Milan: Who's to Blame, Who's Not

For the past couple of years, Milan has been in quite the hole. We all know that. I don't need to go into great detail, but during times like this, people always want to point the finger, usually at just one person. The same names keep popping up on who's to blame. First it was Allegri, but now that he's gone, a lot of people are blaming Balotelli while a minority think it is Seedorf. Few mention the man that is at the head of all it, Silvio Berlusconi. I strongly don't believe in blaming one person for a mistake or a bad situation, especially when it is something that is as big as a football club as Milan is. But for me, Silvio is the biggest problem of it all and deserves almost all of the blame. When the economy crashed, did people blame the Senate? No, they blamed President Bush. Even when it wasn't completely his fault. Well, I blame Berlusconi, even though it's not completely his fault, he's about 90% of the problem. There's five main people at Milan that fans like to point the blame finger to: Allegri, Balotelli, Seedorf, Galliani and Berlusconi. Every fan comes up with bizarre reasons for why a certain one of those is the sole culprit of the fall from grace for Milan. Let's break down each one of these.

Allegri

He's not even there anymore. When he was there, just about 100% of Milanisti blamed Allegri for just about everything bad that happened at Milan. If Milan lost, it was Allegri's fault. If a player got injured, it was Allegri's fault. If a gas pipe burst at Milanello, people would probably blame Allegri. Overall, how can you deny Max Allegri had a successful tenure at Milan? He won the Scudetto and had a couple of good runs in the Champions League before being knocked out by Barcelona, who was at the peak of their game at the time. Then, after the 2011/12 season, Allegri was quite literally stripped of almost every single player he had. Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Pippo Inzaghi, Gianluca Zambrotta, Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso and many others. The squad was completely depleted and Galliani/Silvio made zero preparations for it. Couldn't they have seen this coming? Didn't they know they were going to lose virtually their entire team and have to rebuild? They should have started bringing in new and young players years ago. But they didn't. And fans just ripped Allegri to shreads when Milan started out very poorly for the 2012/13 season. Even with a depleted squad, Allegri managed to get Milan to 3rd place and into the Champions League with the help of Mario Balotelli, the only good signing Galliani has made since Ibrahimovic. Inevitably, Milan started out awful again in the 2013/14 season, because Galliani/Silvio made almost no signings. They gave Allegri practically the same team he had last season except with Balotelli and higher expectations. Eventually, after fans who were to blind to see the real problems at Milan, Allegri was sacked and Seedorf was hired.

Balotelli

Of all the people to blame at a football club for a downfall, you're going to blame the star striker? A single player? Not even a coach or an executive, but a player... If it wasn't for Mario Balotelli, Milan wouldn't have had the privilege of playing in the Champions League this season. And if it wasn't for Balotelli's goals this season, Milan would be sitting nice and comfy in 15th in Serie A rather than 10th and fighting for a Europa League spot. The main thing people blame Balotelli for is his behavior. But what behavioral issues has he had? Since he has joined, Mario has been nothing but well-behaved and patient with a squad that is just showing no signs of life. The only "outburst" he has had was recently with Sky Sport, which was completely justified. Balotelli simply said that his midfielders are not giving him any service into the box, which is a fact, not an opinion. He is not ripping on his teammates, he is simply answering a question and telling the media exactly what is wrong tactically. Even if Balotelli had a real outburst or behavioral issues, would it even effect Milan's play on the pitch? Would Milan go out the next game and play more poorly than they already are? Personally, the only Balotelli moment I have a problem with was his red card against Napoli after the match had already ended earlier this season. Milan did go out and play worse than they did before, want to know why? They didn't have Balotelli on the pitch! Many fans are also saying that Balotelli is under-performing. Well, yes he is, because he is playing with a very un-creative midfield in a striker position all alone up top by himself. Playing as a striker by yourself in a 4-2-3-1 formation means you have to depend completely on your midfield. Balotelli's midfield simply cannot get him the ball so he has to drop back into the midfield and either create for others or score an absolute golazo to please everyone. How can you expect a player, any player, to perform to his potential when a club like Milan is in one of its darkest eras since the 80s?

Seedorf

This is the one that baffles me the most. The man has been coaching since January. Let me make this very clear, Clarence Seedorf coached his first ever match in January and Milan went on a 5 game winning streak, its longest streak of the season, before losing to a far superior Roma side at the Stadio Olimpico. Clarence has not only been a great coach for Milan, but he's a legend of the club. Firing him would be downright disrespectful, but also idiotic. The club is clearly on the upswing with him and players have rallied around him. He seems like the perfect coach to "fix" Balotelli, whatever there is to fix. Seedorf has handled everything with absolute class. He has constantly been asked if he will be sacked or if he regrets taking the job and Seedorf just says that he does not worry about being sacked and that if he could go back in time, he would still take the role as the manager of Milan. Since Seedorf came in, the team has been playing with new energy, they finally look like they have some life. If he's got this poor of a squad playing this much better, what can he do with an actual decent team? Seedorf is showing some massive managerial potential and firing him would only be another massive mistake and cause more chaos in an already chaotic situation at Casa Milan.

Galliani

I don't really blame Galliani for much, but he hasn't exactly been a solution or comforting piece to the puzzle. He apparently does not support Seedorf and wants him out and during Milan's match against Livorno, he sat stone-faced after every Milan goal while they thrashed the opponent. He's not getting any funds from Berlusconi to make signings, but when he has had the funds, some have been questionable. Buying Matri for 11 million might have been the worst of them yet. However, I think Galliani has made some very good signings such as Rami and Taarabt on loan and also Honda, even though he hasn't turned out the way most people had hoped. Lately, I haven't been too impressed with Galliani's behavior or comments, but I'm still not ready to put a large amount of blame on him just yet.

Berlusconi

Oh Silvio, where do I begin? Where do I begin how much you are at fault for just about all of this mess? Let me start out by saying, Berlusconi has invested next to nothing into Milan the past two seasons, but he has made a profit of 3 billion euros to his personal wealth. Berlusconi is the owner of this club. In the end, every single decision comes down to him. Every signing, every hiring, every firing. Why didn't Silvio recognize Milan were going to lose it's entire team in 2012 and prepare for it? Why didn't he invest before and why isn't he investing now to help his new coach? Why wasn't this incredibly corrupt man thrown in prison years ago? He was an awful prime minister of Italy. He had sex with 18 year old prostitutes, has been in an endless amount of scandals, yet, because he has so much money, he remains safe, comfy and the owner of AC Milan. If you want to put all the blame on one person, put it on Berlusconi. He's the moneymaker, the decision maker and the investor, yet he's done none of those things. He hardly does any interviews and when he does, he doesn't talk about Milan. Where's the leadership? Who's taking responsibility? Why isn't he putting money into the club and where is it going instead?

Seedorf, Balotelli, the two men who have been called out by fans the most to leave recently, they aren't the ones who should go. It's Silvio Berlusconi. It's time for him to sell the club, the Berlusconi era is over. It was fun while it lasted, but good things never last forever. Move on.

El Shaarawy: Should He Be Sold?

Arguably the most liked player on Milan, Stephan El Shaarawy has been a fan favorite ever since he arrived from Genoa. He's always been a highly rated player around the world, but among Milanisti, he's especially ranked. At just 21 years old, he's shown plenty of potential, with his immense pace down the wings and his ability to score. However, is he really as good as we think he is? Has he shown enough to deserve all the love he's been given?

In the first half of the 2012/13 season, Stephan scored an incredible 16 goals, carrying Milan on his shoulders, keeping them out of the relegation zone. However, other than that, what has he done? His first season with Milan (only being 19-20yrs old), he scored just 2 goals in 22 games. The second half of the 2012/13 season, he completely disappeared and went on a goalless drought of nearly a year. He's also known to be very injury prone, getting injured very early this season and still has yet to return.

Teams have shown strong interest for him, including Manchester City last summer, who reportedly offered between 35-40m euros for him. With a player who's always injured, inconsistent and that kind of money on the table, why not take it and run?

Then there's the squad itself. With Seedorf's 4-2-3-1 formation, people are expecting El Shaarawy to be very effective in it, with his pace down the left wing. This is very true, but with Balotelli and Pazzini in the squad, two players who are better in a striker pairing, Seedorf maybe consider changing the formation to accommodate them. This could eliminate a winger's position, thus leaving El Shaarawy out of the squad. Selling El Shaarawy could open up a few striker options to upgrade from Pazzini to pair up with Balotelli.

If the prices being thrown out there for El Shaarawy (30-40m) are true, I wouldn't think twice about selling him. It would help Milan financially by clearing some of their debts and could be reinvested into the team to bring in more players. Milan seems pretty set in attack with Balotelli, Taarabt and others, so by selling El Shaarawy, they could upgrade the back-line and midfield, Milan's two biggest problem areas.

I want to make it clear, I love El Shaarawy. I think he is a great player, but I don't see a successful future for him at Milan, at least right now. He is bringing back memories of Pato, but with much less goals and a lot more inconsistency. Selling him could immensely help not only Milan, but him as well. He's still very, very young, so there's still plenty of time for him to grow and the injuries to clear up, so keeping him could be a good idea, but if there's a lucrative offer on the table, Galliani should take a close look at it. In the end, I don't think Stephan will be sold, at least this summer. We have yet to see a lot of him and Balotelli together, which has been regarded by many writers as a potential world class attack for the next decade. Only time will tell, but every player has his price. No one is ever completely off the table. Money speaks louder than words.

Stephan El Shaarawy Career Statistics for Milan in Serie A:

2011/12: 22 appearances, 2 goals
2012/13: 37 appearances, 16 goals
2013/14: 4 appearances, 0 goals

18 career goals in Serie A

Stats from acmilan.it

Milan-Chievo Review: Smiles All Around

A good vibe will be swirling all around Milanello, at least for now. With back to back wins and clean sheets, Milan put in an excellent performance at the San Siro against Chievo Verona. Just a couple weeks ago, Clarence Seedorf's job was up for question, all the pressure was on him and the team to start performing. That's exactly what they've done. There's no better way to respond to critics than to win. It was bound to be a special day for Kaka's 300th match in a Milan kit.

Right from the blow of the whistle, Milan were in attack mode, despite Chievo putting on some early pressure while Milan had the ball. The first goal didn't take long. In the 4th minute, Adil Rami was on the right wing and sent in a perfect cross for Mario Balotelli who smashed in a spectacular volley from close range to put Milan up 1-0. It was the perfect way to start the match as it got the crowd roaring and brought a ton of energy to the team.

Keisuke Honda who has been very much struggling for his new team, finally put in a solid performance. He was making runs down the right-hand side while also creating for his teammates. At the edge of the box, Honda lifted the ball up and over the defense and put it on a silver platter for Kaka to bring down and slot it home for an easy finish to make it 2-0. It was a fantastic assist and hopefully one of many more in the future for the playmaker.

It was a dominate showing from I Rossoneri, from start to finish. They controlled the tempo, had majority of possession and didn't waste many chances. To cap off an amazing performance, the legend himself, Riccardo Kaka, scored an absolute golazo from the left corner of the box, curling the ball just inside the post to get his brace in what will be a very remember-able match for him.

It's very clear that the players have Seedorf's back, considering the type of scrutiny and pressure he was receiving from the media and management. The past to two matches, against Fiorentina and Chievo, Milan and especially Mario Balotelli have been playing with much more intensity and showing a stronger will to win. Balotelli was very involved throughout the entire match and set up two clear cut chances for Honda and Emanuelson, both of which were wasted by poor shots. Milan look to be getting back on track and Seedorf's ideas seem to be getting through to the squad.

Man of the Match: Ricky Kaka
Honorable mentions: Mario Balotelli, Keisuke Honda, Adel Taarabt

Milan-Parma Review

The agony continues. The pit in your stomach deepened on Sunday when Parma added to Milan's misery at the San Siro with a disgusting 4-2 win.

It all started in just the 4th minute when Abbiati received a red card while trying to stop a breakaway in the box. It was a very poor tackle by Abbiati and a penalty was deserved. Former Milanista, Antonio Cassano, stepped up and slotted it in with easy and it was 1-0 Parma straightaway. However, with only 10 men, Milan really pushed back and started playing much better despite being a man down. Going into the second half, things were looking OK for Milan.

As if the story couldn't get any more old, the Milan "luck" went on. Fifty-first minute, Antonio Cassano struck again and it's 2-0 Parma. It was the dagger, Milan looked finished. However, Rami, who was substituted in, scored off a corner kick in the 56th minute and suddenly, Milan were back in it. Milan looked to have a little more life as the game when on and eventually, Montolivo was taken down(a dive) in the box and up stepped the best PK taker in the world, with massive pressure on him. Mario Balotelli inevitably converted and tied it all up at 2.

The Calcio Gods struck yet again down on Milan. Just two minutes after Balotelli's goal, Amauri slips one through Amelia's legs and it's 3-2 Parma. All the energy was suck right out of the stadium. Milan from that point on looked flat and out of ideas. For me, many of the players didn't play too poorly, apart from the back 4, who were atrocious. Andrea Poli and Balotelli were really playing well off of each other and doing a lot of give & gos. Montolivo, who got in the face like 5 times, also played a fairly decent match.

Incase you needed any more heartbreak, Biabiany scored in literally the last second of the game to finish off Milan 4-2. It truly is one of the darkest times in the club's history, but we, as Milanisti, need to stand by this club and it's players and by Seedorf. Milan will rise again and our patience and support will pay off in the end.

Milan - Parma Preview

After a gut-wrenching loss to Atletico Madrid in Spain, that saw Milan play what was possibly their last Champions League match at least for a couple years, the focus immediately shifts completely on working their way up the table in Serie A. On Sunday, Milan have a tall order ahead of them as they take on 6th place Parma at the San Siro. Milan are looking to get into a Europa League spot as it would at least bring in some funds for the following transfer market this summer.

One of the most underrated players in the world, Antonio Cassano, who is a former Milanista, is Parma's leading goalscorer with 9 goals in 24 games for the club. Known mostly for his immense creativity, Cassano also leads the team with 5 assists and will be giving Milan's back line plenty to worry about. After the loss to Atleti, Seedorf, Balotelli and the club in general has come under intense scrutiny from the fans. Rumors have been swirling that Seedorf should/could be fired before the season's end(which is absolutely not happening). Balotelli came under heavy criticism for his performance against Atletico Madrid and also for his inconsistency and lack of goals this season. As if the pressure could be any higher for Milan, the Curva Sud started protesting their anger and frustration with management. Going into this match, all the pressure will be on.

Mario Balotelli is by far Milan's leading goalscorer with 10, while second on the team is Kaka with just 5. It was questioned whether or not Balotelli would start the match due to a muscular injury he picked up a couple of days ago, but it appears he has recovered and Seedorf will most likely have him in the starting line up. Milan has been woeful all season(and the past couple of seasons) defensively, so Zapata and Bonera will have to stay very close to Cassano all match. In the midfield, De Jong will probably be starting, however Montolivo is in doubt after his dismal performance against Atletico and recent matches, so Milanisti could be seeing Muntari in the starting line up, which has been a rare occasion since Allegri left.

Considering Milan doesn't have to worry about Champions League play anymore and the energy they've been playing with since the takeover of Seedorf, we could be seeing Milan slowly start to rise up the table. Being knocked out of the Champions League could be a blessing in disguise as Serie A is the only thing Milan has to worry about now. There aren't any "easy" games in Serie A as there are in other leagues, so Milan will need to be on top of their game all the way until May.

Possible Milan XI(according to @Milanello): Abbiati; Abate-Zapata-Bonera-Emanuelson; Montolivo-Muntari; Honda, Poli, Kaka; Pazzini

Possible Parma XI(according to UK Eurosport): Mirante; Cassani-Felipe-Lucarelli-Molinaro; Marchionni-Gargano-Parolo; Biabiany-Cassano-Amauri

Mario Balotelli: Why We Should Support Him

If you follow me on my personal account on Twitter, you know very well that I am a very big fan of Mario Balotelli. I'm sure I come off as a "fanboy" or just completely bias towards Mario. However, the reason for my strong liking for Mario isn't hollow, I have a reason and backing for every opinion I have on Balotelli.

Many Milan fans have been extremely critical of Balotelli this season. He hasn't been scoring the number of goals you'd expect from him and sometimes in games, he appears lazy or shows a lack of effort. There have been countless rumors of him being sold this coming summer and quite a few people have been wanting that to happen. On the other hand, many people don't want Mario to be sold. He only arrived in Milan in January of 2013. Less than a year later, people were calling for him to be sold, saying he's immature, inconsistent, doesn't care and isn't worthy of the Milan shirt. When he arrived, he almost single-handedly brought Milan from the trenches of Serie A, to the Champions League. Going into this season, expectations were high for the club. With Mario about to start his first full season, along with El Shaarawy and Niang playing alongside him, it was supposed to be an attack for the next decade. Unfortunately, it became no where near that. The season started off almost identical as the one prior. El Shaarawy went down with a long term injury and still has yet to return, Niang went completely out of form and was eventually sent on loan to Montpellier in January. It was up to a disorganized, mediorcre midfield, an awful defense, aging goalkeeper and Mario Balotelli and Alessandro Matri to meet these high expectations.

The wins never came for Milan and the goals hardly went in for Mario. Nearly all the blame was put on him, every mistake, every thing he did, he was ripped apart by the Milan fan base, at least from what I've seen on Twitter. This man that we all cheered and worshiped upon his arrival, was mocked, laughed at and insulted by his own clubs fans when he cried on the bench after being subbed off in a match against Napoli. It seems like whenever he gets a yellow card or puts in a poor performance, Milanisti tear him to shreds. When he scores or plays well, everybody falls back in love with him. Overall, this season, it's been poor for Mario and people want him out, but why?

Mario Balotelli is by far Milan's best and most valuable player. He is 23 years old, which is still very, very young career-wise. Yes, some people may argue Kaka is better or even De Jong. I'll agree, both may have been more effective this season for Milan, but those are two completely different positions, different roles than what Mario plays. Here is why Mario is having such a poor season: Milan in general is having a poor season. To go into detail, Milan plays a 4-2-3-1 formation, in that formation, Mario is all alone, up top. In a position like that, no matter who the striker is, that player must rely completely on his midfield for the build up play. Milan does not have a very good midfield. They aren't bad, but when everyone else is out of form, how can you expect Mario to be in form? When an entire team has been out of form for 2 years, why should and how should, Mario be able to completely change that?

Remember, Balotelli joined this club in a bad state. In the time that he's been here, Berlusconi has hardly invested at all and Galliani has made some very poor transfers, including buying Matri and then missing out on Strootman, Jorginho, Nainggolan and others. We all know Mario's caliber, we know what he's capable of, but to reach your full potential, especially in this sport, it takes a team. Everybody needs to help each other and right now, Mario isn't getting much help. Not only is he not getting help from the club, he's not getting help from the fans. Milan fans and rival fans alike. If it's not racist chants from opposing fans, it's his own fans mocking him, calling for him to be sold. I understand the massive expectations of Milan and what we should expect from a star striker, especially from one with an ego of Mario Balotelli, but in order to help not only him, but the club as well, we shouldn't rip our players to shreds. We shouldn't slam them for every mistake they make, we should support them all the way through. Constructive criticism is completely normal. When Mario has a bad game, point it out, say what he did wrong and how he can do better, but don't downright insult him and say he should be sold right off the bat.

Talents and personalities like Mario don't come around very often, so instead of ripping on it every chance you get, embrace it. Embrace his arrogance, embrace his ego and confidence. I know he can be extremely frustrating, with the yellow cards, the diving, the arguing with the referees, but are you willing to give up on him at just 23? I know people are starting to say, "Ok, he's not that young anymore, he'll be 24 soon. It's time for him to get his act together." I agree, I think it is time for him to start scoring a little more consistently, but players don't even reach their prime until the age of 27 or 28. And with a team like this, how is it possible for any player to reach his prime at all?

Mario has never really been in a good situation at the club level. At Inter he had his problems with Mourinho. At City, he had his problems with the media and then he comes to Milan in one of it's worse states since the 80s and when he doesn't play well, you're going to say he should be sold less than a year later? Give it time, be patient. Once Milan starts to rise, Mario will start to rise. He didn't take down Germany by accident.

Milan-Juventus Review

Just like every great derby, this one lived up to it's potential. Milan came out of the gates flying, playing their new, fast pace style of football, with quick passing and movement and counter attacking every chance they had. The game started off pretty even, with both teams getting some good looks as it was a fast pace, up and down game from box to box. As the game wore on, Milan took more and more control and were eventually dominating in every aspect. It seemed to be only a matter of time before they scored. Chances galore, including a goal-line clearance from a Kaka shot. It was pure chaos at some points, with Gigi Buffon bailing out Juventus' defense a few times.

Eventually, one of the most typical plays in football happened. Milan were dominating possession, creating loads of chances, but just couldn't finish. Juventus pounced on a turnover with a quick counter attack and right before halftime, Llorente gets an easy tap in and it's 1-0 Juventus just like that. These types of plays can really destroy a team's mentality and ruin their confidence. However, it didn't seem to do that for Milan as they came out in the 2nd half and continued to dominate. 

Milan may have a lot of problems to address, but a positive to take away from that is that their problems are consistent. They suffer from the same things every match and one of those problems is trailing off 2/3s of the way through a game. By around the 60th-70th minute Milan tailed off and gave Juventus control of the game. Inevitability, Juventus scored in the 68th minute on an absolute scorcher from outside the box by Carlos Tevez. This put the nail in the coffin for Milan and the match was over. 

Losing is always tough, especially to one of your biggest rivals and when you play so great, but Milan is looking like a completely different team under Seedorf than with Allegri. Fans need to be patient, it's only a matter of time before the results start coming in. He's only been in charge for about a month and Seedorf has completely changed the style, mentality and entire culture of this squad. If he can make this great of an impact in this amount of time, what can he do in 1 year? Or 4 years? Or 10 years? Even with key players missing such as Balotelli or De Sciglio, Milan doesn't let it phase them. They don't come out scared thinking, "Uh oh, we're missing Balotelli, now we're going to lose." No, they come out with confidence, believing in each other and are playing some of the most exciting attacking football we've seen in a while. As time goes on, this team is only going to get better. We will be rewarded for our patience and soon, Milan will be back at the top of Italy and Europe.