Goodbye Il Captino

He may not be the greatest defender to grace the game or AC Milan for that matter, but somehow he managed to be the greatest player to play at the San Siro. Maldini is so much more to Milan than just a defender. He is our leader, our captain. When Baresi retired, the rossoneri took comfort in the fact that Paolo was there.

It is impossible to imagine another player filling the shoes left vacant by Maldini even if a third generation of Maldinis line up to claim the No.3 jersey. It will take a herculean effort to match his longevity and his titles. His brief roster of trophies include 5 Champions League crowns, 7 Serie A titles and the World Cup to boot. Yesterday, he played his last game at the San Siro and all I can think of to say is...

Grazie mille, Paolo.

The Number 7 Jersey

Firstly, I hate Manchester United and everything to do with them. However, you can not but respect some of the players they've had in the past and present. Ryan Giggs is very high on the list at the moment after his age defying antics in mid-week. Another player whom I have come to grudgingly like is David Beckham (his performances for the rossoneri have done a lot to further this). I usually do not like players who are not in the tiki-taka mould but Beckham is the one exception and I respect him more as a result of his complicated loan to Milan in a bid to play for England. This man truely loves football above all else.

And then, there is the man Sir AF chose to replace Bechkam with, giving him the No.7 held previously by Cantona and Best, the brilliant Christiano Ronaldo, whose latest quote I shall frame and keep for posterity.

"Will I ever play in Italy? Never say never. I went there last summer and they have the sexiest girls in the world."

Good to know the dude has his priorities straight.

Rossoneri: The Final Stand

Come 23 May, it will be a day of reckoning for the Rossoneri. Fighting off the calicopoly scandal and not being able to sign any big players during the summer transfer, there has been complete turnaround in the fortunes since the signing of Ronaldo.

From the 8 point deficit to reaching 4th place to the finals of the Champions League, the team has shown a lot of grit and determination. Faced with the departure of Schevchenko the team took their time to settle down but as of now they look an impressive outfit. With the experience of Maldini, Nesta, Cafu, Seedorf and Inzaghi along with the passing of Pirlo, grit of Gattuso and the (s)kills of Kaka and Gourcuff (who will not start but has me as a fan!) Milan look all set to lift their 7th Champions League title (touch wood).

Standing again in their way is Gerrard, who probably is the most complete player in world football at the moment (sorry Ballack, Kaka, Deco, Nedved, and Riqueleme) along with the cronies of Benitez. But Milan will be desperate to atone for their Istanbul nightmare when they face Liverpool on Wednesday's rematch in Athens.

The team still lacks a striker and has had to rely on goals from the midfield. Inzaghi is a very Crespoesque striker but is not of the same caliber and needs a strike partner to divert attention. Gilardino has been misfiring since he arrived as Serie A's top scorer from Parma but the young man is still good enough thought totally out of form. The aging defence is not a very big problem because we sill have the best defender in the world (Nesta) and Maldini and Cafu are still a handfull for any team (as shown to Roooney and C.Ronaldo). With Pirlo and Seedorf in form its game on!

Go Milan!!!