Congratulations to AC Milan on Winning the Scudetto

We extend our congratulations to AC Milan for winning their first Scudetto since 2003 - 2004 and the days of Andrei Sevchenko, Kaka, Nesta and Maldini. This year marked an extraordinary team effort featuring attacking, stylish soccer marked by notable contributions from three Brazilians: Pato with 14 goals, Robinho with 12 goals and Thiago Silva, with one goal and the distinction of anchoring the Rossoneri defense. We commend Kevin Prince-Boateng, Gattuso, Seedorf, Nesta, Ibrahimovic, Ambrosini and the entire team more generally. The remarkable thing about Milan's victory is they won the Scudetto without a classic number 10 playmaker in the role played by Ronaldinho. Boateng played the closest thing to Dinho's role, but he did his fair share of defending as well. The key to Milan's victory came from strong defending and goals flowing freely from Ibrahimovic, Pato and Robinho in varying degrees of form and fitness throughout the season.

Report: Ronaldinho Considering Leaving AC Milan for Gremio, Palmeiras or Sao Paulo

Rumors out of Brazil suggest that Ronaldinho is seriously considering leaving AC Milan for Gremio, Palmeiras or Sao Paulo. Dinho has recently fallen out of favor at the Rossoneri under coach Massimiliano Allegri and has struggled to obtain quality playing time given the stunning form of recent signings Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ronaldinho's brother and agent Roberto de Assis remarked that Dinho still had the desire to capture trophies that he had yet to secure such as the Brasileirao and the Copa Libertadores by returning to a quality club in Brazil. Gremio President Paulo Odone noted that he felt “optimistic” that Dinho will return to the club that marked the site of his formative years. "Ronaldinho feels that he owes our club something," Odone told Brazilian daily Zero Hora. "He told us he wants to return to Gremio and end his career where it started.” Gremio announced that “there is advanced contact between Gremio and the brother and agent of the player” and Odone feels the chances of closing Dinho’s transfer from the Rossoneri are high. Palmeiras and Sao Paulo have also expressed interest in signing the Brazilian playmaker whose contract with AC Milan is set to expire in the summer of 2011. Meanwhile, the legendary Brazilian striker Zico threw Flamengo’s hat into the ring for Dinho’s signing by recently announcing that Flamengo desperately needed a player with Ronaldinho’s skill to bring about the restoration of the club after this year’s disastrous season. January would be the optimal time for a Brazilian club to sign Dinho but a transfer in the summer of 2011 is more likely. That said, AC Milan’s recent signing of Antonio Cassano from Sampdoria has fueled fresh speculation that Dinho may leave Berlusconi’s nest in the January transfer window to return to Brazil, and ultimately conclude his career with a much anticipated swan song season at LA Galaxy in the United States in 2012. If Dinho were to return to Brazil, he would be following in the footsteps of his former World Cup teammates Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, who, along with Santos sensation Neymar, have gradually begun to reverse the trend of Brazilian players plying their trade in foreign shores.

For more on Ronaldinho, see:
Bringing Back the Beautiful Game: Player Profile: Ronaldinho Gaucho

Boateng, Robinho and Ibrahimovic score in AC Milan's 3-0 victory over Bologna

Kevin Prince Boateng, Robinho and Ibrahimovic scored for the second consecutive game as AC Milan beat Bologna 3-0 today to go 6 points clear over Juventus at the top of Italy's Serie A standings. The sequence of goals by Boateng, Robinho and Ibrahimovic replicated their performance against Brescia on December 4 while Ronaldinho continued his stint on the Milan bench in the wake of Robinho's sparkling form. Boateng opened the scoring for the Rossoneri by latching onto a ball delivered by Ibrahimovic from the left flank, slipping in between two central defenders in the box and volleying the ball home. Boateng subsequently provided the assist for Robinho who maintained his balance in the wake of some staunch defending from Andrea Esposito and slotted the ball by Bologna keeper Viviano in the 35th minute. Ibrahimovic put the exclamation mark on an impressive victory for AC Milan in the 60th minute with a clinical strike on goal from the right flank. With 21 goals shared between Ibrahimovic, Pato and Robinho this season (9 for Ibrahimovic, 6 for Pato and 6 for Robinho), Massimilliano Allegri has reason to be more than satisfied with his strikeforce as the Rossoneri prepare for their final game of 2010 against Roma on Saturday, December 18. As the January transfer window opens, the obvious question now for Allegri and Berlusconi concerns Ronaldinho's future at the Rossoneri in the wake of Robinho's impressive form and Pato's anticipated return from injury early in 2011.

Robinho and Boateng Find Their Footing in Milan

Robinho and Kevin Prince Boateng are adapting well to the Rossoneri as demonstrated by AC Milan's 2-1 victory over Napoli on Monday. Robinho scored in his second consecutive league game by charging upfield, passing to Massimo Oddo on the right flank, receiving the pass back from Oddo and burying the ball in the back of the net with a left footed shot. After last Tuesday's debacle against Real Madrid, coach Massimiliano Allegri opted to play Kevin Prince Boateng in midfield as opposed to Clarence Seedorf and the move paid dividends. Boateng's consistent display of energy and passion added force to the Rossoneri midfield even though the young Ghanaian midfielder is still acclimating to football in Italy's Serie A. Robinho played behind Pato and Ibrahimovic as a result of a minor thigh injury that Ronaldinho had picked up during training. After Monday's victory, however, Allegri may well consider starting Robinho in favor of Ronaldinho more often given that Robinho is more likely to run at defenses and trek back when necessary, in comparison to his compatriot, who displays occasional flashes of brilliance on both wings but fails to consistently threaten on the attack. Robinho ran hard at the Napoli defense and could well have scored a second goal. Milan's victory against Napoli leaves them in second place behind Lazio and ahead of Inter. Allegri now has some serious thinking to do about how best to utilize his summer's acquisitions in order to have any chance of recovering from the 2-0 deficit against Real Madrid on November 3, in Milan. The Rossoneri now prepare to play Juventus on Saturday.