Following much gossip, rumour and counter-rumour, Ronaldinho’s protracted transfer saga at long last drew to a welcome close late last month. The waning Brazilian star’s decision to swap the beguiling glamour of Barcelona for, well, the irresistible appeal of Milan was, in the end, hardly a tough one.
Of course, it wasn’t really Ronnie’s decision to depart Catalonia quite so soon – incoming Barca coach Pep Guardiola made it brutally clear that he and his fellow party-loving team-mate Deco were no longer welcome at Camp Nou. With Manchester City proving the only ‘serious’ competition for the signature of the apparently superfluous former Ballon D’Or winner, there was only ever going to be one victor.
That the mighty AC Milan should even find themselves fighting it out toe-to-toe with nouveau riche upstarts City for playing recruits could perhaps be perceived as a sign of Serie A’s diminished prestige since those heady glory days of the 80s and 90s. But, of course, Ronaldinho isn’t your average cast-off.
At the age of just 28 – and, according to vice-president Adriano Galliani, having “lost his belly” – he could conceivably yet rekindle that irresistible fire which once made him everyone’s favourite buck-toothed ball manipulator. Certainly, Milan will be resting their hopes on a Samba-rich Kaka-Ronnie-Pato attacking axis coming good this season. And it does have a rather tantalising appeal – on paper, at least.
In light of Guardiola’s ruthless approach to re-shaping the humbled blaugrana this summer, there has been some pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti to adopt a similar ‘rip it up and start again’ policy over at San Siro. That, however, is simply not the manner in which Milan operate.
No, at least prior to the unveiling of ‘Dinho, there had instead been a quiet revolution at the club’s Milanello HQ this summer.
Though no spring chicken at 31, and another Barca redundant, Gianluca Zambrotta will bring a much-needed injection of dynamism and attacking width to what has become an increasingly stodgy side. The early acquisition of Arsenal’s Mathieu Flamini should also prove to be an excellent piece of business. The Frenchman’s tireless running and accurate passing promises to gel well with likely engine-room cohort Andrea Pirlo – who will clearly take the creative role in the partnership.
Quite where the new arrivals will leave club stalwart Rino Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf – who remains, for now, in possession of the cherished no. 10 shirt for now at least – remains to be seen.
At the sharp end of things, the ‘loss’ of inept strikers Alberto Gilardino and Ricardo Oliviera should be more than compensated for by the return from successful loan of Milan’s long-neglected centre-forward Marco Borriello. It’s surely a big ask for the Neapolitan to reproduce the rich vein of goal-scoring form which reaped 19 goals last term, but he has within him the ability to make a significant contribution when called upon.
Fellow loan-returnee Christian Abbiati may also receive an unlikely shot at redemption, as Milan have so far failed to replace calamity-prone ‘keepers Zeljko Kalac and Dida; with Galliani declaring the club’s transfer activity now closed. And that is just where Milan’s problems might lie.
The back five remains an ageing, increasingly vulnerable unit; certainly incapable of keeping up with the rigorous demands of Champions League football. Perhaps it’s just as well they won’t have to, as they’ll instead face up to the perceived ignominy of participation in the little-loved UEFA Cup.
Still much-loved, but sadly in inevitable decline; Paolo Maldini looks set to carry on into his 41st year. The plan was to retire the legendary no. 3 shirt upon his retirement, but if he continues to prolong his career much longer, the world’s finest full-back of the past two decades will be able to pass the shirt directly on to his son Christian – a highly-rated youth team prospect at Milan.
Alessandro Nesta, another defender of immense talent and composure, is becoming all too frequent a visitor to the treatment table. Rumours persist that he’ll need to go under the surgeon’s knife sooner rather than later to clear up his injury problems once and for all, but when available Nesta remains the rock upon which the side’s (occasionally shaky) foundations are built.
Serie A is, broadly speaking, contested at a speed considerably slower than the Premier League’s default ‘breakneck’ setting. The rossoneri, therefore, clearly expect the value of experience over raw pace to still hold firm at domestic level.
The Milan hierarchy, despite public niceties to the contrary, have no interest whatsoever in having a concerted crack at the UEFA Cup, so will be able to concentrate the efforts of their still ageing team on a full-blown title challenge. The absolute bare minimum required will be re-admission to the Champions League for 2009/10.
Allowing for his participation in Brazil’s pursuit of an elusive gold medal at the upcoming Olympic Games was a significant sweetener which eased through the deal bringing Ronaldinho to San Siro. Young hope Alexandre Pato will also be otherwise occupied in Beijing until just before Serie A’s big kick-off (assuming Brazil do make it to the latter stages).
Nonetheless, this state of affairs could conceivably work in Milan’s favour. Should the two return triumphant from the Games – not a great stretch of the imagination – they’ll be up and flying; ready to put promoted Bologna to the sword on day one of what promises to be an intriguing campaign for Ancelotti’s boys from Brazil.
Now all they have to do is keep their original Seleção star, Kaká, out of the greedy clutches of a certain West London-based player vacuum...
