Hmh, maybe the new headquarters will be a good way to introduce the new management.

I've been playing some Milan sporcle games, and this came up: link

Unbelievable how times change. How much we've invested from 1999 to 2001 and how it payed out.

And some shocking fees as well, for players like Moreno, Ba or Morfeo.

Hmh, maybe the new headquarters will be a good way to introduce the new management.

I've been playing some Milan sporcle games, and this came up: link

Unbelievable how times change. How much we've invested from 1999 to 2001 and how it payed out.

And some shocking fees as well, for players like Moreno, Ba or Morfeo.

Who's the 42m??

Was that Rui Costa?

I got 15/25. I missed some easy ones. But we didn't pay €22.5 million for Seedorf. We swapped him with Coco, remember?

Anyway, yeah, some of those spendings are crazy by our standards. I didn't even know we paid that much for Pippo.



Yes. I thought we paid €35 million for him, though.

I got 15/25. I missed some easy ones. But we didn't pay €22.5 million for Seedorf. We swapped him with Coco, remember?

Anyway, yeah, some of those spendings are crazy by our standards. I didn't even know we paid that much for Pippo.

Yes. I thought we paid €35 million for him, though.

Being pedantic wouldn't we still have been dealing in Lira rather than the Euro?

What do you mean? Are you trying to say X-Off was maybe thinking about the Lira price? Because I think Lira was one of those countries that had silly numbers, like 1billion Lira was worth about £50.

Being pedantic wouldn't we still have been dealing in Lira rather than the Euro?

Lira didn't fade totally till the year after we signed him.

What do you mean? Are you trying to say X-Off was maybe thinking about the Lira price? Because I think Lira was one of those countries that had silly numbers, like 1billion Lira was worth about £50.

No, I simply meant that euros only came in in 1999 but they took 3 or 4 years to fade out native currency so it's quite feasible we paid (in 2001) in whatever was the Italian equivalent of £1. Lira was the first thing to pop into my head but wasn't that equivalent of 00.1p? What was the Italian 'pound' back then?

Carlo Ancelotti discussed his new book, tips Andrea Pirlo to become a Coach and admits he was “crazy” to turn down Roberto Baggio.

The Real Madrid boss releases ‘Il mio Albero di Natale’ – My Christmas Tree – a book focusing on tactics, man-management and training in his career.

“I have been coaching for 18 years and football has changed a lot in that time,” Ancelotti told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“The idea was to show how it mutated via my personal experiences. It is a book dedicated to Coaches, to those who love football and are curious to see from the inside how a team works.

“I am in the locker room every morning. I speak to some players, while others might be angry and it’s better to wait for them to calm down. It’s not an issue of controlling the squad, but of communicating and seeing if there are any problems.”

Ancelotti has often worked with over-bearing Presidents, but assured he never took orders on which line-up to adopt.

“Communication does not mean imposition. I like to talk to the directors about what I’m doing, have done and intend to do. This is information a Coach has the duty of giving to his club. Why is it interpreted badly? Because people amuse themselves that way.”

He certainly went against his club when Parma agreed a transfer for Roberto Baggio, only for Ancelotti to pull the plug, while he also let Gianfranco Zola go.

“Looking back on it now, I was crazy. How can you give up on someone like Baggio? I was young and didn’t have the courage to throw myself into something that I didn’t know well enough. I knew everything about the 4-4-2.

“In order to talk about tactics, you have to be convinced and credible. In every locker room there are players ready to be Coaches, such as John Terry, Thiago Motta, Thiago Silva, Andrea Pirlo and Xabi Alonso. Do you honestly think you can teach Pirlo something about how to prepare a game on a tactical level?

“The first major tactical change I made was for Zinedine Zidane at Juventus. I learned quickly...”

Ancelotti is now at Real Madrid and showing his versatility, though there is still a great deal of criticism in Spain.

“With Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, the best system is 4-3-3. Bale took a while to arrive, so at the start I sought a 4-4-2 for greater balance. With Bale I went back to the initial idea and now we need to find that balance. As we saw from recent games, there’s a lot of work to do!

“The counter-attack is the simplest way of creating a scoring opportunity. Clearly just using the counter means you don’t have an identity, but when there’s space for it with the strikers we’ve got, it becomes lethal. There is a certain demonization of the term in Spain and the word has to be used carefully.

“I was talking about Hernan Crespo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic told me: ‘He was a great striker, but not someone who can win a game by himself. There are only three of those: Ibracadabra, Messi and Ronaldo.’ Ibra is right.”

Milan are in crisis at the moment and today there will be a crunch meeting between President Silvio Berlusconi and his right-hand man Adriano Galliani.

“I think Berlusconi recognises all Galliani has done for Milan. They helped each other a lot, which is why what’s happening now is surprising. I think the best person to resolve Milan’s problems is still Galliani.”

From football-italia



I'm gonna buy the shite out of that book once it comes out in English.

Meanwhile the second bolded part is interesting. It clearly shows something we knew. Silvio cutting the credit line and staying away from the club as well.

I really thing all of this crazy nostalgia over Carlo is misguided. Carlo was a breath of fresh air when he came and what he did in Europe was f@cking fantastic! But the time came for him and us to depart and that was because he had no more good ideas for the team. The team had been figured out in Italy and we were having a really hard time. Confidence was low and it was affecting our European performances as well. The management was at fault for a lot of it, but Carlo was not helping with his rigidity either. It was time for a change. Milan don't need their old heroes back. Milan need a motivated new management, a solid plan and a fresh start with a new coach and new transfer strategy.

I really thing all of this crazy nostalgia over Carlo is misguided. Carlo was a breath of fresh air when he came and what he did in Europe was f@cking fantastic! But the time came for him and us to depart and that was because he had no more good ideas for the team. The team had been figured out in Italy and we were having a really hard time. Confidence was low and it was affecting our European performances as well. The management was at fault for a lot of it, but Carlo was not helping with his rigidity either. It was time for a change. Milan don't need their old heroes back. Milan need a motivated new management, a solid plan and a fresh start with a new coach and new transfer strategy.

I really thing all of this crazy nostalgia over Carlo is misguided. Carlo was a breath of fresh air when he came and what he did in Europe was f@cking fantastic! But the time came for him and us to depart and that was because he had no more good ideas for the team. The team had been figured out in Italy and we were having a really hard time. Confidence was low and it was affecting our European performances as well. The management was at fault for a lot of it, but Carlo was not helping with his rigidity either. It was time for a change. Milan don't need their old heroes back. Milan need a motivated new management, a solid plan and a fresh start with a new coach and new transfer strategy.

I really thing all of this crazy nostalgia over Carlo is misguided. Carlo was a breath of fresh air when he came and what he did in Europe was f@cking fantastic! But the time came for him and us to depart and that was because he had no more good ideas for the team. The team had been figured out in Italy and we were having a really hard time. Confidence was low and it was affecting our European performances as well. The management was at fault for a lot of it, but Carlo was not helping with his rigidity either. It was time for a change. Milan don't need their old heroes back. Milan need a motivated new management, a solid plan and a fresh start with a new coach and new transfer strategy.

I don't think anyone of us misses or wants Carlo back. Or Seedorf. Or any of those players who gave it all and became kind of a burden during their last couple of years with us.

I disagree.

Yes, Milan do need a new strategy and a new management. But why not exactly with old heroes? Sacchi and Capello both had successful second terms. Ancelotti moved away and did a good job with all his clubs. This is a new Milan and will be a new Milan for him, so I don't see how for example calling him back in a coach or even management role would seem as moving backwards. Same goes for other names. We've gotta build around our past heroes, because sadly, the past is one of the few things we still have left.

As Allegri, Galliani and others managed to squander many aspects of our identity and year-long reputation, we've gotta move back to what made us successful in the first place. Since Berlusconi is old and not exactly the face of success anymore, we've gotta do it with the Maldini's, Albertini's and Ancelotti's.

I don't see how past heroes and new strategies collide in a negative way.

First of all, I 100% disagree that neither Capello nor Sacchi had successful second terms. If winning absolutely nothing and getting the sack after one season for either of them is called success, then go ahead... Call me CRAAZY!

Second of all, People like Carlo, Maldini, Albertini and other Milan legends are so welcome to be a part of Milan's new directors/staff. But recycling their old roles and rehashing same old ideas is not my idea of a fresh start.

Top of the World, yet not top of Italy. Only Carlo.

You are wrong. There are some that do.

I miss Seedorf's phat ***!

Yeah. I'd take 3 CL finals + 1 semi-final in 5 years over 2-3 scudetto's any day.

That's has nothing to do with football though.

Right now, I'd be satisfied with a win for a change.

I don't know what you're talking about? I've made a mistake with Sacchi, but Capello actually won us a bunch of staff in his second shot as a manager.

Recycling old roles? Only appointing Ancelotti as coach would mean we're recycling. Other then that, I don't recall any of the mentioned players doing anything for Milan.

Anyway, seems to me you just don't want Carlo back as coach. I'm okay with it, I just think we do need our heroes back, and not the Allegri's of this world.

Capello's second term was 97-98 and he won nothing. The caretaker job he took in 87 where he managed about 6 matches means nothing. His real first stint was from 91 to 96. Again you are wrong.

And I have no idea what you are talking about... I guess I should have clarified that AC Milan don't need their old coaches back... Obviously I would be happy with Milan champions (ex players) working in some capacity for the club.

Maybe it means nothing, but it's his first term. Second term was the best one, third was the one you call second

Nah, it's really a trivia question. I count every shot as real manager, you guys obviously don't. But the difference is minimal.

But can't you see how weak that makes your argument? Saying Capello had a successful second term makes sense only on a very anal technical level. Saying we should bring back Carletto because Capello had a successful second term is a nonsensical argument.

Fillipo is

Yeah, but Fillipo isn't technically wrong, even though I will have to side with the other camp here. It was the shortest of stints, a fleeting few matches, nothing more, nothing less. But he managed the team for the small amount of time, and history will always be recorded as such.

Was it anywhere near to classify this as a full bona fide stint? Surely not. Point being, Fillipo may be grasping at straws, but these straws are made of adamantium, and they can carry his weight. In short, he's not totally wrong, just not right in the full context of things. The man probably knows this himself.

Other then that, I really don't get why you people wouldn't accept another term with Carlo.

Personally I would never take Pirlo back, but I also don't think he would be interested in coming back. The things he said about Milan made that pretty clear.