or five years ago, Ronaldinho is again the attacking genius of a top class European team.

The Champions League fixtures which were so exciting a fortnight ago were mostly dreary affairs this week, as each team played the same team as they had previously, except this time in the others’ house. We ended up with 3 draws and a couple of blowouts, assuring me that being without internet/cable access for the majority of the evening was not a total tragedy. I’ll write up most of them, except the really useless ones (I’m looking at you, APOEL v Porto). Here they are, in no particular order:

Look how happy he was to be back in Milan!

AC Milan 1-1 Real Madrid – Well, the fixture that was so explosive last week ended without the same sort of fireworks this time around. Instead of ludicrous goalkeeping errors and 40-yard screamers, tonight’s match was graced by a pair of (comparatively) cheaply-had goals and one goal which was bafflingly disallowed. Kaká’s build-up to Real Madrid’s 29th minute goal showed a flash of the genius he used to have at the San Siro (and has failed to produce thus far for Madrid), but Dida made the initial save and it was up to Karim Benzema to tap the rebound past the bumbling Brazilian. It didn’t take long what had been a rather flaccid Milan side up to that point to galvanize (and equalize), when Gianluca Zambrotta was struck by the elbow of a sliding Pepe in the area and awarded a penalty. On 35′, Ronaldinho gleefully buried from the spot. Alexandre Pato almost gave i Rossoneri the lead moments later, with his volley finding the back of the net, but the goal was ultimately disallowed because the youngster had committed a foul in scoring it (maybe the foul was scoring it?). In the end, it would finish all level at the San Siro, and all level in Group C; Milan and Madrid sit tied with 7 points just above Marseilles.

Marseille 6-1 FC Zurich – Normally I wouldn’t give half a shit about this game. Swiss teams, French teams, it’s all Greek to me. However, the epic nature of the scoreline forces me to give at least a bit of a shout-out to l’OM, for whom 6 different individuals made an appearance on the scoresheet (well, 5 Marseille players and 1 Zurich via OG). In fact, it was Silvan Aegerter’s own goal that opened the floodgates for the visitors on 3′ – Fabrice Abriel would make it 2-0 on 11′, but Alexandre Alphonse pulled one back for his side on the half-hour mark. After the half, Mamadou Niang, Hilton, Benoît Cheyrou and Brandao would all net for Les Phocéens, while the home side would be left less than satisfied with their solitary goal. Quite a blowout!

Gourcuff was the key to his side's victory in München.

Bordeaux 2-0 Bayern München – Les Girondins are progressing to the knock-out stages. As for Bayern, well, we’ll have to see. In the first 30 or so minutes of tonight’s match at the Allianz-Arena, it seemed like it would be the home side who would take the lead. Bastian Schweinsteiger proved a great danger as a dead ball specialist, causing the visiting defense all sorts of problems and coming close to causing a goal more than once. Bayern also might have gone ahead from the spot -players appealed for a penalty on a perceived Michael Ciani handball in the area, but the referee saw nothing; what die Roten wanted to be a spot kick would instead be a corner. Ultimately, it would be the French side who would get ahead on 37′ thanks to star man Yoann Gourcuff, who headed home after shaking off Mark van Bommel. After the break, Luca Toni had about 80,000 chances (duffed ‘em all) and Arjen Robben came on to greatly improve Bayern’s play, but the German side simply could not find the back of the net. Late in the game, Bayern fans began to depart from the stadium en masse, and those who did stay until the end were treated to the sight of Marouane Chamakh skipping past Hans-Jörg Butt to ease the ball into an empty net. Back-to-back losses to the French side for Bayern see them fall to 3rd in Group A – I knew this was the Year of the Underdog, but did it have to be the Year of the French by extension?

Juventus 1-0 Maccabi Haifa – Juventus continue to stay true to their recent Champions League mantra – do as little as you have to and scrape by. I’m sure Ciro Ferrara’s side is still reeling at the manner in which they let Sunday’s fixture against Napoli slip away, but they once again managed to beat the Israeli side (this time in Haifa) by a margin of 1-0. Mauro Camoranesi’s magic touch in first-half stoppage time was enough for i Bianconeri to slip past their hosts, who are now officially out of the competition with a grand total of 0 points. Juventus spent much of the second half patiently building up attacks and then listlessly watching them break down, as though they were simply happy to kill the time. And they were. Another half-assed performance, another victory for Juve. Go figure.

Agüero-Drogba strike force?

Chelsea 2-2 Atletico Madrid – Over the past two weeks, Chelsea’s goal differential was +19. That’s 19 for and 0 against, in all competitions. That included a 4-0 drubbing of Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge which prompted me to wonder how Abel Resino was hanging on to his job. Two weeks later, Resino is out of a job, and Chelsea have finally been scored upon. One could make a case to have this match renamed Sergio Agüero 2-2 Didier Drogba, as each prolific striker bagged a brace for his side to account for all 4 goals of the match (this time split evenly between the teams). Los Colchoneros took a second-half lead on 66′ when Agüero, just recently subbed onto the pitch, met the end of a cross with a sharp volley that left Petr Cech helpless on his line. Didier Drogba would take his time, but eventually single-handedly turned the match around for the Blues with a pair of goals on 82′ and 88′ – the latter being a supreme individual effort in which the Ivorian beat several defenders and buried his own rebound. However, Agüero was not about to be outdone, and on 90′ launched a strike from 30 yards which leveled the match for his side. New Atleti manager Quique Sánchez Flores will no doubt be disappointed that his team gave up the lead, but thrilled that they salvaged the draw – nevertheless Atletico are now officially out of the competition, while Chelsea are officially moving on.

Manchester Utd 3-3 CSKA Moskow – Sir Alex Ferguson’s men sealed their passage into the knock out rounds as Luis Antonio Valencia once more played the last-ditch heroics card. CSKA took the lead on 25′ through Alan Dzagoev, but Michael Owen equalized just 4 minutes later. Nevertheless, CSKA were undaunted, and within the next 20 minutes of play took a commanding 3-1 lead through Milos Krasic (31′) and Vasiliy Berezutskiy (47′). Darren Fletcher was booked on a strange call, after he looked to be set loose on goal and was then taken down in the box. Instead of a spot kick, the Scotsman received a yellow card. Paul Scholes and the aforementioned Valencia would bring it equal for United with Scholes’ goal on 82′ and Valencia’s in stoppage time. Moscow player Deyvidas Semberas was sent off after a bit of a spat late into injury time, but the Muscovites were nevertheless able to hold United to a 3-3 draw. Not a bad result from the Russian side, though it won’t help their Champions League aspirations this year.

VfL Wolfsburg 3-0 Besitkas – Luckily for Deutschland, one German squad was able to easily overcome their opposition this evening. Wolves took over Istanbul as Armin Veh’s side ran rampart at Inönü, with Zvjezdan Misimovic, Christian Gentner and Edin Dzeko finding the back of the net for their side. It seems that the key to obtaining an ‘always difficult’ away win in Turkey is to strike hard, and to strike often – take notes, Fergie.

E’ Dominic Adiyiah, baby-bomber del Ghana campione del Mondo under 20, l’attaccante esterno finito nel mirino del Milan. I rossoneri avrebbero infatti battuto la concorrenza di Rubin Kazan e CSKA Mosca e sarebbero a un passo dall’acquisto, già a gennaio, del capocannoniere della rassegna egiziana. Adiyiah, piccolo ma molto forte fisicamente, è stato premiato al Cairo con Scarpa d’Oro e Pallone d’Oro e ha segnato 8 gol in 7 partite.

Dopo Pato, dunque, è in arrivo un altro giovanotto per l’attacco di Leonardo. Adiyiah, tra l’altro, somiglia abbastanza al Papero. Come il brasiliano, è piccolo di statura anche se decisamente più possente, è molto rapido e ha un gran fiuto del gol. Basti, per capirlo, l’exploit del mondiale egiziano, dove con il suo Ghana ha realizzato la bellezza di otto gol in sette partite. Una media strepitosa che gli ha attirato le attenzioni di molti club.

Lui, ovviamente, cavalca l’onda e dopo aver chiarito di “voler ripercorrere la carriera di Messi e Aguero”, sembra pronto ad approdare a Milano dalla Norvegia, dove attualmente gioca con il Fredrikstad.

7 minutes after kick off at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi on Sunday, Chievo took the lead against AC Milan. Certainly a blow to the Milan players’ game plan, but perhaps not one to their confidence. That is after all a situation they are quite used to this season. And after their sub-par start, and the criticisms to and scepticism of Leonardo’s ability to lead the team, Milan have now become comeback kings. They have come back from their terrible start, and, it seems, they have made a comeback in every match they’ve played this season.

Milan turned the game on Sunday around with a brace by, who else, central defender Alessandro Nesta. An acceptable achievement after what should not have happened, in a scrappy match. What was not acceptable was the lack of potency in the Milan attack, with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar not convincing anyone he can be enough of a threat up front.

Interestingly, this way of getting results seems to be the story at Milan, since they started coming back up the table. Currently sixth, they have not provided steady displays where they have taken control of the match to confidently finish the opposition off. The difference between now and their horrible pre-season is that they have started coming back to win games where they go a goal down. Examples are many. This past week provided two out of two possible. At the Santiago Bernabeu in mid-week, it only took favourites Real 19 minutes to take the lead against the Rossoneri. After a little more than an hour of play, Milan had made a comeback, after goals by Pirlo and Alexandre Pato. Royston Drenthe managed to draw Real level again in the 76^th minute, but Milan were not done. Pato produced another goal, as if to prove that Milan anno 2009 only score when they are pushed up against the wall.

When Milan travelled to Madrid, they went there after having needed to come back from a goal down over the previous weekend as well. At home against Roma, Jeremy Menez gave the visitors the lead in the third minute of play. Once again, Milan needed an hour to start the scoring. Ronaldinho converted a penalty in the 56^th minute, and subsequently set up Alexandre Pato to score the winner 11 minutes later. The list goes on. In their previous league match, right before the international break, Milan played Atalanta in Bergamo, and went a goal down after 21 minutes. This match was part of putting Milan back on track. Since Ronaldinho equalised in that match in the 83^rd minute, Milan have collected 10 points from 12 possible, and suddenly find themselves sixth in the Serie A and back in contention in their Champions League group.

So after a poor start to the season, which included a home loss in the Champions league to FC Zurich, who have struggled worse than Milan in their domestic Swiss Axpo Premier League, Milan has started to fight back. It looks like there’s no more turning the other cheek for Leonardo’s players, as he has turned their fortunes around. They do not have to look further than their own city rivals Inter for lessons in how to take control of a game, but will for now have to do with playing their own way. The ability to work until the match is over can be the determining factor in football, and that is for now Milan’s winning strategy. The squad does not lack much in talent, and with the desire to work for 90 minutes now there, all that differentiates them from a top side is real confidence.

Nuova rubrica di Cartellino Rosso, dove affronteremo l’annoso problema che impegna le menti dell’Italia al maschile ossia: ”chi schiero al fantacalcio?”. Consiglieremo quindi su chi puntare, su chi è meglio stare alla larga e quale può essere la sorpresa di ogni partita procedendo per semplice ordine alfabetico. La prima sfida che andremo ad analizzare è quella di Bergamo tra Atalanta e Parma. Su chi puntare: Simone Tiribocchi. Il Tir è in ottima forma e se segna l’Atalanta in questo periodo state sicuri che lui c’entra sempre, senza contare poi che la squadra di Conte si è sbloccata e ora anche tra le mura amiche cerca la prima vittoria. Chi evitare: Cristian Zenoni. L’ex di turno si troverà spesso di fronte Jaime Valdes. Il cileno è in un ottimo momento di forma e può far sfigurare il terzino emiliano. La sorpresa: Daniele Galloppa. Il centrocampista ex Siena, se di sorpresa si può parlare, è costante nel rendimento, prende pochi cartellini e ha il vizio del gol. Domenica potrebbe essere fondamentale a Bergamo.

Bari-Lazio. Su chi puntare: Mauro Zarate. Recentemente il talento argentino è apparso in ottima forma. Contro la Samp e il Villareal ha fornito ottime prestazioni e come si dice, non c’è due senza tre. Chi evitare: Modibo Diakité: Il difensore biancoceleste è troppo rude e molte volte fa interventi scomposti come la spinta su Padalino domenica scorsa non sanzionata da Orsato. E’ una vera mina vagante. La sorpresa: Riccardo Meggiorini. Barreto non è al massimo e l’attacco pugliese può dipendere solo da lui. Il ragazzo è forte e gli manca solo il gol già pronosticato dal suo compagno di squadra Massimo Donati.

Cagliari-Genoa. Su chi puntare: Alberto Zapater. Il centrocampista spagnolo può diventare fondamentale in una partita tra due squadre che vengono da un momento difficili. Le sue punizioni potrebbero fare la differenza. Chi evitare: Lino Marzoratti. Il terzino di Allegri si troverà di fronte spesso Sculli o Palladino. Clienti davvero scomodi, senza dimenticare che l’ex Empoli è abbonato ai cartellini gialli. La sorpresa: Daniele Dessena. Questo centrocampista, che ci piace tanto, è capace di gol eccezionali come ha dimostrato domenica scorsa. Viene da due centri consecutivi.

Chievo-Milan. Su chi puntare: Alexandre Pato. Il papero sta attraversando un momento di forma invidiabile. E’ reduce da tre gol in 4 giorni, come lasciarlo fuori dalla vostra fantasquadra? Chi evitare: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Ma questo attaccante olandese, dalle indiscusse qualità, serviva davvero a questo Milan che ha anche Inzaghi e Borriello? Fin’ora il campionato ha detto di no e il cacciatore è ancora a secco. La sorpresa: Sergio Pellissier. Mimmo Di Carlo punta sui suoi gol e gliene ha pronosticati addirittura 20. Contro la difesa del Milan, ultimamente un po’ impacciata, può colpire in contropiede.

Fiorentina-Napoli. Su chi puntare: Stevan Jovetic. Jo-Jo contro il Debrecen si è riposato e domenica potrebbe far ammattire i non eccelsi difensori partenopei. A Firenze c’è già la Jovetic-mania, schieratelo e vi ripagherà. Chi evitare: Mario Alberto Santana. Il gol e la bella prestazione in Champions possono ingannare. L’esterno viola è poco continuo e se sbaglia la partita rischia di portarvi un votaccio nella vostra formazione. La sorpresa: Fabio Quagliarella. Uno dei tanti ex di turno, Quagliarella, con Mazzarri ha già fatto bene e fuori casa può approfittare degli spazi e dell’eventuale stanchezza viola.

Inter-Catania. Su chi puntare: Samuel Eto’o. Difficile che il camerunense sbagli due partite di fila, impossibile che rimanga all’asciutto per troppo tempo. La legge dei grandi numeri dice di puntare su di lui. Chi evitare: Mariano Andujar. Il portiere etneo, titolare dalla Seleccion, non mi ispira sicurezza. Fin’ora non è mai stato decisivo e a San Sirio rischia di essere preso a pallonate. La sorpresa: Amantino Mancini. Si avete letto bene. Nel caso in cui l’Inter non riesca a sbloccare la partita è l’unico su cui José Mourinho potrebbe puntare per cambiare il match.

Palermo-Udinese. Su chi puntare: Fabrizio Miccoli. Il fantasista tascabile è rovente e al Barbera si esalta sempre. Miccoli può essere devastante e un gol o un assist lo regala sempre. Chi evitare: Maurizio Domizzi. La difesa friulana cambia, Zapata in panchina e Felipe out. L’ex napoletano viene dirottato al centro e visto il pessimo momento dell’Udinese conviene stargli alla larga. La sorpresa: Federico Barlzaretti. Lippi lo tiene d’occhio, lui lo sa e sta sfoderando prestazioni all’altezza. A volte è un po’ irruento, ma può regalare assist preziosi.

Roma-Livorno. Su chi puntare: Jeremy Menez. Il francesino, nonostante il rigore sbagliato al Craven Cottage, è in palla. Gli manca l’affermazione e Ranieri potrebbe proporlo in un ruolo alla Totti. Chi evitare: Romano Perticone. Il nome già dice tutto. Dubito che qualcuno lo possa avere in squadra, ma se ce l’avete domenica non è il giorno per metterlo in campo. La sorpresa: Stefano Guberti. Anche questa volta suggeriamo un giocatore che vieni dalla panchina. In questo momento l’unico esterno che salta l’uomo nella Roma. Ranieri potrebbe chiamarlo in causa a partita in corso.

Sampdoria-Bologna. Su chi puntare: Antonio Cassano. Se il Bologna ha sofferto Lavezzi, figuriamoci i problemi che avrà con Fantantonio. Il talento barese, per altro, dovrà anche fare lavoro doppio viste le condizioni non ottimali di Pazzini. Chi evitare: Gaby Mudingayi. Il centrocampista felsineo è avvezzo ai cartellini e i giocatori della Samp sono dei veri peperini. Il belga potrebbe cadere spesso in tentazione, voi non sbagliate e sorvolate. La sorpresa: Claudio Bellucci. L’attaccante doriano verrà dirottato a centrocampo come esterno alto a destra. Un azzardo? La squalifica di Padalino e la mancanza di alternative gli offrono quella sicurezza che potrebbe permettere di esprimere al meglio tutto il suo talento.

Siena-Juventus. Su chi puntare: Amauri. La punta, quasi azzurra, si è sbloccata. Mercoledì in Champions ha riposato e in una partita difficile come quella di Siena il suo fisico può fare la differenza. Chi evitare: Martin Caceres. Il terzino uruguayano è la fotocopia di Zebina e Grygera. La sua pessima diagonale al 90° contro il Maccabi poteva costare cara e contro il Siena può soffrire. La sorpresa: Sebastian Giovinco. Che se ne dica, contro il Maccabi per noi ha giocato bene. Mancheranno Trezeguet e Del Piero e l’unica alternativa in avanti sarà lui. In partita in corso potrebbe fare la differenza.

Somos pentacampeões, temos cinco copas,

Hoje falaremos do futebol lá da Europa

Já que essa semana tivemos um grande confronto

Que valia muito mais que os simples três pontos.

De um lado tava o Kaká, o “oito” da torcida,

Mas, no gol do Milan, tínhamos o Dida.

Que falhou aos dezenove ao soltar a bola ali,

Justo no pé do Raúl, que marcou para o Madrid.

Agora, o capitão, goleador máximo do Europeu

Incendiava as arquibancadas do Santiago Bernabeu!

O Real ia pra cima, atrás de mais um tento,

Que não saiu de jeito algum durante o primeiro tempo.

Na volta pra segunda etapa, virada à milanesa:

Uma bomba do meia Pirlo lhes dava uma certeza:

A de que o Casillas ia mal, e falharia novamente,

Dessa vez, aos vinte um, com o Pato pela frente.

E o camisa sete, em lançamento de Zambrotta,

Teve a calma e uma frieza típica “da velha bota”

Só empurrou pras redes e marcou o seu primeiro,

Em um duelo emocionante, quente e derradeiro!

Mas o Real estava vivo, vivo e consciente,

Tanto que, aos trinta e um, quem marcou foi o tal Drenthe.

Após cobrança de escanteio vinda do lado direito,

O holandês anotou o seu em chute seco e rasteiro.

O jogo esquentava, os times eram assíduos,

Até que o Real fez, mas Raúl estava impedido.

E o Milan respondeu, com Thiago, ex-Fluminense

Mas o gol foi anulado, erro grotesco e circense

O juiz viu uma falta em um lance típico, normal,

A confusão tava armada, um tremendo quebra pau.

Mão aqui, mão ali, uma arena de duelo…

Sobrou pra Raul e Nesta, que levaram o amarelo

Enfim, de volta ao jogo, jogadaça aos quarenta e três:

Lançamento de Seedorf, aquele mesmo, holandês.

Que encontrou na área um artilheiro nato,

Era a noite do menino, do Alexandre Pato!

De chapa, de primeira decretou o resultado:

Real dois, Milan três em um jogo disputado!

Kaka' no brilló ayer con el Real Madrid. Al fondo sus ex-compañeros del AC Milan festejan la victoria en el Bernabéu.

Grupo A

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX 2-1 BAYERN MÜNCHEN
El monarca francés derrotó al poderoso equipo alemán en casa por 2 goles a 1. Los primeros en adelantarse fueron los bávaros con el autogol de Ciani tras despejar mal un corner al minuto 6. Al 27’ el mismo Ciani enmendaría su error también en un tiro de esquina, marcando un golazo de taquito para igualar el juego. Planus meter al 40’marcó el segundo tanto rematando un centro. En la segunda parte el Bordeaux pudo aumentar la diferencia, sin embargo el penal rematado por Gourcuff fue atajado por el guardameta Butt, cuando el mediocampista francés remató al estilo panenka, muy fácil para el portero. Bordeaux es líder del grupo con 7 puntos.

JUVENTUS 1-0 MACCABI HAIFA
Al equipo italiano le bastó con el solitario gol de Giorgio Chiellini al 47’, rematando de cabeza un centro de Diego. Los italianos consiguieron su primera victoria y los israelíes sumaron su tercera derrota.

GRUPO B

CSKA MOSKVA 0-1 MANCHESTER UNITED
El equipo británico triunfó con el gol del ecuatoriano Valencia al minuto 86. Los ingleses consiguieron su primera victoria en tierras rusas ante escuadras de ese país (disputó la Final de la Champions 2007 en Rusia) donde habían conseguido dos empates sin victorias ni derrotas por esta competición.

WOLFSBURG 0-0 BEŞİKTAŞ
El campeón alemán no pasó del empate 0-0 en casa ante el Beşiktaş de Turquía. Los alemanes son segundos del grupo B.

GRUPO C

REAL MADRID 2-3 AC MILAN
El equipo rossonero visitó el Santiago Bernabéu y derrotó 2-3 al Real Madrid. Muchos medios españoles señalaron y sigue señalando al hepta-campeón europeo como un equipo viejo y acabado, incluso decrépito; sin embargo los italianos con mucha experiencia europea y la alegría, picardía y velocidad de Pato; les alcanzó con su juego pausado e inteligente para derrotar al “súper-galáctico” equipo merengue. Al principio del juego un ataque de Benzema fue frenado con falta dentro del área de Zambrotta, sin embargo el árbitro no pitó el claro penal. Poco después al minuto 19, un sencillo remate de Granero llegó a las manos de Dida, el arquero brasileño pensó que hacer con la bola antes de amarrarla bien y por esto estrelló la bola con su rodilla, se le soltó de las manos y Raúl con su instinto goleador nunca dejó de ver al arquero y aprovechó el error para tirar cruzado y marcar su gol número 68 en la historia de la Copa, con la puerta vacía. El partido entró en un ritmo lento a excepción de una jugada de Marcelo, en la que eludió a varios rivales remató y Dida está vez si hizo bien su trabajo. El partido fue dominado por el Madrid hasta que llegó el bombazo de Pirlo que cambió por completo el ritmo del juego. Pirlo al 62’ sin marca disparó desde más de 30 metros y el arquero Casillas no reaccionó a tiempo, el balón pasó entre la mano de Íker y el poste derecho del portero. El AC Milan aprovechó esto como un envión anímico y soltarse a jugar más, un contragolpe montado por el Real fue robado por Ambrosini, el capitano lanzó un pase largo y colocado a Pato, Casillas salió a nada y dejó el marco desguarnecido, lo que aprovechó Alexandre Pato para darle la vuelta al resultado al 66’. El equipo local desesperado, buscó el empate y en un tiro de esquina cobrado por Raúl, Drenthe recibió, dominó, remató raso, colocado al palo y potente para empatar el partido una vez más al 76’. Parecía que el Madrid estaba reaccionando pero no fue más que un espejismo. Al 85’ Pato remató solo y Casillas la desvió al corner, el tiro de esquina fue ejecutado, entraron Thiago Silva, Ramos e Íker por la pelota, Ramos chocó con su portero y metió la pelota con la mano. El árbitro inexplicablemente anuló el gol milanista y por ello se armó una gresca. Silva, Nesta y Ambrosini entre otros se fueron contra el colegiado belga Frank De Bleeckere. Raúl y otros merengues llegaron, Ronaldinho le dio un “manazo” al capitán blanco y la situación empeoró. Seedorf llegó a calmar la situación y finalmente Raúl y Nesta se fueron con amarilla. Parecía que el partido terminaría igualado pero el AC Milan sintió que podía ganarlo y lo buscó, una descolgada de Pato por la banda derecha fue frenada parcialmente por Raúl Albiol, el balón quedó en pies de Ronaldinho, este esperó a la llegada de Seedorf, el holandés pacientemente aguantó el desmarque de Pato en el área merengue y centró al brasileño que definió el juego al 88’ rematando a bocajarro. La madre de todos los partidos, como lo describió Galliani, finalizó con 3 puntos dorados para los lombardos. Ahora ambas escuadras lideran el grupo C con 6 puntos.
La otra nota especial de este juego, era el reencuentro de Kaka’ con sus excompañeros, sin embargo el brasileño fue un fantasma más en el equipo madridista, y le tocó observar a los rossoneros festejando en su nueva casa.

FC ZÜRICH 0-1 OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
Un solitario gol de Gabriel Heinze al 69’ le da los primeros puntos al Marseille en su visita a Zúrich. Ambos equipos tienen 3 puntos y siguen en la lucha por clasificar a octavos.

Grupo D

CHELSEA 4-0 ATLÉTICO MADRID
El equipo londinense prácticamente selló su pase a la otra ronda con esta goleada sobre los pupilos de Resino. Los goles de los ingleses fueron de Kalou a los minutos 41 y 52, siguió la fiesta Lampard 69’ y cerro el autogol de Perea al 91’. Atlético es colero y Chelsea tiene 9 puntos de 9.

FC PORTO 2-1 APOEL NICOSIA
Los lusitanos tuvieron que venir desde atrás para dejarse los 3 puntos en casa ante el complicado APOEL. El tanto chipriota llegó al 22 por intermedio Álvaro Pereira en un autogol más de esta jornada. Sin embargo el brasileño Hulk anotó al 33’ para empatar y también marcó de penal el de la victoria en el minuto 48. Porto es escolta del Chelsea.

Photo courtesy ArchiM's Flickr account

Football fans are often questioned for their unstinting loyalty – The blind belief that, ‘on their day’, their team could beat Barcelona in the Camp Nou (even if they support Crewe Alexandra) and their sheep-like ability to keep going back even after 10 successive years of threatening not to renew their season ticket ‘to watch that shower’.

Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabéu summed up why they bother.

In any normal year, an A.C. Milan victory against Real Madrid might have been rightly passed off as one European giant succumbing to another, but this has not been any old year at Via Turati. The Rossoneri have lost their star player – to Madrid – spent little of the proceeds, had their former World Player of the Year bouncing from nightclub to nightclub on multiple continents, been pilloried in the press and, worst of all, they have played like Ipswich Town on an off-day.

So, then, where on Earth did Milan’s 3-2 victory in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday over the Galacticos – a team worth a quarter of a billion Euros – come from?

Even Milan’s 2-1 home win over Roma on Sunday, which lifted the San Siro outfit into the top half of the Serie A table, came on the back of not only a very unconvincing display, but also a highly questionable refereeing decision. The victory hardly seemed a precursor to a major upset in Europe, but rather a way of papering over the considerable red-and-black cracks for a few days before a right royal tonking against world football’s biggest of big spenders.

What was predictable on Wednesday was Madrid’s first goal, and the manner in which it went in. (Note: You can watch the video of that goal here. -Ed.) Nelson Dida is no longer Milan’s first choice goalkeeper, and he’s lucky to be Milan’s third choice right now with Flavio Roma snapping at his heels in the absences of Christian Abbiati and Marco Storari.

One thread which has remained common in Dida’s Champions League career, though, has been the Brazilian’s ability to come up with the odd rick. Whether it be dropping a speculative Lee Bowyer shot in the back of the keeper’s own net in 2000, or falling to the ground long after a cheeky scamp had wagged his finger a bit too close to the Brazilian’s face at Celtic Park in 2007, the two-time competition winner has had the uncanny knack of occasionally bringing a smile to opposition fans’ faces. His inability on Wednesday to run a few yards and hold the ball at the same time after Esteban Granero’s weak 19th-minute shot came as a surprise to few, then – least of all Madrid striker Raúl González, who had been following up for just such an eventuality and thereby tapped in Wednesday’s opening goal.

What followed, though, was surely the story of this season’s Champions League so far. First, Madrid’s imperious first-choice goalkeeper Iker Casillas committed goalkeeping’s cardinal sin by allowing Andrea Pirlo’s dipping 30-yard strike on 62 minutes to squirm through a gap at his near post. Four minutes later, Casillas, the European Championship-winning skipper for Spain, raced out of his area to meet Massimo Ambrosini’s through-ball for Alexandre Pato, only to withdraw his hands when he realised a red card could be the result, allowing the young Milan striker to roll the ball into the empty net to give the Italians a shock 2-1 lead.

It appeared that normal service was about to resume when Madrid’s Royston Drenthe was left in space on the edge of the Milan area and was allowed to fire in a shot which Dida failed to get to in the 76th minute, but Leonardo’s side had still more fight in reserve, which was a quality rarely seen from them on the Italian peninsula this season.  Though Thiago Silva’s header was wrongly disallowed, the Rossoneri then finally clinched the full three points in the 88th minute when Clarence Seedorf’s chip found Pato in space, and the 20-year-old striker’s right-footed finish was his second winner in two games and put Milan top – yes, top! – of Group C.

The reaction in Italy’s papers on Thursday has been predictable to say the least, particularly from Milan-based La Gazzetta dello Sport, which proclaimed “The night of Pato” in Madrid and told of Adriano Galliani’s boast that “I was right about Leonardo” when deciding to stick with the Brazilian tactician during their recent travails back home in Italy.

Wednesday’s result for Milan helps to advance the thinking that Italian sides might well have something to say in this year’s Champions League after all, but with victories for Fiorentina and Juventus over the lowest-ranked opponents of their respective groups, it’s suddenly Inter who are under the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at home against Dynamo Kiev showed that even when coming off the back of one of their best performances under Jose Mourinho (a 5-0 win in Genoa on Saturday), the Nerazzurri still can’t seem to find the formula in Europe.

It is now a full year (plus another eight games) since Inter recorded a win in the Champions League, and their trip to Kiev in two weeks’ time has suddenly taken on a ‘do-or-die’ mantle, with anything less than a win likely to strike up links between Mourinho and Liverpool’s potential managerial vacancy. The self-ordained Special One has never looked entirely at ease in Italy, nor has club president and Italian oil tycoonMassimo Moratti looked entirely at ease with Mourinho, and should the Italian champions fall out of the tournament at the first hurdle, changes could well be afoot.

And so it is with football. Four days ago, Milan were under massive pressure, but now it’s their supporters who get to point and laugh at their rivals – If only for a couple of weeks.

Kris Voakes

Il giorno dopo l’importantissima vittoria di Madrid, contro il Real, il Milan è già concentrato sul prossimo impegno di campionato contro il Chievo Verona. Nella mente di tifosi e addetti ai lavori è, però, ancora impressa l’esaltante notte del ‘Bernabeu’: “Sono molto soddisfatto per la vittoria che è importante per il girone e per la storia – le parole dell’Avvocato Leandro Cantamessa, legale rossonero e membro del consiglio d’amministrazione, in esclusiva a Calciomercato.it -. Ma al di là di questo, ha un contenuto di iniezione emotiva che è fortissimo. Le squadre sono una sintesi dei giocatori che la compongono e hanno una loro anima che va alimentata con cose come quelle di ieri sera. Avevo visto le quote, tutti davano il Milan per sconfitto, c’era tanto timore anche tra i tifosi. Ma abbiamo visto tutti com’è andata a finire”.

I FUORICLASSE – Straordinaria la prestazione di Pato che ha saputo trafiggere nel momento giusto il Real Madrid: “Sì, ho visto pezzi della partita e condivido. Pato, con la sua doppietta, ha dato una grandissima soddisfazione a tutti noi. Eccezionali anche Nesta e Thiago Silva, sono fantastici. L’errore di Dida? Sono stati bravi tutti a recuperare da una botta psicologica così forte”.

COME DOMENICA – Anche ieri sera, come domenica contro la Roma, il Milan ha dato il meglio di sè nella seconda parte della gara: “Dal punto di vista atletico la squadra è preparata, nella seconda frazione si esprimono al meglio. Certo, se cominciassero a giocare dall’inizio così sarebbe molto meglio per le coronarie di noi tifosi (sorride, ndr)”.

LEONARDO – Nel leggere la formazione iniziale, in molti si sono stupiti nel vedere in campo insieme quattro giocatori offensivi come Inzaghi, Pato, Ronaldinho e Seedorf. Alla fine, però, ha avuto ragione il tecnico rossonero: “Io sono contentissimo per Leonardo, ieri era stravolto alla fine del match. Ci vuole coraggio a mettere in campo una squadra con quattro attaccanti, nella vita non è un dettaglio il coraggio. E’ vero che lui voleva giocare con tre punte, di questo io sono testimone, è un’idea che viene da lontano, se ne parlava da luglio. Appena ha potuto farlo, lo ha fatto”.

IL GRANDE EX – Le dichiarazioni rilasciate da Kakà alla vigilia del match non sono piaciute alla maggior parte dei tifosi rossoneri: “Avevo e conservo ancora, una sorta di reverenza nei confronti di Kakà, per la persona oltre che per il giocatore. Ho visto giocare gente più forte di lui, Maradona, Pelé, Rivera, però è una persona come si deve. Adesso ha cambiato squadra, cosa doveva dire? Non mi sembra che ci sia da criticarlo. Certo, ieri sera era un avversario e per i tifosi è difficile continuara ad amarlo come prima”.

MERCATO – Infine, abbiamo chiesto a Leandro Cantamessa un aggiornamento sulla situazione Beckham e su eventuali altri movimenti in programma durante il mercato di riparazione: “Siamo vicini, però fin quando le cose non sono firmate…Sono cose che competono ai manager, gli avvocati devono sempre stare cinque passi indietro. Però, l’orizzonte è positivo. Altri movimenti a gennaio? Su questo ho poco da dire, non ho indicazioni in tal senso. Sono cose che vengono decise più o meno a ridosso del mercato, adesso credo sia prematuro parlarne”. ha concluso l’Avvocato Cantamessa

Foi um show a parte, quem viu certamente não se arrependeu e quem não viu perdeu uma das melhores partidas nos últimos tempos pela Liga Dos Campeõs.O Milan que não vem bem das pernas no Campeonato Italiano, principalmente depois da saída de Kaká, fez um segundo tempo magnífico contra o Real Madrid, batendo a equipe de Madrid dentro do Santiago Bernabeu.Isso tudo graças também as falhas em 2 gols do goleiro Casillas, mas principalmente pela atuação de um jogador formado aqui bem perto de nós, no estádio Beira – Rio.

Alexandre Pato que a tempos não ouviamos noticias voltou a bater as asas e simplismente deu show na Espanha, com lances rápidos e boa movimentação, o garoto considerado  uma promessa fez digna sua contratação pela equipe mais brasileira da Europa.Marcou dois gols importantissímos proporcionando uma vitória inesperada até por mim mesmo da equipe Italiana.Devo destacar também a grande atuação do meia Ronaldinho Gaúcho, que a muito tempo estava sumido e voltou a brilhar dentro da casa da equipe adversária assim como a 3 anos atrás quando o mesmo foi aplaudido em pé pela torcida do Real.

Claro que Cristiano Ronaldo, o jogador mais caro do mundo não estava em campo, mas isso não tira o mérito do time comandado por Leonardo, que com essa vitória talvéz passe a ganhar créditos com a torcida já que vinha sendo muito criticado pelas fracas atuações apresentadas por seu time.Certamente muitos dias se passarão, mas quem viu certamente irá guardar na memória o jogaço que tivemos no dia 21/10/2009, quando duas das equipes mais importantes do futebol mundial proporcionaram momentos de festa e preocupação para seus torcedores.

O lado Italiano do velho continente com certeza acorda – rá sorridente, enquanto o lado Espanhol ficará sem ter o que comemorar já que Barcelona e Atlético de Madrid também não conquistaram os 3 pontos desejados.Quem sabe depois desta vitória o Milan possa voltar a figurar na parte de cima da tebela no campeonato local, e mais do que isso, quem sabe torne – se um forte candidato ao título da Liga, o que deixaria ainda mais bonita e interessante a competição.

GRUPPO A – Il Bordeaux conserva la testa del girone davanti alla Juve, vittoriosa in casa contro il Maccabi. I francesi invece battono 2-1 il Bayern Monaco grazie ai gol di Ciani e Planus, ribaltando il risultato sbloccato al 6′ del primo tempo proprio con un’autorete di Ciani. GRUPPO B – Manchester United al fotofinish: i russi del Cska Mosca cedono solo nel finale. Il gol vittoria dei Red Devils, infatti, arriva all’86′ quando Valencia ha infilato la porta difesa da Akinfeev con un destro preciso. Nell’altro match è 0-0 tra Wolfsburg e Besiktas. Il Manchester guida il girone B a punteggio pieno con 9 punti.

GRUPPO C – Il Milan fa l’impresa a Madrid, mentre l’Olympique Marsiglia espugna Zurigo grazie al gol seganto da Heinze al 23′ della ripresa. In classifica Milan e Real comandano con 6 punti a testa, seguiti da Zurigo e Olympique appaiate a 3. GRUPPO D – Il Chelsea di Carlo Ancelotti è una furia. A Stamford Bridge l’Atletico Madrid è piegato 4-0 con i gol di Lampard, Kalou (doppietta) e l’autorete di Perea. Nell’altro match il Porto liquida 2-1 l’Apoel Nicosia, con due gol di Hulk. In classifica i Blues sono a punteggio pieno seguiti dal Porto che ha 6 punti. Un punto a testa per Atletico e Apoel.