“I am the last of my generation who is still playing, and I would like to just keep on. As long as I feel fit and have passion, I will keep playing. Then I’ll see.”
“Within seven to ten days, I hope to give more clarity. It’s more exciting than difficult, because I’m happy that there are choices of where I could go.”
Seedorf about Ajax:
“I grew up at Ajax, had my debut and my first successes. That is always special. The door is therefore always open to Ajax,”
“If I were able to do something in the future for the club, I’m certainly open to that.” According to Ajax official website
The latest rumors regarding Clarence “Clyde” Seedorf says that there is a chance that he will become a spurs player! According to Tribalfootball.com spurs are willing to negotiate with the dutchman!
According to Sky Italia Galliani will meet with Perez to discuss the future of Nuri Sahin. Milan wants to sign Sahin on a loan spell during 2012-2013 with the obligation to buy the player next summer.
Todays official annoncement at the Milanello: “A.C Milan have announced the signing of Bakaye Traore until 30/06/2015 and Riccardo Montolivo until 30/06/2016.”
Every Arsenal fan drew a massive sigh of relief after the full-whistle was blown against West Bromwich. Then afterwards, the thoughts moved towards the top of the league table. 19(!) points off the top. Are City and United really 19 points better than us? Well, the table never lies.
This season started after a massive roller-coaster of a summer. Fabregas was staying, he was leaving, he was staying, he was leaving and then Nasri was going to sign a new contract and then he was not. Meanwhile, Arsene signed Gervinho. But at the end of August, and with the start of the season, the pain started. Fabregas left, Nasri was set to leave and we looked we would be lucky to finish in the Europa League, let alone the Champion’s League. After winning over Udinese (two hard-fought matches) and drawing Newcastle and suffering a defeat to Liverpool, things were looking very glum. There weren’t many Arsenal fans who were happy about us having to go to Old Trafford so early in the season and their fears were justified. 8-2 against what used to be one of our fierciest rivals was not something that tasted well. We signed Mertesacker, Andre Santos, Park-Chu Young(why?) and Mikel Arteta. Following what could only be described as a few days of madness, we were facing Swansea at home. A very dull 1-0 win from a goalkeeper error which the sneaky Russian tsar capitalised on. And this was to be our season defined: highs (5-3 vs Chelsea, 5-2 vs Tottenham, 1-0 at home v City, 7-1 at home to Blackburn, 2-1 away to Pool) and lows (8-2 vs Man United, 2-1 vs Tottenham, 2-0 vs Liverpool, 2-1 vs Manchester United, 4-0 vs Milan and countless other needless draws and losses.)
It was quite clear that something has not been right at Arsenal this season but one can only hope that Wenger does not make the same mistake again as he did with Nasri and Fabregas. Sign Robin van Persie up immediately and rumour has it that talks are to be held on Thursday at Wenger’s own house. Give him whatever he wants, he is vital. Next season, we must be challenging for honours. It is vital that we do. One thing is for sure, our rivals will be strengthening but only one of Tottenham and Chelsea will be able to attract the top notch players that are needed to win trophies next year. Manchester United will not sit passively and let City run away with it again and City will become stronger.
Ratings for this season(1-10)
Goalkeeper:
Szczezny: 7 overall. Whilst we all know that Szczesny is the next big thing and will become one of the best goalkeepers in the world, he is still prone to the occasional error which he will need to stamp out of his game to reach new heights.
N/A:
Almunia
Fabianski
Defenders:
Sagna: 7. Whenever he plays, we are a better team. It is clear that it is vital that he stays fit.
Jenkinson: 6. As a back-up RB, he is fine yet, he is also very error-prone but he has great crossing and speed and if he works on his positioning over the summer, he can eventually challenge Sagna.
Mertesacker: 7. A very successful first season in a new country and team. He is very slow indeed, but so was Tony Adams and just like the good old captain, Per makes up for it with great positioning. The only question is how someone so tall can be so abysmal at heading?
Koscielny: 8. Most improved player this season? A beast. He will only get better.
Vermaelen: 6. A lot of errors this season yet he scores a lot of important goals. He is one of the best defenders in the league and he can put any striker in his pocket on his day. He just needs to step it up against the “lesser” teams.
Djourou: 4. Sell him now. I’m what happened, but beginning of last season he looked like an absolute beast at the back and now he is just obsolete.
Gibbs: 5. It is clear that he has massive potential(don’t we always produce good left-backs?) but he is also error-prone and strays a bit too far up the pitch at times. I would like for him to learn from Sagna – defend first, attack second.
Andre Santos: 5. He is slow but he smart. However, it has been difficult for him to adjust to an entirely different playing style where a left-back actually defends instead of just attacking.
N/A:
Squillaci: Sell him now.
Midfielders:
Diaby: 4. Has barely played, whenever he has played, he’s been alright but too injury-prone. He is one of the players that need to be let go.
Tomas Rosicky: 6. Had a great string of games around February/March but since then has dosed off a bit. Needs to play like that all season.
Mikel Arteta: 7. It’s been clear to anyone following Arsenal this season that whenever Arteta has been missing, our creativity has been lacking. A great first season at Arsenal and will be a superb back-up if another creative midfielder comes in this summer.
Aaron Ramsey: 6. Barring killing a celebrity or two, he’s been average. He needs to step up his game or he will be left behind.
Alex Song: 6. Average. Needs to stop going forward too much(even if Wenger has given him a license to roam). If he is to play, he needs to protect the back four.
Emmanuel Frimpong: 4. Big mouth. Strong body. Dench. Unfortunate injury. Very immature. Will have to learn alot more.
Yossi Benayoun: 7. Great loan, whenever he has played he has given on an extra bit of energy, never given up and has been highly useful as an impact sub/second-string player.
Francis Coquelin: 5. Not played as much as I would have liked to see him but has played superbly whenever he has gotten the chance.
N/A
Jack Wilshere: Injured.
Strikers
Robin van Persie; 10. Give him a blank paper and sign him up now.
Theo Walcott: 7. Has a mental connection with van Persie similar to the Bergkamp-Henry story. He needs to become smarter as a footballer however and utilise his speed better against slower opponents.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7. The excitement for this kid is massive. I hope he will be picked for the Euros this summer and can show the rest of the world why we hype him up so much. He gets better by every game.
Gervinho: 6. An average first season, started alright(barring the red card against Newcastle) and then faded after AFCON. Needs to stop thinking about that penalty miss in the final.
N/A
Chamakh: Useless.
Chu-Young Park: Useless
Summertransfers:
IN:
Podolski
M’vila(hopefully)
A creative midfielder.
Another defender, preferably someone who can play all across the defense.
Mr. Allegri confirms that Milan have signed a new technical and competitive midfielder, Ricardo Montolivo.
“Next season we will have Montolivo who is a very good player, very technical. Milan must remain competitive, we must continue the work we started last year. We will start the season with great enthusiasm”
The time has come, and the last chapter comes to an end!
After Nestas departure, three players at the milanello decided to take the same path. The players are: Gennaro Gattuso, Filippo Inzaghi and Mark Van Bommel. Here comes the players comments and official press release:
Gattuso:
“Thanks to all the journalists for coming. I want to thank to the club, all employees and everyone at Milanello for what have been 13 fantastic years. It was my childhood dream but life goes on and let’s hope my eye stay open (laughs). I still want to keep fighting and to show that I’m not finished as a player. For now I want to thank the club, the Berlusconi family and Adriano Galliani who showed such regard for me. But now the moment has come.”
“I’ve always said that I don’t want to be a cross to bear for anyone. The club wanted me to stay but inside myself, I felt the need to leave. The spine of the team is leaving and even though it’s not easy, you have to make choices in life. Let’s hope it’s not a mistake.”
“It’s not running away. It’s just that when you’ve given so much, you make choices. I couldn’t give anymore as a player and I felt dead inside and no longer that combative player that could give something to this club. 5 or 6 months ago I had other plans. I wasn’t hoping to get back on the pitch and the plan was to stay at the club with another role. But then things changed thanks to the medical staff and doctors. I got the desire back to play again and here I think I’ve given all I can. I never asked for a fixed place. In my way of thinking, the only certainty is death. I did bad by Leonardo, but I assumed my responsibilities and I apologized. There was still place for me here otherwise they wouldn’t have given me a contract extension.”
“I’ll leave at Milanello what Maldini and Costacurta left for me. Now there’s only Ambrosini left. I really regret the stupid things I did with Joe Jordan and Leonardo. I hope that the reputation for respect continues however, as it’s a part of the culture at the club and I hope it won’t die.”
“To the players who stay here I say, when you put on this jersey, you need to win. I don’t forget that 4 months ago I was 5 kg overweight because of the cortisone. I wasn’t in good enough shape to play and it was a miracle that I made it on the pitch. I could feel inside myself that the time had come and after watching Nesta’s press conference I knew the moment had come because a cycle had finished.”
“I hope the club will build a competitive side but we can’t forget that economically it’s a tough time. Knowing the people involved though, I know they’ll do all they can.”
“I have 60 people who work for me, I have a wide and two children and I have to decide with my wife what to do in the future. She’s the family captain. I have offers. My dream is to play for Glasgow Rangers who gave me the chance to play when I was a no one from Salerno. My wife’s mother lives alone in Glasgow and it would be nice to go back for a year. It would be my heart’s choice, a sign of affection for those who made me into a ‘half’ player, even if I know it wouldn’t be easy.”
“For me Carlos Ancelotti was a coach, a friend, a father and a lover in football terms. I used to joke that they should put his statue in Milanello alongside Nereo Rocco because he was a great man in those years and raised the bar at the club. He wasn’t just a coach, he was an emblem of the club and when you took to the pitch, you did it for him. He used to day: “You get on the pitch and I’ll make you win”. He used to plan the matches with a cigarette in his mouth, incredible.”
“I can’t forget last year with Allegri, we had a great campaign and he gave me the chance to play. We’re talking about two people completely different. Ancelotti knew the environment and it was a much simpler changing room than now.”
“My team mates were a bit disappointed. I didn’t speak to anyone about this decision. It was something that was boiling inside of me for a month and a half, and it was right to speak first with the club and then the players. They’ve put up with me in these past few years. I can be a heavy personality, I’m Calabrese…
“I would never join Inter or Juventus for the love of the club that I have and they wouldn’t want me anyway, but I definitely wouldn’t go.”
“On Monday I’ll start a four week training course and I plan to do the second and third parts of the course as well.”
“After the loss to Liverpool in 2005, I had nightmares for 5 or 6 months. The best win was in 2003. Beating Inter in the semi final and Juventus in the final was big for Italian football.”
Pippo:
Everything that you’re about to read is secondary to this. The first and foremost thing that I want you all to know is I played and won for “us”. Playing and winning without sharing the emotion is nothing, but you and me, us, we did it all together. We hoped, suffered, celebrated and rejoiced. We lifted cups and won titles together in our hearts. We have always been on the same wavelength. And no one can ever take that away from us.
Dear Milan fans, when I got to the club you didn’t know this. I was in a hotel room and couldn’t leave so as not to compromise the negotiations between Juventus and Milan. The first weeks, the first months, you studied me and we watched each other.
Then we fell in love. That evening against Torino. You were angry, things weren’t going well on the field and you were in silence. I started warming up and the roar you gave me made us win the match, pushing us into the Champions League and towards that final in Manchester. These memories as well as all those who consoled me in the difficult months of 2004 and 2005 and the shivers down the spine that we felt on 9 August 2006, my birthday against Stella Rossa will always be in the bedside drawer of my heart.
Athens. Football given to us for one reason: me and you, us, we wanted is so strongly, so intensely that it had to be given. Of course the reality went beyond our wildest dreams. 2 goals, against Liverpool, 2 years after Istanbul, the seventh Champions League. Destiny gave us more than we had dared hope.
Today I would like to thank with affection and emotion President Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani: their electricity and their ability to transmit emotion for me made me stronger and pushed me beyond any and all limits. But I also want to give a thought to those who, from the youth sector to all the wonderful clubs that I’ve played for, helped me to become the man and the player that I am today.
Thank you Milan, thank you football. Allow me to call you my own, the people of Via Turati, from Milanello to the offices to the phone operators to the warehouse workers, the physiotherapists, the doctors, the cooks, from the stadium to the changing room. All the people who saw me on Sunday with the short sleeves and shook with the hope that I would score. Ciao Carlo Ancelotti, I won a lot with you. Ciao to my wonderful fans who followed me the world over with affection and passion. Ciao to my team mates from today and yesterday.
Last of all allow me to thank my family, my mother Marina, my father Giancarlo, Simone and Tommaso. I never would have got here without you. You’re my strength. My dear Milan, I’m leaving you only because that the way life goes. The moment has come and you know it as well.
Ciao and thanks to everyone.
Van Bommel
“I’ll leave Milan for PSV. I may come back as a coach, who knows? This is life, and life goes on. When i first came to Milan everyone told me that Milan is like a family and I’ve realised that. Thank You Forza Milan.
Down under an emotional video of Mark Van Bommels farewell follows:
Thank you for everything Guys and good look with your new adventures.
Dear Milanisti here comes the full presentation of Sandro Nestas press conference:
“This is my last season at Milan, I’m leaving. When the season finishes, I think of the next one and the pace of the games doesn’t allow to play all the time and since I’m not able to sit on the bench, I’ve made this decision after 10 years where I‘ve always been happy, I’ve met great people and I’ve won so much. I want to go and try a different experience where I can still do something good.”
“I always want to be important when playing. If I can’t play all the time, I don’t feel good and it’s the right decision to leave. I decided around February that this would be the last season, I spoke with the club and it’s all fine.”
I haven’t yet signed anything and I don’t know where I’ll go. It wouldn’t be bad to cross the ocean. There won’t be any other chances.”
“We all hoped to win the league because it was within reach, so there is disappointment. There’s a lot to evaluate for the future of the club, based on who stays and who goes.”
I’ve been coming to training at Milanello for 10 years. I want to thank everyone for all these years and I’ll miss everyone.
The players that I’ve played with for so many years, those that I’m most attached to, I’ll miss them in footballing terms.”
“I think I’m a serious player and I’ve tried to improve myself every day of my career.”
“Ancelotti was the most important coach of my career, for what we won and how we won. He made it seem like he was your team mate. My first Champions League title was the most beautiful win of my career.”
Eden Hazard is the man every club want to sign a deal with this summer and the price is going up. Maybe the price on the belgian international footballer is even to high for Manchester City. They have at least started looking other players in the same vein. The young Montpellier forward Younes Belhanda is now identified as a fall back option if they cant get Hazard.
The young Atletico Madid striker Adrian Lopez have had a great season this far. So great that Pep Guardiola thinks he would fit pefect in the Barcelona team next year. Barcelona have been following Adrians development closely for a while, so closely that Atletico Madrid needed to name a price. 18 millions.
Rossoneri looking for strength in their squad. The team is keen on reinforcement at the back and are believed to be interested in Stuttgart defender, Khalid Boulahrouz.
Reports says that the defender also got interest from the dutch giants Ajax.
30 year old Boulahrouz joined Stuttgart 2008 from an unlikely good spell at the spanish side Sevilla, and sits on a soon to be, expired contract!
A week full of action with both positive and negative news for the Real Madrid camp. It all started last Tuesday when it was the 110th birthday of the club. Not the oldest club in the world but something we know for sure is that it’s the most successful club in the history of football. But at the same day we all got very bad news when the grandfather of the current Bolton Player Marcos Alonso, Marquitos left us. Marquitos was a part of the club when Real Madrid got their new nickname ‘Los Vikingos’ after conquered Europe with 5 European titles. Marquitos was seen as the best defender in the world of this time.
The weekend was ended by a 2-3 win over Betis in Benito Villamarin stadium. It was predicted to be a very difficult game. And indeed it was. The victory came after a strong working effort by the players. But it was great to see Real Madrid win after not playing brilliant football and it was also very “good” to see CR7 score two goals without even making a superb appearance. The game also had a few controversies involving Betis first goal, a handball by Alonso and Ramos. According to me correct decisions by the referee.
We have also heard many rumors about Mourinho connecting him to some English clubs especially Chelsea, buying a house in Chelsea area in London. Mourinho have always talked openly about his will to return to England. But it all started the first home game after the 1-2 loss in Copa del Rey against Barca, when Mourinho got booed by the fans for playing a rather defensive tactic and the starting eleven contained Altintop and Pepe as a defensive midfielder.
When then the rumors concerning an argue between Mourinho and the Spanish players was published in MARCA we all could notice a change in his attitude. The 23rd of January the Spanish journalist Siro Lopez revealed in exclusive that Mourinho have had enough and going to leave the club 30th of June. Mourinho changed, he was very unhappy with the situation that was built. You could notice this by seeing his press conferences, he answered shortly to every question, not more than a few words and when he got the question if he was pleased as a manager for Real Madrid he answered “hummm”. Real Madrid TV had made a surprise for him and they came with a cake for his birthday he could not even offer a smile. He was now in his worst moment as a Real Madrid manager in sentence of his personal mood. So the 4 major reasons to his unhappiness according to me:
1.The elimination in the Kings Cup against Barcelona
2.The argue revealed in the press
3.The booes against him
4.The booes against Cristiano Ronaldo
But his mood was going to change when he decided to have a meeting with the captains and talk through things. Suddenly Real Madrid was a winning machine. They have won every game since and at the same time Barca have dropped points. The fans started to sing songs about Cristiano something they have never done before and last Friday in the pre-conference for the Betis game Mourinho was back as the old Mourinho, joking, giving complement towards the club, the fans and the players. And he was also indirectly confirming that he was going to stay at the club by saying that he and the club has the same ambitions towards the future. And things got clearer when Ronaldo got the question in yesterday’s press conference saying that Mourinho will stay in front of Mourinho himself.
So to all you English fans I say dream on at least one more year to be able to sign Mourinho as your Manager. Mourinho will stay if he wins the Champions League or not. He wants to write his name in the history of Real Madrid and still have a contract that binds him to 2014. He has also renewed the enrollment of his kid’s school for the next semester. So many people would ask why he bought a house in London and the answer to that is his oldest daughter is going to study there after this summer. Another reason to his continue at the club is that the clubs faith in his work and as well as the club as the players they always confirmed that he will stay and even Emilio Butragueño revealed that he is planning the preseason.
Real Madrid – CSKA Moscow in the terrifying round of the 16Quarter-final. Is the mental block of this stage over for Real Madrid? Well, yes I think so but afraid to be too sure. I think we are going to see an offensive starting eleven by Real Madrid. I think that Real Madrid is going to play with three forwards and always going to search for the goal. In the same time CSKA have to score to proceed to next stage and we all know the result of teams that plays attacking football against Madrid’s electric and strong counter attacking football. The key for Real Madrid would be that Xabi Alonso is on his best with his long passes in counter attacks and a strong and concentrated defense. In CSKA I don’t fear so much more than the attacking trio Dzagoev, Tosic and Doumbia. Speed, creativity and flair are what define them. I predict a 3-0 win for Real Madrid, with scores by Ronaldo, Benzema and Ramos.
The last minute winner against Newcastle was not only extremely satisfying but also very imporant. Where is the gap now, Tottenham? Three weeks ago, the gap was at 10 points and it is now down to 1. We are also 3 points ahead of Chelsea and things are looking good for the rest of the season. Mind, Chelsea still needs to come to the Emirates and Tottenham has to go to Stamford Bridge. Within the next two rounds, Arsenal could see themselves in third place and all the haters will go back into their cupboards. Back in autumn, when Arsenal lost to Blackburn, I was concinvinced we would still get top 4. Alas, it is looking like it right now even though there is plenty of points still to contend for. If I’m being honest, I would rather have Chelsea in the Champion’s League than Tottenham (I hate Harry Redknapp’s ugly red nose and Bale’s chimpanzee appearance more than anything in football).
The rumour-mill is spinning out of control with regards to Robin van Persie. Let us get our facts straight. There are two possible scenarios regarding him and Manchester City: A) He has a pre-contract with them which means MCFC has acted illegally and you are not allowed by football law to sign a pre-contract with a player who has that much time left on his contract or B) There is no pre-contract and it is all the doing of a bullshit journalist (Duncan Castles) who conveniently works for an UAE based newspaper. How convenient. It is no news that journalists can be bought to write a figure to stirr up stories. This might just be the case for Duncan Castles. Also, Robin van Persie does not have an “agent” per se, he only has an advisor. So take any quotes from van Persie’s “agent” with a pinch of salt.
Gervinho needs to get his record straight. That penalty miss in Africa will be hard to get over, but as a professional, he should manage. Otherwise there is no place for him in world football.
Tuesday was one of those emotional rollercoasters. Not just the game, but the whole day. I spent the whole day convincing myself that Arsenal had no chance whatsoever to go through. I was confident. I had a bad feeling. Then something happened. The time crept closer to kick-off and I started thinking “What if we get an early goal?” “Milan has lost 4-0 many times before”. My love for Arsenal lured my into a false sense of belief but a belief nonetheless. When Koscielny scored the first goal, all I could think of what if we get another pretty soon. And we sure did, Rosicky popped up and took advantage of a horrible Silva clearance. Then it was 3-0 before the half and we looked like we would do the impossible. As Adidas puts it, impossible is nothing. Something Wenger must have told the boys before the match. Then the second half was so cringeworthy that at times I could not bare to watch. When RvP missed his chip, all I could think of was “Why would you chip it?” but I still had belief that we would score another and at least get extra time. That did not happen and the rest, as they say, is history.
There is no point in dwelling in the past, our atrocious night in Milan left us with a mountain to big to climb. However, I am very proud over the way we played and I am sure Chelsea and Tottenham are looking at us with great fear. If we can maintain this run of form against Newcastle, it could potentially be a blow-out. The only request I have for this game is for Oxlade-Chamberlain to be given 90 minutes. After we took him and Walcott off against Milan we lost that bit of edge that had been tormenting Milan’s fullbacks all game.
According to the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17295576) Podolski (He looks perfect in an Arsenal shirt, does he not?) has all but put the ink to the paper. There are no actual quotes from either Cologne or Arsenal to confirm the transfer but this excerpt from the article makes the deal look very promising. Podolski will have to pass a medical and agree personal terms before the move can be completed in the summer.” We all know not to trust anything until it is officially announced on www.arsenal.com but it is very difficult to not get excited about this signing. Podolski is a truly class player (43 goals in 91 games for Germany at the age of 26 is truly amazing.) and I think he would fit in perfectly with our style of play. His ability to play striker and winger will mean that we will not only gain that bit of extra cover for RvP that we are so terribly lacking but also gain some depth on the wings.
Now I hope Mertesacker texts Goetse next and everything will suddenly look very promising for next season. However, as stated in the previous post, that all depends on where we finish in the league and the top 4 spot is definitely ours to lose with Chelsea having to come to the Emirates, a game which will be a true 6-pointer if everything stands the way it is now. But for now, Newcastle on Monday. All good things must come to an end and that is also the story of Newcastle’s form. They haven’t slipped too far off yet but it is time for them to refocus on aiming for Europa League, rather than the Champion’s League. Nothing but a win for Arsenal is acceptable on Monday given the form we are in and I am positive that it will not be comfortable. Newcastle has been a tricky game for many teams this season. I am very happy that Joey Barton is not playing, as he always manages to play to his teeth against us. As I said, onwards and upwards is what we need now. Without any other commitments this season, I hope our players sees the opportunity (Also with many of them being 50/50 on being selected for their respective national team) to really turn our season around.
