CLARENCE SEEDORF has several attacking options for the Friday game with Bologna according to today’s La GdS.
Milan’s opponent in the Champions League next week Atletico Madrid have lost their last three games (they couldn’t score a single goal in any of the games) but are still considered favourites by many to beat the Rossoneri at Stadio San Siro.
Many believe Atletico will have the upper hand also because Clarence Seedorf’s team hasn’t been impressive at all this term and are currently in 11th place and very far off the top the league but they will look to get back on track on Friday.
Taarabt: “I want to stay for a long time, it was a dream start”
El Shaarawy to be examined, Zapata and Abate train normally
Milan take on Bologna on the 14th of February at the Meazza and according to today’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Seedorf is considering a few options for the attack as he’ll have to do without Robinho who got injured against Napoli. One option includes Urby Emanuelson, Riccardo Montolivo in an advanced role and Adel Taarabt behind Super Mario Balotelli.
A different solution is to play Gimapaolo Pazzini from the start with Balotelli on the left of the attack and Keisuke Honda & Riccardo Montolivo playing next to him. It’s also possible that Andrea Poli will be deployed as an attacking midfielder on the right with Montolivo and Taarabt behind Balo. Ricardo Kaka, as reported by La Gazzetta, is still not 100% and is affected by influenza so Seedorf could decide to give him a rest ahead of the Atletico game and start with other players instead.
Seedorf could use one of the mentioned solutions or do something entirely different but it’s clear that he’ll have to find something that works as the attack was nearly inexistent against Napoli. Bologna are coming to San Siro in two days’ time.
Its easy
Monto – dejong
Honda-ballo-taarabt (sup for saponara later)
——pazzo——
Honda will def start, imo I think the ideal formation that can rest players for CL would be: Monto-Essien(to get some match fitness) then urby-honda-taarabt then Pazzo
monto is suspended for UCL so he could play and essien should be either subbed on or off so he can play but not too much
abbiati
abate-rami-zapata/silvestre-de sciglio
dejong-essien/monto
taarabt/saponara-honda-balotelli
pazzoni
Good news is El shaarawy without any problems will be back playing in 4 weeks!!
he wont be fully match-fit even 2 weeks after the rehabilitation. Sad, but true.
I don’t understand why Seedorf persists on playing a 4-2-3-1. The quality of a coach is seen in his ability to pick a system that best fits his players. Obviously Milan have struggled with 4-2-3-1. Why not play a different formation? But either way, till the end FORZA MILAN.
struggle in 4231? winning 2 games, 1 draw and 1 lose? Thats not really struggle.. Struggle was playing only playing wrong players in that formation. Such as Essien and Robinho. Oh yea Emmanuelson too.. He lacks something in last 7 games
Gabriel.
abate.rami.Zapata.emanuelson.
Montolivo.essien
Balloteli.Honda.taarabt
Pazzini
@milanshqip oh my god you people really don’t have common sense, ITS BARELY BEEN A COUPLE MONTHS. The players need to get used to a new attacking formation after playing defensive football for the last 4 years. Like seriously….
Omggg yes thank you @RKaY
I agree with giving Kaká a rest,but he should still be the 1st choice central attacking midfielder. 2 strikers,Balotelli and Pazzini,up front,with Kaká behind them. Honda,Montolivo and De Jong making up the rest of the midfield. And it doesnt matter who we put in defence,because they all suck. We just need new defenders. PERIOD. But as for attack and midfield,this is how it should be.
D fact is, d 4231 formation z d best 4 d players we hav nw xcept Poli…it’l only take a little bit of tym b4 d players get used 2 d new system….dnt crucify anybody jst yet…at least it took Allegri 3years to knw Urby z a lb
he aint a LB thou???
lol I don’t know what position Urby plays. I don’t think he even knows. they’ve played him in so many different ones. I suggest a midfield position because of his speed, work ethic, and ability to track back on defense but Milan has too many mids, so he gets stuck in left back. And then fans claim he sucks lol smh poor Urby.
vs bolongna
gabriel
abate-rami-mexes-constant
montolivo-poli
saponara-honda-taarabt
pazzini
vs atletico
abbiati
de sciglio-rami-zapata-emanuelson
poli-dejong-essien
kaka-baloteli-taarabt
some players need to be rested for the CL. the league is not very important. 4-3-3 vs atletico cause there will be shortage of attackers to start with 4 in attack. poli is not a winger,, i know he’s versatile but i dont realy like filing players out of position, maybe during the game if needed be. good luck milan.!!
I still want us to play 4-3-1-2 or 4-3-2-1. Anyhow, about the tridente, first of all, Urby should not be in our starting line-up that’s for sure. It doesn’t matter if it’s as a left back or as a winger. It’s only logical that de jong and Essien will start again as they need playing time and get to know each other ahead of the Atletico game. Kaka needs some well deserved rest, so Monto will probably take his place? Although I would love it to see Saponara start and how Poli would do out wide, I think he would… Read more »
i dont against playing balotelli behind pazzini or mario on the wing in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 but i feel this will not work well against opponents looking to attack you.. can use it against catania and livorno though. perhaps you meant play them together in a 4-3-1-2… oh i dont like this formation… its for allegri and mancini.
It would work if we’re a goal down even against stronger teams, I think, but yes I was referring to the 4-3-1-2…haha, too bad that Allegri has scarred you. But the 4-3-1-2 (or 4-1-2-1-2 whatever you want to call it) is the formation we’ve played with most of our success, and I’m a huge fan of it, and if used properly it’s a great formation, very flexible as well when it comes to tactics as it can be altered to a 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-3 during the game depending on how the game is proceeding.
Dude, you keep saying you dont like the 4-2-3-1. It is what every team uses. We just dont have the quality. Seedorf is instituting this formation and getting the players used to it for next season. We will be bringing in players. Berlusconi has already said he will spend. Cerci being his first purchase. Cerci honda/kaka tarrabt and el sha with balotelli in front will be devastating. So relax. The 4-3-1-2 is outdated and no one uses it anymore. The 4-3-2-1 is also outdated and doesnt work with our current team. As it stands right now we have poli/monto/de jong/muntari/essien… Read more »
Yup, that’s my personal opinion, I prefer it, and I do not bother what formation other teams play, I care about Milan, and I PERSONALLY am a fan of the 4-3-1-2/4-3-2-1.
yes, can also play them together when youre a goal down even against superior opponents. to make it simple, you can fil pazzini-balotelli when you’re expected to have more possession in the opponents half/box.
haha no, not exactly allegri who scared me of the 4-3-1-2, i just prefer formations consisting wingers. i have the same opinion to the 4-3-1-2 and 4-3-2-1 as phidadon86. but its okay for you to say how you admire them.
I hate to see u guyz bashing poor urby emmanuelson the guy haz been great and yet u blame him a lot….samething goes to seedorf and the 4231 formation stop bashing him we ll nidda play with contuinity with that formation and get used to it….or u want him to be like allegri? 4four years without playing style and continuity.look at bayern …barca…liverpool…they all pass through tough moments and got trough it and surely we will survive it….forza 1899 milan
He hasn’t been great. He’s been good offensively, but not on a consistent basis. He has given away two so cheap and highly avoidable penalties to the opposition teams, and I can’t remember when one of our defenders did it, and if it happened it was bad luck/timing, but with Urby he has been so clumsy, running/tripping over the opponent. Those who have seen this knows what I’m talking about.
De Sci on the left and Abate on the right, is clearly the way to go, I hope Clarence will stop playing favouritism with his fellow dutchman.
What Seedorf and this team needs is our prayers and support; and not all these negative energy. It has been 4 years of boring football under Count Max, but now Milan is slowly carving out a new identity. Let us support the players we have now until the end of the season when we overhaul the team. I did wish we had brought in Jorginho though. Right now Napoli is raping Roma. Yet, some people are mad that we lost to them. We had not beaten Napoli at the San Paolo in how may years? De Jong and Essien were… Read more »
What Seedorf and Milan need is to offoad all these sorry players we have including Balotelli and get rid of Galliani who consistently sign old players like Essien instead players like Jorginho and Bernard!
Well spot on.I thought I was the only one that noticed. Urby is very clumsy especially when approaching an opponent in our 18 yard box.
@milanista 121 I am really disappointed with ur recent comments as it seems u are more loyal to Allegri than the club. Your language has changed. How can u accused Seedorf of favouratism. I dont expect that from u. 4-2-3-1 is what the coach wants , period. Lets just support him. No one play 4-3-1-2 again anymore. Allegri tried them all – 4-3-1-2, 4-3-3, 4-3-2-1 and even 3-4-3 – but without success. So it is time to try something new and stick by it and that is 4-2-3-1. The players we have suit it and we can build on it… Read more »
Well, sorry to disappoint you. But I’ve been a fan of the 4-3-1-2, not because of Allegri, but because of the succes we had with Ancelotti with that formation, and due to how flexible it can be. As it can be altered to a 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-3 during the game. I’m not accusing Seedorf of playing favouritism, I’m merely stating it. Because it’s pretty obvious that both Abate and De Sciglio are better defenders (I’m not saying that I know better than Seedorf, but this is what I’ve seen after watching Milan for several years) and I don’t see a… Read more »
The reason that the 4-3-1-2 worked so well with Ancelloti is because we had pirlo gattuso and seedorf in the deep roles and also maldini nesta in the cb position. You are comparing a team with TALENT to a team lacking it. lol. That formation has no business in this current squad. You are going to compare Ancellotis milan with todays? You are crazy man, i appreciate its your opinion but its not plausible. You cant compare any player on that Milan to todays milan. Shevchenko, Inzaghi, Kaka, Pirlo, Seedorf, Gattuso, Cafu, nesta, maldini, serginho and dida. OUr bench back… Read more »
No current team out there can be compared to the team Ancelotti had – yes not even Madrid or Munich imo. It still doesn’t mean that it would not work, because I think it could. With the right selection of players and if uses properly – even with our current squad – I think we would be succesful with it. And you are currently complaining about lack of talent in our squad, in that case, does it really matter which formation we play? I just do not think that 4-2-3-1 represents Milan as much as the 4-3-1-2 does. But like… Read more »
Definitely agree with the winning part. And about the fact no one can touch that team. Our current squad cant compare to any teams playing that formation brother. Think of it this way. If we play like that. Poli would be in Monto would be pirlo. De Jong would be Gattuso and poli/essien/muntari would be seedorf. LOL. How brutal is that to think of. then kaka would obviously be kaka and balo wuold be shevchenko inzaghi would be pazzini? No way does it work. I think seedorf is just getting the team used to the formation until he buys players… Read more »
Good to hear that we’re both on the same page ;) The thing is, the quality of players have dropped since that era, not only at Milan but around the world. Currently the real top-top players are Ronaldo, Messi and Ibra. But less than a decade ago there were countless of these players with Kaka, Rui Costa, Zidane, Nedved, Del Piero – the list goes on. Messi, Ibra and CR would be one of the many top players, probably not top 3. I mean, put them against the partnership of Maldini and Nesta. Nesta in his thirties was able to… Read more »
@Aminu Yusuf ..That is not true Milan had success using the 4-3-1-2 in the copa italia vs Spezia! The best I’ve seen Milan play all season!
The only changes I would make to the Milan team against Spezia is:
1. Abate in for Zaccardo
2. De Jong for Cristante
3. Tarabat in for Poli
4. Kaka for in Honda
5. El Sharaawy in for Robinho
———-ABBIATI———
ABATE—-MEXES—RAMI— DE SCIGLIO
TARABAT—MONTOLIVO—DE JONG
—————–KAKA———————–
–EL SHARAAWY—PAZZINI—————
Again no room for lazy Balotelli. This is the best formation for Milan. Tassotti proved that in his only game as coach this season. 4-3-1-2. We played the best game this season even though it was against Spezia! I enjoyed that match!
Well if u have squad like münchen then 4-2-3-1 or 4-5-1 or any formations won’t be a problem
but hey it’s brand new milan
The different opinions on Urby are interesting, my thoughts on the subject… -MDS is a superior defender. And I too have noticed how clumsy Urby is when tracking back. -Urby deserves some credit for his ability to quickly transition the ball from defence to attack. -Urby is truly a midfielder, he is supposed to be good at transitioning the ball. Poli could do the same thing at RB(although not as quickly). The bottom line is we do not have the CB’s to allow us the luxury of playing mid-fielders as outside backs. -Urby, Constant, even Poli playing outside back was… Read more »
4-2-3-1?? Ok
GK GABRIEL
RB ABATE
CB RAMI
CB ZAPATA? (SILVESTRE?)
LB DE SCIGLIO (BRING ON EMMAUNELSON/CONSTANT)
CM DE JONG (BRING ON POLI)
CM MONTOLIVO
RW BALOTELLI (BRING ON HONDA)
AM SAPONARA (BRING ON KAKA)
LW TAARABT (BRING ON ROBINHO)
ST PAZZINI (BRING ON PETAGNE)
Forza Milan Youth x
guys….dont worry we will get back winning soon…support
is needed though…forza milan means we support whoever plays…forza milan…3 points for the taking.
Tribalfootball writes: The agent of AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli is expected in London today (12/2/2014) for talks with Arsenal. Former Manchester City forward Balotelli is eyeing a return to England after battling with the Italian media this season. Agent Luca Vargiu told TMW: “It’s a story that surprised even me, sincerely. I talked this morning with my contact in England and also there are not big confirmations. “He seemed to be closer to Chelsea than Arsenal. “If he ends up there, it will be due to problems, unfortunately. In the end he will always create problems. And Arsenal have… Read more »
More good news…thank God let him leave
We need EL92 asap…and Pazzo in attack
With the money we earn please buy a decend world class defender
Let him leave???Lmao
What better striker is there? Pazzini? ohhh Petagna? lol
lol well i would love to sell mario just to see which player milan will replace him with and how his replacement gonna perform any better. yes aguero, suarez etc… but these players will not join milan.
Why would you want to sell him anyway since we both know Milan is not in a better position to splash huge sum of money on quality players(Suarez,Aguero) to replace him???
We sold Ibra and Thiago…Tell me what better replacement we have gotten for these players apart from Balotelli??!?!
The closest we came was Tevez…but guess you know what followed next,right?
Sell Balo,then we get Matri back and another under-performing out of contract/loan striker lol
oh you didn’t get me well i’m afraid. because people like kevin think mario is kind of a burden to milan, so i was suggesting him to get sold to see how his replacement(probably demba ba or floccari will flop! just to prove to people that a 23 yr old talent like mario can only be replaced by few and milan can’t afford those. selling mario barely enters my mind :-)
WE HOP SO!BECOS WE CAN’T SLEEP KNOWING THAT MILAN IS CLOSE TO RELEGATION!
Stop this nonsense! I like the system very much but lets face it as for now we dont have suitable players for it! A coach shouldnt rely on arbitrary player selections in order to accomodate a specific system.
I would suggest we can the 4-2-3-1 for now – maybe until next season. Our strongest line up against good tems like Atletico is in my oppinion line up in 4-3-2-1 with attacking wing backs (this is also the only reason why Emanuelson should be considered for WBL at LB he is too weak defensively):
…………………..Abiatti…………………….
Abate………Rami……….Zapata……..MDS/Emanuelson
………………..Montolivo………………………
…………Essien…………De Jong………………
…………Honda/Taarabt…….Kaka……………….
……………….Balotelli/Pazzo…………………
@milanista 121 & Nick. I believe Milan lack a true trequatiste to play 4-3-1-2 as it is now obvious that KaKa is slow and definately past his best moment. So it is better he is push further up the field in 4-2-3-1 where he will more effective. Saponara is an alternative but so far he has not demonstrated any great hope. ElShaarawy can not play in 4-3-1-2 but can be great as a winger in 4-2-3-1 as seen last season. U need also excellent LB & RB in 4-3-1-2 to give the team width, balance & crosses (remember Cafu, Jorginho… Read more »
Saponara is a very talented player but haven’t been given much faith by our coaches, I mean that boy is a better version of Iniesta with his pace. It’s seems like our young stars will found it hard to get game time compared to young stars of other clubs. Look at Jorginho, Insigne, Berradi,Pogba etc. None of these players I regard better than Saponara. Him and Cristante, Rossi(Juve), Verrati are def the future of Italian football. I still remember how Pirlo was once was regard as flop.
One thing i’d like is to see saponara play from the start I think he has the talent to help our Milan side at this difficult moment but it’s not easy for seedorf to choose who is going to play on the left because we have a good variety of talented players who can play in that position such as taraabt,saponara,balo.. but one thing certain is that monto should play as a trequartista.. one thing I really want to see like many Milan fans is the partnership of balo&pazzo which would be exciting to see. and one more thing I… Read more »
I still don’t get why people have to chide Balotelli whenever the team fails to win in a match up. Like it or not,Balotelli is our best front man in attack.I have love for Pazzini but he’s nowhere near the kinda player Balotelli is.People thinking Pazzini is better than Balotelli are plain ridiculous. And the saddest part,the critics are quick to get their hate on when Balotelli is ineffective in a game but fails to realize the under-performing attack midfielders aren’t helping either. Honda so far has been bad,Kaka not consistent and Robinho childish attack instinct is comparable to a… Read more »
I insist:
Abbiati/Gabriel
Abate-Rami-Zapata/Mexes-MDS
Montolivo/Poli-De Jong
Emanuelson(not Poli)-Honda/Saponara(not Monto)-Taarabt
Balotelli
Subs:Poli or Essien for De Jong
Saponara for Honda or Urby
& Pazoo for Balo..
I think Emanuelson with his speed will be better in attack than as LB.
Forza Rossoneri!!!
Winning Squad.
Abata – Rami – Zapata – De Sciglio
De-Jong(Poli) – Monto(Poli)
Poli/Taarabt – Honda – Saponara
Pazzo/Balo
I think Clarence is implementing the formation he wants now so that it’s already understood by next season. We don’t have the players for the formation but I think he has written this season off. Obviously he will need to buy the correct players for the formation. I think this is a good idea so long as we don’t get relegated. I don’t think he’s favouring urby I think he prefers desciglio at RB over abate. I think a new LB will come. I love abate but he does make defensive errors. Can’t wait for next season should be good!
Damn seedorf if he plays 4231 against athletico Madrid, this team’s defence is rilly shaky, I can’t bet on our central defenders on a 1 one 1 situation, we need stability at the back, for me, abate and MDS should be first choice, urby or poli should join the midfield, Koke rilly has so much energy, poli would best suit him, not Essien. IMO. And if we must play a 4231′ the front four attacking players should be ready to “press” all match long, no room for laziness.
4-3-2-1 . Dream team
Abate RB
Zapata RCB
Constant LCB
Emma LB
RM Kaka
CM Monto
LM Essien
LS Taarbt
RS Honda/SES
ST Balotelli
GK Abiatti (sadly the cause of our slump this season)
When you have a confident GK. The mentality of the whole team changes.
u r high?
In like what Boban said….
Considering that in a team the best player is Balotelli, you really know somethings wrong with that team
Also not a fan of 4-2-3-1, makes us look like a washed up, third grade, mediocre version of madrid/bayern. Though i guess it dosent really matter wish formation we use than the tactics deployed and mentallity of the players, i still maintain that i wud like to see seedorf come up with smth new, like every revolutionary coach @ milan did. And i dnt mind if we waste the rest of this season perfecting that new formation.