OFFICIAL: Milan sign Ronaldinho - squad number 80!

[Adnan]

Nah, they met to talk about Oliveira's situation (his sister got released). They probably also talked about Ronaldinho but I wouldn't look too much into it..

[Aladino]

In june I heard that Oli sacked 'Dinho's brother, while he got a divorce as well! My impression was that 'Dinho's brother has something to do with the divorce though I could be wrong as it was in another language!

[Forza_Roma]

Kaka will speak to Ronaldinho....Ronaldinho is being pressured every way...Milan, Ronaldo, Kaka...seems more likely every day!

Kaka calls ‘Dinho
Monday 19 March, 2007
Milan star Kaka has admitted he might try to convince Ronaldinho to move to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

The Barcelona man is a known target for next year and was reportedly closer to joining Serie A after his brother and agent Roberto Assis was sighted in Milan last week.

However, Barca Vice-President Ferran Soriano has since denied those claims, describing the reports as ‘groundless’.

“I haven’t spoken to Ronaldinho yet, but I will see him next week when the Seleçao play the friendlies against Chile and Ghana,” Kaka told Sky Italia.

“What will I tell him? First of all I will see what his questions are. Then I will explain that Milan is a great club and I will maybe try to convince him to come here,” added the Brazilian.

Teammate Ronaldo had also urged ‘Dinho to move to the San Siro next season in an interview with Spanish newspaper AS last week.

“Ronaldinho is a friend of mine and I would be happy to have him here. I am sure he would like it at Milan and he would adapt well to the club’s way of working,” stated the former Real Madrid man.

“I haven’t spoken to him personally, but I know that both President Silvio Berlusconi and Vice-President Adriano Galliani have stated that Milan would be in pole position if Ronaldinho were to leave Barcelona.”

Assis’ presence in Italy fuelled speculation that the player might be on the verge of a sensational move, although the agent denied that there are any problems with his brother’s current outfit.

“Nothing has changed between us and Barcelona, the relationship remains excellent,” said Assis. “Everyone knows that I was in Italy, but only to talk about Ricardo Oliveira.”

channel4.com - Football Italia

[D-Kin]

It's looking more likely by the day.

[Aladino]

You know however great 'Dinho actually is, Milan can do so much more with their money and by players to fill the positions that need fixing. This article does describe some stuff well

*Note, there are spelling mistakes in the names*

Forget Ronaldinho at 75 million pounds. AC Milan need at least EIGHT new players

Its seems Berlusconi will cough up a hefty amount of money for new players come the end of the season. But 75 million pounds on Ronaldinho could be better spent.
While any team would be delighted to have Samba superstar Ronaldinho on their team sheet, surely the money could be spent on fixing the problems Milan have all over the pitch - like an aging defence, a predictable midfield that lacks width, a strike force that is lacking in potency, and goalkeepers who are providing blooper after blooper.

If I was in charge of the Rossoneri with 75 million pounds to spend, I would first look to our goalkeepers. Zeljko Kalac would be shipped out for whatever he could fetch (half a million, maybe?) and I would look for a young goalkeeper. I'm a huge fan of Igor Akinfeev, but there is a lot of interest in him and I'm not convinced he would want to come.

I would also buy Marco Amelia, slightly older and in my opinion not quite as good, but with Serie A experience, a World Cup winners medal and being Italian (thus avoiding possible homesickness problems) Amelia seems to easily be the best choice. I think he could be netted for between 12 and 15 million pounds. I would also sell Dida for, hopefully, 3 or 4 million pound and bring Abbiati back off loan.

Now moving into the back line. I would let Giuseppe Favalli, Serginho, Cafu and Dario Simic go. Hopefully their exit could bring about a million pound in. I would then buy Andrea Barzaglia from Palermo who still has a lot of seasons left in him and would hopefully flourish at the San Siro. I think a price tag of 10 million pound would be enough to secure his signature. On the right I would bring in Barzaglia's current team-mate Cristian Zaccardo for 8 million pound.

In Midfield I wouldn't sell anyone but I would bring in Riccardo Montolivo and Alessandro Rosina. Montolivo would probably cost around 8 million pound although lack of first team football this year may mean he jumps at the chance to move clubs and force Fiorentina to settle for a bit less. Rossina could probably be brought for a similar price. Both are promising players for the future and have a fair bit of versatility.

Up front I would hold on to Ronaldo and Ricardo Oliveira. I want to see if Oliveira can come good and Ronaldo has had such a great influence on the team. Filippo Inzaghi would be sold along with Marco Borriello for whatever price we could get, hopefully 1 or 2 million pound. Alberto Gilardino would also be shown the door for 20 million pound. This would mean about 55 million pound left for strikers. I would buy Vincenzo Iaquinta for about 15 million pound or a bit less if possible. But my big signing would be Fernando Torres.

So my preferred starting XI would be: Marco Amelia; Massimo Oddo, Alessandro Nesta, Andrea Barzaglia, Marek Jankulovski; Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Yoann Gourcuff, Kaka; Ronaldo, Fernando Torres.

Or alternatively: Marco Amelia; Daniele Bonera, Alessandro Nesta, Andrea Barzaglia, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Yoann Gourcuff; Riccardo Montolivo, Alessandro Rosina, Kaka, Fernando Torres.

Or if ravaged by injuries to first team players: Christian Abbiati; Cristian Zaccardo, Paolo Maldini, Kahka Kaladze, Leandro Grimi, Massimo Ambrosini; Cristian Brocchi, Clarence Seedorf; Kaka; Vincenzo Iaquinta, Riccardo Oliveira

[Forza_Roma]

I would also buy Marco Amelia, slightly older and in my opinion not quite as good, but with Serie A experience, a World Cup winners medal and being Italian (thus avoiding possible homesickness problems) Amelia seems to easily be the best choice. I think he could be netted for between 12 and 15 million pounds. I would also sell Dida for, hopefully, 3 or 4 million pound and bring Abbiati back off loan.

Although Livorno's defense has been horrible lately....Amelia just doesn't seem to be worth it to me. I know he technically won a WC, but he hasn't been impressive to me. Letting in 4 goals a game...3 goals.....multiple times...not a top class keeper. And i think he's 24 years old....he will not have a starting place in our Azzurri squad either...Buffon is 28 i think...he can go for years strong! I don't rate Amelia high anymore!

[D-Kin]

Nah, I still like Amelia.

He'd be better than Dida anyway.

[Diabolico]

Originally Posted by Aladino

You know however great 'Dinho actually is, Milan can do so much more with their money and by players to fill the positions that need fixing. This article does describe some stuff well

*Note, there are spelling mistakes in the names*

Interesting article; where'd you find it? I agree with the general point the author's making, and I agree with all of his buy/sell ideas with the exception of the strikers. I totally, utterly, vehemently disagree almost every word of the striker paragraph. Except for the part about buying Iaquinta. (Fernando Torres? The only Spanish-league strikers who could make it in Italy, in my opinion, are Villa and Eto'o. And maybe Kun... maybe.)

About Ronaldinho, though, it is looking more and more likely by the day! I just hope that, if we get him, he's not our only purchase.

And I'd much rather Buffon than Amelia, but I agree with Joel-- Amelia's still better than Dida.

[Aladino]

I love Amelia, but recently Livorno has fallen a part and they are bleeding goals like there is no tomorrow! It's sad really, because he is very good, and way better than Dida! We must remember that Amelia has also had a few buts ups with the Livorno officials

[TheDevil]

right at the moment I would say most of the other keepers in Serie A are better than nelson dida it almost boggles the mind that he has lasted this long

amelia would be nice to have

the off season will have many new faces with a new keeper being part of it.

[Forza_Roma]

Originally Posted by Aladino

I love Amelia, but recently Livorno has fallen a part and they are bleeding goals like there is no tomorrow! It's sad really, because he is very good, and way better than Dida! We must remember that Amelia has also had a few buts ups with the Livorno officials

True, the management has ruined Livorno this season and the defense is playing terrible. I haven't completely lost faith in him as of yet...i will give him another season to get back on track...hope he returns to his best! He made the third keeper for a reason at the WC...let's see it!

[Sundance]

Ronaldinho would be a luxury for Milan, without a doubt. They don't exactly need him. But what a luxury! It would definitely be exciting to watch all those Brazilians team up for Milan. The author of the article makes some good points about Milan needing to bolster its squad elsewhere, but I see no reason why they can't do that and still buy Ronaldinho if he becomes available. It's not as though Berlusconi is a pauper! He has almost as much money as Roman Abramovich, so he could certainly afford to indulge himself.

[D-Kin]

Zambrotta could be involved in a deal for Ronaldinho as well.
channel4.com - Football Italia

[Sundance]

I remember reading before about Zambrotta saying that he wanted to go to Milan last year. That's one of the instances where the scandal really hurt Milan (deservedly or not). He would certainly help to shore up their defense.

[D-Kin]

Yeah, they'd been chasing him for a while.

LB is definitely a position Milan could improve on.