Official : Robinho to Milan

Adriano Galliani's words quoted by Sky:
'The acquisition of Robinho cost us € 18 million plus bonuses. He's a wonderful gift from president Berlusconi to the Milan fans.'
Official:
- Robinho 100% ours
- Borriello loan to AS Roma
- Hunter sold to Schalke04
- Kaladze sold to Genoa

As for the shirt numbers of the two new Rossoneri stars, Zlatan Ibrahimovic took number 11, while Robinho will wear number 70 this season.
Welcome Robinho. I hope this is just the beginning for a new era of Milan! Forza Milan! Good luck with Hunter and Borri, and many thanks for 10 years contribution of Kakha Kaladza.
Robinho cost City £32 million when signing for the club in a shock move from Real Madrid in 2008 but now they have recouped an initial payment of £15 million from Milan.

"Milan have a great players, a great team with a victorious history," Robinho said. "I hope that together with my new team-mates we will be able to help the club to several titles.

"I always heard great things about Milan from Kaka, and I'm sure that the other Brazilian players will help me integrate into the team. I hope to satisfy all Milan fans, I'll train hard to make it happen. I want to make them all happy."

Robinho, who spent a spell on loan with Santos last season, leaves City after scoring 14 goals in 41 Premier League appearances.

Robinho joins Milan just days after the club recruited Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Barcelona. They join Alexandre Pato and Ronaldinho at San Siro to form a very talented forward line.

"These two signings were a great present to all the supporters from Silvio Berlusconi," vice-president Adriano Galliani said.

"Robinho will wear the No. 70 shirt, Ibrahimovic will have the No. 11. Robinho cost €18 million plus bonuses.

"For so many years I have not seen Berlusconi so in love with Milan. On Sunday Ibrahimovic told me to go and buy Robinho also."

"After a raft of stellar names arrived at the San Siro, AC Milan have confirmed that Italian striker Marco Borriello will play on loan at Roma this season and that Kakha Kaladze has ended his nine years with the club.

The arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the signing of Brazilian winger Robinho to AC Milan, forced Borriello to consider a move elsewhere.

A statement from AC Milan read: "AC Milan announces it has loaned Marco Borriello to Roma for the 2010-11 campaign."

The 28-year-old came close to signing for Juventus but the deal fell through earlier with Borriello unwilling to join the Turin giants on a loan spell. However, Borriello has joined Roma on loan with the Eternal City club having an option to make the deal permanent next summer.

Meanwhile, Genoa have signed Kakha Kaladze on a permanent transfer from AC Milan. The 32-year-old Georgia captain joins Genoa after nine seasons with Milan, and has signed a two-year contract with Genoa.

A statement from Genoa read: "Genoa announces the signing of Georgian international Kakhaber Kaladze on a permanent transfer from AC Milan. In the next few days the defender will join Giampiero Gasperini's side in training."

Milan 4 Lecce 0

Alexandre Pato sounded a warning to Zlatan Ibrahimovic that he does not intend to give up his place at AC Milan without a fight by scoring twice as AC Milan opened their Serie A account with an impressive opening-weekend win over Lecce.

MILAN: Abbiati; Bonera, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Ambrosini, Pirlo, Seedorf; Ronaldinho, Borriello, Pato

LECCE: Rosati; Vives, Donati, Sini , Giuliatto, Ferrario; Munari, Giacomazzi, Grossmuller; Mesbah; Corvia


With Ibrahimovic joining the Rossoneri from Barcelona on an initial loan deal which will become permanent next summer, the pressure was on the young Brazilian and Pato responded with two goals inside the opening 29 minutes as Massimiliano Allegri's first game in charge ended in a comprehensive victory.

Thiago Silva also scored in between Pato's strikes as newly-promoted Lecce endured a tricky return to the top flight.

Veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi grabbed a late fourth to complete the win and send Milan - albeit after just one game - to the top of the table.

The onslaught started early with Brazilian centre-half Thiago Silva smashing in a 35-yard drive which Antonio Rosati in the Lecce goal did superbly well to tip over for a corner.

Rosati was powerless to keep out Pato four minutes later, however, the 20-year-old converting Massimo Ambrosini's pass.

It was 2-0 after 23 minutes as Thiago Silva fired home after a goalmouth scramble.

There was no let-up for poor Lecce with Pato scoring his second of the night in the 29th minute, beating the offside trap to run on to countryman Ronaldinho's pass before rounding the goalkeeper and slotting into an empty net.

Ronaldinho looked full of confidence and his impudent effort from the halfway line landed just wide.

Clarence Seedorf almost made it 4-0 before the break but the veteran Dutchman's volley clipped the post and went wide.

Ibrahimovic was presented to the San Siro crowd at half-time and the Swede will have been impressed with what he saw on the pitch as Milan continued to press.

Daniele Corvia threatened briefly for Lecce before Milan got back on top.

Marco Borriello had the ball in the net but saw his effort controversially disallowed for offside while Inzaghi hit the post minutes after his introduction.

The outstanding Pato was then denied by Rosati, as was Inzaghi six minutes before the end.

Inzaghi did find the back of the net with time almost up when, following some fine work by Gennaro Gattuso, he prodded past Rosati to complete a good night's work for Allegri.

Serie A Preview : AC milan vs Lecce

Stadio San Siro will be full for the presentation of new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic this evening, and afterwards, Milan will play the first match of the Serie A against newly promoted side U.S. Lecce.

Massimo Oddo and Mathieu Flamini are out injured, while Marek Jankulovski, Kakha Kaladze, Oguchi Onyewu, Gianluca Zambrotta, Mario Yepes and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar have not been called-up.

In the meantime, new coach Massimiliano Allegri will have all of his players available to face Lecce, with Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato set to start having recovered from a muscular injury.

"I am not 100% but I feel better,'' said Pato. "I believe I will be ready for our first game of the season.

"My aim is always to help the team do well and contribute so that Milan wins everything.''

Rivals Lecce make their anticipated return to Serie A tomorrow but will have to do without injured striker Ernesto Chevanton.

Chevanton, who is returning to the club for a second spell after six years away, was the biggest name in a summer of busy recruitment in Lecce.

Chevanton is recuperating from a muscular problem while Lecce coach Luigi De Canio will also be without suspended midfielder Riccardo Oliveira.


AC Milan Squad List

Goalkeepers: Christian Abbiati, Marco Amelia, Flavio Roma;

Defenders: Luca Antonini, Daniele Bonera, Alessandro Nesta, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Thiago Silva;

Midfielders: Ignazio Abate, Massimo Ambrosini, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Rodney Strasser;

Forwards: Marco Borriello, Filippo Inzaghi, Nnamdi Oduamadi, Alexandre Pato, Ronaldinho.
U.S Lecce Squad List

Goalkeepers: Giulio Donati, Alberto Giuliatto, Antonio Rosati, Massimiliano Benassi;

Defenders: Simone Sini, Tore Reginiussen, Stefano Ferrario,

Midfielders: Gianni Munari, Djamel Mesbah, Guillermo Giacomazzi, Ignacio Piatti, Giuseppe Vives, Carlos Grossmüller, Davide Brivio

Forwards: Daniele Corvia, Bryan Bergougnoux, Javier Chevantón, Andrea Bertolacci.

Zlatan "Ibra" ibrahimovic is a milan player !!!!

FINALLY! HE'S OURS!

AC Milan have signed FC Barcelona player Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

After long days of negotiations, AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has made it and he brought the 28-year-old Sweden to Milan!


Zlatan Ibrahimovic Bio
Viewed as one of the world's top strikers, as well as being one of the most temperamental, Ibrahimovic made a name for himself at Inter Milan and won himself numerous personal awards at the San Siro. Known for his strength, aerial ability and fiery personality, Ibrahimovic has been compared to Dutch legend Marco Van Basten for his playing style, before he started a new chapter his career with Barcelona.

Born to a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother, Ibrahimovic grew up in Sweden and plays for the Swedish national team. He began his career at nearby Malmo FF, before moving to Ajax where he blossomed, but courted controversy in his three years, before he was sold to Juventus.

Caught up in the Calciopoli scandal, Ibrahimovic was relegated to Serie B, but was not keen to stay on in Turin. Moving to Internazionale for £16.7 million, he became a fixture in their three title-winning side and then-boss Jose Mourinho claimed that he was, for him, "the best player in the world, ahead of (Cristiano) Ronaldo" - although the quote raised some eyebrows.

In 2009, he announced that he would like to seek a new challenge and agreed terms on an incredible swap deal with Samuel Eto'o that would see him become a Barcelona player for 2009-10, signing a five-year deal.

Strengths: Strong and agile, he plays well with his back to goal and boasts some of the best ball control around.

Weaknesses: Drifts in and out of games, has questionable temperament and has been criticised for his work-rate in the big matches.

Career high: Top scored in Serie A in 2009 as he led Inter to the title.

Career low: Missed a penalty as Sweden were knocked out of Euro 2004 following a shoot-out loss to Netherlands.

Style: Languid, stylish, a composed and agile striker.

Quotes: "What [John] Carew does with a football, I can do with an orange." Zlatan Ibrahimovic responds to criticism from the Norwegian striker.

Trivia: Ibrahimovic received a black belt in taekwondo at the age of 17.

The transfer saga :
21:45: More from Galliani: “With Ibra, Pato and Ronaldinho, our team is not inferior to no one in Europe.”

21:36: Ibra: “I’m glad the situation. It was not easy, but it all worked out for the best. Why AC Milan? Because it is one of the strongest clubs in the world, with a great tradition. Ronaldinho and Pato? It’s a great attack, depend on us. Fans of AC Milan will enjoy. Supporters of Inter? I do not what they think now that I have won everything there. Dreams? I want ton win the Champions League and all that we can win.

21:31: acmilan.com confirmed Galliani’s words: “A.C. MILAN announces the acquisition of the player Zlatan Ibrahimovic from F.C. Barcelona, through a free loan with the option to purchase the athlete’s playing rights for € 24 million at the end of the season 2010-2011. The Swedish champion will go through the medical exams tomorrow morning, before signing the contract that will tie him to the Rossonero club for four years.”

21:25: Galliani revealed to Sky Sport 24 the nature of the transfer: “We defined acquisition loan with right of repurchase for 24 million. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will undergo medical tomorrow and will sign a four-year contract.”

21:15: Speaking to Milan Channel, Milan new striker, Ibrahimovic said: “Barcelona are fixing the last things, and then there will be the announcement. I am very pleased, I can’t wait for tomorrow. “

20:42: Silvio Berlusconi has left Milanello, and the official announcement will come soon from the mouth of Vice President Galliani directly from Spain. 20:38: Raiola, Ibrahimovic, Galliani and Rosell left the office of the Barcelona President. Meanwhile, Berlusconi is talking to the players in Milanello.

20:30: Here is the program for tomorrow: Ibrahimovic will arrive tomorrow at Milan’s Linate Airport around 12:30pm. The player will then speak to Coach Allegri and understand what the project of the team is.

At 19:45, there will be a press conference at the San Siro, followed by a walk around the pitch before the Lecce match.

20:20: Ibrahimovic is an AC Milan player! There is still no official announcement but the player is now a Rossonero. 20:02: Ibra has signed a four-year contract with AC Milan! The official announcement will come in few minutes!

19:56: Zlatan Ibrahimovic has arrived to the Camp Nou to sign the termination of his contract with Barcelona and his new deal with AC Milan. However, before entering he joked with the press: “I’m here to sign a contract renewal with Barcelona, Guardiola asked me to.” 19:35: Mr. Silvio Berlusconi has arrived to training center Milanello and he will probably announce on the purchase by himself.

19:16: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has not been called-up for tomorrow’s match against Lecce and it appears that he will now move to German side Schalke 04 for 12 million.

19:00: The official announcement will come in 30 minutes on both club’s site. The deal is a loan with an obligation to buy for 25 million. "

18:55: In few minutes, the official announcement should come according to reports. Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks on verge of becoming a Rossonero.

18:17: The meeting between Galliani, Rosell and Raiola has started two hours ago. More news are expected soon.

17:05: More from Raiola: “The press? I do not understand why they are resentful. Barça is free to think what you want, I express my views. My only duty is to represent my player. The negotiations for Zlatan? We will see, for the time nothing is decided.”

16:30: Adriano Galliani and Mino Raiola have reached the Camp Nou. Raiola: “We are still in the eighth month. We still lack all the agreements. Ends today? The important thing is to make it closed by August 31.

16:23: Allegri spoke about Ibra during the press conference ahead of Lecce game: “If president Berlusconi will acquire Ibrahimovic we will be all very happy because he is important player, he is a champion who goes to complete a very strong attack.” 16:20: Negotiations are expected to be long; Barcelona want to discus first with Ibra’s agent Raiola.

15:50: Rosell has arrived to Barcelona’s headquarters at the Camp Nou. The meeting should begin shortly.

15:40: The meeting is about to start, there are few journalists in the Camp Nou already waiting for Galliani, Raiola and Rosell. Sky Sport’s Alessandro Alciato reports Galliani will use a credit card to pay Barcelona 30 million.

15:48: Barcelona President Sandro Rosell has returned from Ibiza, where he spent the weekend, in order to take part in the decisive meeting on Ibra along with Milan Vice President Adriano Galliani and the player’s agent Mino Raiola.

14:15: According to the Spanish news agency EFE, the meeting between Adriano Galliani and Mino Raiola has been brought forward in half an hour. It will start on

16:00 Spain time. The reason for this change is to close the deal in daytime. 13:20: Still waiting for the decisive meeting between Raiola and Galliani. Meanwhile, Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri will hold a press conference ahead of Lecce game, which takes place tomorrow night.

12:44: As reported in the Spanish daily El Mundo Deporativo, Milan tried to offer players in exchange for Ibrahimovic, but the only man Barca were interested in was Alexandre Pato. Adriano Galliani of course, did not accept that.

12:05: Pep Guardiola: “I am tired of the Ibrahimovic situation, we will see what happens in the coming hours. I am not happy with the way this situation has been managed. For now Ibrahimovic is a Barcelona player. We will see what happens. “I am the boss here, and I decided not to pick him [for Sunday's clash against Racing Santander]. In a normal situation he would have been picked. But in this situation, it was best not to select him. “In any case I am staying calm and will make team decisions. Raiola? I am surprised that he knows me so well. I have ever only spoken to him once in my life. I thank the club for defending me after they published the statement. That has not affected me as I can defend myself. I said okay to the statement and now it’s with the legal team.”

11:22: According to rumours, the compensations the Sweden will receive from the Spanish club could be an addition discount on the amount Milan will have to pay Sandro Rosell’s club. If it’s true, Milan will have to pay 25m at the end of the season in order to bring the 28-year-old permanently.

11:01: Barca coach Pep Guardiola has dropped Ibra from the squad for Sunday’s clash against Racing Santander. These are the players Pep has called-up: Valdés, Pinto, Abidal, Alves, Milito, Piqué, Puyol, Maxwell, Adriano, Sergio Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Iniesta, Jeffren, Bojan, Messi, Pedro, Villa.

10:56: Barcelona seem reluctant to pay the player’s compensations. It appears that Raiola will now try to lower his demands from yesterday. At the moment, we are waiting for the final meeting between Galliani and agent Raiola at 16:30.

10:13: Milan CEO Adriano Galliani and Ibra’s agent Mino Raiola had a dinner last night; they looked calm and ready to for the birth of the transfer. 10:08: As reported last night, AC Milan and FC Barcelona have agreed on the loan of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Spain to Italy. The Rossoneri will be obligated to sign the player at the end of the season for 25/30 million.

Gamper Trophy : Ac Milan 1 Barcelona 1 ( pen. 2-4)

Milan played out an exciting Gamper Trophy game against Barcelona in what was their last test before facing Lecce on Sunday on the opening day of the season.

It was a special evening for Ronaldinho, who was greeted by a standing ovation before kick-off. Allegri played the Brazilian upfront with Borriello and Huntelaar while Boateng was given his debut in midfield alongside Pirlo and Ambrosini. Alessandro Nesta returned in defence after his hand surgery.

Guardiola fielded a trident with Iniesta, Villa and Ibrahimovic.

The home side started well and Ibrahimovic had a goal disallowed for offside while just before the half-hour mark Iniesta saw a shot well saved by Amelia and at the other end Ambrosini volleyed wide.

Allegri made a raft of changes at half-time but it was Barca who took the lead two minutes after the restart, when David Silva toe-poked the ball beyond Amelia after reaching Adriano’s cross from the left.

Andres Iniesta and Bojan’s header then went close but the Rossoneri got their just reward as Pippo Inzaghi hit a stunning left-footed volley into the top corner on 67 minutes.

Leo Messi tested substitute goalkeeper Flavio Roma with a header and a curling free-kick but Milan were the equal of any further pressure and game finished 1-1 which lead to penalties to decide the outcome.

The first from the spot was Leo Messi who put Roma the wrong way. However, Clarence Seedorf saw his shot saved. Same fate for Busquets, well blocked by the excellent Roma. The second penalty taker for Milan, Pirlo, missed. Bojan scored, despite the Milan goalkeeper guessing right. Yepes got the Rossoneri off the mark. Barca's Thiag scored but Jankulovski: missed and Barcelona won 4-2.

MILAN - Barcellona-Milan 4-2, penalties. Statistics:
Barcellona: Pinto, Adriano, Milito (18'sh Fontas), Puyol (18'sh Pique), Abidal (1'sh Dani Alves); Maxwell (1'sh Thiago), Jeffren (18'sh Pedro), Jonathan (18'sh Busquets); Iniesta (18'sh Keita), Ibrahimovic (1'sh Bojan), Villa (18'sh Messi).
Coach: Guardiola.
Milan: Amelia (15'sh Roma); Bonera (1'sh Abate), Nesta (1'sh Papastathopoulos), Thiago Silva (15'sh Yepes), Antonini (1'sh Jankulovski); Ambrosini (1'sh Seedorf), Pirlo, Boateng (37'sh Strasser); Huntelaar (10'sh Oduamadi), Borriello (10'sh Inzaghi), Ronaldinho (31'sh Merkel).
Coach: Allegri.
Goalscorers: 47' Villa (B), 67' Inzaghi (M)
Referee: Borbalan (Spa)
Penalties:
Messi goal; Busquets saved; Bojan goal; Thiago goal;
Seedorf saved; Pirlo saved; Yepes goal; Jankulovski saved.

BERLUSCONI TROPHY : milan 4 Juventus 5

OFFICIAL LINE-UPS FOR BERLUSCONI TROPHY

MILAN: Abbiati; Bonera, Papastathopoulos, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Ambrosini, Pirlo, Seedorf, Oduamadi, Borriello, Ronaldinho.

JUVENTUS: Manninger; Grygera, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Pepe, Marchisio, Felipe Melo, Martinez; Trezeguet, Del Piero

After a goalless ninety minutes, Milan went down 5-4 on penalties to Juventus in the 20th Berlusconi Trophy.

Massimiliano Allegri sent this line-up out: Christian Abbiati in goal; a defence of Daniele Bonera and Luca Antonini at full-back, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Thiago Silva in the central. In midfield the coach went for Massimo Ambrosini, Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf. The attack was lead by Oduamadi, Borriello and Ronaldinho.

On the bench: Amelia, Yepes, Abate, Flamini, Gattuso, Strasser, Huntelaar e Inzaghi.

Bianconeri coach Gigi Del Neri: Manninger; Grygera, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Pepe, Marchisio, Felipe Melo, Martinez; Trezeguet, Del Piero.

Milan started brightly and dominated the opening stages with Juventus playing on the break although the Rossoneri defence moved quickly to close down the visiting attack.

Ronaldinho started to create space drifting in from the left and it was a low ball that Oduamadi just failed to control that almost opened the scoring.

Five minutes from the break Bonera hit a powerful left-footed shot which Manninger kept out and then Seedorf hit a stunning volley just wide.

On 76 minutes Flamini turned sharply in the area on the end of a Ronaldinho pass but Manninger pushed the effort away. At the other end Abbiati was across his line to punch a Motta angled shot behind for a corner.

An Ambrosini cross was just too high for Inzaghi and then Flamini almost got on the end of Ronaldinho's through-ball but no breakthrough could be found even with four minutes added.

This was the sequence of penalties:
Ronaldinho (M): GOAL (1-0); Pepe (J): GOAL (1-1); Thiago Silva (M): missed (1-1); Bonucci (J): GOAL (1-2); Bonera (M): GOAL (2-2); Lanzafame (J): GOAL (3-2), Inzaghi: GOAL (3-3); Diego (J): GOAL (4-3); Huntelaar (M): GOAL (4-4); Motta (J): GOAL (5-4).

STATISTICS
MILAN-JUVENTUS 4-5 pens (0-0)
Milan (4-3-3): Abbiati; Antonini, Thiago Silva, Papastathopoulos, Bonera; Seedorf (32' sh Huntelaar), Pirlo (27' sh Gattuso), Ambrosini; Ronaldinho, Borriello (15' sh Inzaghi), Oduamadi (21' sh Flamini). On the bench: Amelia, Yepes, Abate. Coach. Allegri.
Juventus (4-4-2): Manninger; Grygera (34' sh Motta), Legrottaglie (27' sh Bonucci), Chiellini, De Ceglie; Martinez (27' sh Lanzafame), Melo, Marchisio (13' sh Sissoko), Pepe; Trezeguet (13' sh Amauri), Del Piero (13' sh Diego). On the bench: Storari. All. Delneri
Referee: Romeo
Goalscorers: -
Yellow cards: Flamini (M)
Red cards: -

PENALTIES: Ronaldinho (M) goal, Pepe (J) goal, Thiago Silva (M) missed, Bonucci (J) goal, Bonera (M) goal, Lanzafame (J) goal, Inzaghi (M) goal, Diego (J) goal, Huntelaar (M) goal, Motta (J) goal

KEVIN-PRINCE BOATENG is a Milan player!

AC Milan have announced today on the signing of Boateng on loan from Genoa, as Milan will have an option to buy his entire card at the end of the season.

Profile :
Kevin-Prince Boateng (born 6 March 1987 in Berlin-Wedding) is a German-born Ghanaian international footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for Milan, on loan from Genoa. Boateng is also a member of the Ghanaian national team, having earned six caps and scoring one goal. A player with dual German-Ghanaian nationality, Boateng is a central midfielder. He has been described as having "skill and pace complemented by advanced tactical awareness and a powerful physique."He started his career with the youth club Reinickendorfer Füchse, and then signed for Hertha BSC.

Hertha BSC
Boateng was with Hertha from 1 July 1994 when he was just seven years old to 31 July 2007. After emerging from the youth team set-up, he played for the reserves for two seasons. He was twice sent off, but he won a call-up to the first team squad in the 2005–06 season. He made his debut against Eintracht Frankfurt in the second round of the 2005–06 Bundesliga season, being brought on at the start of the second half. He impressed during that game, and was on the fringe of the first team from then on, despite barely being 18 years old. Boateng continued his rise, and started his first Bundesliga game in the 2–2 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 14th round of the Bundesliga season. Boateng identifies Pelé and Rivaldo as his role models, occasionally imitating the Brazilian duo with crowd-pleasing moments. His love of playing to the gallery draws applause, but has also attracted a fair share of criticism too. The Germany Under-19 coach, Uli Stielike, said about him, "At senior level, Kevin will need to wean himself off the world of fantasy football." He has since cut down on those antics. On 27 July 2006, Boateng was awarded the Fritz Walter Gold Medal in the Under-19 category. The medal is awarded on the basis of performances for the German Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 national teams. A jury consisting of German Football Association (DFB), youth coaches, and members of the DFB Board, put Boateng top of the poll. Sport director Matthias Sammer and DFB coach Horst Hrubesch honored the talented player with the gold prize winner award and the 20,000 Euro prize-money at the Stadtbauraum, Gelsenkirchen in Germany on 16 August 2006. Boateng also won the Bronze Medal Award in the Under-18 category in 2005.

Tottenham Hotspur
Boateng signed for Tottenham Hotspur in July 2007, for a reported fee of £5.4million.He had his first start in the Premier League on 3 November against Middlesbrough, after which a series of further first team performances followed. With the departure of Tottenham manager Martin Jol, and the arrival of Juande Ramos and several high profile players, Boateng was pushed out of the team and into the reserves. Boateng made his appearance under new manager Harry Redknapp in Spurs' 4–2 home win against Liverpool in the fourth round of the League Cup and his first league appearance of the 2008–09 season in Tottenham's 1–0 home defeat to Everton in November 2008. Boateng was loaned out during the January transfer window of 2009 to Borussia Dortmund for the remainder of the season.Boateng returned to Tottenham at the end of the 2008–09 season. His last game for Spurs came as a substitute in the clubs 5–1 Football League Cup win over Doncaster Rovers in August 2009.

Portsmouth
Boateng joined Portsmouth for the 2009–10 season, signing a three-year deal with Pompey in August 2009 for a fee believed to be in the region of £4 million.He scored his first Portsmouth goal in a 3–2 loss against Bolton Wanderers. He continued his good form over the next few games, playing at the peak of Paul Hart's midfield diamond and winning Portsmouth's Player of the Month competition, in September. On 15 May 2010, Boateng was the subject of much controversy in the 1–0 defeat to Chelsea in the 2010 FA Cup Final. In the first half, he committed a foul on Chelsea player Michael Ballack, causing partially torn right ankle ligamentswhich ruled the German captain out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.Boateng then had a penalty saved by Petr Čech in the 54th minute of the game. Boateng later apologised for the tackle on Ballack saying, "I am sorry, it was not intentional. I just came in too late and made full contact."

Genoa CFC/AC Milan
Boateng transferred from Portsmouth FC to Genoa C.F.C. on 17 August 2010, and immediately joined another Italian club, Milan on loan. The details of the loan were not disclosed at the time.

International career
The midfielder played 41 times for the German Under-15, Under-16, Under-19 and Under-21 national teams, scoring eight goals. He hit the headlines on 20 July 2005 after netting a 47th minute goal from inside the centre circle over 45 yards in a 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship game against Greece, which Germany won 3–0.This impressive strike was voted Goal of the Month by viewers of a renowned German TV sports show.Boateng was offered the chance to play for Ghana in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but declined. The Hertha BSC manager, Dieter Hoeneß, praised Boateng for turning down Ghana and opting to play for Germany. On 27 March 2007, it was reported in the German media that Boateng had told German coach Joachim Löw that he would play for Ghana. On 9 September, Berliner Morgenpost reported that German National Under-21 Coach Dieter Eilts did not select Boateng anymore because of negative incidents that happened in the team's camp during the June 2007 Toulon Tournament in France. On 24 June 2009, he announced, due to the lack of future chances to earn a call up for his home country, that he will play for Ghana in the future and that he had hoped to be part of the Ghana national team squad at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 7 May 2010, Ghana's head coach Milovan Rajevac named Boateng in his 30-man squad in preparation for the World Cup in 2010.On 12 May 2010, FIFA finally approved Boateng's nationality switch application, clearing the way for him to play for Ghana at the World Cup.On 5 June 2010, Kevin-Prince, whose birthday coincides with Ghana's Independence Day, made his debut for Ghana in the 1–0 win over Latvia.He wears Prince as his shirt name, based on his first names Kevin-Prince. This could be to distinguish himself from his brother Jérôme Boateng and Ghana teammate Derek Boateng. He also chose to wear number 23, the same number he wore at Portsmouth. On 23 June 2010, at the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg, Boateng played for Ghana against his brother Jérôme, who was representing Germany; the game ending 1–0 to Germany. This was the first time that two brothers have played for opposing teams in an international match and been on the pitch at the same time. Boateng scored his first goal in a 2–1 win over the United States in the Round of 16 in Rustenburg's Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace on 26 June.

The Ghanaian arrived in Milano on Monday night and started training alone in Milanello on Tuesday morning, as he will be available for the Trofeo Berlusconi on August 22.

Boateng, 23, would be a great addition to the midfield of Coach Massimiliano Allegri and the player combines good speed, great technique and shot from distance in his game.

The official statement on acmilan.com reads: “A.C. MILAN announce that the club has signed Kevin Prince Boateng on loan from Genoa Cfc. ”

He is the fourth reinforcements of the Rossoneri after Mario Yepes, Marco Amelia and Sokratis Papastathopoulos…

Trofeo TIM 2010 : Milan ,Inter and Juve squads

TROFEO TIM 2010 :
The annual competition continues this year. The teams will play on Friday in Bari, in Stadio San Nicola – kick off at 20:45 Italy time/CET.

As always, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus F.C. will be featuring and will play short games (45 minutes) against each other (Juventus versus Inter, Inter versus Milan, and Milan versus Juventus).
the squads of AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus F.C for the Trofeo TIM.

Milan
Goalkeepers: Cristian Abbiati, Marco Amelia, Flavio Roma;

Defenders: Luca Antonini, Daniele Bonera, Alessandro Nesta, Massimo Oddo, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Mario Yepes, Gianluca Zambrotta;

Midfielders: Ignazio Abate, Massimo Ambrosini, Mathieu Flamini, Gennaro Gattuso, Alexander Merkel, Mitja Novinic, Andrea Pirlo, Rodney Strasser;

Forwards: Giacomo Beretta, Filippo Inzaghi, Nnamdi Oduamadi, Ronaldinho, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri will line up 4-3-3 with Amelia; Abate, Nesta, Bonera, Antonini; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Ronaldinho, Borriello, Oduamadi.

Juventus:

Goalkeepers: Marco Storari, Alexander Manninger, Marco Costantino;

Defenders: Marco Motta, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Zdeněk Grygera, Paolo De Ceglie, Nicola Legrottaglie, Vittorio Ferrero;

Midfielders: Felipe Melo, Mohamed Sissoko, Claudio Marchisio, Davide Lanzafame, Simone Pepe, Jorge Andrés Martínez;

Forwards: Alessandro Del Piero, Amauri, David Trezeguet, Diego.

Inter Milan:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar, Luca Castellazzi, Paolo Orlandoni.

Defenders: Ivan Cordoba, Lucio, Maicon, Marco Materazzi, Walter Samuel, Cristian Chivu, Cristiano Biraghi, Simone Benedetti, Felice Natalino;

Midfielders: Dejan Stankovic, Wesley Sneijder, Esteban Cambiasso, Joel Obi, Coutinho, Amantino Mancini, Nwankwo Obiora;

Forwards: Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito, Goran Pandev, Victor Obinna, Ludovic Biabiany.


The Rossoneri lost both matches last year in the Trofeo TIM, and this time they will look to win the title again after claimed it in 2008. Milan won the Cup also in 2001 and in 2006.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side is coming off a victory but was not very impressive against Panathinaikos FC last Friday. Now they will get a major boost as Ronaldinho and Andrea Pirlo declared fit.

The 43-year-old coach will probably use a 4-3-3, with Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato on the flanks and Marco Borriello or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in the middle. The midfield will probably include at least one Primavera player.

Although it is not an official tournament, the teams take it seriously, as Milan, Inter and Juventus are along with A.S. Roma, the main contenders for the title this season. Lifting the trophy would be a great moral boost.

Marco Borriello celebrates after scoring in the Emirates Cup against Lyon with teammates Simone Verdi and Alexander Merkel.

The Nerazzurri drew once and won once last year. They won the Trofeo TIM five times before but failed to achieve it since 2007.

Rafa Benitez’s boys were not very impressive in the pre-season, despite the 3-0 victory over Manchester City. However, that draw was followed by a 3-2 defeat to Greek side Panathinaikos and 2-2 draw against FC Dallas.

Inter are expected to line-up 4-2-1-3 with Wesley Sneijder playing behind Goran Pandev/Mario Balotelli, Diego Milito and Samuel Eto’o. The impressive young Coutinho will probably start in the midfield.

Diego Milito of Inter Milan celebrates with Esteban Cambiasso (L) after scoring the second goal during the UEFA Champions League Final match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Inter Milan at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 22, 2010 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images Europe)

The Old Lady drew with Inter and beat Milan in the previous edition, and they are the current holders of the title after winning it for the first time last year.

Luigi Del Neri’s side has already started the season as they played in the Europa League, recording two victories over Shamrock Rovers. Prior to the two matches, they also beat Lyon 2-1.

Juventus spent a lot of money during this transfer window and they want to come back to the top after a disastrous season last year in which they finished in the seventh spot of the Serie A.

Former Milan man Marco Storari will be between the sticks tomorrow night, while Diego, who seems on his way out of the club, could play behind Alessandro Del Piero and Italy international Amauri.

AC Milan will face Inter Milan and Juventus on Friday night in Stadio San Nicola in Bari and they will miss important players like Alexandre Pato and Thiago Silva, who are tired after the match of Brazil.

Clarence Seedorf is suffering from fatigue while Dominic Adiyiah is unavailable for a sickness. Oguchi Onyewu, Marek Jankulovski Kakha Kaladze and Simone Verdi are out too. This is the squad:

AC Milan Primavera squad 2010/2011

Official AC Milan Primavera squad 2010/2011

Goalkeepers: Davide Di Fabio, Alberto Andrea Paleari, Riccardo Piscitelli;

Defenders: Michelangelo Albertazzi, Marco Baldan, Mattia De Sciglio, Mattia Desloe, Andrea De Vito, Luca Ghiringhelli, Nicola Pasini, Mario Sampirisi, Luca Santonocito.

Midfielders: Luca Bertoni, Simone Calvano, Marco Ezio Fossati, Edmund Etsè Hottor, Filippo Lora, Alexander Merkel, Mitja Novinic, Valerio Pirovano;

Forwards: Giacomo Beretta, Pietro Maria Cogliati, Marco Gaeta, Simone Andrea Ganz, Leonardo Mancuso, Uros Palibrk.

Milan (5) 0-0 (3) Panathinaikos

Milan: Abbiati (46′ Amelia); Zambrotta, Nesta (61′ Sokratis), Thiago Silva (46′ Bonera), Antonini; Gattuso (75′ Abate), Seedorf (61′ Strasser), Flamini; Merkel (78′ Novinic), Borriello (67′ Beretta), Oduamadi (78′ Oddo) .

Panathinaikos: Tzorvas (46′ Karnezis); Seitaridis (61′ Karagounis), Boumsong (85′ Dimoutstos), Kante (85′ Mavrias), Spyropoulos (67′ Bjarsmir); Simao (85′ Ioannidis), Katsouranis (61′ Marinos), Govou (61′ Vyntra), Ninis (61′ Da Silva); Leto (85′ Seeriegi), Cisse (Petropoulas).


Last weekend, Milan failed to win against Arsenal and Lyon in the Emirates Cup, and prior to that lost to A.S. Varese on friendly, the boys of Massimiliano Allegri have finally won.

Allegri played 4-3-3 with youngsters Nnamdi Oduamadi and Alexander Merkel on the wings, while Marco Borriello in the middle. Also the defense was good with Alessandro Nesta-Thiago Silva playing.

With Ronaldinho and Andrea Pirlo staying at home, Milan couldn’t create many shoots on target during the first half and despite the ball-possession was almost equal, Pao were much more dangerous.

Already in the first minute Christian Abbiati had to work as Djibril Cissé tried to chip the ball over the Italian ‘keeper, but couldn’t find the net. It was Cisse again in the 25th minute, but Abbiati denied him.

Milan had some attempts too but none of them was very dangerous. The only ball that got into the net during the first half of Cisse’s just before the break, but the official called an offside, and saved the Rossoneri.

The Greek side found the net again through Sidney Govou ten minutes into the break but again the Italian giants were saved, as the referee didn’t think the ball got in even though you could clearly see it did.

No confirmed goals in total of 90 minutes, and the match went through to penalties shootout.

Milan: Mathieu Flamini took the first penalty and scored.

Pao: Gilberto Silva made it 1-1.

Milan: Gianluca Zambrotta netted too.

Pao: Giorgos Karagounis scored.

Milan: Ignazio Abate took it and scored it. 3-2.

Pao: Equalized again. 3-3.

Milan: Massimo Oddo found the net.

Pao: Antonis Petropoulos took it, and missed it! 4-3

Milan: Daniele Bonera took the last penalty… and scored! 5-3.

Milan win after penalty shootout thanks to Bonera, as the Rossoneri grab first-ever victory under Max Allegri.

COMMENT AFTER MATCH

Coach Allegri , after the match: “After London and the USA I can go home satisfied. Also this evening we gave our all and created a lot while the energy lasted. To keep on working in a happy and relaxed manner is fundamental. I together with the team are getting to know each other, so they is plenty of room for improvement. Here there are quality players, which helps a lot. Antonini? It was he who gave me the opportunity to play him in midfield, because in football only skill is never enough. Merkel? He is skillful, knows his whereabouts on the pitch and has the right timing for his passing. He needs to grow, like the other youngsters, who all can comfortably hold their own in the first-team squad.”

Marco Amelia said: “I am satisfied about this evening’s match. I believe it was a good entertaining match despite uncertain conditions underfoot. I made a number of saves, but also Abbiati played a good first half. The fact we are taking steps match after match means there is a lot of hard work being done. As far as I am concerned, playing with different defenders gives me the chance to get to know my team-mates more and to create a feeling with all of them. What’s more, the coach can evaluate everybody. What’s certain is that we gave them a number of scoring chances, which is normal at this stage of the pre-season. As their goal goes, perhaps it was in, but I haven’t seen a replay of what happened. It can happen in football, though. This evening, anyway, the result wasn’t as important as what we showed the coach on the pitch.

Daniele Bonera told: “At the final whistle we thought the match had ended a draw; instead, there were penalties. We won and it worked out that my penalty was the winner. This is the first time that something like this has happened to me and it is a great feeling. I am happy especially about the spirit we showed. The match could have been more difficult than it was, seeing the state of the pitch, the opponents, the weather; however, we showed the necessary group spirit. Fitness level is improving and it is good to see that in the middle of different problems, we are working hard to improve. And it is the united spirit that gives us reason to hope. We haven’t had much time these past few days, so we have intensified our work rate in training. This will continue when we return to Milan and after resting a couple of days, we’ll get back training again.”

Alexander Merkel had to say: “I feel fine and I am happy. It is a magical moment because I am enjoying playing so much, between here and London I have played a lot. I feel the coach’s trust in me and this is important. During the match, I touch the ball often, I link up a lot with the team. I am just as happy with the players closer to me, Borriello and Pato, than with those who play deeper. I am in the middle of so many champions, and I hope I can learn a lot from them and become a champion too.

Emirates Cup 2010 : AC milan 1 Lyon 1

MILAN: Amelia; Oddo, Papstathopoulos (62' Yepes), Bonera, Zambrotta (68' Antonini); Strasser, Seedorf, Flamini (46' Gattuso); Merkel (80' Novinic), Borriello (77' Beretta), Verdi (58' Pato)

LYON: Loris; Gassama (60' Reveiller), Cris, Cissokho; Gonalons, Pjanic, Bastos (46' Pied), Toulalan, Ederson (80' Kallstrom); Briand (90' Tafer), Gomis (64' Lacazette, 85' Novillo)

SCORERS: 55' Borriello (M); 79' Briand (L)

CAUTIONED: 39' Sokratis (M)

Milan's second match in the Emirates Cup finished 1-1 against Olympique Lyon. The Rossoneri went ahead on 55 minutes through Borriello, set up by Verdi, and on 79 minutes Briand equalised with a header.