Gennaro Ivan Gattuso

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GATTUSO: 'Ronaldo is football'

MILAN - Rino Gattuso welcomed back Ronaldo: "He changed his look, now he has the goatie, but I must say that it hurts to see a great champion sitting on the bench looking at the training session, because Ronaldo is football. Following the injury he has no been Ronaldo, but he played at 40% and did extraordinary things. In these years I understood why they call him 'Fenomeno'. If he was just like that at 40%, think how he would be at 100%."

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ROMA-MILAN

GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Fiori, Kalac;

DEFENDERS: Bonera, Digao, Favalli, Kaladze, Maldini, Oddo, Simic;

MIDFIELDERS: Ambrosini, Brocchi, Emerson, Gattuso, Kaka, Pirlo, Seedorf;

STRIKERS: Gilardino, Pato, Paloschi.

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Rino welcomes Sheva talk

Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso has supported the idea of re-signing former star Andriy Shevchenko.

The Rossoneri are struggling for striking options after Ronaldo severed a tendon in his knee.

Young gun Alexandre Pato has stepped up to the mark, but Milan seem to be lacking a reliable finisher to do the job Sheva used to do.

“If the club wanted to sign Shevchenko, he would be a good addition,” Gattuso said at the presentation of FIFA Street 3.

“He hasn’t succeeded to play at the top of his abilities in England, but if he returned he would have such a great hunger and would be good for the atmosphere.

“I have heard that Sheva doesn’t want to return, but the important thing is that we bring in a top striker and other champions.

“Didier Drogba is the kind of man who can make the difference and Luca Toni is also a match-winner.”

Despite his hopes for reinforcements, Gattuso also expressed his sympathy for fallen comrade Ronaldo.

“It has upset me to see him out of action,” he stressed. “He is football and he shouldn’t have to be reduced to watching.

“His future? I can’t make judgements but I’m sure that he will only sign a renewal to his contract if he manages to recover.”

Ronaldo attended training with his Milan colleagues today for the first time since his injury, but he will be on crutches for another few weeks.

[LuNo]

We Don't Want To Play Uefa Cup - Gattuso

Milan midfielder Gennaro 'Rino' Gattuso talked about the importance of finishing fourth and avoiding ending up in the Uefa Cup.

n order to reach their objective of finishing fourth, Milan will have to face each match with the concentration of a final. That is the opinion of midfielder Gennaro 'Rino' Gattuso, which he expressed in today's press conference ahead of the match against Roma this weekend.

"Saturday's match will be a tough one, but the fourth place will not only depend on the match in Rome," he said. "It's only one of the 11 finals we have between now and the end of the season. The objective is always to take home the three points, even though I think Roma can still win the Scudetto. In 11 games six points can be recovered.

"Our objective is the fourth place, it's an important objective. We have no intention of going to play in Bratislava or in Bulgaria next year. Playing in the Uefa Cup would be sad for Milan, who are used to other kinds of stages. Fiorentina's qualification to the next stage of the Uefa Cup could be good for us: the more matches our opponents have, the better."

Currently Milan are still in fifth with 46 points, but Fiorentina are only one point above them after their 1-0 defeat away to Siena last week.

[LuNo]

AS Roma 2:1 AC Milan - match report

Scorers: Kaka 56', Giuly 78', Vucinic 81'

Ludovic Giuly and Mirko Vucinic overturned Kaka's goal in three minutes for Roma's 2-1 victory over Milan.

There was a great deal at stake at the Olimpico, as the Giallorossi needed to keep up the pressure on Inter and the visitors had to maintain their race for a top four finish. Gennaro Gattuso returned from suspension, but Alessandro Nesta, Nelson Dida, Serginho, Marek Jankulovski, Ronaldo, Pippo Inzaghi and former Roma hero Marcos Cafu didn't make the trip. This meant Carlo Ancelotti - an ex-Giallorossi hero as a player - was able to field a Christmas Tree formation.

Christian Panucci performed a perfectly-timed challenge to tackle Kaka in the box, while Giuseppe Favalli had to clear for a corner when a dangerous Amantino Mancini cross found the Milan defence unprepared.

Zeljko Kalac's poor clearance was straight at Simone Perrotta and risked giving away a goal, but 30 seconds later Alexandre Pato's chipped cross was just too high for Clarence Seedorf.

The first real chance was on 25 minutes when De Rossi's cross was flicked on by Totti and Mancini's acrobatic scissor-kick was over the bar. Moments later Milan threatened too, as Seedorf went past two defenders and Alexandre Doni plucked Kaka's header out of the air.

Totti found space from nine yards on a chipped Rodrigo Taddei pass over the defence, but flashed his shot across the face of goal.

Seedorf dribbled past four defenders to enter the area, but eventually Taddei managed to cut off his path as the last man with a crucial intervention. Kaka nodded a Favalli cross wide of the far post.

Totti rolled back for the unmarked David Pizarro, but his scuffed shot and a Juan attempted deflection were off target.

Max Tonetto's cross from the left was a couple of inches too high for Totti to connect a header from six yards in first half stoppages. At the half-time whistle Totti and Luciano Spalletti were furious, as a corner was halted for an irregularity.

Straight after the restart Seedorf slipped a pass through the crowd of defenders for Kaka, but the Brazilian had a powerful effort parried from seven yards by one strong Doni hand.

Moments later Doni was again called into action with a low one-handed save at the near post on Seedorf, as Milan were far more aggressive in the second half.

Milan were piling on the pressure and opened the scoring on 56 minutes. Massimo Oddo had acres of space down the right channel to run onto Andrea Pirlo's pass and crossed for Kaka to smash under the bar from eight yards with the inside of his left foot.

Totti had a great chance to equalise, but the move was halted for an evident handling offence.

The Rossoneri really should have been 2-0 up on the hour mark. Seedorf combined brilliantly with Pato and the Dutchman squirmed past Doni, but lost his footing from that challenge and Cicinho was able to get back for a goalline clearance.

Ludovic Giuly and Mirko Vucinic were introduced to spice up the Roma attack, but Milan kept pushing and Pirlo's pass over the defence found Kaka totally unmarked for a half-volley that Doni palmed over the bar.

Zeljko Kalac smothered a Vucinic snapshot, but on the counter Pato skipped past Juan and jumped over Doni, earning only a booking for simulation. Emerson replaced Seedorf and was greeted with jeers by the Roma crowd, as he had left the club controversially to join rivals Juventus.

Totti's backheel sent Vucinic clear and he fired over, while Pato selfishly went for goal.

Roma equalised in chaotic circumstances 12 minutes from time. The ball ricocheted around and Perrotta eventually managed to thread a pass through for the utterly unmarked Giuly to volley in from eight yards.

Paolo Maldini's challenge prevented Perrotta from giving them the lead 60 seconds later, but Vucinic turned the game around completely! He sprung the offside trap on a De Rossi ball from the right to slide an angled drive past Kalac.

It wasn't over yet and Totti's lob was just too wide and it was end to end stuff in these final minutes. There was more bad news for the Rossoneri, as Kaka pulled up with lower back pain, something that has been troubling him for some time.

Kalac saved from Giuly and Totti didn't get enough power to a header from Vucinic's cross, but in stoppages Milan players were queuing up and couldn't make contact with Oddo and Pirlo crosses, as Alberto Gilardino took it off Alberto Paloschi's head. The last kick of the game was a Pirlo free kick over the bar.

Roma: Doni; Cicinho, Panucci, Juan, Tonetto; De Rossi, Pizarro (Giuly 62); Taddei (Aquilani 72), Perrotta, Mancini (Vucinic 56); Totti

Milan: Kalac; Oddo, Maldini, Kaladze, Favalli; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini (Gilardino 85); Kaka (Paloschi 87), Seedorf (Emerson 72); Pato

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[LuNo]

Player Ratings: Roma 2-1 Milan

Late goals from Ludovic Giuly and Mirko Vucinic cancelled out Kaká's opener to give Roma a 2-1 victory over AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico

Kalac 3.5 – Hard to be positive here. Looked nervous throughout, didn’t command his box, was dodgy with clearances and probably shouldn’t have let Vucinic beat him at his near post.

Oddo 6 – Awful before the break with unconvincing defending and disappointing crosses, but far more assured in the second half and gave a superb assist for the goal. Less to blame for the late mistakes than the rest of the back line.

Maldini 6.5 – Had an outstanding game, commanding at the back and ruthless going forward – only to then play a leading role in the late collapse.

Kaladze 4.5 – It’s clear the Georgian isn’t yet on top form – looked very fragile in the first half and his indecision proved costly at the end.

Favalli 5.5 – Looked fairly comfortable at the back and got forward well but things changed with the emergence of Giuly.

Gattuso 5.5 – Struggled to stamp his authority on this game.

Pirlo 6 – Wasteful with his own chances but delivered some terrific passes, not least in the build-up to the goal.

Ambrosini 5 – Clearly a loser in the battle of the midfield

Kaka 6.5 – Sloppy at times, brilliant at others. Got the goal and always carried a threat.

Seedorf 7 – Probably Milan’s best player even though he squandered a great chance to make it 2-0. Things fell apart only when he was subbed.

Pato 5.5 – Poor final balls didn’t help his cause but then he didn’t make use of what he was given either. Terrible dive.

Substitutes

72mins Emerson (NA); 85mins Gilardino (NA); 88mins Paloschi (NA)

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MILAN - SAMPDORIA

GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Kalac, Fiori,

DEFENDERS: Bonera, Favalli, Jankulovski, Kaladze, Nesta, Oddo,

MIDFIELDERS: Ambrosini, Brocchi, Emerson, Gattuso, Gourcuff, Kakà, Pirlo, Seedorf,

STRIKERS: Gilardino, Pato, Paloschi.

[LuNo]

AC Milan 1:2 Sampdoria - match report

Scorers: Maggio 12 (S), Delvecchio 25 (S), Paloschi 71 (M)

Milan tumbled to a shock home defeat that sees Sampdoria close to within a point and the Champions League dreams perhaps evaporate completely.

Few would have expected it at the start of the season, but this was effectively a head-to-head for UEFA Cup football. Just two points divided the teams going in. Milan were still smarting from their 2-1 loss at Roma and were without Ronaldo, Pippo Inzaghi, Marcos Cafu, Serginho and Yoann Gourcuff. Antonio Cassano continued to sit out his five-match ban and was joined by Daniele Franceschini on the naughty step.

Samp had not won here since a 3-2 result on February 2, 1997. Zeljko Kalac recovered from injury to start this game and took the sting out of an early Emiliano Bonazzoli attempt.

Milan were forced to change their tactics when Kaka limped off after just 10 minutes to make way for teenage striker Alberto Paloschi.

The Blucerchiati were more confident and took a deserved lead after 12 minutes. The Milan defence was caught napping, as the ball took two touches from Sampdoria players in the box before Christian Maggio's tap-in from five yards.

Massimo Ambrosini had penalty appeals waved away for a Maggio shirt tug and Paloschi fired wide of the near post from Clarence Seedorf's pass.

Instead, Sampdoria doubled their lead. Seedorf's backheel for Alexandre Pato was intercepted and they completed a classic counter-attack with Gennaro Delvecchio's finish.

Sergio Volpi's fierce free kick flashed across the face of goal with several Samp players flying in to get the decisive touch.

Alessandro Nesta had a rare crack at goal from 30 metres that was not too far off the target, then Seedorf was flagged offside - incorrectly - and fired wide anyway with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Maggio could so easily have made it 3-0 on the counter only to blast over the bar.

A well-timed Daniele Gastaldello tackle stopped Paloschi from scoring just inside the box. Alberto Gilardino came off the bench at half-time for a more attacking formation and with his first touch had a header deflected over from a corner. Gila also felt he deserved a penalty for a Stefano Lucchini challenge.

Milan were unlucky not to re-open the game as Pirlo's free kick smacked the base of the upright thanks to a Castellazzi fingertip save.

The Rossoneri finally got a goal back through their liveliest and most effective player - 18-year-old Paloschi - who got a glancing header to a Pato cross on 71 minutes.

Kakha Kaladze had more penalty appeals for a shirt-tug and Giuseppe Favalli's snapshot flashed past the near post.

Lucchini saw red in stoppages for a second bookable offence and Pirlo's free kick took a series of deflections in front of the goal.

Gennaro Gattuso was so nearly the San Siro hero with the captain's armband on, but Castellazzi did well to palm his shot out for a corner.

Milan: Kalac; Oddo, Nesta, Kaladze, Jankulovski (Favalli 55); Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini (Gilardino 46); Kaka (Paloschi 10), Seedorf; Pato

Sampdoria: Castellazzi; Lucchini, Gastaldello, Accardi; Maggio, Sammarco, Volpi, Palombo, Pieri (Zenoni 74); Delvecchio (Ziegler 88), Bonazzoli (Bellucci 76)

Ref: Banti

Sent off: Lucchini 91 (S)

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TORINO-MILAN

GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Fiori, Kalac,

DEFENDERS:Digao, Favalli, Jankulovski, Kaladze, Maldini, Nesta, Oddo, Simic,

MIDFIELDERS:Ambrosini, Brocchi, Emerson, Gattuso, Gourcuff, Pirlo, Seedorf,

STRIKERS: Gilardino, Paloschi, Pato.

[LuNo]

Torino 0:1 AC Milan - match report

Scorer: Pato 66 (M)

Alexandre Pato grabbed a decisive goal as Milan get back on track following two defeats on the trot, but relegation is becoming a real threat for the Granata.

These were desperate times for both teams after two straight losses. The Rossoneri's midweek home defeat to Sampdoria not only left them four points adrift of fourth place, but also put their UEFA Cup spot under pressure. Toro had Nikola Lazetic suspended and Matteo Sereni injured, while Kaka, Pippo Inzaghi, Ronaldo, Marcos Cafu and Serginho were sidelined.

Milan had not lost in Turin since November 2001, winning both their following visits. Torino had the first chance when Roberto Stellone held off Kakha Kaladze to thump the side-netting.

At the other end Alberto Maria Fontana beat away a deflected Andrea Pirlo free kick, then he flew to palm Clarence Seedorf's set play out from under the bar.

Another Pirlo free kick tested Fontana as he seemed to know little about the trajectory, while Seedorf's impressive scissor-kick was palmed round the near post.

Paolo Maldini dribbled down the left channel for his cross to be touched on by Alberto Gilardino, but Alexandre Pato's shot was deflected over the bar. From the resulting corner a looping Alessandro Nesta header hit the roof of the net.

Gilardino should have done better on the counter, but went for glory rather than rolling to the unmarked Pato.

Alessandro Rosina had a great chance smothered by Kakha Kaladze's perfectly timed challenge from eight yards. At the other end Fontana did well at full stretch to smother a deflected cross for Pato that came off Marco Di Loreto.

Seedorf was totally unmarked from nine yards for a right-foot sweeping shot on the volley that cracked against the underside of the crossbar from Pato's assist.

Gilardino wasted another golden opportunity when one-on-one with Fontana.

Milan finally broke the deadlock on 66 minutes. Gilardino gathered Seedorf's pass and with his back to goal managed to draw out the goalkeeper and swing across for Pato to prod the ball over the line. He was not in an offside position, as the Brazilian was clearly behind the ball.

Pato went forward and set up Seedorf, bringing a tough save out of Fontana's outstretched leg.

Toro threw on Alvaro Recoba and Nicola Ventola in a bid to get level. They went close too on 77 minutes, but Zeljko Kalac rushed out to flap the ball of Stellone's feet and Ventola fired the follow-up wide.

Torino: Fontana; Diana, Natali, Di Loreto, Pisano; Rosina, Corini (Ventola 70), Grella, P Zanetti; Stellone, Di Michele (Recoba 73)

Milan: Kalac; Oddo, Nesta, Kaladze, Maldini; Gattuso (Brocchi 66), Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf; Pato, Gilardino

Ref: Saccani