Alberto Gilardino

[LuNo]

/monthly_01_2008/post-4484-0-1598666712-42265_thumb.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt="8352017.jpg">

[LuNo]

MILAN-GENOA

GOALKEEPERS: Kalac, Fiori;

DEFENDERS: Cafu, Favalli, Kaladze, Maldini, Nesta, Oddo;

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

STRIKERS: Gilardino, Kakà, Pato.

[LuNo]

AC Milan's Gilardino denies taunting Ancelotti

tribalfooball.com - January 28, 2008

AC Milan striker Alberto Gilardino insists he wasn't sarcastically applauding coach Carlo Ancelotti at the end of yesterday's 2-0 victory over Genoa.

Gilardino lasted less than a minute as an injury-time substitute and was spotted at the final whistle putting his hands together in the direction of Ancelotti.

"I was clapping (Rino) Gattuso, it had nothing to do with the coach," insisted Gilardino, who felt snubbed and humiliated by Ancelotti's actions, says Gazzetta dello Sport.

[LuNo]

REGGINA - MILAN

GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Fiori, Kalac

DEFENDERS: Bonera, Cafu, Favalli, Kaladze, Nesta, Oddo, Simic

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

ATTACKERS: Kaka, Gilardino, Pato

[LuNo]

Reggina 0:1 AC Milan - match report

Scorer: Gilardino 18 (M)

Alberto Gilardino's goal proved enough to maintain Milan's climb up the table as they conquer Reggina 1-0 in a rescheduled Week 15 tie.

This match was rescheduled from December 9, 2007 due to the Rossoneri's participation in the Club World Cup in Japan. Nelson Dida, Ronaldo and Pippo Inzaghi were injured, so Alexandre Pato partnered Alberto Gilardino just three days after the Brazilian teenager bagged both goals in the 2-0 victory over Genoa. Reggina were fresh from a 2-2 draw away to Atalanta, where they fought back from 2-0 down, but Emil Halfredsson and Nicola Amoruso were sidelined.

Gennaro Gattuso scored a rare goal against Atalanta last week, albeit with the aid of a deflection, and he tried to repeat the trick with a fierce right-foot drive that the 'keeper palmed out for a corner. Pato, Kaka and Reggina's Emmanuel Cascione had efforts from distance.

Milan broke the deadlock after 18 minutes with under-fire Alberto Gilardino. An Andrea Pirlo cross found Gila unmarked at the back post and although Andrea Campagnolo got a hand to it, the free header was too powerful and squeezed in. It was the former Parma striker's seventh Serie A goal of the season, all of them away from home.

Moments later Gilardino nodded a Pirlo free kick just over, but he was in an offside position. Alvarez did well to close down Kaka as he ran on to an inspired chipped Pirlo pass, but Gattuso had another two attempts from the edge of the box, the second bringing a save out of Campagnolo.

Reggina's first real scoring opportunity was on 32 minutes, as Fabio Ceravolo got away from Alessandro Nesta and tested Zeljko Kalac at the near post.

Pato fired over from the D and Kaka drilled just wide before the break, while Gattuso and Simone Missiroli had long-range efforts after the restart.

The Amaranto threw on January signing Cristian Stuani and Campagnolo fingertipped a Pirlo set-piece out for a corner.

In the space of 20 seconds Milan had two fantastic opportunities to double their advantage. First Pirlo's free kick was curled over the wall and on to the crossbar, then as the move continued Campagnolo performed an incredible point-blank reaction save on Emerson.

A splendid Pato volley flashed wide of the near post, but the 18-year-old wasted a counter with a terrible finish. Gilardino was at full stretch to toe-poke a Massimo Oddo cross just past the far post.

Substitutes Cristian Brocchi and Yoann Gourcuff kept the Reggina defence busy late on.

Milan: Kalac; Oddo, Nesta, Kaladze, Favalli; Gattuso, Pirlo (Brocchi 82), Emerson; Kakà; Pato (Gourcuff 82), Gilardino

Reggina: Campagnalo; Lanzaro, Cirillo, Aronica; Alvarez, Cascione (Barreto 68), Cozza, Modesto; Vigiani (Montiel 74), Missiroli; Ceravolo (Stuani 61)

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

GILA CHAMPIONS

The Rossoneri win in Reggio Calabria with the strength and the anger of Alberto Gilardino. Between Udine and Reggio, Gila gives Milan 6 crucial points in the race for a Champions League spot. Now against Fiorentina failure will not be an option.

REGGIO CALABRIA - A victory was needed, both for the standings and for the morale, it was fundamental to come back from Reggio Calabria with the full three points to prepare in the best way a match, the one against Fiorentina, which is like a Champions League play-off.

As they did in Udine, the Rossoneri won 1-0 at the Granillo stadium with a decisive goal by Alberto Gilardino. Gila confirmed himself as a crucial element of the Rossoneri's attack, a striker who can always be counted on to deliver, and today even more for that healthy determination which is a characteristic of all Alberto's displays. It was his will, his hunger which allowed him to be ready in the 20th minute of the first half to head in an assist by Andrea Pirlo. A sudden lightning bolt in a mostly dull match, which was conducted by Milan with the right calmness against a Reggina side who were camped in their own half.

It was not an especially spectacular match, but the rossoneri handled every situation with great rationality. Kaká and company never showed impatience in their play, controlling the game well with their ball possession and looking for the winning touch. It was good for the team that the deadlock was broked after just 20 minutes, preventing that any nerves would grow against a team who defended well for the whole 90 minutes, except on the move of the winning goal.

In the restart, after several attempts to launch Pato's runs up front with long balls over the defence, and after more dangerous moves in front of Campagnaro's goal, Milan went close to doubling the score on a dead ball situation. Once again, the extraordinary Pirlo fired a brilliant curling trajectory which only the crossbar prevented from going in.

The Rossoneri thereby picked up three crucial points and will now prepare for the very important match against Fiorentina. The Viola will want to make up for their elimination from the Coppa Italia, but Milan, who never fail on the important occasions, know that at the Artemio Franchi failure is not allowed.

[LuNo]

FIORENTINA - MILAN

GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Kalac, Fiori

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

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

ATTACKERS: Gilardino, Pato

[LuNo]

Fiorentina 0:1 AC Milan - match report

Scorer: Pato 77' (M)

Alexandre Pato gave Milan a crucial victory away to Fiorentina, but the youngster was stretchered off with a potentially serious injury.

This was essentially a play-off for fourth place between two teams finally finding their form. Fresh from a rescheduled midweek 1-0 away win at Reggina, the Rossoneri were without Ronaldo and Gennaro Gattuso, so former Viola man Cristian Brocchi had a rare start. Fiorentina's Marco Donadel sat out a ban and Fabio Liverani was sidelined, but they were coming off four straight wins.

Milan have traditionally struggled at the Stadio Franchi, held 2-2 last season and with just one win here in their last five visits. Having said that, the last time they failed to score was a 4-0 thrashing in January 2001. There was a minute's silence before kick-off and Milan wore black armbands out of respect for President Silvio Berlusconi's mother, who died this weekend aged 97.

Giampaolo Pazzini had the first shot on goal in the opening minute smothered by Zeljko Kalac, who was given the gloves despite Nelson Dida's return to fitness.

There was chaos in the Viola box on seven minute as the Rossoneri had several chances in one move to score. Alberto Gilardino flicked the ball over Sebastien Frey and Manuel Pasqual's goalline clearance was almost an own goal, ricocheting off the inside of the far post! The move continued and Massimo Ambrosini's effort was charged down.

Adrian Mutu went close as well soon after, his first header clattering against the near post, the follow-up looping but not enough to beat Kalac in a splendid save.

Clarence Seedorf flashed a shot over and Martin Jorgensen's goalline clearance kept out Kakha Kaladze's header from a corner kick.

Kaka pounced on a Per Kroldrup error and Gilardino fired a snapshot across the face of goal, but at the other end Mario Alberto Santana just failed to get a decisive touch from close range thanks to Paolo Maldini's protection.

Gilardino was clear on goal from the D, but completely scuffed his right-foot shot so that it went well wide. A Massimo Oddo error sent Riccardo Montolivo on the counter, but Pazzini's finish was charged down inside the box.

Moments later Pazzini chested down the ball to hold off Alessandro Nesta and spun round, the rising strike skimming the crossbar.

Kaka and Seedorf combined for a classic counter-attack, but Frey did well to smother the Brazilian's finish.

Straight after the restart Nesta was extremely fortunate to avoid a straight red card. He was dispossessed by Mutu and chasing the Fiorentina striker twice held him back by his jersey, but because Kaladze was between them and the goalkeeper, it was not considered a clear scoring opportunity and so only a booking.

From the resulting free kick Nesta rode his luck again, the ball deflected out for a corner over his shoulder. Oddo dived in to prevent Pazzini getting a header from six yards on Mutu's cross.

Alexandre Pato replaced Seedorf, who was struggling with an ankle problem since the first half, but the Dutchman was visibly angry and walked off the field distant from the bench.

Maldini charged down a Tomas Ujfalusi attempt, but Kaka skipped past three tackles to fire wide of the near post.

It was a very open game and Kalac did brilliantly to parry Mutu's volley at the back post from point-blank range.

Emerson came off the bench and beat two Fiorentina players with nutmegs before unleashing a curler just over the bar in a wonderful solo move. Moments later Pato was inches away from getting the decisive touch on an Oddo cross that zipped across the face of goal.

Santana wasted a golden opportunity and it proved disastrous. Santana's unnecessary backheel for Montolivo wrecked a great chance and on the counter Milan took the lead. Pato chested down Kaka's cross, controlled it and fired past Frey with his left foot between a crowd of defenders. It was the 18-year-old's fourth goal of the season.

Former Milan flop Christian Vieri replaced Montolivo, but Kroldrup needed a desperate sliding tackle to stop Pato getting a second.

The Brazilian badly sprained his left ankle as he put his foot down awkwardly and was stretchered off in visible pain. Milan had completed their substitutions, so had to play five minutes of stoppages with 10 men. In the final seconds a corner had both teams packed into the box and it fell to Alessandro Gamberini's header from six yards, but Kalac performed a stunning point-blank reaction save!

Fiorentina: Frey; Ujfalusi, Kroldrup, Gamberini, Pasqual; Kuzmanovic, Jorgensen (Gobbi 81), Montolivo (Vieri 78); Santana, Pazzini, Mutu

Milan: Kalac; Oddo, Nesta, Kaladze, Maldini; Brocchi (Emerson 72), Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf (Pato 66), Kaka (Favalli 80); Gilardino

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

CONTINUE LIKE THIS MILAN

"I have to give my compliments to the whole team. It was a very intense, balanced match. We are happy about the result and especially about having won the three points." - THE WORDS OF THE ROSSONERI -

FLORENCE - Here are the declarations made by the rossoneri after Fiorentina-Milan 0-1:

ALBERTO GILARDINO:

"I have to give my compliments to the whole team. It was a very intense, balanced match. Perhaps we could have scored before, but we are still happy with the result and about getting another three points. Both teams played a good match, we played the ball and the fact that Fiorentina played very far up the pitch allowed us to have a few chances up front. With Siena it won't be easy, especially after Pato's injury, and I'm disappointed about my booking because I wasn't expecting it, now I'll prepare well for the game with Livorno.

Tonight Milan showed what they can do, but we can do even better."

PAOLO MALDINI:

"Finally we managed to do what we always need to do. Unfortunately in the standings we are penalised by the fact we haven't won much at home in the first round of matches, that is absolutely unlike Milan. Now we have to keep on going, although we are still disappointed with the three points lost against Atalanta.

Concerning Pato, I became worried about his condition, he suffered a painful knock, perhaps a new feeling for him, but I don't think it's too serious because he hurt his ankle, not his knee. It's not as bad as what it seemed like on the pitch.

Now we must continue doing well, our objectives must be large. Until twenty days ago the fourth place seemed like a utopia. Soon the Champions League will return, which will strain us both physically and mentally. Our intention is to be more consistent compared to the first part of the season."

KALAC:

"I managed to save the result on Fiorentina's last shot of the game, but we shouldn't forget that the team offered a great performance. We believed until the end and then we won. Of the whole match, the most difficult save was certainly the last one, because if it had gone Fiorentina would have gotten a draw and we wouldn't have had the time to recover. The fact I've been able to play more frequently has certainly helped achieve a better balance."

[LuNo]

Italian Press: Roma And Fiorentina Want Gilardino

Italian tabloid Leggo claims that Roma and Fiorentina are hot on the trail of AC Milan striker Alberto Gilardino...

The AC Milan hierarchy have frequently stated that Alberto Gilardino will not be sold anytime soon, with these claims holding extra resonance after the striker's recent return to form.

However, this has not stopped Italian tabloid Leggo from reporting the apparent interest of Roma and Fiorentina in the 25-year-old.

The Rossoneri paid around €24m (£18m) for the ex-Parma man in 2005, and while he finished last season as Milan's top league scorer, many feel that he has not uqite been worth that level of investment.

Fiorentina's interest in the forward - with a view to replacing the veteran Christian 'Bobo' Vieri - is well-known, but the idea of a concrete bid is relatively recent.

As for Roma, their 3-0 loss to Siena at the weekend has apparently coaxed directors into taking a serious look at strengthening the squad ahead of next season, particularly if co-owned forward Mirko Vucinic moves on.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Ajax is another mooted target for the Giallorossi.

[LuNo]

[Laudy Bonera]

Thanks Luno!

[LuNo]

You're welcome & thanks for the pics

[jfanatique]

thanksss !

[LuNo]

MILAN-LIVORNO

GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Kalac;

DEFENDERS: Bonera, Cafu, Favalli, Kaladze, Oddo, Serginho, Simic;

MIDFIELDERS: Ambrosini, Gattuso, Gourcuff, Pirlo, Seedorf;

STRIKERS: Gilardino, Inzaghi, Ronaldo, Paloschi.

[LuNo]

AC Milan 1:1 Livorno - match report

Scorers: Pulzetti 50 (L), Pirlo pen 61 (M)

Milan were held to a 1-1 home draw by Livorno, but above all the team is in shock after Ronaldo was stretchered off with a serious knee injury.

This fixture was rescheduled from December 16 due to the Rossoneri's Club World Cup commitments and was the last Serie A game to be moved from that period, but after four wins on the trot they knew another victory would see them leapfrog Fiorentina into fourth place.

Kaka, Alexandre Pato, Ronaldo and Pippo Inzaghi were injured, so Alberto Paloschi got his first start just three days after scoring in the opening 20 seconds of his Serie A debut. Yoann Gourcuff supported the 18-year-old and Alberto Gilardino. Livorno came off a 1-1 draw with Genoa and were just three points clear of the drop zone.

After five minutes Andrea Pirlo's snapshot was palmed round the near post by Marco Amelia, then back-to-back Gourcuff and Massimo Ambrosini efforts were charged down inside the box.

Ambrosini's haphazard cross turned into a shot that Amelia flapped out from under the bar. Pirlo dispossessed a player in midfield and threaded through for Paloschi, who lost his footing at the key moment and allowed Amelia to save.

Livorno had their first attempt on 18 minutes, as Francesco Tavano spun round to drill over the bar, but it was all Milan as Gourcuff smashed a powerful left-foot drive past the woodwork.

A free kick was floated to the back post and Tavano was left unmarked thanks to Massimo Oddo's error, but Ambrosini did just enough to put him off as he fired high from eight yards.

The best chance of the game so far saw Ambrosini's diving header fingertipped round the base of the post by a spectacular Amelia save. The Italian international goalkeeper was tested again by a Pirlo snapshot.

Livorno's chances of getting points here were hit when Tavano limped off clutching the back of his thigh just before half-time. Straight after the restart, Gennaro Gattuso risked a penalty with a sliding tackle on Antonio Flippini, but it was clean.

However, it was Livorno who took a shock lead on 50 minutes. Nico Pulzetti gathered a weak Kakha Kaladze clearance, took it to his stronger left foot and unleashed a rocket into the far top corner from just inside the box. It was a fine way to celebrate his 24th birthday.

Gilardino requested a penalty, but the ball ricocheted off Fabio Galante's leg and on to his arm, so was not a spot-kick offence. Carlo Ancelotti completely revamped the strikeforce with a double substitution, introducing the not 100 per cent fit Ronaldo and Inzaghi.

Within a couple of minutes the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty as Jose Luis Vidigal struck Oddo's cross. Most of the attention was on Ronaldo, who fell in that move and was stretchered off clutching his left knee. The Brazilian was crying in agony and his teammates seemed very shaken, fearing the worst.

Pirlo kept his cool to convert the spot-kick and draw Milan level, while Serginho came off the bench. Initial reports suggest Ronaldo has sustained a serious tendon injury in his left knee and the fall was not entirely dissimilar to the horrific injury he suffered on April 12, 2000.

Ambrosini moved further up the field to fill in and there were long-range efforts from Inzaghi and Diamanti.

On 76 minutes an Inzaghi diving header was somehow pushed off the line by a crucial Amelia reaction save.

In the final minute Livorno risked a winner with Pulzetti again. He was totally unmarked at the back post and came sliding on to a cross, but couldn't make decent contact and the ball was trapped under his body.

Milan: Kalac; Oddo, Bonera, Kaladze, Favalli; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Gourcuff; Paloschi (Inzaghi 57), Gilardino (Ronaldo 57) (Serginho 62)

Livorno: Amelia; Grandoni, Knezevic, Galante; A Filippini, Pulzetti, De Vezze, Vidigal (Pavan 84), Pasquale; Tavano (Diamanti 45), Tristan (Rossini 77)