Paolo Maldini

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Ancelotti To Stay, Maldini To Leave - Berlusconi

Milan President Silvio Berlusconi says that he expects Carlo Ancelotti to stay on as coach next season, even if legendary captain Paolo Maldini will probably leave.

Milan have had a hugely disappointing season, and with just six games remaining in Serie A, the club are four points behind fourth-placed Fiorentina and face a struggle to qualify for the Champions League

As a result the Italian media believe that it is highly likely that Coach Carlo Ancelotti will leave at the end of the campaign, but Berlusconi is denying this.

“Ancelotti is part of the Milan family and I expect him to be here in the coming years,” he said on Radio Radio.

“But a great side has to have more champions.

“We had to deal with the serious injury to Ronaldo and this team was built on having a battering ram like him up front with Alexandre Pato and Kaka in behind creating things."

The former Italian prime minister also said that he believes Paolo Maldini will retire at the end of the season, despite the legendary captain revealing recently that he was having second thoughts.

“Still, we have a squad full of great players, even if they are getting older. Paolo Maldini will probably leave, but we aren’t ageing too badly. We just need to look to youth for our reinforcements,” the entrepreneur concluded.

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Maldini: My Last-Ever Game Against Juve?

Paolo Maldini has conceded that this weekend’s big match against Juventus could be his last-ever game against the Bianconeri.

The 39-year-old had announced many months back that he would be retiring at the end of the season, but recently he has been reconsidering this decision.

Earlier today however, Milan President Silvio Berlusconi said that he expected Maldini to actually hang up his boots.

“I don’t even know whether this will be my last game against the Bianconeri or not,” the legend stated on Sky Sport Italia.

Milan will travel to Turin with renewed confidence following an impressive 3-1 win over Cagliari at the weekend.

“We were improved from last week and we finally managed to win at home,” Maldini noted.

“We knew that we couldn’t make any mistakes because it would be too difficult to pull Fiorentina back.

“But we were calm against Cagliari and we weren’t thinking about what happened in previous games.

“From the off we tried to impose our style of play and that generally gives us the advantage at home.”

Milan have moved up to fifth in the table, but they remain four points behind Fiorentina, who occupy the final Champions League slot.

[LuNo]

I Think Paolo Won't Quit Yet - Cesare Maldini

Paolo Maldini's father Cesare thinks his legendary son will keep on playing for one more season.

It seems probable that Milan legend Paolo Maldini, who turns 40 this year, will keep playing for one more season. Confirming this rumour is his almost-as-legendary father Cesare, who also lifted the European Cup once as Milan captain in 1963 and also briefly coached the Italian national team.

"Milan are reinforcing themselves for the future, but I don't know if they're already thinking of replacing Maldini," he said. "Paolo's condition has definitely improved, after getting operated in Belgium, the doctors have seen he has improved a lot.

"The forecasts are good, my son also tells me that both during training and during the games he doesn't feel pain like he used to, and this might make him change his mind about an eventual retirement."

According to Maldini senior, Milan are also very reluctant to let go of their iconic captain: "[Adriano] Galliani always calls him into his offices to talk about the contract extension. In twenty days, after a new medical evaluation he will make his decision."

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JUVENTUS - MILAN

GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Fiori, Kalac,

DEFENDERS: Bonera, Cafu, Digao, Favalli, Maldini, Serginho, Simic,

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

STRIKERS: Gilardino, Inzaghi, Paloschi

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Maldini Looking Forward To Date With Old Lady

Paolo Maldini has revealed that he is looking forward to the Juventus clash on the weekend and he would welcome back want-away Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko to the club.

Milan are currently chasing the Champions League and the battle with the Bianconeri is crucial as anything less than a win could see there hopes of playing in Europe’s elite competition fade away.

“The longer your career goes on, the more you want to play in this kind of game,” Maldini told Sky Sport Italia.

“Juve are Juve and they are always our rivals, along with Inter.

“We also had a tense relationship with Napoli at the end of the 80s and then the Rome sides for a bit, but the game against Juventus has always been the battle for League supremacy.

“These occasions give you that little something extra. You don’t have to look inside for the emotion because it comes naturally.

“Juve have done very well because they had a difficult task and even they didn’t expect a campaign like this.

“They are an ambitious club due to everything that they have won and will win in the future.”

Maldini also spoke of how he would welcome Shevchenko back to the club where the Ukrainian enjoyed so much success, and the prospect of Ronaldinho joining the Rossoneri.

“In terms of the atmosphere, there would be absolutely no problem with him coming back," said the 39-year-old.

“Anyone who has given so much to the club will always be readily accepted by the club and the players.

“Ronaldinho? He is a great player and he would do very well in any side.

“And that’s as far as the discussion goes as far as us players are concerned. We will leave the discussions about tactics and the transfer market to others.”

Milan are currently fifth in Serie A and they will be hoping they can close the gap on Fiorentina who occupy the last Champions League place.

[sandy]

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Juventus 3:2 AC Milan - match report

Scorers: Del Piero 12 (J), Inzaghi 14, 31 (M), Salihamidzic 45, 80 (J)

Juventus fought back to defeat Milan 3-2 with Hasan Salihamidzic's brace, but Daniele Bonera's red card for a horror tackle proved decisive.

These two clubs dominated Serie A for two decades and it remained a battle of pride as well as a key game. The Bianconeri needed a victory to make up for last week's 3-2 loss at Palermo, while the Rossoneri knew only a win would keep their Champions League hopes intact. Carlo Ancelotti had to completely revolutionise his defence as Alessandro Nesta and Kakha Kaladze were banned, while Marek Jankulovski, Massimo Oddo, Ronaldo and Alexandre Pato had injuries. Pavel Nedved was suspended and Cristiano Zanetti sidelined.

Juve last won this fixture in November 2002 and curiously, Milan had not shared the spoils on their travels since a 1-1 at Catania on February 27, the same weekend as Juve’s last home draw in the goalless Turin derby.

Alessandro Del Piero flashed an angled drive off target, but he opened the scoring on 12 minutes. Mauro Camoranesi beat Giuseppe Favalli and threaded through for Del Piero's right-foot angled drive that trickled past Zeljko Kalac's outstretched leg and into the far corner of the net.

Moments later Inzaghi nearly equalised, as he sprung the offside trap on Favalli's cross and hit the side-netting.

Once again, it was a warning not heeded, as 60 seconds later Super Pippo drew level. Kaka held off Giorgio Chiellini down the left channel and rolled across for Inzaghi to tap in from six yards. This was his first goal against Juve in Turin.

Chiellini nodded a corner over the bar and Zdenek Grygera curled off target, while Buffon smothered a Kaka effort that bounced just in front of him.

Del Piero wasted a great counter-attack when he tried to dribble a little too long and was crowded out by Rossoneri shirts. Clarence Seedorf's wayward cross turned into a very dangerous lob that Buffon tipped on to the crossbar!

The resulting corner was not cleared effectively and allowed Milan to go 2-1 up. Daniele Bonera sprung the offside trap and smartly rolled across to Inzaghi, who was behind the line of the ball for a tap-in from eight yards. Before last week Inzaghi had scored just one Serie A goal all season, but this was his fourth in two games.

The Rossoneri had another wonderful scoring opportunity with Kaka's cracking right-foot volley spilled by Buffon and the World Cup winning goalkeeper just about scrambled the loose ball off the feet of Inzaghi.

However, Juventus made it 2-2 on the stroke of half-time. Del Piero dispossessed Paolo Maldini with a sneaky tackle and Camoranesi chopped a cross for David Trezeguet's header, which Kalac parried into the path of Hasan Salihamidzic.

The drama still wasn't over, as 30 seconds later Gennaro Gattuso's lob forced Buffon into a fingertip save.

After the restart Dario Simic slipped and was still able to intercept Del Piero's pass for Trezeguet. Nicola Legrottaglie limped off with a sprained knee and made way for Guglielmo Stendardo.

Grygera almost scored the goal of the season as he unleashed an extraordinary right-foot rocket from 34 metres that Kalac had to fingertip round the post.

Maldini's sliding tackle dispossessed Camoranesi at the byeline after he had overcome Simic. Bonera needed a glancing header to tip Sissoko's cross off the head of Stendardo from six yards, doing just enough to put the Juve defender off.

There was controversy on 66 minutes. Seedorf was furious that Camoranesi did not receive a booking for a stamp, but as soon as play resumed Bonera received a straight red card for a horrible studs-up challenge right on Sissoko's shin. It really was a leg-breaker tackle that risked serious injury to the former Liverpool midfielder. Fortunately, Sissoko was able to continue after several minutes of treatment.

Carlo Ancelotti had to balance out the side and threw on Marcos Cafu for Inzaghi. It seemed to work, as the Brazilian veteran was brought down by Camoranesi on the right channel for a poor Andrea Pirlo free kick.

Trezeguet made way for Vincenzo Iaquinta, so Ranieri did not risk the trident even against 10 men. Maldini charged down a Grygera counter, but there was further controversy 10 minutes from time. Maldini was very harshly penalised for a shoulder against shoulder challenge with Grygera and from that Camoranesi free kick Salihamidzic was allowed a totally free header.

Milan poured forward looking for the equaliser and this left space at the back for Del Piero to flash a counter off target, while Alberto Gilardino replaced Gattuso.

Buffon smothered a Cafu snapshot and Massimo Ambrosini moved up the field as a striker, but at the other end Del Piero's volley hit Kalac's outstretched foot in a one-on-one situation. Seedorf earned a free kick five minutes into stoppages and even Kalac went up, but Juve held on for the victory.

Juventus: Buffon; Grygera, Legrottaglie (Stendardo 51), Chiellini, Molinaro; Camoranesi (Nocerino 90), Tiago, Sissoko, Salihamidzic; Del Piero, Trezeguet (Iaquinta 78)

Milan: Kalac; Bonera, Simic, Maldini, Favalli; Gattuso (Gilardino 83), Pirlo (Brocchi 89), Ambrosini; Kakà, Seedorf; Inzaghi (Cafu 69)

Ref: Rocchi

Sent off: Bonera 66 (M)

[LuNo]

Player Ratings: Juventus 3-2 AC Milan

Juventus pulled off a dramatic victory in a classic encounter between the two most successful clubs in Italian football history.

Zeljko Kalac: 6.5 – Looked slow and awkward on Del Piero’s first goal of the game but made good saves on Grygera and Del Piero in the second half to give his team a fighting chance.

Daniele Bonera: 5.5 - Pushed forward on many occasions and unselfishly slotted the ball across to Inzaghi for an easy tap in. However, left too much space at the back, and to make it all worse, made an absolutely horrendous tackle on Momo Sissoko and was deservedly sent off.

Paolo Maldini: 6 - Started well, but then really showed his age as he was at fault for Juventus’s second goal after he was caught in possession deep in his own territory. Does not seem to have the legs beyond the hour mark.

Giuseppe Favalli: 5 - His best days are past him although he managed to push forward on a couple of occasions in the first half. All change please, as far as the Milan defence is concerned.

Dario Simic: 4 - He was run ragged by Del Piero all evening and committed countless fouls as he could not keep up with the pace of the match. Maybe Ronaldinho and Shevchenko will provide cover next season.

Rino Gattuso: 6 – The normally tenacious bulldog did not make an impact on the match and was outplayed by the gigantic Sissoko.

Massimo Ambrosini: 6.5 – Lumbered forward and won his team a couple of corner kicks, and played a part in one of Inzaghi's goals, but failed to stamp his authority in the middle of the pitch when Juve were in the ascendancy.

Clarence Seedorf: 6.5 - Did very well in the first half, but completely disappeared in the second half and did not pull the strings in the midfield the way Ancelotti would have wanted him to. Turns into a ghost far too often these days.

Andrea Pirlo: 6 - Had a decent first half, but was also quiet for most of the second, with his set pieces disappointing for a player of his technical ability. Gave the ball away quite a few times.

Kaka: 6.5 – Has finally rediscovered some of his form over the last two weeks. Set up his team’s first goal after a beautiful low cross left Inzaghi with the easiest of finishes, and had a couple of good moments in the second half. Not one of his best displays, but a step in the right direction.

Filippo Inzaghi: 8.5 – Poached two goals in the style that he is famous for and gave the Juventus defenders fits, especially in the first half. Was menacing throughout, and could well have completed a hat-trick. Milan's best player on the evening.

Substitutes:

Cafu (67”) 6, Alberto Gilardino (83”) NA, Christian Brocchi (88”) NA

[LuNo]

THE DUTY TO WIN

Three days from the clash at San Siro against Reggina, the Rossoneri’s captain spoke about the determination from the squad to do well in this final part of the season – PAOLO MALDINI’S WORDS -

MILANELLO – These are the declarations of the Rossoneri’s captain, Paolo Maldini, at the microphones of Milan Channel, today at the Rossoneri's sports centre of Milanello:

Captain, there are still five games left and after the match against Cagliari the San Siro jinx has been broken…

“Apart from the games which we play at home or away, we must only think to move forward and give the best in these last five league games. From our part we can only give our best commitment each time we go on the pitch and with regards reaching the fourth place, we can only hope in a slip by Fiorentina which is now not thinkable, but Milan still has the same duty to try and win all the next five league games."

With the brace that Filippo Inzaghi scored in Turin, he reached twelve goals in official games this season. Do you believe that he deserves a place in Roberto Donadoni's team for the European Championship in June?

“There are many players who are aspiring for a place in Euro 2008: Del Piero, Borriello, Pippo too…These are not easy choices and I would not want to be in the position of the national team coach whose job is difficult due to these choices. In general I believe that Donadoni must aim on those players who have been a group in these last two years during the qualifications, then, also due to the last minute physical conditions, the coach can complete the list of the called-up players.”

In these days there has been a lot of talk about the interest of many teams towards Gattuso. What do you think?

“I read on the newspapers that there are many requests for Rino, but I believe that there always have been. There are no doubts on the intentions of the club to hold him at Milan and not even Rino wants to leave.”

Often it is written and said about a Milan side which needs to be revived lately. Your judgement?

“I don’t believe that there is a Milan which needs to be revived. This team has won a prestigious competition like the World Club Cup just last December, not twenty years ago. Therefore I believe that we have to talk about continuity of this group and not re-birth."

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Maldini: Milan Still Want Gattuso

Milan captain Paolo Maldini has attempted to dampen speculation that Rino Gattuso will leave the club by saying that the Rossoneri have no intention of selling him.

Gattuso

The Italian press has been full of stories this week that Milan are set to signal a new era at the club by offloading Gattuso in the summer.

A host of clubs have been linked with signing him, most notably Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

“I have read in the newspapers that there’s lots of interest for Gattuso, but I think that there have always been clubs watching him,” Maldini told Milan Channel.

“However, I have no doubt that the club wants to keep him and I don’t think that Rino wants to go.”

No Revolution

Maldini went on to reject calls for a revolution in the summer, and says that only a few tweaks are required, and not a mass clearout.

“I don’t think that this Milan side needs to be rebuilt,” he stated.

“This team won a prestigious competition - the Club World Cup - as recently as December – it wasn’t 20 years ago.

“There should be some continuity with this group and not a rebirth.”

Inzaghi To Euro 2008?

Finally Maldini gave his say on calls in the Italian press that Filippo Inzaghi be taken to Euro 2008.

The prolific hitman has roared into form, having scored four goals in his last two league games.

“Lots of players are in contention for a place in Austria and Switzerland – Alessandro Del Piero, Marco Borriello, Pippo and many more,” said the 39-year-old legend.

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A.C. MILAN OFFICIAL NOTE

MILANELLO - A.C. Milan communicates that the footballer Paolo Maldini has subjected to an exam today which evidenced a lesion lo his left thigh. Next monday Maldini, who is doing physiotherapy work in the meantime, will be subjected to another exam to establish the times of recovery.

[sandy]

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Maldini To Be Awarded FIFA Order Of Merit :clap:

FIFA is to bestow the Order of Merit on AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini, the Gazzetta dello Sport has revealed.

The FIFA Order of Merit is usually awarded to those who are considered to have made a significant contribution to football.

The prize is not necessarily just for footballers, as apart from the likes of Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and the only other Italian to have won the award so far, Dino Zoff, political figures such as Nelson Mandela and Henry Kissinger have also been recipients.

Maldini will become only the second Italian to win the award, following in the footsteps of 1982 World Cup-winning captain Dino Zoff.

The 39-year-old Maldini will receive the honour at the annual FIFA Congress in Sydney next month. The Milan captain is set to retire from football at the end of the season after a glorious career lasting almost a quarter-of-a-century.

He has won seven Scudetti, one Coppa Italia, five Italian Super Cups, five Champions League titles, five European Super Cups and three World Club Cups.

He is both Milan and Italy’s all-time appearance maker, and is regarded by some as the best defender in the history of the game.

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