Thanks Carletto!!, Bye Maldini,Welcome Leonardo..

Coach Carlo Ancelotti leaves Milan on a mutual agreement with the club, not before handing us the third place and the direct qualification to the next Champions League. Thanks Carletto!
Coach Carlo Ancelotti at the end of Fiorentina-Milan, his last match as a Rossoneri’s coach:

“Together with the club, in common agreement, we have decided to end a fantastic adventure which lasted eight years and full of satisfactions. I want to thank all those who have contributed to make this so beautiful, all those with whom I lived a long, nice and positive period. A professional rapport comes to an end, but there will always be the affection, the reciprocal respect and friendship. It’s normal to feel a bit emotional, but the time of tears is already gone.”

A day full of emotions today at the Franchi for the Rossoneri, who are satisfied for reaching the next Champions League, excited for the farewell of the Captain and for the last game of Ancelotti on the bench.

DAVID BECKHAM:
“Even though today we did not win anything, we have reached the direct qualification to the Champions League. Winning today was fundamental, just like being in the Champions League.

“With regards to my future I cannot say anything more than two weeks or two months ago: now I return to Los Angeles for the final part of the season, then we’ll see what happens, but I hope to return soon.

“My thanks goes to everyone, from the first one to the last, they have all been fantastic with me in making me feel one of the team from the first minute and I wish them all the best.

“With Carlo Ancelotti away from Milan, an era comes to an end, extraordinary years come to an end, but wherever he will go to coach, it will be a lucky club to have him as a coach.”

RICARDO KAKA':
“It was a game full of emotions: the last game of Paolo Maldini and the last one of Carlo Ancelotti on the Milan bench. We are happy o have closed this season reaching a great objective like the direct qualification to the next Champions League, it’s a reason of great satisfaction for us.

“Carlo Ancelotti is a person whom I’m very tied to for this six years I have spent here at Milan with hm as a coach. I’m grateful for what he did for me and for what he taught me. He gave me the possibility to be known as a player at world level and with him I won a lot. I wish him the best of luck for everything. Tomorrow there will be this press conference of presentation, a person will arrive who will lead Milan to win a lot.”

GIANLUCA ZAMBROTTA:
“We’re happy to have reached the third place and therefore the direct qualification to the next Champions League, we are satisfied that we have reached this target and then today there was the emotion for the farewell to football of a great player and man like Paolo Maldini, and the last match of a great coach like Carlo Ancelotti, who today ended his career t Milan. I thank him for the beautiful years I had with him at Juventus and for this season here at Milan, he’s an extraordinary people, he won everything and I wish him all the best for his future.”

GALLIANI TO CARLETTO on fiorentina - milan match :
“It was a great game, but after all with Carlo on the bench we rarely get the big games wrong, we have always trained at our best to face them. Now let’s think about the next Champions League draw, we will surely be in that of the top eight in Europe and this is a thing that should fill with pride all of our fans, even before us directors.

“Right now I’m very excited for Paolo Maldini’s farewell and Carlo Ancelotti’s good-bye: yes, the latter it will be just a good-bye, because the coaches can always return, whereas the players at the age of Paolo no, even though I continue to try to convince him not to stop.

“With Carlo Ancelotti these have been fantastic and marvellous years: eight years, eight trophies. Of common agreement, we have decided to anticipate of a year the natural expiry of his contract, but our friendship and his closeness to the club will continue. We hope, in some years time, to see him again on the bench with us and maybe to win other Champions Leagues with Carletto as a coach. A thing is certain: when he will return, he will do better than Sacchi and Capello!”

“We have never contacted any other coach, we told ourselves that the alternatives would have been only two: or continuing with Ancelotti or Leonardo. With regards to the Brazilian, we love our house coaches, and Leonardo undertook the same professional path of Capello. I wish him the same luck, quality and success of Capello! The presentation of the new coach will be tomorrow at San Siro at noon.”


CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AND LEGEND
Milan end the season with a 2-0 victory at the Franchi and gain direct access to the next Champions League, Paolo Maldini receives the salute he deserves and officially enters the Rossoneri's legend.

FLORENCE - A decisive second leg match, after winning the first leg: this is the spirit with which Milan went on the pitch at the Franchi stadium for the last league match against Fiorentina.

The formation chosen by Carlo Ancelotti to try and consolidate the third place, and gain access to the next Champions League, is composed by Dida; Zambrotta, Maldini, Favalli, Jankulovski; Beckham, Pirlo Flamini, Seedorf; Kakà, Inzaghi. Gattuso and Nesta on the bench, which was great news ahead of next season. The Viola answered with Frey; Comotto, Gamberini, Zauri, Pasqual; Donadel, Montolivo; Semioli, Jovetic, Vargas; Gilardino.

It's the last match of Paolo Maldini, who after 25 years says goodbye to the Milan shirt and football. After the jeers of a small part of the San Siro stadium, last Sunday against Roma, this time in Florence there was a standing ovation for our Captain, who also received a special emblem from the Viola club from Frey. In another part of the stadium, meanwhile, there was a banner that said "Maldini, honor to your career".

In the initial part of the matches former Milan man Gilardino looked very motivated, as well as Jovetic, also one of the most feared players by the Rossoneri players. But the entire Fiorentina team looked sharp. Milan did not just look on, and in the 8th minute they came near the goal defended by Frey with Jankulovski: his shot was powerful, but it was deflected out. By who? According to the referees it was a Viola defender, but with great fair play Kaká admitted he was the one who touched the ball last and was thanked by referee Rizzoli. In the 16th minute chance for Fiorentina: Gamberini hit a header on a corner kick, Dida blocked it easily. In the 19th minute there was a nice idea by Pirlo for Jankulovski's run, but his long pass was just too long. In the 22nd minute Gilardino's nice header on a pass by Jovetic went wide. In the 24th minute big chance for Milan: pass back by Kaká for Flamini, the Frenchman's shot was powerful but it hit the crossbar. In the 28th minute Frey dove to keep out a dangerous shot from the edge of the area by Zambrotta. In the 42nd minute Fiorentina protested for an alleged penalty for a foul by Favalli on Gilardino: for Rizzoli, however, it was the former Rossonero who made a foul. Milan restarted with a free kick.

At the start of the second half, in the third minute, the Viola were dangerous through Gilardino, who with the tip of his foot fired it just wide of Dida's goal. A minute later, on a corner kick for Milan, Inzaghi headed it just over the bar. In the 10th minute came Milan's goal: Kaká accompanied the move of Zambrotta, who crossed it in for Inzaghi, the defence blocked it, Ricky scored with a low right footed shot. In the 17th minute another chance for the Rossoneri: Kaká served Inzaghi, who won the ball after a rebound and fired it just high. Now Milan started playing the better football, with Fiorentina lowering the rhythm considerably. The first two changes by the Viola both came in the 20th minute: Gobbi for Vargas, and Jorgensen for Jovetic. The last available change for Fiorentina was made in the 25th minute: Kuzmanovic in, Pasqual out. Milan's first change was made in the 24th minute: Pato for Inzaghi. In the 31st minute came Milan doubled their lead on a counterattack conducted by Pato and Kaká: deep ball for Ricky, lob by the 'duck' to beat Frey. In the 32nd minute Milan made their second change: Nesta, who made his first appearence in the league, in for Favalli. In the 36th minute there was also space for Gattuso, who made his return on the pitch after his knee surgery in December: he took Beckham's place. The match did not offer any more points of interest. There was only time for Paolo Maldini's final run, which put an end to his fantastic career, and he was accompanied by the embrace of all his team mates, his opponents, and the entire Franchi crowd. Milan are in the Champions League, Maldini is a part of legend.

Selamat Tinggal Maldini dan Ancelotti!

Partai terakhir seri a / pekan ke 38 musim 2008/2009 antara Milan dan Fiorentina menjadi saat yang bersejarah bagi Maldini dan juga ancelotti.
AC Milan menutup pertandingan musim ini dengan melepas beberapa figur pentingnya di stadion Artemio Franchi. Dua di antaranya pelatih Carlo Ancelotti dan kapten Paolo Maldini.

Jika minggu lalu mendapat sambutan tak sempurna di San Siro, Paolo Maldini mendapatkan apresiasi lebih layak dari publik Artemio Franchi. Bagaimanapun, Maldini juga merupakan sebuah simbol sepakbola Italia.

Prandelli tentang maldini:
"Dia adalah salah satu simbol hebat untuk sepak bola. Ia telah mendedikasikan waktu 25 tahun untuk Milan.

Dia memberikan contoh yang sangat bagus sebagai seorang pria .Saya memiliki memori yang hebat tentangnya. Ketika ia masih muda, ia sudah menunjukkan karakter yang kuat. Maldini selalu menaruh respek kepada lawan dan itu adalah contoh yang harus ditiru,"

- Yang ditunggu-tunggu itu akhirnya datang pada Minggu (31/5/2009) malam WIB. Carlo Ancelotti menyatakan dirinya tidak meneruskan sisa kontraknya dengan AC Milan dan memutuskan berhenti.

Kabar itu diterangkan langsung oleh Ancelotti, seusai Rossoneri menutup kiprahnya musim ini dengan mengalahkan Fiorentina 2-0 di Artemio Franchi.

"Dalam kesepakatan dengan klub, kami memutuskan untuk mengakhiri kontrak satu tahun lebih cepat," ujar pria 49 tahun itu, seperti dikutip dari Channel4.

"Pengalaman indahku dengan tim ini selesai hari ini. Saya berterima kasih pada semua pemain, direktur, fans, dan semua orang yang terlibat di sini."

"Aku rasa, penghabisan ini berjalan dengan baik, dan mungkin pilihan terbaik bagi kami, kedua pihak. Rasa hormat dan sayang tetap dengan semua orang yang selama bertahun-tahun berpartisipasi dalam petualangan ini."

Masa depan Ancelotti di Milan kerap mengambang, tergantung prestasi Milan. Musim lalu, ketika Paolo Maldini dkk gagal memenangi Seri A dalam empat musim berturut-turut, ia beberapa kali diisukan bakal dipecat.

Namun, setiap kali diberitakan akan ditendang, justru petinggi Milan yang paling sering membelanya. Il Diavolo memang terlanjur lekat dengan Ancelotti karena itulah klub terakhir yang dibela dia sewaktu masih menjadi pemain.

Ancelotti mengawali karir bermainnya di Parma, lalu sempat delapan tahun membela AS Roma. Pada musim panas 1987 ia mulai berkiprah di San Siro, sampai gantung sepatu lima tahun kemudian.

Profesi pelatih mulai dilakoni pemilik 26 caps bersama timnas Italia itu pada tahun 1995, bersama Reggiana. Ia lalu berturut-turut menukangi Parma (1996-1998) dan Juventus (1999-2001), sebelum kembali ke rumahnya di Milan.

Selama delapan tahun membesut Paolo Maldini dkk, Ancelotti memenangi satu titel Seri A (2004), dua Liga Champions (2003 dan 2007), dan Piala Dunia Antarklub (2007). Titel-titel lain yang ia sumbangkan buat Milan antara lain Coppa Italia (2003), Piala Super Italia (2004), dan Piala Super Eropa (2003, 2007)

Carlo Ancelotti angkat kaki, Paolo Maldini gantung sepatu dan Leonardo jadi bos baru. Perubahan sedang terjadi di AC Milan, yang diharapkan membawa era baru buat Rossoneri.

Delapan tahun membesut Milan, Ancelotti tak bisa dibilang gagal sebagai pelatih karena dalam kurun tersebut dia mampu memberikan delapan titel juara. Don Carletto bahkan termasuk dalam kelompok kecil orang yang mampu menjuarai Liga Champions hingga dua kali dan membawa pulang satu titel Kejuaraan Dunia Antarklub.

Tapi Don Carletto juga tak lepas dari kontroversi, terutama di tahun-tahun terakhirnya bersama Diavolo Rosso. Sudah sejak musim lalu tuntutan dirinya mundur sudah terdengar, pelatih 49 tahun itu dianggap bertanggung jawab terhadap kegagalan Paolo Maldini cs lolos ke Liga Champions musim lalu setelah cuma duduk di posisi lima klasemen akhir.

Hal lain yang membuat Ancelotti kerap jadi sorotan adalah soal kebijakannya terkait regenerasi pemain di Milan. Soal pembelian pemain, dia mungkin harus menuruti kebijakan petinggi Milan yang lebih suka berhemat dengan membeli pemain yang usianya beranjak senja. Tapi di atas lapangan kebijakan yang sama justru kerap dia pakai juga.

Yoann Gourcuff yang beberapa hari lalu resmi dibeli Bordeaux adalah cotoh betapa Carletto terlanjur "asyik" dengan pemain seniornya tanpa memberi peluang yang layak buat young guns untuk unjuk kebolehan. Jadilah starting XI Milan lebih sering diisi nama-nama seperti Maldini, Zambrotta hingga Filippo Inzaghi. Milan seperti tak belajar dari pengalaman saat mereka menemukan Kaka dan memberi banyak kesempatan pada Pato untuk bermain.

Leonardo punya banyak pe er untuk bisa membawa Milan bersaing dengan Inter Milan dan meneruskan catatan gemilang mereka di Eropa. Sesuatu yang bisa jadi akan sulit lantaran dia sama sekali belum punya jejak rekam sebagai pelatih.

Leonardo memang bukan nama asing di Milan karena dia sempat memperkuat klub tersebut dalam kurun 1997-2001. Sempat pulang ke Brasil, pesepakbola bernama lengkap Leonardo Nascimento de Araújo itu kembali ke Milan tahun 2003 sebelum memutuskan pensiun.

Sejak saat itu dia menjadi bagian dari manajemen Milan. Awalnya dia mengurusi hubungan klub dengan media, membantu beragam kegiatan amal yang digelar sampai kemudian ditunjuk sebagai staff teknis Milan tahun kemarin.

Meski sempat dijadikan kandidat sebagai pelatih oleh beberapa media, penjukkan Leonardo mungkin akan tetap mengundang tanda tanya karena pria Brasil berusia 39 tahun itu belum punya pengalaman melatih. Mungkin Milan terinspirasi oleh Barcelona yang meraih sukses luar biasa bersama Barcelona dengan merebut treble winners.

Kalau memang seperti itu, Leonardo punya banyak hal yang harus dia lakukan karena Milan tentu tak sama dengan Barcelona yang punya pemain hebat di semua posisi. Pekerjaan pertama Leonardo mungkin adalah membersihkan Rossoneri dari pemain-pemain gaek, kondisi yang dalam beberapa musim jadi penghambat Milan menjaga konsistensi pergorma mereka di Italia dan Eropa.

Maldini sudah pergi, juga Carlo Ancelotti. Bersama Leonardo, Milan harusnya bisa memulai sesuatu yang benar-benar baru.

ERA BARU LEONARDO
Carlo Ancelotti angkat kaki, Paolo Maldini gantung sepatu dan Leonardo jadi bos baru. Perubahan sedang terjadi di AC Milan, yang diharapkan membawa era baru buat Rossoneri.

Delapan tahun membesut Milan, Ancelotti tak bisa dibilang gagal sebagai pelatih karena dalam kurun tersebut dia mampu memberikan delapan titel juara. Don Carletto bahkan termasuk dalam kelompok kecil orang yang mampu menjuarai Liga Champions hingga dua kali dan membawa pulang satu titel Kejuaraan Dunia Antarklub.

Tapi Don Carletto juga tak lepas dari kontroversi, terutama di tahun-tahun terakhirnya bersama Diavolo Rosso. Sudah sejak musim lalu tuntutan dirinya mundur sudah terdengar, pelatih 49 tahun itu dianggap bertanggung jawab terhadap kegagalan Paolo Maldini cs lolos ke Liga Champions musim lalu setelah cuma duduk di posisi lima klasemen akhir.

Hal lain yang membuat Ancelotti kerap jadi sorotan adalah soal kebijakannya terkait regenerasi pemain di Milan. Soal pembelian pemain, dia mungkin harus menuruti kebijakan petinggi Milan yang lebih suka berhemat dengan membeli pemain yang usianya beranjak senja. Tapi di atas lapangan kebijakan yang sama justru kerap dia pakai juga.

Yoann Gourcuff yang beberapa hari lalu resmi dibeli Bordeaux adalah cotoh betapa Carletto terlanjur "asyik" dengan pemain seniornya tanpa memberi peluang yang layak buat young guns untuk unjuk kebolehan. Jadilah starting XI Milan lebih sering diisi nama-nama seperti Maldini, Zambrotta hingga Filippo Inzaghi. Milan seperti tak belajar dari pengalaman saat mereka menemukan Kaka dan memberi banyak kesempatan pada Pato untuk bermain.

Leonardo punya banyak pe er untuk bisa membawa Milan bersaing dengan Inter Milan dan meneruskan catatan gemilang mereka di Eropa. Sesuatu yang bisa jadi akan sulit lantaran dia sama sekali belum punya jejak rekam sebagai pelatih.

Leonardo memang bukan nama asing di Milan karena dia sempat memperkuat klub tersebut dalam kurun 1997-2001. Sempat pulang ke Brasil, pesepakbola bernama lengkap Leonardo Nascimento de Araújo itu kembali ke Milan tahun 2003 sebelum memutuskan pensiun.

Sejak saat itu dia menjadi bagian dari manajemen Milan. Awalnya dia mengurusi hubungan klub dengan media, membantu beragam kegiatan amal yang digelar sampai kemudian ditunjuk sebagai staff teknis Milan tahun kemarin.

Meski sempat dijadikan kandidat sebagai pelatih oleh beberapa media, penjukkan Leonardo mungkin akan tetap mengundang tanda tanya karena pria Brasil berusia 39 tahun itu belum punya pengalaman melatih. Mungkin Milan terinspirasi oleh Barcelona yang meraih sukses luar biasa bersama Barcelona dengan merebut treble winners.

Kalau memang seperti itu, Leonardo punya banyak hal yang harus dia lakukan karena Milan tentu tak sama dengan Barcelona yang punya pemain hebat di semua posisi. Pekerjaan pertama Leonardo mungkin adalah membersihkan Rossoneri dari pemain-pemain gaek, kondisi yang dalam beberapa musim jadi penghambat Milan menjaga konsistensi pergorma mereka di Italia dan Eropa.

Maldini sudah pergi, juga Carlo Ancelotti. Bersama Leonardo, Milan harusnya bisa memulai sesuatu yang benar-benar baru.

DOA KAKA BUAT ANCELOTTI
Kaka mengaku nama besar dan rentetan prestasi yang diraihnya tak lepas dari kontribusi Carlo Ancelotti. Meski berat melepas, pemain terbaik dunia tahun 2007 ini mendoakan yang terbaik untuk mantan pelatihnya itu.

Setelah beberapa bulan menjadi rumor, Ancelotti akhirnya memutuskan untuk tidak meneruskan sisa kontraknya dengan Rossoneri, usai Milan membenamkan Fiorentina, 2-0 di Artemio Franchi, Minggu (31/5/09).

Don Carletto, begitu dia disapa, merupakan orang yang membawa Kaka ke Italia dari klub lamanya Sao Paulo. Enam tahun bersama Milan, pemain berusia 27 tahun ini telah meraih berbagai gelar. Selain gelar seri A dan tropi Liga Champions, Kaka berhasil menyabet gelar pemain terbaik dunia di tahun 2007.

Tentang sukses yang berhasil diraihnya tersebut, Kaka melihat semua itu tak bisa ia dapatkan tanpa sentuhan pelatih berusia 47 tahun tersebut.

"Ini merupakan hari yang penuh emosi. Laga terakhir Paolo Maldini dan Ancelotti," tukasnya seperti dilansir Goal.

"Ancelotti adalah pria yang saya sangat terikat pada dia, selama selama enam tahun yang saya habiskan di Milan. Saya berterimakasih sebesar-besarnya kepada Ancelotti, yang mendidik saya selama beberapa tahun."

"Dia memberiku kesempatan untuk menjadi salah satu nama besar di level dunia dan saya memenangi banyak gelar di bawah kepelatihannya. Saya berharap yang terbaik untuknya, apapun yang ia lakukan," pungkasny

Seri A Preview : Fiorentina vs Milan

These are the 21 called-up players of Carlo Ancelotti for Fiorentina-Milan:

Dida, Kalac, Perucchini, Antonini, Darmian, Favalli, Jankulovski, Maldini, Nesta, Senderos, Zambrotta, Beckham, Flamini, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Inzaghi, Kakà, Shevchenko, Ronaldinho, Pato.
Unavailable players: Abbiati, Bonera, Kaladze, Cardacio, Borriello, Viudez.
Players not called-up: Mattioni.

Paolo Maldini will bring to an end his illustrious career tomorrow on what could prove a day of goodbyes for AC Milan.

The Rossoneri visit Fiorentina in a vital game for both sides in the race for automatic entry into next season's Champions League.

The third-placed Rossoneri will come out on top if they avoid defeat to a fourth-placed Viola side who have been in close pursuit for much of the season.

A Fiorentina win by a two-goal margin would see Cesare Prandelli's men relegate Milan into the qualifying rounds of Europe's premier club competition.

Although that is the main storyline, there are a number of intriguing subplots with Maldini, Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti and on-loan midfielder David Beckham all set to move on in the summer.

Maldini is to retire after making his 902nd appearance for Milan in a one-club career spanning more than 24 years.

The 40-year-old has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons this week, however, after a small number of ultras disrupted his San Siro farewell with a banner accusing him of disrespecting the Milan fans.

The stylish defender admitted to being a "wounded man'' after the attack and also expressed his disappointment that those responsible were not condemned by the club.

Milan responded by insisting that any comment would only give credence to the protest.

Either way, it has cast a shadow over the retirement of arguably the best defender in Italian football history.

Maldini's departure has led to calls for a complete overhaul of the Milan squad particularly with Ancelotti, who has been accused of placing too much faith in older players, also set to leave, most likely for Chelsea.

Beckham, another 30-something brought in by Ancelotti, is to return to the Los Angeles Galaxy once his short-term deal expires.

The England midfielder's participation at the Stadio Artemio Franchi is in doubt though after he sustained an ankle injury in training in midweek.

While Milan have much to contemplate going into the game, Fiorentina's focus is trained fully on leapfrogging their opponents into third.

Viola midfielder Marco Donadel told the club's official website, it.violachannel.tv: "We are calm. We have a great squad and are aware that what matters during a season is to be ready at the right time.

"We will play with a free mind against Milan. We will have the fans on our side which will give us a boost.''

Defender Juan Manuel Vargas added: "We will play against a great team but we want to finish well in front of our fans.

"It is important to win the match. But what really matters is to think about our game, not about scoring two goals.''

Vargas also paid tribute to Maldini, stating: "In Italy he's an idol, he's known all over the world.

"For me he is a great professional, playing against him has always been my dream, it will be fantastic to face him in the last game of his career.''

ANCELOTTI SPEAK:
FIORENTINA-MILAN
“This is the last press conference of the season, an important press conference, because it arrives on the eve of an absolutely fundamental game for us. You all know how much we want to qualify for the Champions League without the preliminary round.

“We go to play for the qualification against a strong team, on a difficult pitch. We start off from a small advantage which we don’t want to manage. Our objective is to play a game without calculations. This team is used to play these type of games, with these type of pressures. It’s the thing that makes me feel most calm.”

THE SPECULATIONS
“During this week we have only thought about this game and even today. All the rest are just stuff which will be faced after this game."

THE INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS
“I think that the team is fine overall. It’s very positive the call-up for Alessandro Nesta, who is finding his best condition. It’s been 20 days that he’s been working with the team. Nesta can play, because he has proven to have improved a lot. The doubt is tied to the fact that he’s been inactive for a year and this is an important game, therefore playing him from the start could be a risk for him who has not played for a long time.

"For the rest there was a problem for Beckham to his ankle during the week, but it’s been solved. The others are all in good condition. Gattuso from the start? We’ll see, because Beckham has recovered and worked well today. My doubts for the formation are these: Beckham or Gattuso, Pato or Inzaghi. We will not change attitude or tactics.

“The performance of Kaka? From February 7, day of his injury, he has not found the continuity which was usual for him. He has alternated performances, which means that he has difficulties following his recovery. His injury to his foot was serious, as the foot is fundamental for the balance and he is finding it difficult to maintain this balance. On his role? He has modified his position a bit, but Italy is the only place where you speak about specific roles. Kaka is an attacker like the other two who should play more forward. The Italian teams should modify these divisions of the role, as magnificently proven by the teams who arrived in the Champions League final. I think about Rooney: also thanks to his work and sacrifice, the team arrived to the final. Guardiola? He created a work of art, Barcelona is taking advantage of its strength in the youth sector, apart from the champions they already have.”

THE DIP IN FORM FOLLOWING CATANIA
“We did not prepare the last games well, otherwise the account would have already been closed. The reason could be a dip in tension following Catania, when we thought that the target was reached, with nine points more than the Viola. Until there is no mathematical certainty, in football you can never feel tranquil. With Juve we played well, but against Udinese and Roma no. We have an advantage, which we don't want to manage, we want to play an open game, trying to win.

“With regards to the dip in the attackers, it’s true. All of a sudden there was a sudden block which involves a bit everyone. We suffered more goals than usual and we were less prolific than usual. I think that it is all tied to the dip in tension which I mentioned before, following the game against Catania.”

THE BALANCE OF THE SEASON
“We did not always have continuity in the results and on the contrary there were highs and lows. In the first part of the year, we paid for the injuries and the close games. The problem of this final part of the season is especially tied to the psychological factor and the confidence that we had reached the objective. In the past years, the difficulties I faced have never been tied to such important games, because we always did very well. The impression I have is that we did the same thing in the past days. At times we suffered the games with less pressure, which on paper were easier.

“The nicest moment of the season? I think it was the initial part, when we came from two consecutive defeats (against Bologna and Genoa) and we managed to return at the top of the standings, with the win in the first leg of the derby. That was our best period."

THE VIOLA ATTACK
“If I fear Gilardino’s revenge? No, the problem is tied to his qualities. He’s a very dangerous attacker, the problem must be set on these levels. Gila is fearful in the penalty area, good in the aerial game, from the crosses. Fiorentina make good use of the wings, limiting these characteristics for us will mean limiting also the balls to Gilardino."

Paolo Maldini's final Serie A appearance at the San Siro ended on a losing note

Paolo Maldini's final Serie A appearance at the San Siro ended on a losing note as AC Milan slipped to a 3-2 defeat against Roma in a thrilling match.

The visitors twice lost the lead as Massimo Ambrosini scored a second-half brace before being sent off after Francesco Totti's 85th-minute winner.

The result seals Roma's place in the Europa League, while Milan are all-but certain of securing a spot in the Champions League group stages due to a vastly superior goal difference to Fiorentina, who go into the final round of matches three points adrift of a place in the top three.

Full-back John Arne Riise and French forward Jeremy Menez scored Roma's first two.

Pre-match talk revolved around Maldini's impending retirement and the continued speculation regarding manager Carlo Ancelotti's potential move to Chelsea and perhaps unsurprisingly it was Roma who started the game more focused.

With five minutes gone the lively Totti spotted a gap and drilled a shot just wide from 35 yards, before teeing up Philippe Mexes four minutes later, only for the centre-half to miss with a speculative attempt.

Totti continued to try his luck, again shooting from range as the home defence sat a little deep.

While his first attempts had been hopeful, the Italy striker made Rossoneri goalkeeper Dida work after half an hour, forcing a smart save from the Brazilian.

With nine minutes to go before the break, Riise went one better, burying a left-footed free-kick into the top corner from 30 yards.

With fans protesting loudly against owner Silvio Berlusconi and Milan continuing to suffer stage fright on Maldini's big day, things were close to getting even worse, with Mirko Vucinic unlucky not to make it 2-0 seconds before half-time.

Clarence Seedorf replaced David Beckham at the interval but the second half started slowly and it was not until the hour mark that the game truly cranked into gear, Andrea Pirlo lashing a right-footed drive just wide of the post.

Nevertheless, it was not until 15 minutes from time that the second goal was scored, Filippo Inzaghi laying the ball to Ambrosini for him to blast home from the centre of the box.

Parity lasted only five minutes with Menez collecting a Riise pass before burying the ball in the bottom corner.

By now, the action had sped up considerably and it was 2-2 within a minute.

Kaka was the provider this time, with Ambrosini again providing the finish.

The scene was set for Totti, perhaps unfortunate not to already on the scoreboard, and he gleefully claimed it, hammering home a free-kick with five minutes left to seal victory.

Ambrosini, meanwhile, blotted his copy book somewhat when he was sent off in the 88th minute.

Elsewhere, champions Inter went down 2-1 Cagliari despite Zlatan Ibrahimovic's early strike. Goals from Andrea Cossu and Robert Acquafresca sealed the win.

Alessandro Del Piero scored twice as Juventus won 3-0 at Siena.

Gianvito Plasmati scored twice as Atalanta and Palermo drew 2-2, while Lecce and Fiorentina drew 1-1.

Walter Zenga resigned after Catania beat Napoli 3-1 at home while Sampdoria and Udinese 2-2.

Diego Milito netted twice as Genoa beat Torino.

Chievo Verona and Bologna drew 0-0.
IT'S OVER: MILAN-ROMA 2-3

MILAN - It finished Milan-Roma 2-3 at San Siro. In the first half Riise had opened the score with a free kick in the 36th minute. In the second half Massimo Ambrosini scored a brace (75', 81'); the Giallorossi scored through Menez in the 80th minute and Totti in the 84th minute.

MILAN-ROMA: THE OFFICIAL FORMATIONS
5/24/2009
MILAN: Dida; Flamini, Favalli, Maldini, Jankulovski; Beckham, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Kakà; Pato, Inzaghi.
ROMA: Artur; Motta, Mexes, Juan, Riise; Taddei, Brighi, Cassetti; Pizzarro, Vucinic, Totti.

Roma Rusak Pesta Perpisahan Maldini

Maldini Pensiun , Milan Kalah..
Pertandingan terakhir Paolo Maldini di Stadion San Siro berakhir dengan pahit. Bukannya memberi hadiah perpisahan manis, AC Milan malah takluk 2-3 di tangan AS Roma.

Dalam pertandingan yang digelar Minggu (24/5/2009) itu, tiga gol Roma dicetak oleh John Arne Riise, Jeremy Menez dan Francesco Totti. Sedangkan dua gol tuan rumah diborong Massimo Ambrosini.

Tak hanya itu, muka Milan tambah tercoreng ketika mereka mengakhiri pertandingan dengan 10 pemain. Ambrosini diusir wasit akibat melancarkan protes keras menyusul sebuah insiden di kotak penalti Roma.

Kekalahan ini membuat Milan tergusur ke peringkat tiga klasemen sementara oleh Juventus yang pada saat bersamaan menggulung Siena 3-0. Poin kedua tim sama, yakni 71, tetapi Juve unggul head to head.

Jalannya pertandingan
Baru dua menit peluit tanda dimulai pertandingan bertiup, Roma sudah memetik peluang. Umpan terobosan dari Mirko Vucinic kepada Rodrigo Taddei dilanjutkan dengan tendangan yang masih bisa ditahan Dida.

Di menit 35, Roma berhasil membuka keunggulan. Dari set piece tendangan bebas, bola disentuh David Pizarro ke arah Riise yang lantas menggenjot bola dengan kaki kirinya. Gol! 1-0 bagi Roma.

Roma berpeluang memperlebar keunggulan di menti penghabisan babak pertama ketika tendangan Vucinic menguasai bola dalam posisi bebas. Namun tendangan penyerang Montenegro itu tepat di pelukan Dida.

Memasuki babak kedua, Milan bermain lebih agresif. Pada menit ke-63, dari umpan Kaka, Clarence Seedorf menyodok bola tetapi arahnya masih melebar dari gawang Roma yang dijaga Artur.

Lima menit berselang, Artur sukses menggagalkan peluang emas milik Kaka. Dengan kaki kiri, Kaka melepas tendangan deras. Tetapi Artur dengan sigap men-tip bola ke luar lapangan.

Dari sepak pojok itu, Milan kembali mendapat kans. Ambrosini menanduk bola, namun Artur lagi-lagi berjibaku menyelamatkan gawangnya dengan tepisan tangan kanan.

Saat pertandingan memasuki menit 75, Milan akhirnya mendapat gol yang mereka inginkan. Dari crossing mendatar Kaka, bola disambar Filippo Inzaghi tetapi ditepis Artur. Bola liar ditendang masuk oleh Ambrosini.

Menit 80, Roma mengembalikan keunggulan mereka. Menez berhasil menebus kesalahannya pada beberapa menit sebelumnya saat dengan tendangan terukur kaki kirinya ia membobol gawang Dida.

Namun keunggulan itu hanya berusia semenit. Ambrosini kembali menyeimbangkan skor jadi 2-2 ketika ia yang tak terjaga dengan mudah menyontek bola umpan silang datar dari Kaka.

Roma akhirnya mencetak gol kemenangan hanya lima menit sebelum laga usai. Dari tendangan bebas, bola digulirkan Pizarro ke arah Totti yang melepaskan tendangan geledek tanpa mampu dicegah Dida.

Dua menit sebelum laga disudahi, Milan harus kehilangan Ambrosini. Sang gelandang dikartumerah oleh wasit karena memprotes putusannya tidak memberikan penalti saat Gianluca Zambrotta terlihat dilanggar di kotak penalti Roma.

Susunan pemain
Milan: Dida; Flamini, Favalli, Maldini, Jankulovski (Zambrotta 60); Beckham (Seedorf 46), Pirlo, Ambrosini; Kaka; Pato (Ronaldinho 60), Inzaghi

Roma: Artur; Motta, Juan (Diamoutene 69), Mexes, Riise; Cassetti (Filipi 63), Pizarro, Brighi, Taddei; Vucinic (Menez 76), Totti

Tifosi garis keras Rossoneri bahkan menodai laga yang seharusnya sakral itu dengan membentangkan spanduk kontroversial.

Maldini yang tahun ini berusia 40 tahun sudah menyatakan niatnya untuk pensiun di akhir musim nanti. Kalau laga di pekan ke-37 menjadi sangat emosional, itu karena laga kontra Roma tersebut akan menjadi yang terakhir buat sang kapten di depan pendukungnya sendiri, Stadion Giuseppe Meazza.

Tapi yang terjadi di atas kemudian sangatlah tidak mengenakkan karena Rossoneri dipaksa bertekut lutut dengan skor 2-3 atas tamunya. Kondisi tersebut diperparah dengan ulah sebagian pendukung Milan justru menodai pertandingan yang harusnya menjadi penghormatan terakhir dari Milanisti buat Maldini.

Diberitakan Channel4, saat Maldini melakukan lap of honour usai peluit panjang dibunyikan, fans yang berkumpul di Curva Sud membentangkan spanduk besar yang isinya sama sekali tidak menunjuk apresiasi terhadap pengabdian sang kapten namun justru bernada melecehkan.

Bertuliskan angka enam dalam ukuran yang besar, di bagian bawah spanduk tertulis kalimat: "Hanya ada satu kapten: Franco Baresi". Tindakan fans garis keras itu tak berhenti sampai di situ karena kemudian terdengan suara siulan yang ditujukan pada pesepakbola yang menghabiskan seluruh karirnya bersama Milan itu.

Meski begitu, Maldini tetap dapat penghormatan penuh dari penonton di sisi satdion yang lain yang memberikan standing ovation.

"Perayaan Maldnini tak bisa dirusak oleh sekelompok kecil pemrotes, itu seperti sebuah titik di tengah lautan cinta dan hormat untuk pria hebat itu. Jadi sekelompok kecil orang yang tidak setuju itu tak akan mengubah apapun," ungkap Carlo Ancelotti.

Kata Mereka tentang Maldini ....

Berikut Komentar Beberapa Nama Tenar tentang Maldini
Giuseppe Signori
(mantan rekan Maldini di tim nasional Italia periode 1990-an)
Maldini adalah pemain yang luar biasa. Akhir pekan ini, sepak bola Italia dengan hati berat harus melepas sang legenda sejati. Ia adalah pemain yang ajaib dan berhak untuk mendapat gelar Ballon d'Or. Seandainya saya bisa, saya akan memberikannya satu,"

Leonardo Nascimento, direktur teknik Milan, mantan pemain Rossoneri periode 1997-2001.
"Maldini adalah wajah Milan. Paolo adalah legenda hidup, sebuah kisah yang unik. Di sepanjang karirnya, Paolo telah melakoni peran utama, dengan talentanya, kepribadian, serta pandangannya kepada sepak bola, ia menunjukkan etos kerja keras dan dedikasi penuh,"

Stefano Nava pemain Milan periode 1990-91 dan 1992-95.
"Saya sungguh beruntung bisa mengenalnya dan tumbuh bersamanya, baik di dalam maupun di luar lapangan. Ketika itu, kami bersama-sama naik bis untuk latihan dari Piazzale Lotto, tempat di mana kami belajar,"

Alessandro Melli, memperkuat Milan di tahun 1995, hanya tampil enam kali bersama Il Diavolo Rosso dan hanya kurang dari setengah tahun berada di Milan.
"Hal yang membuat saya berkesan adalah kepribadiannya. Saya memang jarang tampil untuk Milan, namun Maldini selalu menjadi orang pertama yang menyapa dan mengajak saya bicara,"

Alessandro Del Piero, kapten Juventus.
"Maldini lebih hebat daripada Franco Baresi. Ia adalah nomor satu yang ada dia antara pemain-pemain hebat dan pemain kelas dunia. Paolo adalah contoh yang sempurna,"

Bye Paolo!!

Bye Paolo, Bye Our Legend..

Last Saturday, May 16 2009, Paolo Maldini, indicated by many as one of the best Milan players of this final part of the season, played at Udine his 900th official game with the Rossoneri’s shirt.

The other important dates of Paolo are many. November 12, 1986, made his debut with the Italian Under 21 national team, whereas on May 15 1988 he won at Como (the same stadium of his first goal in Serie A, a year and a half earlier) his first Scudetto with Milan. 1989 is the special year of the Finals, both for Paolo Maldini and Milan: on May 24 of that year, the Rossoneri’s team, after 20 years, returns European Champions as they beat Steaua Bucharest 4-0: on December 7 arrives the European Super Cup at San Siro with a goal of Evani against Barcelona; on December 17 it is Evani again who scores the winner in the World Club Cup at Tokyo against Nacional Medellini. 1990 is sweet and sour: on May 23 Milan win the Champions Cup again in Vienna against Benfica thanks to a goal by Frank Rijkaard; on July 3 Italy is defeated in the semi-final of the world cup by Argentina; on December 17 Milan returns world champion in Tokyo against Olimpia Asuncion, but Paolo hurts himself to a shoulder.

After two other Scudetti won and also Italian Super Cups, there is France on the horizon. It’s a France who gives and takes. On May 26 1993 in Munich, Olympique Marseille beats Milan in the Champions Cup final, but on December 28 of the same year, the first great recognition for Paolo. In Paris, precisely from the great newspaper L’Equipe, arrives the title of Player of the Year.

On April 17 1994 Milan won its 14th Scudetto, despite equalizing 2-2 at San Siro against Udinese. But it’s not over: on May 18 1994 with Paolo vice-captain, due to the absence of Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta, Milan won the Champions Cup beating the favourites Barcelona, coached by Johan Cruyff. Almost two months later, on July 17, there is another final but less enthusiastic. It’s the Pasadena-Los Angeles, where the Azzurri coached by Arrigo Sacchi lose the World Cup final of USA 94 from the penalty shoot-out against Brazil.

1995 sees Paolo winning the European Super Cup at San Siro against Arsenal on February 8, losing the Champions Cup final in Vienna 1-0 against Ajax of Rijkaard, Seedorf and Kluivert, and reach 500 official games in career with Milan and the national team. This happens in the Uefa Cup, in a game between Milan and Sparta Prague at San Siro, but Paolo still finds the way to celebrate in the league three days later, on November 26, scoring a goal at San Siro in Milan-Piacenza 3-0.

Paolo’s story in the European scene started in the Uefa Cup in 1985, at Auxerre in France. Then on September 7 1988, the debut in the Champions Cup in Bulgaria: Vitocha Sofia-Milan 0-2. The 50th game arrived on February 2 1994: Milan-Parma 0-2 and European Super Cup won by the Emiliani, a healthy defeat which then stirs Milan and a few months later they win the Scudetto-Champions Cup double. From these first 100 games, the most fun win arrived in Denmark (6-0 for Milan) on October 20 1993 at the Parken stadium against Copenhagen.

On March 15 2003, Paolo Maldini plays his 500th match in Serie A. For such an important recurrence, Milan is expected on Saturday evening at Reggio Calabria. The Amaranti’s public, warm and enthusiastic like few others, at the moment of his warming up, chant his name and applaud Paolo Maldini.

On May 28 2003, Paolo raises to the sky of Manchester in England, like his father did exactly 40 years before, the Champions Cup. The wins do not stop: on May 31 Paolo is happy to have won his first Coppa Italia of his career, whereas on August 29 2003, against Porto of Jose Mourinho, a goal by Andriy Shevchenko allows Milan to triumph in the European Super Cup in Montecarlo. On December 14 2003, Boca Juniors beat Milan in the Club World Cup in Yokohama, but in the final Milan will make up for this defeat on December 16 2007, beating 4-2 and without the penalties the first Fifa Club World Cup won by a European club. In between many other things: May 2 2004, Milan-Roma 1-0, 17th Scudetto; August 21 2004, Milan–Lazio 3-0, Italian Super Cup won; May 25, Milan-Liverpool 5-6 from the penalty shoot-outs, Istanbul; May 23 2007, Milan-Liverpool 2-1, Athens; August 31 2007, Milan-Sevilla 3-1, Europeane Super Cup won.

Here are other important numbers of the Captain:

THE 33 GOALS SCORED BY MALDINI
• SERIE A: 29
• CHAMPIONS CUP/CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 3
• COPPA ITALIA: 1

THE 56 DERBY GAMES OF MALDINI
. SERIE A: 42
• CHAMPIONS CUP/CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 4
• COPPA ITALIA: 7
• TROFEO BERLUSCONI: 1
. FRIENDLIES: 2

Kostum baru AC Milan di Musim 2008/2009

Pada pertandingan vs ROMA ,sekaligus perpisahan Maldini di San siro, Milan akan menggunakan kostum baru , yang akan terus dipakai di musim depan 2009/2010.
Kostum ini tidak begitu jauh berbeda dengan kostum musim sebelumnya.
Perbedaan mencolok adalah leher berwarna putih..
Dan pada ujung lengan juga berwarna putih..
Dan ada perubahan font pada nomor dan nama pemain di bagian belakang..
Bagian hitam di bawah ketiak juga tambah lebar..
Seedorf jadi tambah bersih kalau pakai kostum ini..
Mudah mudahan dengan kostum baru, semangat baru akan muncul..
Dan pemain baru juga pastinya.. Harus cuci gudangdeh musim depan..
Setuju ngga?
FORZA MILAN!

Full of Goodbyes in the San Siro ?

AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini will bid farewell to the San Siro faithful against AS Roma on Sunday (1300 GMT) in what may also be coach Carlo Ancelotti's last home match in charge of the Serie A club.

It will be an emotional occasion for defender Maldini, whose trophy haul since making his league debut for the club in 1985 aged 16 includes seven league titles and five European Cups, before he retires after the season's final game at Fiorentina on May 31.

Former Milan midfielder Ancelotti said his future would be decided after this weekend's clash amid intense speculation that he will take over at Chelsea next season.

According to some reports, he may even announce his departure if second-placed Milan ensure automatic qualification for next season's Champions League on Sunday.

Former Netherlands coach Marco van Basten, Milan director Leonardo, Cagliari boss Massimiliano Allegri and former Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard are the favourites to take his place.

Several players have said they hope Ancelotti stays after leading them to Champions League glory in 2003 and 2007 and the league title in 2004.

"If the boss goes, these will have been wonderful years anyway," Italy midfielder Gennaro Gattuso told the club's in-house TV channel.

"Hope is the last thing to die though. The team is with him. He has been our coach for many years and a special relationship has developed.

"The club and the boss will have to reach an agreement and let's hope they do."

Maldini agreed. "The whole club is behind him," the former Italy captain said this week.

Goodbyes may also be in the air for visitors Roma, with coach Luciano Spalletti reportedly among those in the running to become Juventus boss next year following Claudio Ranieri's sacking on Monday.

Sixth-placed Roma need a win to help fend off competition from Palermo, who are two points behind in seventh, for a place in next season's Europa League.

Caretaker Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara wants to end a seven-match winless run in the league at Siena to keep the Turin club in third place and on course for automatic Champions League qualification, which would boost his chances of landing the job permanently.

Fiorentina, who are one point them behind in fourth -- good for a place in the Champions League qualifying round -- visit virtually doomed bottom side Lecce.

Inter Milan, who retained their title last weekend, travel to mid-table Cagliari on Sunday.

The season's penultimate matches will be played at the same time on Sunday (1300 GMT).

Lazio have already played theirs, winning 1-0 against 19th-placed Reggina on Wednesday to seal the southern club's relegation to Serie B.

The match was brought forward to give UEFA time to prepare Rome's Stadio Olimpico for next week's Champions League final.

Stay With Us Carletto!!

Most of AC Milan Player Want ancelotti stay with Milan.
Captain Paolo Maldini insists that coach Carlo Ancelotti has the full backing of his players to remain at the San Siro.

Ancelotti has one year left on his contract with AC Milan but there has been constant media speculation in Italy and England that he will be in charge of Chelsea by the start of next season.

''We are all hoping Ancelotti will stay,'' said Maldini. ''With him in charge, the group has been really good.

''We have won so many titles and our quality of life with him has been great.

''But in order to go forward, there needs to be three parties that want it: the players, the coach and the club.''

Ancelotti joined the club in 2001 and is the longest serving manager in Serie A.

However, Milan have endured another disappointing league season despite not having the usual pressures of Champions League football this season.

The Rossoneri suffered an early UEFA Cup exit and also never mounted a serious challenge to Inter Milan in the race to the Scudetto.

Their city rivals won the title for the fourth consecutive time.

Nesta Kembali Musim Depan....

Milanisti khawatir dengan kondisi Nesta Musim ini.. Bahkan, Nesta sempat dikhawatirkan pensiun dini akibat cedera yang tak kunjung pulih, Alesandro Nesta menunjukkan perkembangan yang menggembirakan setelah dia mulai ikut berkatih penuh bersama rekan-rekannya di AC Milan.

Sepanjang musim ini belum sekalipun Nesta tampil membela Milan di berbagai ajang. Cedera punggung yang sudah membebatnya sejak akhir musim lalu membuat bek 33 tahun itu selalu berada di ruang perawatan menyembuhkan cedera yang tak kunjung pulih.

Isu tak sedap bahkan sempat berhembus yang menyatakan kalau mantan pemain Lazio itu akan dipaksa mengakhir karirnya lebih cepat. Namun masa depan mantan pesepakbola internasional Italia itu sepertinya masih akan bertahan beberapa musim lagi karena kondisinya kini berangsur pulih.

Sekarang, Nesta sudah terlihat kembali berlatih pada awal pekan ini. Tak cuma skedar latihan memulihkan kondisi pasca cedera karena dia sudah bisa bergabung dengan skuad Rossoneri lainnya untuk menjalani latihan penuh.

Belum ada pernyataan resmi dari pihak Milan terkait kabar positif ini. Namun pihak Diavolo Rosso diyakini tak akan mengambil risiko dengan menurunkan Nesta di dua pertandingan sisa musim ini demi memastikan kondisnya benar-benar pulih di musim depan.

Maldini (Mungkin) Tidak Akan Melatih!

Kemana Maldini setelah pensiun ?
Ternyata, ia sendiri pun masih bingung.

Setelah 25 tahun, Maldini memang akhirnya mundur. Pria berusia 40 tahun itu menanggalkan kostum merah-hitam AC Milan yang menjadi satu-satunya klub yang ia bela sejak remaja.

Berkecimpung di dunia sepakbola dalam tempo 25 tahun jelas bukan waktu yang sebentar. Maka, Maldini pun tidak tahu mau mengerjakan apa seusai ia undur diri dari hiruk pikuk sepakbola.

"Saya ingin 'mencabut colokan' sebentar saja. Setidaknya hingga September," kata Maldini kepada France Football yang dikutip Channel4. "Saya akan memutuskan akan mengerjakan apa setelah istirahat itu."

"Akankah saya tetap berada di dunia sepakbola? Saya tidak tahu. Saya akan mempertimbangkan jalan terbaik apa yang akan saya tempuh. Itu tergantung kepada tawaran yang datang," imbuhnya.

Ayah Maldini, Cesare, menjadi pelatih seusai purna sebagai pemain. Akankah Maldini junior mengikuti jejak ayahnya menjadi peracik strategi?

"Akankah saya? Tidak. Melatih adalah pekerjaan yang mempersatukan semua hal yang saya tidak suka dari sepakbola," pungkas Maldini tegas.

ALL OF PAOLO MALDINI'S DATES....

ALL OF PAOLO MALDINI'S DATES
20 January 1985 - Serie A debut
21 August 1985 - Coppa Italia debut
18 September 1985 - European Cups debut
12 November 1986 - Under 21 National team debut
4 January 1987 - First goal in Serie A
11 February 1987 - First goal with Under 21 National TEam
28 October 1987 - Olympic national team debut
31 March 1988 - National team debut
19 February 1989 - 100th match in Serie A
4 October 1992 - 200th match in Serie A
20 January 1993 - First goal with National team
17 February 1995 - 300th match in Serie A
29 March 1997 - Symbolic goal of Paolo Maldini with the national team: at Triese with the Azzurri coached by Cesare Maldini
25 April 1999 - 400th match in Serie A
15 March 2003 - 500th match in Serie A
22 March 2003 - 501st match in Serie A
13 May 2007 - 600th match in Serie A
16 February 2008 - 1000th official game between Milan and national team
16 May 2009 - 900th official match with Milan shirt

DINHO tetap di Milan!

Saya percaya Dingo tetap akan bertahan di Milan musim depan..
Skillnya masih mumpuni dan patut dihargai..
Tak sering dimainkan sebagai starter di musim pertamanya di Milan, Ronaldinho diisukan bakal meninggalkan San Siro dan hijrah ke Inggris. Tapi yang bersangkutan mengaku masih ingin di 'Negeri Pizza'.

Hanya 16 kali Ronaldinho tampil bersama Milan dari menit pertama, dan secara umum pun permainannya dinilai tidak berimbas besar pada kekuatan timnya. Kedatangan David Beckham membuatnya lebih akrab dengan bangku cadangan di paruh kedua musim.

Akhir pekan lalu beredar rumor bahwa mantan pemain terbaik dunia tiga kali itu sedang diincar serius oleh Manchester City. Soal ini, Dinho mengeluarkan pernyataan bantahan.

"Saya akan tetap di sini, siapapun yang akan melatih tim ini musim depan. Memang benar, saya tidak senang karena saat ini tidak sering dimainkan. Tapi saya tak punya masalah dengan (Carlo) Ancelotti," tuturnya seperti dikutip dari Channel4.

Saat dikatakan pada bos besar Silvio Berlusconi pun tidak puas dengan penampilannya yang terbatas, Ronaldinho menjawab simpel: "Ya, sama-sama toh?"

Mengenai alasannya masih ingin bertahan di Milan, pemain yang dibeli dari Barcelona itu mengatakan dirinya langsung suka dengan tifosi Rossoneri, serta menyimpan ambisi untuk mempersembahkan titel Scudetto, yang belum pernah lagi diraih Milan sejak 2004.

"Saya merasa enak di sini, dengan tim ini, para petinggi, dan fans. Tidak terlintas di benakku untuk menanggalkan kostum ini."

"Saya berharap menjadi juara Italia bersama Milan dan saya menyesal kami tidak bisa merengkuhnya musim ini. Tapi saya berjanji, tahun depan kami akan memenangi Seri A dan Liga Champions," tandas Dinho

Milan vs Roma : Paolo Maldini's Last Appearance in San Siro

Milan vs Roma, Milanisti will say goodbye for Maldini..
This will be Paolo Maldini's Last Appearance in San Siro
Crossroads of emotions and ambitions on Sunday at San Siro. against the other team most loved by Nils Liedholm, Roma, Paolo Maldini will battle it out for an important result, and the San Siro will be only for him.

For him Sunday afternoon's game is the best. Man of substance, allergic to the catwalks, Paolo Maldini can combine to his last appearance at San Siro a real game, very real, extremely real. Against Roma, the stake is very high. Not imposing as the human and sports story of the Milan Captain, but surely fundamental for the resut for the Rossoneri's squad to the most important European competition.

All the Milan fans, whom know very well the strength and concreteness of Paolo, know perfectly how Maldini will spend his week: no thought about the emotions he might have on Sunday, total concentration on Milan-Roma and on the sports significance. But the captain must know that the entire stadium on Sunday afternoon, will be looking forward to celebrate the final whistle with the hopeful positive result, so that we can funally think exclusively about him.

Acmilan.com's week will dedicate ample space, with a service every day, to all the numbers of a simply examplary career.

PAOLO MALDINI'S TROPHIES
· 7 SCUDETTI
· 5 CHAMPIONS CUP/CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
· 3 INTERCONTINENTALI CUPS/FIFA WORLD CUP
· 5 EUROPEAN CUPS
· 5 ITALIAN SUPER CUPS
· 1 COPPA ITALIA

PAOLO MALDINI'S RECORDS
· MILAN APPEARANCES IN OFFICIAL GAMES: 900
· APPEARANCES IN SERIE A: 646
· APPEARANCES IN UEFA CLUB COMPETITIONS: 174
· APPEARANCES WITH THE AZZURRI: 126
· INTERNATIONAL TROPHIES: 13
· CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINALS: 8
· QUICKEST GOAL IN A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL: 53’’, ISTANBUL 2005
· TOGETHER WITH CESARE, ONLY FATHER AND SON TO WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AS CAPTAINS, WITH THE SAME SHIRT (CESARE 1963, PAOLO 2003 AND 2007)

Milan -Udinese Player Rating

Here the player rating from Udinese vs AC milan

Handanovic: 7.0- After conceding five goals to Milan earlier in the season, the towering Slovenian international had only a handful of saves to make this evening although he will be disappointed about not being able to keep a clean sheet.

Isla: 6.5- A calm and composed performance by the Chilean defender who had something of a relaxing evening as Flamini and Jankulovski were unable to make too many forward runs.

Zapata: 8.0- The Colombian stalwart patrolled the back line with the expertise of a four-star General, and even chipped in with a goal. What more can you ask from your centre-back?

Felipe: 7.0- Did an admirable job of policing the centre of the defence alongside Zapata. Did not give Pato a sniff of goal all evening long.

Pasquale: 7.0- He was having a sensational match until he was booked for a late tackle on Kaka in the 25th minute and he petered off a bit. Still earned his paycheque with a solid performance.

Inler: 7.0- A plethora of clubs are vying for his services and it’s easy to tell why as he did all of the dirty work without fuss or complaint this evening.

D’Agostino: 8.0- Could be the most in form player in Serie A at the moment and continued his torrid goalscoring streak with his sixth goal in his last five matches.

Asamoah: 6.5- The Ghanaian midfielder did all that was asked of him tonight and was the catalyst of some lightning-quick Udinese counterattacks.

Pepe: 7.0- Showed some flashes of brilliance out on the wing and his free-kick deliveries were dangerous this evening.

Quagliarella: 7.0- Will he stay or will he go? The Udinese faithful hope he will stay put although he could not buy a goal this evening. Was robbed by Dida on a couple of occasions and hit the post late on.

Floro Flores: 7.0- Was very fortunate to win a penalty for his team as it looked like he lost his balance on his own, but nonetheless he looked dangerous whenever he touched the ball, and gave Senderos fits this evening.

SUBS: Sanchez (72”) 6.5, Obodo (84”) 6.0, Lukovic (87”) NA


AC MILAN

Dida: 7.0- The much-maligned goalkeeper made some wonderful saves to keep the scoreline respectable. No chance on either goal.

Zambrotta: 5.0- The Italian international was anonymous for long stretches of the game and looked like he didn’t want anything to do with tonight’s match. A big disappointment.

Maldini: 6.0- The old Italian warhorse was a step behind the Udinese forwards all evening long and conceded the penalty which opened the scoring.

Senderos: 6.0- The clumsy Swiss defender did not have the necessary pace to keep up with Pepe and Floro Flores tonight.

Jankulovski: 6.0- Did not manage to gallop forward as he usually does and did not give his side any options in attack on the left flank.

Flamini: 6.0- Was handed a midfield role this evening but could not make any kind of impact on the match and was sacrificed for Pipo Inzaghi.

Pirlo: 5.0- Was guilty of giving away possession much too easily in the early going and played like a shadow of his former self.

Ambrosini: 6.5- Took a shameful flop inside of the area in an attempt to win a penalty in the second half but managed to grab a late consolation goal.

Seedorf: 5.0- The Dutchman was predictable whenever he received the ball and lacked the vision to be an effective force tonight. Was jeered by the Milan travelling supporters when he was substituted in the 60th minute.

Kaka: 6.0- Was able to run at the Udinese back-line on a couple of occasions and had a chance before the half-time whistle but could not muster up anything dangerous until deep into injury time when he provided the cross that set up Ambrosini’s goal.

Pato: 5.0- The Brazilian starlet was disappointing as he did not come close to troubling Handanovic this evening.

SUBS: Inzaghi (46”) 5.0, Ronaldinho (60”) 6.0, Shevchenko (73”) 5.5

Milan kalah dari Udinese, Inter Pantas Juara

Milan kalah, Inter Berpesta....
Skuad Inter Milan langsung melakukan pesta setelah AC Milan menelan kekalahan dari Udinese. Sementara di tengah kota Milan, para fans Inter pun sudah mulai berpesta.

Tempat latihan Inter di Pinetina langsung ramai pada hari Sabtu (16/5/2009) malam wakitu setempat, setelah wasit yang memimpin laga Udinese vs Milan meniupkan peluit panjang. Para pemain, pelatih dan presiden Inter melakukan pesta kecil atas sukses mereka meraih Scudetto.

Kekalahan Milan atas Udinese memastikan I Nerazzurri merebut gelar juara tanpa perlu bermain. Mourinho pun menerima skuadnya merayakan sukses tersebut meski hari telah larut.

"Saya sedikit marah, dalam pantauan saya tim seharusnya pergi ke tempat tidur. Mereka memutuskan untuk melakukan selebrasi dan saya mengerti keinginan mereka," ujar Mourinho seperti dilansir Reuters.

Presiden Inter Massimo Moratti pun bergabung bersama para pemainnya untuk merayakan kesuksesan Inter menjadi juara Seri A empat kali berturut-turut. Para fans juga mendatangi komplek latihan tersebut.

Perayaan juga dilakukan oleh para Internisti di Piazza Duomo di tengah kota Milan. Mereka bernyanyi dan juga menggelar bendera raksasa Inter guna merayakan keberhasilan skuadnya meraih gelar Scudetto ke-17 kalinya

Meski belum bermain Inter Milan telah memastikan merebut gelar Scudetto. Hal itu menyusul kekalahan pesaingnya, AC Milan, dari Udinese dengan skor 0-2.

Kekalahan tersebut membuat Milan sudah tak mungkin mengejar poin Inter karena dengan sisa dua pertandingan saja mereka telah terpaut tujuh angka. Itu tidak termasuk jika nanti malam Nerazzurri meraih poin saat berhadapan dengan Siena di Giuseppe Meazza.

Dengan demikian pertandingan tengah malam nanti akan lebih menjadi pesta Inter untuk merayakan suksesnya menjadi juara Italia empat musim berturut-turut, atau yang ke-17 secara keseluruhan.

Bermain di kandangnya sendiri Udinese sudah menekan sejak menit-menit awal. Mereka pun memetik buahnya dengan memperoleh hadiah penalti di menit 31, menyusul pelanggaran Paolo Maldini terharap Antonio Floro Flores. Gaetano D'Agostino melakukan tugasnya sebagai eksekutor dan membuat Udinese memimpin.

Gol kedua Udinese juga terjadi karena kelengahan lini belakang Milan mengantisipasi bola sepak pojok. Cristian Zapata yang mendapatkan bola segera menuntaskannya dengan mengarahkan bola ke tiang jauh di menit ke-49.

Milan terlambat untuk bangkit. Massimo Ambrosini baru dapat mencetak gol di menit-menit akhir pertandingan dan itu tidak cukup bagi Milan menunda pesta kemenangan Inter.

Susunan Pemain:

Udinese: Handanovic; Isla, Zapata, Felipe, Pasquale; Inler, D'Agostino (Obodo 84), Asamoah; Pepe (Lukovic 87), Quagliarella, Floro Flores (Sanchez 73)

Milan: Dida; Zambrotta, Senderos, Maldini, Jankulovski; Flamini (Inzaghi 46), Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf (Ronaldinho 60); Kaka, Pato (Shevchenko 73)

Milan 1 - Udinese 1 , Inter Scudetto !!!!!

It finished Udinese-Milan 2-1, in the second anticipated match of the 36th matchday of Serie A at the Stadio Friuli of Udine. After D'Agostino's penalty goal in the 31st minute of the first half, Zapata made it 2-0 in the 49th minute, and Massimo Ambrosini made it 2-1 with a header from Ambrosini.

At the Friuli stadium Milan face Udinese to gain the three points to access mathematically the next Champions League. The formation is the usual one with two strikers plus the playmaker, Dida between the posts, after missing the match against Juventus; defence with Zambrotta, Senderos, Maldini and Jankulovski; in midfield, Flamini, Pirlo, and Ambrosini; up front, supported by Seedorf, Kaká and Pato who started again after almost a month. Inzaghi started from the bench, as did Ronaldinho and Shevchenko. Captain Maldini celebrated his 900th match with Milan's shirt.

As for Udinese, coach Pasquale Marino preferred Floro Flores to Sanchez. For the rest, compared to the pre-match expectations, 10 players out of 11 were confirmed in the Bianconeri's formation with Handanovic, Isla, Zapata, Felipe (who returned after skipping the match with Lazio), Pasquale, Inler, D'Agostino, Asamoah, Pepe, Quagliarella, and Floro Flores.

In the early stages of the first half there were few chances at the Friuli. In the 16th minute chance for Milan, after a series of passes in the area, rounded off by Pato's header for Ambrosini who shot it wide. In the 19th minute a nice turn and shot by Inler, deflected for a corner by the Rossoneri's defence. In the 22nd minute there was some danger for the Milan goal, with Quagliarella's header blocked in two attempts by Dida. In the 30th minute referee Rizzoli awarded a very debatable penalty to Udinese for an alleged tug by Maldini on Floro Flores. D'Agostino took the penalty and did not miss: the ball went under the crossbar to Dida's right, and for the Udinese playmaker it was the sixth goal in the last six games. The first half ended on a slow rhythm, with an overly inert Milan unable to make themselves dangerous.

A change for Milan at the start of the second half: Inzaghi in for Flamini, Seedorf retreats in midfield, Kaká moves behind the strikers in the playmaker's position.

But immediately at the start of the second half (4') came the cold shower for the Rossoneri thanks to Zapata's readiness, as he poked the ball in from close range after a corner kick move and an involuntary assist by Maldini. Just before, a dubious episode in the Friulani's area: Pato played it in for Ambrosini who fell, but Rizzoli said play on. Before that, Pepe hit a free kick that went inches wide.

In the 15th minute Inzaghi scored but it was clearly offside and then came a second change for Milan: Seedorf out, Ronaldinho in to compose a highly offensive 4-2-3-1, with Kaká on the right, Pato on the left, and the Gaucho in the center behind Superpippo. In the 20th minute a nice run by D'Agostino, who won the ball in midfield and made a run towards Dida's goal: the Brazilian blocked it, not without problems.

In the 28th minute third and last change for Milan, with Shevchenko taking the place of Pato, and the first for Udinese: Floro Flores out, Sanchez in. The final part of the match was exciting: the Rossoneri pushed, in injury time Inzaghi came very close to scoring, then Ambrosini scored with a splendid header on an assist by Kaká, and a few seconds later Quagliarella also hit the post. It finished 2-1 for Udinese and Milan's positive run, that started on 8 March, came to an end.

UDINESE-MILAN: OFFICIAL FORMATIONS
5/16/2009

Udinese: Handanovic; Isla, Zapata, Felipe, Pasquale; Inler, D'Agostino, Asamoah; Pepe, Quagliarella, Floro Flores.

Milan: Dida; Zambrotta, Senderos, Maldini, Jankulovski; Flamini, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf; Kakà, Pato.

Udinese AC Milan - Preview

AC Milan visit Udinese tomorrow at the end of another week of rumour and counter-rumour surrounding the future of coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti is reported to be on his way to Chelsea at the end of the season with his position at the San Siro seemingly undermined by a midweek outburst from club owner Silvio Berlusconi, in which he reportedly blamed the former Italy defender for the club's failure to win the Scudetto.

Berlusconi, who is also the Italian prime minister, has since denied making the remarks but there is no doubt Ancelotti's long association with the Rossoneri is in danger of ending in acrimony.

Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has attempted to quell the unrest by denying rumours Ancelotti and Berlusconi will meet over the weekend.

"Carlo Ancelotti is calm and doing well, there's no problem,'' he told www.acmilan.com.

"I reiterate that there won't be any meetings between him and president Berlusconi who at the moment is exclusively fulfilling his role of prime minister.''

Unlike Berlusconi, who questioned Ancelotti's tactics and team selections, Galliani believes injuries are the reason why Milan did not present more of a challenge to an Inter Milan side on the cusp of clinching a fourth successive Serie A crown.

"I continue to believe that Milan's squad is absolutely competitive,'' he added.

"The numerous injuries stopped us this year. For example (Alessandro) Nesta and (Kakha) Kaladze never played a minute together this year.

"Those were the only problems this season and there are no tactical divisions in Milan's management.

"Clearly there can be differing ideas in a group of people, but it's absolutely normal.''

Despite the off-field issues, the second-placed Rossoneri are already guaranteed of a place in next season's Champions League although a win tomorrow will see them definitely enter the tournament at the group stage.

The visitors will be missing two key players, however, with Giuseppe Favalli, who was sent-off in last weekend's draw with Juventus, and England midfielder David Beckham suspended.

Eighth-placed Udinese have revenge on their minds as they go about chasing the three points that will maintain their push for a Europa League spot.

The north-east club were hammered 5-1 at the San Siro in December, a memory defender Cristian Zapata is desperate to erase with a win tomorrow.

Zapata told the club's official website, www.udinese.it: "The five-goal defeat from the first game still hurts.

"On Saturday we must play a great game and try to win. Everything depends on us, we must believe and remain concentrated for all three games between now and the end of the season.

"We must give our best until the end. If we continue like this everything is possible, we must play every game to our best.''

Mana Golmu Pato ?

Sudah 2 bulan pato tanpa gol.. Apa karena Inzaghi lebih sering diturunkan? bisa jadi..

Performa Alexandre Pato sepanjang musim ini tak bisa dibilang buruk karena dia sudah mencetak 14 gol. Tapi "Si Bebek" kini mulai penasaran karena sudah dua bulan tak bikin gol.

Terakhir kali Pato merayakan gol atas namanya sendiri adalah saat dia AC Milan memetik kemenangan 5-1 ketika menghadapi Siena dalam laga yang dihelat 15 Maret lalu, di mana dia menyumbang dua gol. Namun setelah itu namanya menghilang dari daftar pencetak gol Rossoneri, yang belakangan lebih sering diisi Filippo Inzaghi.

Sebagai konsekuensinya, Pato jarang bermain penuh selama 90 menit untuk Milan, dan bahkan mulai sering jadi cadangan. Kondisi tersebut disadari betul oleh striker berkebangsaan Brasil itu, hal mana membuat dia bertekad menyudahi puasa golnya saat Diavolo Rosso menghadapi Udinese akhir pekan ini.

"Benar sekali kalau saya belum mencetak gol sudah cukup lama, tapi dalam kondisi apapun saya menikmati seluruh waktu saya di sini, dan saya selalu memberikan segalanya buat tim ini. Saya akan melakukan yang terbaik untuk mengubah kondisi tersebut saat menghadapi Udinese," janji Pato seperti diberitakan Goal.

Soal keputusan Ancelotti yang mulai jarang memainkannya dalam starting eleven, Pato mengaku bisa menerima hal tersebut karena itu merupakan akibat yang harus diterima menyusul menurunnya produktivitas.

"Pelatih memutuskan tidak memainkan saya di beberapa pertandingan belakangan ini, dan itu adalah sesuatu yang harus saya hormati. Saya masih menghormatinya, karena dia memberi pengaruh besar dalam perjalanan karir saya. Saya harap kami bisa memberi kemenangan buatnya, karena dia memang layak mendapatkannya," pungkas Pato.

Meskipun menang menghadapi Udinese, peluang Milan meraih scudetto akan praktis habis jika 24 jam setelahnya Inter Milan juga bisa meraih hasil maksimal saat menjamu Siena. Yang bisa diraih Rossoneri kini hanya mempertahankan posisi dua dari kajaran Juventus yang saat ini tertinggal empat poin di belakangnya.

Milan Lab - Hi Tech For Success..

MilanLab is the High Tech Scientific Research Centre set up by A.C. Milan with strong motivation, operating since July 2002, and is based inside the Milanello Sporting Centre. The purpose is to optimise the psycho-physical management of the athletes by entrusting this task to MilanLab, which represents the ideal combination of science, technology, IT, cybernetics and psychology..

Objectives

MilanLab contributes strongly to optimising the team's results. The objectives of the studies and the research are to enable athletes to achieve the most optimum performance possible, to reduce the risks of injury and to act in the decision making to support the technical staff and club hierarchy in the management of human resources.
The health of the players: the better the more valuable

The primary object of MilanLab is the protection of each player. Psycho-physical well-being of players is a more valuable asset than that of a football team as a whole, in that those who take the pitch are more important from a sporting point of view than from an economic point of view.

The systematic approach: the organisation as the sum of its components

MilanLab takes its work forward through the development of the concept of the 'systematic vision' of a football team. Whatever the organisation, be it a company or a football team, it can be considered an 'entity' composed of various sub-systems which work in conjunction to determine the overall result of the primary system. The overall productivity of the system is provided from the input of each single sub-system that comprises it: to maximise results as a whole it is necessary therefore to optimise the productivity of every related sub-system, collecting the greatest amount of information from all the areas involved in the process.
The functional levels

At the base of Milanlab there is a dominating vision of understanding health as a total state of physical, mental and social well-being that is dependent on the balancing of three principal functional levels: (neuro)structural, biochemical and mental that together all represent the area of participation.
(Neuro)structural area: is based on the chiropractor approach that emphasizes the intrinsic ability of the body to recover without drugs or surgical intervention.
Biochemical area: the body is considered to be a physio-chemical-biological entity, with focus on the bio-chemical changes occurring in the body during exercise.
Mental area: the study and monitoring of the psychological state of the athlete taking advantage of the Mind Room, a glassed-in facility that helps players relax and relieve stress. The mental training lasts 20 minutes and takes place after every training session. The programme enables up to eight players at a time to make use of comfortable ergonomic seats to view relaxing images while psychologists monitor their mental state via miniature electrodes fitted to the players' head which send out a signal from the scalp to a computer. Head psychologist of the Mind Room is Doctor Bruno Demichelis, the Milan psychologist who uses the facility to improve the recovery rate of the players between matches and to provide scope for them to overcome negative stress.
Artificial intelligence in the service of sport

MilanLab takes advantage of the latest advanced and sophisticated software technologies available in order to collect and to process information. The system of artificial intelligence collects and processes the information, a self-taught mechanism with the ability 'to learn' through the process of memorised data which can determine which factors will cause a player to suffer an injury. The psycho-physical information regarding every player is gathered through a sophisticated system of wiring connected to the Unysis output point and supported by hardware installation supplied by AMD. At this point, a sophisticated software programme developed by Computer Associates performs neural analysis and uses artificial intelligence to transform vast amounts of numeric medical statistics into meaningful predictions through the PAS technology (Predictive Analysis Server), a system that works to predict the possible risks to the players.

Research partnership

MilanLab is a multi-disciplinary research and development project which looks to the future, taking advantage of data gained from past experience. Within this, Milanlab has developed research partnerships with the most prestigious international research centres: SENSEable City Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston (USA); The Department of Bioengineering of the University of Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) and the Centre of Research in Epistemology Knowledge and Application (CRESA) of the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele.

RINO GATTUSO IS BACK

Rino gattuso, pemain kesayangan saya telah kembali...
Beliau telah kembali merumput. Debutnya pasca menepi selama lima bulan akibat cedera, berakhir dengan kemenangan. Namun 'Sang Badak' mengaku dirinya baru bisa memberi kontribusi kecil bagi tim.

Gattuso tampil selama 45 menit ketika memperkuat Milan di ajang turnamen persahabatan Piala Taci Oil melawan Albania, Rabu (13/5/2009) dinihari WIB di Tirana, Albania. Dalam laga itu, Milan menang dengan agregat 7-8 melalui adu penalti, setelah di waktu normal kedua tim bermain imbang 3-3.

"Malam ini saya merasa sedikit emosional karena kembali ke lapangan setelah lima bulan istirahat, maka Anda akan merasa takut akan cedera lagi. Namun setelah beberapa menit saya memperoleh kembali kepercayaan diri dan semua berjalan dengan baik," tukas Gattuso yang dalam laga itu sempat menjadi kapten tim, seperti dikutip dari situs resmi Milan.

Meski telah kembali merumput, namun 'Si Badak' belum mau bicara banyak soal kesiapannya turun di kompetisi. "Saya pikir saya belum siap untuk main 90 menit. Liga adalah hal yang berbeda. Saya merasa belum nyetel lagi dengan ritme permainan," tambah pemain yang absen sejak Desember 2008 akibat cedera lutut itu.

Eks pemain Salernitana ini juga tidak khawatir bila nantinya harus kembali bersaing untuk memperebutkan posisi di tim inti Milan. "Dalam lima bulan ini saya tidak memikirkan tentang posisi di lapangan sebab penyembuhan cedera lutut menjadi fokus utama dan itu membuat saya tidak sempat berpikir soal posisi. Banyak pemain lain yang bermain lebih baik daripada saya, dan mereka berhak untuk posisi itu."

"Saat ini, saya hanya bisa memberikan kontribusi kecil pada tim dan bila saya diberi kesempatan bermain, maka saya akan tampil maksimal," pungkasnya.

Milan kini berada di posisi kedua klasemen sementara Seri A, dengan poin 71 atau tertinggal tujuh poin dari pemuncak klasemen sementara Inter Milan. Di tiga laga tersisa, Milan harus menghadapi Udinese, AS Roma, dan Fiorentina.

History of AC Milan Jersey - red-black stripes shirts

Milanisti Basic Knowledge : History of AC Milan Jersey

The history of the red-black stripes shirts is one of the less known by the fans. The man responsible for the look of the AC Milan shirt was Herbert Kilpin, one of the Englishman who established AC Milan. Kilpin inspired himself from the English sides shirts, who most of them had at that time a shirt with stripes and a badge with a cross on a background. That's why the Milan badge represents a red cross on a white background.

The twenty years fascist rule imposed Milan to wear a white shirt with two vertical stripes, one black and one red, running down in the center of it. In 1942 the club changed the shirt again, now numbering five vertical red and black stripes.

Kilpin' s original shirt reappeared in two occasions. In 1962 when it was worn with a black collar and in 1978 with a v-neck.

In 1981 Milan was the first team who printed their player names on the back of the shirts. In the same season the club introduced on the shirt a devil image on the right breast. Later on was first introduced a sponsor name on the shirt.

The goalkeeper shirt was usually black, to intimidate the "enemies", but in 1999 a yellow shirt was worn to remember about the winning of the tenth title.

In the centenarial year, 1999, the shirt of Kilpin was re-introduced, with the star on the chest (one star is awarded when the team wins its tenth title and so on) and on each part that covers the arms they stitched a centenarial badge. This shirt was availble only for only one year (16/12/1999 - 16/12/2000).

Paolo Maldini's 900th official match

Viva Paolo...

Paolo Maldini, At Udine he made his debut, with Liedholm on the bench. Against Udinese at S. Siro, the party for the 20 years in football. Saturday again Udine: Paolo Maldini's 900th official match. Always with the Rossoneri shirt.

Udinese, Udinese, and Udinese. When the big arms of football history embrace Paolo Maldini, here is once again the team from Friuli at the crossroads. It happened on 20 January 1985, the Sunday of the Serie A debut of Cesare's son, with a draw at the Stadio Friuli between Udinese and Milan. It happened on 16 January 2005, in the Sunday where Italian football celebrated the 20 years in football of the Rossoneri captain and former national team captain, with 3-1 victory against Udinese. It will happened again next Saturday, when Paolo Maldini will play his 900th official match with Milan's shirt. Where? At Udine, where else.

Perfect last night against Juventus, judged as one of the best Rossoneri players in the evening match, Paolo Maldini is playing with class and pride. Where the first quality starts and the second begins isn't known, as they are so intertwined. One thing's for sure: Paolo, as always, is at the service of the team. But his real strength is his self-respect. After the important matches he is playing individually, no one will ever say Cesare's son retired too late. Aerial play, runs: Paolo is still there, against anyone, who's next. He is ending his career as a world-class player at 41 years old.

Now it's time to write another piece of history. Where in 1985 there was Selvaggi, and now there is Quagliarella, the great Paolo Maldini achieves an incredible target. In the same stadium as his first official match, when he was worried about his oral test at school the next day, he will play his 900th. Four World Cups later, with a record amount of appearences with the national team, and a palmares with 26 titles (Italian, European, and World) won with his club. A transcendental champion, respected by everyone, Paolo Maldini is a precious good for football at all levels.

It's Over, Milan 1- Juve 1, Scudetto for Inter

At San Siro it finished Milan-Juventus 1-1 in the Sunday evening match of the 35th matchday of Serie A. The Rossoneri went in front in the 57th minute with Clarence Seedorf's goal, Juventus drew in the 60th minute with Vincenzo Iaquinta's goal.

MILAN-JUVENTUS: OFFICIAL FORMATIONS5/10/2009

MILAN : Kalac; Flamini, Maldini, Favalli, Zambrotta; Beckham, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf; Kakà, Inzaghi.
JUVENTUS: Buffon; Grygera, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Camoranesi, Poulsen, Zanetti, Marchionni; Iaquinta, Amauri.