Shevchenko, Kaka returning as players and the
club hiring Clarence Seedorf and Pippo Inzaghi
as managers, even though both were obviously
out of their depth.
The truth arguably lies somewhere in between. It
is abundantly clear, and it goes without saying,
really, that Ibrahimovic isn’t the same player of
a decade ago. Yet as already evidenced on the
pitch, he can still make the difference in Serie
A even at this late stage of a long and nomadic
career.
He’s already netted twice since joining the club,
his first away to Cagliari in what was his first full
game for the club, his second came in the Coppa
Italia against Torino to seal a 4-2 win.
Coach Stefano Pioli has shifted his formation to
suit the Swede, going from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2
and put the younger and more mobile Leao next
to Ibra to do the leg work, allowing the latter
to put the ball in the net – something the club
struggled with in the first half of the season.
Milan’s prolificacy in front of goal is what has
cost them points this season. They have one of
the worst records in Serie A for goals scored,
with Krzysztof Piatek, now sold to Hertha Berlin,
looking especially lost at sea due to a dearth of
service.
Part of their problem was an overreliance on
Spanish winger Suso creating that service, but
Suso has been out of form for the better part
of two years. By the end was resembling a low-
cost version of legendary Bayern Munich winger
Arjen Robben, only without the end product.
Suso was shipped out to Sevilla in the
January transfer window and Ibra’s arrival has
undoubtedly changed Milan’s fortunes for the
better. Whilst they are still a work in progress,
and no one could deny there are issues that
need defining, the team look more threatening,
and also more cohesive, than they did pre-
Ibrahimovic.
His presence on the pitch offers them a presence
that they simply lacked with Piatek, who seemed
to wither under the pressure of being a Mian
player with each passing week. Zlatan now offers
an outlet, a target for full-backs Theo Hernandez
and Calabria to aim for, in addition to wingers
Ante Rebic and Samu Castelijo.
Zlatan has signed a contract with the club for
six months, with the option to extend for a
further 12. While it is very early doors, the signs
are positive. Yes it is a damming indictment of
how far Milan had fallen that a 38-year-old has
reinvigorated a team with their history but the
club needed an injection of quality to get out of
their predicament, and in the January transfer
window there aren’t exactly a lot of options
around.
Ibrahimovic could just be the tonic that this
ill version of Milan needs, and whilst a decade
ago the situations were reversed, it is Milan that
undoubtedly need the Swede’s experience now.
And he could just drag the Rossoneri back into
contention for that fabled top four spot and end
their six-year hiatus from a competition they
have won more than anyone with the exception
of Real Madrid. The lion, as Ibrahimovic likes to
refer to himself as, is starting to roar once more.Replacing Carlo Ancelotti with Gennaro
Gattuso seemed certain to end badly for
Napoli. But, Emmet Gates writes, the early
signs are good.The appointment raised eyebrows, especially
given the man who he was replacing, but
Gennaro Gattuso is slowly turning the Napoli
tide and confounding expectations.
Gattuso replaced his former coach, Carlo
Ancelotti, in mid-December, despite
Ancelotti securing entry into the Round of 16
in the Champions League for only the third
time in the Napoli’s history.
Ancelotti was judged to have lost the
dressing room in the aftermath of the
so-called ‘player mutiny’ in which players
refused to return to the team’s forced stay in
a hotel, and instead went home. Gattuso was
drafted in, and promptly lost four of his first
five matches in charge, equalling a record set
by Zdenek Zeman when he was in charge of
the Partnenopei in 2000-01.However, Gattuso masterminded two
victories against high-flying Lazio and
Juventus inside a week and secured a 4-2
away win against Sampdoria. Suddenly, it
seems the former Milan coach is stopping
the Neapolitan ship from sinking.
It’s still early doors yet, but it seems Gattuso
has stopped the rot. With reports that under
his tutelage, Napoli are running 10km more
per game than under predecessor Ancelotti,
and with several new signings in the shape of
Diego Demme, Stanislav Lobotka and Matteo
Politano all arriving in the January transfer
window, Gattuso may just have given the
club the impetus it needs to break into the
top four, an objective seemingly unthinkable
two months ago.It looked as if Cristiano Ronaldo’s powers
were on the wane as 2019 came to a close.
But, Emmet Gates reports, he’s passed
his 35th birthday looking as dangerous as
ever...
There’s no stopping Cristiano Ronaldo at the
moment. The Portuguese star has truly hit
top form in the last month after speculation
that things weren’t rosy between the player
and coach Maurizio Sarri.
Ronaldo had struggled in October and
November for the Old Lady, and could only
seem to score from the penalty spot. He
was substituted in two consecutive games
for the first time in a decade, and in typical
Ronaldo fashion, he didn’t take it well. To
put it simply, Ronaldo didn’t look fit, or
anywhere close to it.
This was denied by Portugal coach
Fernando Santos, who claimed the player
was fine and passed all their physical tests.
Ronaldo promptly scored a hat-trick against
Lithuania in a 6-0 win and the rumours went
into overdrive.
However Sarri reaffirmed his stance, stating
that Ronaldo had been struggling with
a knee injury, finally the player broke his
silence and revealed that yes, and he had
indeed been struggling with a problem.
The player was given some time off to
recuperate, and since December, Ronaldo
has regain his goal scoring mojo. He scored
in nine consecutive Serie A games to start
2020, equalling a Juventus record set by
David Trezeguet in the 2005-06 season.
Ronaldo is second in the Capocannoniere
charts, behind Lazio’s Ciro Immobilie. He
also hit his first Juventus hat-trick in the 4-0
home win against Cagliari.
He reached 50 goals for Juventus in just
70 games. As the player celebrates his
35th birthday, it’s fair to say that Ronaldo is
hitting form just when Juve need him most.
GATTU-SO FAR,
SO GOOD
LOTS LEFT IN
THE TANK
Ibra was the catalyst
for Milan’s last
Scudetto victoryA move to Paris
Saint-Germain was
pushed through to
ease Milan’s financial
problemsSuccessful spells at
Manchester United
and LA Galaxy
followed