CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Barcelona (Away)

Milanista-1899 wrote:

Arquitecto wrote:I rate Max Allegri very highly. I 100% am with conviction he will be a future managerial powerhouse as the man proves critics wrong time and time again as he has so many qualities.

But squad selection is not his forte. Many times I have facepalmed myself over his squad selection as its cost us games like Tottenham and Madrid.

If the proposed line-up is done so as above, I will literally throw myself of the nearby cliff.


Here is the line-up that should happen.


4-3-1-2

-Abbiati-
-Abate-Nesta-Silva-Zambrotta-
Ambrosini-Van Bommel-Prince
Aquilani
Cassano-Patogol

Subs: Seedorf, Nocerino, Urby,

Since we are without masterclass Ibra and the mercurial Robinho, this is a makeshift formation that should be done here.

The rule is against Barca, that you should NEVER play Barca in their own game. Some might argue my formation is all to attacking.

But my opinion stands that their is no grey line when facing Barca as these days it seems you either be defensive-minded and only wait for opportunities, or be attack minded and open up chances with incisive and direct passing as well as counter-attack.

Milan should keep a deep but dynamic backline with Fullbacks proceeding only 20 yards ahead of the half way line to link up and bring the ball forward. Antonini MUST not play as Zambro for what he lacks in pace makes up with his technical defense and mind as well as experience.

The backline must be with discipline.

The midfield is with Ambrosini who is a midfield warrior who is a massive big game performer and relies on his wits and instict to take on the oncoming attacks as well as his supernatural ability to win balls in the air with defensive headers. Also, his technical skill is highly underrated and he is our Capitano.

MVB is unquestionable as what he lacks in pace, he makes up for his calculative movement and positioning as well as tenacity. His passing is not decisive but it is sharp and accurate as he is another who is experienced in such pressure situations as this is the leader and winner within him. He will act as the turning point and fulcrum to the midfield and will have to be the general in the center.

KPB will add the dynamism, pace, strength and skill on ball coming in as a Mezzala from the left. If he can control his awful temperament, then he can bring out his technical skill that is only hindered by his temper. A cool head is a must.


So there is the midfield as it is lacks in pace but is experienced enough to withstand and convert the Barca attacks to our advantage if done so properly.

Tenacity and dynamism is key as a near perfect performances is needed here based on what is capable by the mids.

The front flank should be with AA acting as TQ to oversee the box with with his vision as his incisive passing and one-touch play is key over here to service Pato-Cassano. Aquilani prefers a deep role but he has the technical skill to oversee the defenses.

Cassano and Pato should both possess a completely free role as both are Second Strikers and not CFs like Inzaghi or Ibra to some extent.

The problem here is that a CF is sincerely needed as no one is here to hold up possession or act as a fulcrum in the the box.

Pato will need to focus more on his positioning then individualism to prevail as Cassano must take responsibility to act as a Deep lying forward to exploit Pato's world class finishing.

I hope to god Cassano isn't use as impact sub as Seedorf with his dead slow pace will kill us in the beginning as it is HE who should be impact sub as he has done so many times.

Emanuelsson for width, pace and flair. Simple.

Nocerino for the tired legs. (probably Ambro)

The key in this line-up is simply to have a balance with silk and steel as the mid will provide the steel and the magic up forward.

Sort of like a Calzone which is hard from the outside and the good stuff is inside..... I guess.


Truth is, our mentality is among the best and the potential is there yet the age of the squad as well as lack of one sole system to rely on is the problem as its easy to say that there is no room for mistakes but when you come against a pressing and possession team like Barca and then compromised with your players out.

Every pass must have a reason behind it as further calculation when on the ball is must as otherwise Barca will recover the ball and punish us.

Off the ball? Its all about movement and positioning to defend but to also position oneself to allow space and time to contribute to attack on the flash counter or exploitation of space.
X-factor in the game is Allegri.

He will need to find the tactic on how to nullify the Barca mid and attack. And he does possess the ability to seek that.

Zonal marking is needed here.

I disagree with quite a few points here. Max Allegri hasn't exactly silenced many critics. The obvious retaliation here would be "but he won the Scudetto in his first year etc etc" but the main issues in the squad still remain.

There was never an Ibra dependency or an Ibra-Pato compatibility conundrum, these were imagined issues. The issues that were there since the beginning and Allegri has failed to amend is the lack of ability in the midfield to impose itself on play and dictate the terms and tempo at which the games is played at. The issue was there while Pirlo was played as a creative deep lying midfielder, persisted when he played three "destroyers" alongside each other and remains now with one creative and two defensive minded midfielders in his trusted 4-3-1-2. Some more issues are the lack of creativity being produced from the trequartista and the lack of attacking support being provided by our fullbacks, something that most managers easily mend, yet is still an issue in our squad. I want to reiterate here that I also believe in Allegri, but want to make it clear that I believe he also has a lot to prove.

He has many qualities? I am not too sure. He has a very specific and unattractive brand of football that he has enforced and shown to be either too stubborn or too ignorant to allow little, let alone major, changes to the formation and style he plays. His game is centered around a strong defense, a midfield with a strongly defensive mentality and an attack which is often expected to produce on its own. As we have seen, it works sometimes, other times it does not. My major concerns about our potential Allegri era is in these games where it does not work. He has not shown any versatility as a manger and has not exactly been a man of many solutions.

That is why I am so intrigued about the potential "Christmas tree" formation that Allegri may be "forced" to field. I think this game will speak volumes about both his qualities as a coach and our qualities as a European force and will either void or validate our claim to be able to dream this season of something special.

Your formation is another thing I don't agree with. Sure the Barcelona game is not something that means a great deal but it is not a time to experiment either. I think you and I both know Prince will not be selected in the three man midfield no matter how much we want it. Another thing I am sure about is that Allegri has watched the Inter - Barca and Barca - Inter games countless times and will play a three man midfield like Nocerino - van Bommel - Gattuso or Ambrosini in place of the players either side of van Bommel. Aquilani is not an AM. He is a small, creative player perfect for unlocking defense of lower league teams but is not the man that will make the difference against a dominant in possession Barca side. He does not have the pace, dribbling skill or fox-in-the-box prowess to make him an asset when playing on the counter as I am sure we will. This aforementioned reasons apply the same for Cassano and are why I want to see and can see the Christmas tree formation being successful. Boateng and Urby are both quick and skillful players who, well Boateng at least, are capable of brilliance. With Pato ahead of them, this is the only frontline I think can give serious problems to Barca. The defense should be as you have mentioned, all players who know and are capable of playing deep and compact and may just be capable of a clean sheet come tomorrow morning (or tonight for most of you). We saw what happened to Madrid and Shakhtar when you attack Barcelona and that is why I think the formation that is most likely to come away with a result is:

Abbiati
Abate - Nesta - Silva - Zambrotta
Ambrosini - van Bommel - Nocerino
Boateng - Urby
Pato

Defensive yes, reckless no.

I assume Messi will be the focal point of attack. If so Silva must be next or as close to him as possible all game, even following him wider than he usually would with Nesta close by sweeping up what Silva misses. Due to the small displacement that Silva may place himself in doing this, van Bommel should play even deeper than he normally does to cover for this with one of Urby or Boateng dropping slightly to cover Mark.

I think Villa's poor form, Sanchez's injury and Pedro's lack of decisiveness will play a huge role in this encounter, taking a lot away from the feared Barca front-line, giving me a glimmer of hope going into this game.

Sure a positive result is unlikely, but with the aforementioned points and the simply fact that WE ARE MILAN should give us all some hope going into this game. Have some faith, some belief in our players and coach and maybe, just maybe, we will be the ones laughing at the end of this all.

So heres to a potential Pato explosion tomorrow morning

FORZA MILAN !

welcome to our forum man, i really like your analysis and formation, a very interesting one indeed. our main objective is to take atleast a point out of this game, your formation is very versatile one as both urby and boateng are very very versatile and can play in attacking roles or retreat back to midfield if needed, pato alone upfront isn't a bad idea, if he can use his speed, skills and great finishing to full effect here he might be able to take advantage of the very few chances we might get in this game..

however we both know that allegri won't be fielding such a formation and that urby won't start and seedorf will take his place, he's too one-dimensional to think this big..

Milantildeath wrote:Cassano needs to play in my opinion, he can be very lethal with Pato's speed

we can't afford to play with two attackers in this game, a 4-3-2-1 formation could do the trick.

Milanista-1899 wrote:

Arquitecto wrote:I rate Max Allegri very highly. I 100% am with conviction he will be a future managerial powerhouse as the man proves critics wrong time and time again as he has so many qualities.

But squad selection is not his forte. Many times I have facepalmed myself over his squad selection as its cost us games like Tottenham and Madrid.

If the proposed line-up is done so as above, I will literally throw myself of the nearby cliff.


Here is the line-up that should happen.


4-3-1-2

-Abbiati-
-Abate-Nesta-Silva-Zambrotta-
Ambrosini-Van Bommel-Prince
Aquilani
Cassano-Patogol

Subs: Seedorf, Nocerino, Urby,

Since we are without masterclass Ibra and the mercurial Robinho, this is a makeshift formation that should be done here.

The rule is against Barca, that you should NEVER play Barca in their own game. Some might argue my formation is all to attacking.

But my opinion stands that their is no grey line when facing Barca as these days it seems you either be defensive-minded and only wait for opportunities, or be attack minded and open up chances with incisive and direct passing as well as counter-attack.

Milan should keep a deep but dynamic backline with Fullbacks proceeding only 20 yards ahead of the half way line to link up and bring the ball forward. Antonini MUST not play as Zambro for what he lacks in pace makes up with his technical defense and mind as well as experience.

The backline must be with discipline.

The midfield is with Ambrosini who is a midfield warrior who is a massive big game performer and relies on his wits and instict to take on the oncoming attacks as well as his supernatural ability to win balls in the air with defensive headers. Also, his technical skill is highly underrated and he is our Capitano.

MVB is unquestionable as what he lacks in pace, he makes up for his calculative movement and positioning as well as tenacity. His passing is not decisive but it is sharp and accurate as he is another who is experienced in such pressure situations as this is the leader and winner within him. He will act as the turning point and fulcrum to the midfield and will have to be the general in the center.

KPB will add the dynamism, pace, strength and skill on ball coming in as a Mezzala from the left. If he can control his awful temperament, then he can bring out his technical skill that is only hindered by his temper. A cool head is a must.


So there is the midfield as it is lacks in pace but is experienced enough to withstand and convert the Barca attacks to our advantage if done so properly.

Tenacity and dynamism is key as a near perfect performances is needed here based on what is capable by the mids.

The front flank should be with AA acting as TQ to oversee the box with with his vision as his incisive passing and one-touch play is key over here to service Pato-Cassano. Aquilani prefers a deep role but he has the technical skill to oversee the defenses.

Cassano and Pato should both possess a completely free role as both are Second Strikers and not CFs like Inzaghi or Ibra to some extent.

The problem here is that a CF is sincerely needed as no one is here to hold up possession or act as a fulcrum in the the box.

Pato will need to focus more on his positioning then individualism to prevail as Cassano must take responsibility to act as a Deep lying forward to exploit Pato's world class finishing.

I hope to god Cassano isn't use as impact sub as Seedorf with his dead slow pace will kill us in the beginning as it is HE who should be impact sub as he has done so many times.

Emanuelsson for width, pace and flair. Simple.

Nocerino for the tired legs. (probably Ambro)

The key in this line-up is simply to have a balance with silk and steel as the mid will provide the steel and the magic up forward.

Sort of like a Calzone which is hard from the outside and the good stuff is inside..... I guess.


Truth is, our mentality is among the best and the potential is there yet the age of the squad as well as lack of one sole system to rely on is the problem as its easy to say that there is no room for mistakes but when you come against a pressing and possession team like Barca and then compromised with your players out.

Every pass must have a reason behind it as further calculation when on the ball is must as otherwise Barca will recover the ball and punish us.

Off the ball? Its all about movement and positioning to defend but to also position oneself to allow space and time to contribute to attack on the flash counter or exploitation of space.
X-factor in the game is Allegri.

He will need to find the tactic on how to nullify the Barca mid and attack. And he does possess the ability to seek that.

Zonal marking is needed here.

I disagree with quite a few points here. Max Allegri hasn't exactly silenced many critics. The obvious retaliation here would be "but he won the Scudetto in his first year etc etc" but the main issues in the squad still remain.

There was never an Ibra dependency or an Ibra-Pato compatibility conundrum, these were imagined issues. The issues that were there since the beginning and Allegri has failed to amend is the lack of ability in the midfield to impose itself on play and dictate the terms and tempo at which the games is played at. The issue was there while Pirlo was played as a creative deep lying midfielder, persisted when he played three "destroyers" alongside each other and remains now with one creative and two defensive minded midfielders in his trusted 4-3-1-2. Some more issues are the lack of creativity being produced from the trequartista and the lack of attacking support being provided by our fullbacks, something that most managers easily mend, yet is still an issue in our squad. I want to reiterate here that I also believe in Allegri, but want to make it clear that I believe he also has a lot to prove.

He has many qualities? I am not too sure. He has a very specific and unattractive brand of football that he has enforced and shown to be either too stubborn or too ignorant to allow little, let alone major, changes to the formation and style he plays. His game is centered around a strong defense, a midfield with a strongly defensive mentality and an attack which is often expected to produce on its own. As we have seen, it works sometimes, other times it does not. My major concerns about our potential Allegri era is in these games where it does not work. He has not shown any versatility as a manger and has not exactly been a man of many solutions.

That is why I am so intrigued about the potential "Christmas tree" formation that Allegri may be "forced" to field. I think this game will speak volumes about both his qualities as a coach and our qualities as a European force and will either void or validate our claim to be able to dream this season of something special.

Your formation is another thing I don't agree with. Sure the Barcelona game is not something that means a great deal but it is not a time to experiment either. I think you and I both know Prince will not be selected in the three man midfield no matter how much we want it. Another thing I am sure about is that Allegri has watched the Inter - Barca and Barca - Inter games countless times and will play a three man midfield like Nocerino - van Bommel - Gattuso or Ambrosini in place of the players either side of van Bommel. Aquilani is not an AM. He is a small, creative player perfect for unlocking defense of lower league teams but is not the man that will make the difference against a dominant in possession Barca side. He does not have the pace, dribbling skill or fox-in-the-box prowess to make him an asset when playing on the counter as I am sure we will. This aforementioned reasons apply the same for Cassano and are why I want to see and can see the Christmas tree formation being successful. Boateng and Urby are both quick and skillful players who, well Boateng at least, are capable of brilliance. With Pato ahead of them, this is the only frontline I think can give serious problems to Barca. The defense should be as you have mentioned, all players who know and are capable of playing deep and compact and may just be capable of a clean sheet come tomorrow morning (or tonight for most of you). We saw what happened to Madrid and Shakhtar when you attack Barcelona and that is why I think the formation that is most likely to come away with a result is:

Abbiati
Abate - Nesta - Silva - Zambrotta
Ambrosini - van Bommel - Nocerino
Boateng - Urby
Pato

Defensive yes, reckless no.

I assume Messi will be the focal point of attack. If so Silva must be next or as close to him as possible all game, even following him wider than he usually would with Nesta close by sweeping up what Silva misses. Due to the small displacement that Silva may place himself in doing this, van Bommel should play even deeper than he normally does to cover for this with one of Urby or Boateng dropping slightly to cover Mark.

I think Villa's poor form, Sanchez's injury and Pedro's lack of decisiveness will play a huge role in this encounter, taking a lot away from the feared Barca front-line, giving me a glimmer of hope going into this game.

Sure a positive result is unlikely, but with the aforementioned points and the simply fact that WE ARE MILAN should give us all some hope going into this game. Have some faith, some belief in our players and coach and maybe, just maybe, we will be the ones laughing at the end of this all.

So heres to a potential Pato explosion tomorrow morning

FORZA MILAN !

Allegri hasn't silenced critics?

He has silenced critics based on his ability to take players who were touted on leaving Milan due to their recent play and renewing them. Who? Gattuso, Abate, as well as effectively using them to show their strengths and so their weaknesses will not be exposed. How bout the silencing of critics in the form that Milan was a one man team? We both know that isn't the case anymore. How about when they criticized his ability to form a proper attack? In the end, we marveled some top teams and scored goals a plenty. His criticism based on his crucial integration of his team to win the scudetto comfortably was decisive to our victory. He came in with a 4-3-3 and very attack-minded system yet adjusted to the many deficiencies of the team and not only that, he augmented the deficiencies by compromise and then eventual yet resourceful use of his somewhat limited squad. How have you not seen any of these?

How do you expect creativity and dictation of play with the midfield of Gattuso, Ambrosini, MVB and flamini? His innovation is clear as he used the lack of attacking ability in the mid and use it to his advantage as to protect the back 4 and allow the front flank to score the goals. How do you expect him to create an attacking and fluid system with that old and slow midfield? Pirlo? He was a liability to us as he did not fit in Allegri's system. KPB is naturally a midfielder but there was not AM in the team as his vision to play him in an advanced role was brilliantly done. His combination with the technical front through his physicality and energy complimented the silk and steel system. We don't have a TQ or a fantasista as this is why Allegri had to compensate all so much yet in the end, a Scudetto was won. You may be thinking Cassano, yet Cassano is/was at fault for his discipline and work rate, but as you can see this is changing. Fullbacks not attacking? Abate is a defensive minded and old fashioned RB who is only finding his feet in the attacking front. On the left there was no one last year as only Antonini can attack yet it leaves us open to a counterattack to simply because he did not have the protection Abate did with Gattuso. Not anything he could do here.

Solutions? He came up with a bevy of solutions in many big games as I'm surprised you have forgotten.

Allegri although stubborn on some points, could not allow to experiment and risk to much based on the scudetto race and of course, that he was forced to create this system based on his team and not his own philosophy. This system of his is only makeshift and only a small percentage of what he wants and envisions. Take a look at his 4-3-3 Cagliari as he had the necessary players to fit his fluid and attractive system there as they finished way above their expectations.

You have to understand that managers like Allegri envision a much larger plan and system as these thing take time to create. Commenting on the summer, Allegri last summer did not receive the players he needed in midfield as even this year, Milan had to compromise on budget. His results with the team he had been given is excellent as he did all he could do to bring out the best in each player. And frankly, at times we do play attractive football but atm, Allegri knows functionality and discipline is the better fit until his system clicks.

The big picture is that he won the scudetto yet he has silenced his critics based on a small and micro factors which were criticized yet parried much of it through his solutions and done it on a consistent basis. These are tangible simply by watching most of his games. This is his first year.

Allegri is being forced to use this formation as based on the deficiencies and injuries of key players. His idea to set up a Christmas tree already shows his versatility to solutions. KPB has pro and cons in both positions. Try to see the difference as KPB can exploit some of his strengths that he can't in the LM position.

Aquilani? He has the ability yet its based on his injuries and inconsistency that has hindered that progress. Yet he has done so many times against big teams as his ability is not into doubt, yet simply his mentality.

I don't see why Urby is playing that position as he thrives on a wide role hugging the touchline and is too one-footed and inexperienced to be playing in that role. KPB is a variable.

Nocerino? He'll be chasing shadows as not only that, he doesn't have day of experience as a sub role can be of impact when players of both sides are tired as only then he can make an impression with his physicality.

Cassano? He has shown many times that he can cope against fast paced teams as its his footballing brain and wit that allows him to cope within as pace is not needed in the box, yet sheer guile and genius as the enigmatic Cassano is capable against anyone. Most recent example is his performance against Espana.

Pato? He cannot be a sole CF as everyone knows Pato has to play off a striker to due his SS tendencies as he will be left stranded and alone. Which is why Cassano has to be there to supply and assist him in the box as a DLF.

I enjoyed this debate but the fact is this game is being taken experimentally by Allegri as this is the chance we can test ourselves against the best team as this will help max to further learn, adapt and create upon his system. We have 2 unknown teams in the bottom as there is room for risk. Besides, the players seemed pumped up for the match.

Conclusively, we can only speculate ATM as the game today must not be taken as a bad sign if lost as the approach is based on the basis that we need to test ourselves to prepare for the further stages. We can lose 4-0 but many good things can come out of this.

Edit: Average age cannot come into account as most of our young players are not on the starting line-up

Forza Milan.

I dont mind when we loose because we are not playing on their level, but I do mind when they can belittle us! :idea:

Christmas Tree looks like most suitable formation. Sorry, but 3 man midfield with Boa as 4th-trequartista is suicidal. 5 man midfield is a nother story. Looking forward to see magic from Nocerino, Cassano and Emmanuelson

Arquitecto wrote:Allegri hasn't silenced critics?

He has silenced critics based on his ability to take players who were touted on leaving Milan due to their recent play and renewing them. Who? Gattuso, Abate, as well as effectively using them to show their strengths and so their weaknesses will not be exposed. How bout the silencing of critics in the form that Milan was a one man team? We both know that isn't the case anymore. How about when they criticized his ability to form a proper attack? In the end, we marveled some top teams and scored goals a plenty. His criticism based on his crucial integration of his team to win the scudetto comfortably was decisive to our victory. He came in with a 4-3-3 and very attack-minded system yet adjusted to the many deficiencies of the team and not only that, he augmented the deficiencies by compromise and then eventual yet resourceful use of his somewhat limited squad. How have you not seen any of these?

How do you expect creativity and dictation of play with the midfield of Gattuso, Ambrosini, MVB and flamini? His innovation is clear as he used the lack of attacking ability in the mid and use it to his advantage as to protect the back 4 and allow the front flank to score the goals. How do you expect him to create an attacking and fluid system with that old and slow midfield? Pirlo? He was a liability to us as he did not fit in Allegri's system. KPB is naturally a midfielder but there was not AM in the team as his vision to play him in an advanced role was brilliantly done. His combination with the technical front through his physicality and energy complimented the silk and steel system. We don't have a TQ or a fantasista as this is why Allegri had to compensate all so much yet in the end, a Scudetto was won. You may be thinking Cassano, yet Cassano is/was at fault for his discipline and work rate, but as you can see this is changing. Fullbacks not attacking? Abate is a defensive minded and old fashioned RB who is only finding his feet in the attacking front. On the left there was no one last year as only Antonini can attack yet it leaves us open to a counterattack to simply because he did not have the protection Abate did with Gattuso. Not anything he could do here.

Solutions? He came up with a bevy of solutions in many big games as I'm surprised you have forgotten.

Allegri although stubborn on some points, could not allow to experiment and risk to much based on the scudetto race and of course, that he was forced to create this system based on his team and not his own philosophy. This system of his is only makeshift and only a small percentage of what he wants and envisions. Take a look at his 4-3-3 Cagliari as he had the necessary players to fit his fluid and attractive system there as they finished way above their expectations.

You have to understand that managers like Allegri envision a much larger plan and system as these thing take time to create. Commenting on the summer, Allegri last summer did not receive the players he needed in midfield as even this year, Milan had to compromise on budget. His results with the team he had been given is excellent as he did all he could do to bring out the best in each player. And frankly, at times we do play attractive football but atm, Allegri knows functionality and discipline is the better fit until his system clicks.

The big picture is that he won the scudetto yet he has silenced his critics based on a small and micro factors which were criticized yet parried much of it through his solutions and done it on a consistent basis. These are tangible simply by watching most of his games. This is his first year.

Allegri is being forced to use this formation as based on the deficiencies and injuries of key players. His idea to set up a Christmas tree already shows his versatility to solutions. KPB has pro and cons in both positions. Try to see the difference as KPB can exploit some of his strengths that he can't in the LM position.

Aquilani? He has the ability yet its based on his injuries and inconsistency that has hindered that progress. Yet he has done so many times against big teams as his ability is not into doubt, yet simply his mentality.

I don't see why Urby is playing that position as he thrives on a wide role hugging the touchline and is too one-footed and inexperienced to be playing in that role. KPB is a variable.

Nocerino? He'll be chasing shadows as not only that, he doesn't have day of experience as a sub role can be of impact when players of both sides are tired as only then he can make an impression with his physicality.

Cassano? He has shown many times that he can cope against fast paced teams as its his footballing brain and wit that allows him to cope within as pace is not needed in the box, yet sheer guile and genius as the enigmatic Cassano is capable against anyone. Most recent example is his performance against Espana.

Pato? He cannot be a sole CF as everyone knows Pato has to play off a striker to due his SS tendencies as he will be left stranded and alone. Which is why Cassano has to be there to supply and assist him in the box as a DLF.

I enjoyed this debate but the fact is this game is being taken experimentally by Allegri as this is the chance we can test ourselves against the best team as this will help max to further learn, adapt and create upon his system. We have 2 unknown teams in the bottom as there is room for risk. Besides, the players seemed pumped up for the match.

Conclusively, we can only speculate ATM as the game today must not be taken as a bad sign if lost as the approach is based on the basis that we need to test ourselves to prepare for the further stages. We can lose 4-0 but many good things can come out of this.

Edit: Average age cannot come into account as most of our young players are not on the starting line-up

Forza Milan.

Gattuso was renewed? Forgive me, but I do not think he played an integral role in our capture of the Scudetto and this renewing you speak of barely happened. Sure he had a better season than last, but that was mostly down to the fact that Gattuso under Leonardo was so bad that Leo effectively ended up freezing him out of the squad. We all know of the personal difficulties and incompatibility the two faced. He did not improve as a player, neither would you expect him to at his age, he simply fit better into the style of play that Allegri imposes.

Abate was transformed by Tassoti. Both Allegri and Leo have given Mauro credit for this. Allegri had very little to do with it and the things he has had the ability to change he has not done to well on. Abate still gets caught out of position every so often and still is not that attacking asset that you expect of a modern full back.

As I said in my previous post, Milan were never a one man team and so claiming that he addressed this issue is as false as the claim that a one player dependent Milan even existed. As for "forming an attack", when you have Pato, Robinho, Ibra, Ronaldinho and then Cassano, it is not tough. All you need to do is play them and watch the magic which is what I felt was happened most of the time observing our lack of attacking tactics and coherence.

As I also previously said, I like Allegri as a coach and believe in his abilities, just that there are issues still in our play that he has not addressed. I give him and Galliani complete credit for our Scudetto victory. It is theirs more than anyone else's. Please do not question my ability to see things in our play, I am not saying Allegri has done "nothing", simply that there are still issues and critics that remain unsolved.

As for the midfield conundrum, he chose to make it so. Galliani made it clear that van Bommel was Allegri's purchase. He could have just as easily brought in a different style midfielder but chose to make the midfield the way it currently is. As for Pirlo not fitting the system, shouldn't a system fit the best players and not be up to the players to fit into the system? I think Allegri made a big mistake in letting Pirlo go and made it clear that he will continue to use two or three defensive midfielders each game with all of the attacking duties falling on the hands of the front three. It looks bad, it doesn't always work, but in Italy, it will win most times. Europe? Not so much.

Solutions? He came up with a bevy of solutions in many big games as I'm surprised you have forgotten.

I would be delighted if you could name a handful. How did he deal with Real Madrid's imposing midfield and pacey wingers? How did he deal with Udinese's pace and counter attacking skill? Same with Tottenham?

I fail to see this larger plan that you mention. Has he looked to youth? The players he has brought in suggest only more of the same and on an even more intensive scale. The defense will look the same, the midfielders will look the same with different players but similar characteristics as past players and the talented attack at his disposal remains unchanged. If there is a big plan to revolutionise the club and bring us back to the level when the world was at their knee's, I am seriously struggling to see it. His Cagliari, or at least the little of it I saw, were perhaps the most attractive brand available in the lower part of the table but that seems a brand long gone in the mind of Max.

This is his first year.

Absolutely right. Again I will say it, I am a firm believer in Allegri and the long term success he can bring to this club, even if it is not so obvious at the moment.

Lets all just wait and see whether he really does employ the Christmas tree ahead of the safer 4-3-1-2 with Cassano and Pato infront of Boateng with Ambrosini, Seedorf and van Bommel in midfield before we speak about his new found versatility.

Conclusively, we can only speculate ATM as the game today must not be taken as a bad sign if lost as the approach is based on the basis that we need to test ourselves to prepare for the further stages. We can lose 4-0 but many good things can come out of this.

You are a very wise man. Trust me, I am enjoying this debate as much as yourself.

The average age includes all players in the UCL list submitted by the club, not only those expected to start.

Milanista-1899 argues very well, but I tend to back Arquitecto here, although I have some disagreements with Arq too.


You see guys, every team in Football has to think of two things: How to use the ball when in possession (i.e. attacking phase) and how to get back the ball (i.e. defensive phase).

M-1899 is apparently a little too scared of mighty Barca, so much that he has forgotten about a little thing we call: Creativity.

Like it or not, we have only three creative players in our squad (at least in UCL): Aquilani, Seedorf, Cassano.

We ABSOLUTELY need one of these guys on the pitch.

A daring, audacious coach like Leonardo would've fielded all of them behind Pato, with Van Bommel and Boateng deeper in midfield, but Allegri won't, because he isn't as emotional as Leo was.

Cassano is in form, no question about that, but whether he can shoulder all the burden is not clear.

Aquilani is a newcomer and despite the beautiful things he showed against Lazio, he's gonna need quite some time to enter the setup and find his teammates blindfolded.

We will be left with Seedorf, a 35-year-old war horse who's been playing regular Football in the best teams of Europe since he was only 16.

Seedorf has shown over the years that proper rest can turn him into a monster wherever the hell you use him.

E.g. he was virtually a striker in 2007 when we won the UCL, and he played his match of the season against Tottenham in second leg when he played as the back-four protector in front of Nesilva.

He could be our X-factor against Barca if given the right role and his needed freedom.


Milanista-1899 says we should field VB, Nocerino and Ambro all at once, and Emanuelson and Boateng behind the lone attacker who's set to be Pato.

Well, we can't.

Granted, Inter in 2010 and Real Madrid in Copa Del Rey final ran until they turned blue, purple and black, and they cleared everything that came their way in their own half.

But Inter did have Sneijder on and Real did have Ozil on.

We can't ONLY hope for what could come out of counterattacks that they might even not give us any of, we should have an impeccable plan-B, and since it's Barca, a resolute plan-C.

Emanuelson is excellent when it comes to going at full throttle and Boateng is a skillful player, but we must accept they are not creative, not at all.


If it was down to me, I would start the game with Aquilani and Boateng behind Pato, then send Seedorf in to inflict some damage into Barca men.

In case we totally lose hope, e.g. be trailing 3-0 by half-time, Allegri should go for the extreme and make use of all his offensive tools.

And if we managed to receive a gift from Lord Almighty and lead by a goal or two, we'll always have Ambrosini, Bonera and Yepes to park the bus and defend our precious advantage.


We can't SUGGEST anything in the forum, we can only DISCUSS.

That's why I'm arguing that Allegri's reported starting XI for tonight is a decent one, if not perfect for all the injuries we've been hit by.



On a side note, it's great to have longer, more well-thought posts instead of these short, useless one-liners like "Let's hope our players perform and we beat them..."

I really like the way this thread is going forward.

OH GOD WHY ARE WE SUFFERING THESE PUNISHMENTS OF LONG POSTS... I HAVE NEVER TRIED TO READ A BOOK WITHOUT PICTURES... JK
anways looks like milanista 1899 has started with a bang.. congrats man... and welcome... quality posts flying around,, i think we have the best posters in the forumn now

Oh wow, the anti-Barcelona starting XI story is developing, and it's turning into a dilemma.


Galliani has announced Milan will play their traditional 4-3-1-2, with Van Bommel, Nocerino and Seedorf behind Boateng, who's set to support Pato and Cassano.


Interesting, yet dangerous.


I was hoping that Allegri would field a steely midfield trio to hassle Barca's players and disrupt their fluid play, but Allegri is apparently determined to take the risk of being overrun by fielding two creative players at once.

Emanuelson has lost the race to Seedorf, this means we mean bizness in attack, because what Allegri does in his 4-3-1-2 is somewhat a version of 4-2-3-1, with his LCM, AM and SS forming the '3'.


I don't know, in any case I like an audacious formation like the latest one reported by Sky much more than ona with a rigid all-muscle midfield.

I'm dying to find out whether this is a media game or not.



Meanwhile, from the enemy's camp reports suggest Busquets, Xavi, Fabregas and Iniesta are set to start right from the off, this is dangerous fellas.

Add to them Villa and Messi and we are in for a nail-biter.

How are we supposed to contain these f****** monsters?

I seriously hope Allegri starts only one between Aquilani, Cassano and Seedorf, because in my opinion, otherwise we're dead in their hands.

I'm off to sleep before the game.

I'd love to say more concerning our formations and our options, however I've written a lot in the past two days and I feel that I'd simply be repeating my previous posts in this thread. All that there is left to say is that whatever happens I shall be proud so long as I see the effort on our players' faces and see them prepared to put everything on the line for their team. When everything is going wrong, this is when you prove that you're committed to the shirt. Every drop of sweat, every last ditch effort, every cry of frustration, anger and joy will tell me who loves this team and I'll thank them for it.

Give them hell.

Forza Milan.

Agreed Fiodor.

I guess we all agree that even those who didn't like Clarence Seedorf that much, came to love him after the gritty performance he put on show against Tottenham in the second leg last year, and as unusual as it was to see him run and fight that much at such age, it was moving to see how tears came out of his eyes before the journalists, instead of cliched words out of his mouth.

We came out proud last year against Tottenham because we tried.
We also held our heads high against Arsenal in 2008, because we tried.

But at times when we are simply not as "Milan" as we should be, like against ManUTD in 2010, it gets too frustrating to bear.


I predict a loss with a two or three goal advantage, but I'd be happier if we lose 5-0 like a group of warriors than a 1-0 defeat with us playing like a bunch of pussies.


Milan men are definitely not pussies though, Allegri's teams are anything but indifferent and sluggish.
We will fight, that's for sure.

IrasMaldinista wrote:M-1899 is apparently a little too scared of mighty Barca, so much that he has forgotten about a little thing we call: Creativity.

You can't exactly blame me for this, right? I mean, we are coming up against a team who did it all last season and if football was fair would have won the last three UCL's in a row and over the summer have spent 50m euro's making their squad even better.

As I have said before, I am a man who believes a little to much in the word faith and that will be the only thing that will give me a glimmer of hope going into this game because if it were down to logic and logic only, my hope for this game would have abandoned me already.

Milan are Milan and anything can happen in football yeah, but seeing as the way events have unfolded in the lead up to this match (Ibra, Robinho, Taiwo, Flamini injuries) it seems as though this is one of those things that is just "not meant to be".

IrasMaldinista wrote:Like it or not, we have only three creative players in our squad (at least in UCL): Aquilani, Seedorf, Cassano.

We ABSOLUTELY need one of these guys on the pitch.

A daring, audacious coach like Leonardo would've fielded all of them behind Pato, with Van Bommel and Boateng deeper in midfield, but Allegri won't, because he isn't as emotional as Leo was.

Cassano is in form, no question about that, but whether he can shoulder all the burden is not clear.

Aquilani is a newcomer and despite the beautiful things he showed against Lazio, he's gonna need quite some time to enter the setup and find his teammates blindfolded.

We will be left with Seedorf, a 35-year-old war horse who's been playing regular Football in the best teams of Europe since he was only 16.

Seedorf has shown over the years that proper rest can turn him into a monster wherever the hell you use him.

E.g. he was virtually a striker in 2007 when we won the UCL, and he played his match of the season against Tottenham in second leg when he played as the back-four protector in front of Nesilva.

He could be our X-factor against Barca if given the right role and his needed freedom.


Milanista-1899 says we should field VB, Nocerino and Ambro all at once, and Emanuelson and Boateng behind the lone attacker who's set to be Pato.

Well, we can't.

Granted, Inter in 2010 and Real Madrid in Copa Del Rey final ran until they turned blue, purple and black, and they cleared everything that came their way in their own half.

But Inter did have Sneijder on and Real did have Ozil on.

We can't ONLY hope for what could come out of counterattacks that they might even not give us any of, we should have an impeccable plan-B, and since it's Barca, a resolute plan-C.

Emanuelson is excellent when it comes to going at full throttle and Boateng is a skillful player, but we must accept they are not creative, not at all.


If it was down to me, I would start the game with Aquilani and Boateng behind Pato, then send Seedorf in to inflict some damage into Barca men.

In case we totally lose hope, e.g. be trailing 3-0 by half-time, Allegri should go for the extreme and make use of all his offensive tools.

And if we managed to receive a gift from Lord Almighty and lead by a goal or two, we'll always have Ambrosini, Bonera and Yepes to park the bus and defend our precious advantage.

We can't SUGGEST anything in the forum, we can only DISCUSS.

That's why I'm arguing that Allegri's reported starting XI for tonight is a decent one, if not perfect for all the injuries we've been hit by.

On a side note, it's great to have longer, more well-thought posts instead of these short, useless one-liners like "Let's hope our players perform and we beat them..."

I really like the way this thread is going forward.

Do you remember what happened when Mourinho chose to play Ozil, a creative player, ahead of Diarra, a defensive midfielder? Three goals later, Mourinho took Ozil off to try to weather the storm, but the damage had been done. The game had been lost.

Do we need a creative player to win the game? Yes. Will we improve out chances of winning? No. Sacrificing a creative player and playing anti-football in Europe (who would have though a Milan fan would be saying this) would be a small sacrifice to make to come away with a point from this match. We have to be realistic, we are not the Milan that could go to these venues and win 4-0 any more. We must accept this and be frank with ourselves. Our best chances is to fill the midfield, rely on our defense and hope for the best.

Leonardo would have been audacious in this type of match. He would have made bold selections with complete confidence, just as he did vs Inter last season. Four goals later, he regrets making some of his choices.

I'm not sure whether or not you have been following Allegri's recent press conference's but prior to Ibra's injury he said Cassano would go to the bench with Pato and Ibra starting up front. Cassano is not in Max's first team plans and this is the main reason I believe he will field a tree. Allegri can talk as much as he wants about not having Barca in mind until the Lazio game was over but why else would he rest Pato and Robinho and start van Bommel on bench?

Aquilani's lack of physical presence and the game the Allegri will most likely turn to will be the biggest reason he will most probably be overlooked. Forget that he cannot find his teammates, with 30% possession, he would not have had many opportunities to do so anyways. I know we would all like to see Milan go out and take the game to Barcelona, but we simply cannot. Perhaps I am a pessimist, but at least I won't be disappointed when I see Max's selection and style of player come tonight.

Iras, you seem so confident these players will perform some sort of miracle when brought in. Why are you so sure? Players like Seedorf, Aquilani and Cassano will be most effective against defensive minded teams, not teams where they will get two or three chances to make a differences and if they don't then they leave the game with little to show.

To win this game we will need to be organized, disiplined and luckier than Inter were in '10.

I also agree, this thread is good. Nice contributors here.

shamr9pato wrote:OH GOD WHY ARE WE SUFFERING THESE PUNISHMENTS OF LONG POSTS... I HAVE NEVER TRIED TO READ A BOOK WITHOUT PICTURES... JK

Hahahahahahaha

shamr9pato wrote:anways looks like milanista 1899 has started with a bang.. congrats man... and welcome... quality posts flying around,, i think we have the best posters in the forumn now

Thanks, good to be here.

I think too many of us have grown up with the Milan era of attacking, fluid, bold football to accept what kind of football Allegri is bringing in and the brand of football necessary to compete with the current kings of Europe.

I think we also need to keep in mind that Milan have not been champions of Europe seven times down to luck and that the mentality in the walls of the club, humming in the air at Milanello, present through the passion of the fans at the sacred turf of San Siro should give us at least some hope going into the game.

I simply cannot wait for this to begin. Enough analysing

IF milan win tonight,,,... m gonna soo rub it in the faces of my friends and my girlfriend... cant believe she doesnt like Milan just because i support them and supports barca and Man U

There's no such thing as Anti-football.

We can only push Barca so much, this is important to notice.

If we are going for the draw, then what's the use of putting Pato in the line-up? He's too weak defensively, we have much safer options like Yepes, eh?

No man, it can't be.

Van Bommel, Nocerino and one more semi-defensive midfielder would just do it, otherwise we will be a laughing stock for parking the bus and our obvious ineptness in handling the possession.


Plus, I confess learned a fundamental thing from Allegri last season: You MUST have options on bench, otherwise you won't have flexibility.

If we squeeze all our defensive midfielders, who can we send in to keep us fresh and alert in case we accidentally scored?
We just can't afford to have a bench full of attacking players with an out-and-out defender or two.

In my opinion, we should have Amelia, Yepes, Bonera, Antonini, Ambrosini, Aquilani and Cassano in reserves list.

If we field Captain Ambrosini instead of Seedorf, all of our balance will be gone.


Scenario: it's the 32nd minute, we've been coping relatively well with their rhythm and they can't really impose their magic.

Suddenly, Nocerino sprints toward Iniesta to win the ball and bam! He pulls his left calf...

So, we who have been quite balanced and effective, know that the best way to keep being as good is replacing Nocerino with a similar player.

Tell me Milanista-1899, which one would be better: Aquilani, or Ambrosini?

Allegri and I think the latter would suit better.



Yes Izzy, I totally agree.
No such thing as Anti Football.

Even defensive teams could look great, like Mourinho's Inter against Barca. They were really admirable for the passion they put on display.

Coming from a Milanista, they might love what I said, but so be it. I try my best to be honest.

Barca plays one of the most simple football around the world,but they have great players and they almost does it perfectly.

Couple of things i could add about barca play.

If you want to limit Barca possession you have to mark busquets.

To distract the tempo xavi.

Messi is almost unmarkable,though thiago silva should follow him and limit his space to make those runs.If neither of your CBs are following messi then you should never play a high line.

Adit wrote:Barca plays one of the most simple football around the world,but they have great players and they almost does it perfectly.

Couple of things i could add about barca play.

If you want to limit Barca possession you have to mark busquets.

To distract the tempo xavi.

Messi is almost unmarkable,though thiago silva should follow him and limit his space to make those runs.If neither of your CBs are following messi then you should never play a high line.

tokin about messi makes me miss papa....

Valdes , Abidal , Mascherano , Adriano , Alves , Busquets , Xavi , Inniesta , Messi , Villa , Pedro

interesting no puyol

I have a feeling It will be a 2-0 or a 3-0 , Barca cant care less about humiliating Milan,they will play for 3 points.

Milanista-1899 wrote:

I disagree with quite a few points here. Max Allegri hasn't exactly silenced many critics. The obvious retaliation here would be "but he won the Scudetto in his first year etc etc" but the main issues in the squad still remain.

There was never an Ibra dependency or an Ibra-Pato compatibility conundrum, these were imagined issues. The issues that were there since the beginning and Allegri has failed to amend is the lack of ability in the midfield to impose itself on play and dictate the terms and tempo at which the games is played at. The issue was there while Pirlo was played as a creative deep lying midfielder, persisted when he played three "destroyers" alongside each other and remains now with one creative and two defensive minded midfielders in his trusted 4-3-1-2. Some more issues are the lack of creativity being produced from the trequartista and the lack of attacking support being provided by our fullbacks, something that most managers easily mend, yet is still an issue in our squad. I want to reiterate here that I also believe in Allegri, but want to make it clear that I believe he also has a lot to prove.

He has many qualities? I am not too sure. He has a very specific and unattractive brand of football that he has enforced and shown to be either too stubborn or too ignorant to allow little, let alone major, changes to the formation and style he plays. His game is centered around a strong defense, a midfield with a strongly defensive mentality and an attack which is often expected to produce on its own. As we have seen, it works sometimes, other times it does not. My major concerns about our potential Allegri era is in these games where it does not work. He has not shown any versatility as a manger and has not exactly been a man of many solutions.

Finally, another poster who agrees with me and doesn't simply heap praise on Allegri, because he won the Scudetto. We won last year pretty much by default. He has to win it again this year to really prove to me he is a great manager. The players sing his praises, however. He is clearly a great man manager, but I have my doubts over his tactical prowess.

I was crying on goal.com forums all last season over Allegri's inability to show any sort of variation in his tactics, how he let's the least technical, least creative players on our team (fullbacks) provide all the width in attack, his three defensive midfielder complex for most of the season, the ridiculous rigidity we played with away from home (he expects the front three to score from nothing).

Anybody see Pirlo vs Parma?

Welcome to the forum and please contribute more

So will it be 4-3-1-2 or 4-3-2-1? I suppose if things aren't going well we can swap Cassano for Emanuelson and have him exploit the space that Dani Alves leaves open.

I would have gone with Emanuelson at attacking mid in a 4-3-2-1 from the start and have him pin Alves back, always threatening to run down the left wing. The left side is where we should have our 'out ball' go, and use Emauelson's trickery to our advantage.

edit - Allegri has gone with 0 variation to counter the opponent's threats. He will play 4-3-1-2


I hope he is saving a master plan for later. After all, the team the wins the UCL will most likely be the team that beats Bacelona. We mustn't show our cards too early.

I hope that line-up is not official, if it is I hope my instant feelings are wrong.

baresi wrote:I hope that line-up is not official, if it is I hope my instant feelings are wrong.

It is official I posted them in the matchday as well.