Impervious Priorities

Italian. Football. When you combine these two words, you get a spontaneous response, viz, impermeable defense. Or whatsoever, but the essence of the response doesn't change. Dint know that within half a decade, i would be associating the same response to English teams and would be comparing the boys downstairs to the defenders of the Serie A giants. As its popularly understood, this blog is dedicated to reflecting AC Milan and therefore I wont stray away into the rest of Calcio. A lot of people believe this season is a disaster. Nothing new. A lot of people believe its down to a powerless defense. Nothing new. We struggled against one of the best attacking sides on the continent last season. We were smothered at the Emirites, and we were bullied at the San Siro. Any sane individual would know that a 2-0 scoreline was flattering on the veterans. And the owner of SportMediaset decides to do something about it, signs Senderos. When I read this, I dint know whether to laugh or cry. I stopped to think, are people taking this game seriously? But then it balanced out when Juve signed Mellberg. I realized its a bug that's caught the league.

We haven't been too poor defensively. We have a more than decent record. Yes we have conceded one and half times more than league leaders Inter, but thats quite an achievement when you have a center back line up of Maldini, Kaladze, Nesta, Bonera and Senderos. It pains me to read those names. Nesta the exception, but not so considering he has barely kicked a ball all season. Is this the representation of the defense of the Calcio to Europe? Is this even remotely Championship material? I am surprised we aren't fighting for relegation. Or probably it shows how poor the strikers are in the Serie A. But wait, Mutu, Milito, Cavani, Ibra, Amauri, Di Natale, Gilardinho, Del Piero, Totti, Lavezzi, Di Vaio, Quagliarella, Adriano, Pato, Cassano, Pazzini. Got tired typing.. But hold on, wasn't i talking about poor strikers in the league? Sorry I take it back. So how did we survive? One name definitely comes to my mind now. Christian Abbiati.Well, he has always been an under-rated keeper. If he had to play understudy to Leo Franco, its nothing but obvious, my previous statement. Abbiaiti has saved our club's reputation on several occasions, and has reduced the humiliation, when he couldn't modify the result. Its just that much he can do. Its time our management did wake up and do something about the situation. And they are waking up.

It all started with signing of Thiago Silva. His performances haven't impressed me. He has the quality, but not an abundance of it. He can be worked on. A few tweaks and some much needed experience, and we have a top class defender. What more, he is only 24. Post this we were linked with a host of defenders. Marcos Rossi, Carrozeiri, Bovo, Lucio, Pannucci, Kjaer, Baiva and many many more. The names wont ring a bell, so I wont confound you more. I shall however dwell on the more popular names, and a few do come to my mind now. Agger. Daniel Agger. A left footed defender, who is physical, has a decent head, and plays for Liverpool FC. Can come for as low as 8 million euros. Very impressive CV. But he has found himself down the pecking order with Skertel and Carragher being given the thumbs up. Brondy IF is where he originated from and at 6'3'', he is an imposing personality. Someone we must and should consider. He has been a part of this Liverpool set up for awhile and has the necessary experience at such a young age. But should he be the only one? No, most definitely not. You see, Kaladze, Maldini and Nesta will be given the boot (or atleast I hope, obviously in a more respectably fashion than mentioned), and we need 3 high quality replacements. With Perticone returning from Livorno after a glorious season, and Antonini as back up for the flanks, center back should be the priority. Next, a media favorite. Mexes. He has abounding quality, is in his mid twenties and was part of rock solid defense with his counterpart Chivu not too long ago. He has a great understanding of the game. But he severely lacks in pace, and I do think that is an integral part of our search. Two classic occasions when he made a fool of himself, one against Pato and the other when he brought down Van Persie this season. With his beefy physique, quick players will get past him in a flash. Nemanja Vidic, my favorite. I consider him as the ideal CB, internationally. Arguably the best in the world, at 27 and having won almost everything with his club, he has the inevitable experience and hopefully the hunger to try out a new league. Though his arrival to Milan would be like a fairy tale, it could be the highest Milan spent in their history for a defender. And I assure you, it will be more than that 12.5 million euros spent by Liverpool on Skertel. Finally amongst the big boys, is Sergio Ramos. He is considered by many as the perfect heir to Maldini. Yes, he is the best fullback on the planet, but his ability at CB would be questionable. Lets not neglect the 3 digit price tag.

I personally feel that we should sign Agger, and Vidic if possible. If not, Mexes wouldn't be too bad. But the supposed 35 million being quoted by Sensi is a fantasy figure and we could get 2 top class defenders with that kinda money. Who? There are those like Christian Zapata, Canini, Alex Silva, Bruno Alves, Raul Albiol, Alessandro Gamberrini, Ivanovic and Santacrocce. Very good, young and should be given a chance to shine. Milan have become misers and want success. Thats like saying I wont practice but I will still beat Nadal at tennis. Or something like that. But we need to release the funds to relieve ourselves of this mess that we are in.Hence Vidic? Nothing like it. If not, then we do, and definitely do need atleast 2 highly rated defenders for the new season. And I am not counting Thiago Silva here.