AC Milan’s versatile defender Gianluca Zambrotta has extended his contract with the Rossoneri until June 2012. Despite his age, this is one deal that i am very pleased with. Zambrotta is still a very good player and i believe, the next two years will produce the best in him.

Gifted with a natural attacking ability,  Zambrotta was one of the few Azzurri players who stood out in the World Cup. The former Barcelona and Juventus player joined Milan in May 2008 signing a 3 year contract earning him annual wages of 4 million Euros.

It is not known whether his contract extension has been improved however, i bet it is rather obvious that Milan are not ready to spend anything more than 4 million Euros on any player including their stars like Ronaldinho and Seerdorf.

A statement on the club’s official website confirmed this:

“A.C Milan communicates to have extended the contract of Gianluca Zambrotta until June 30, 2012.”

With right back Massimo Oddo also renewing his contract and the signing of Sokratis Papapthastopoulos, Milan’s defense should be water tight next season. A key worry however for many of its fans is whether the club will sign an additional attacker who can partner well with Pato and Ronaldinho upfront.

Sevilla’s Fabiano and Wolfsburg’s Dzeko have been consistently linked with a move to the San Siro but Milan has backed out of any negotiations due to the hefty buy-out prices that these clubs are asking for.

Moreover, the club needs a young player who has a lengthy career ahead of him. Milan problems can be closely compared with those that Arsenal are experiencing. Arsene Wenger believes that the future of Arsenal lies with the youth and he has gone onto to buy many young players who were largely unheard of and nurtured them into world class players.

Wenger also has a strict policy where the club does not offer more than a one year contract extension to players who are over the age of 30. Now, this policy is very good if you are running a youth team however, if you are competing in major competitions against very strong teams and expect a youthfully side to carry the day at the expense of experience, you must be dreaming.

Similarly, if  a team majorly consists of  old players and is regularly competing against young and agile opponents, there is no way they can be successful. A perfect solution would be to blend both the young and old to produce a killer winning combination.

If both Milan and Arsenal can do this, i do not see any reason why they cannot dominate their respective leagues. Ironically, both these teams meet in a pre-season friendly on July 31st in Arsenal’s Emirates stadium for the Emirates Cup.

Photo credit: from milan-fans.tk

Maicon’s sure transfer to Spanish giants Real Madrid seems to have hit a snag-one i must say, makes me feel very relieved. Here’s why. The Brazilian defender had a great run towards the end of last season (who can forget the fantastic goal he scored against Juventus) where he was sort of Inter’s 4th  striker as his constant runs up field terrorised many defenders.

It was this ability that caught Mourinho’s eye and made him consider taking Maicon along with him to Madrid. There was only one hurdle that prevented this deal from going down sooner-the World Cup.

Maicon was a member of Brazil’s World Cup squad that participated in the South Africa tournament and as such, he devoted his full focus to the selecao. Had it not been for the World Cup, and may be we would have been talking about a different story.

Anyway back to the reasons why i think Maicon’s transfer deal collapse is a blessing in disguise. First, Italian football is in a resurgent state and to help it improve even further, they need all their stars Maicon and Ronaldinho included.

With Inter winning a historic treble including Europe’s coveted Champions League title, focus is now back on the Serie A and what it has to offer. With big stars like Fabiano, Tevez, Adriano and the like considering Italy as a career destination, the Serie A is definitely growing in leaps and bounds.

Moreover, after a brilliant display from Sergio Ramos, the Spanish and Real Madrid regular left back, los blancos have in him one of the game’s finest. Currently only comparable to Maicon. Thus having two players who are exceptionally talented playing the same position is bound to cause friction and unhealthy competition.

This should be reason enough for Maicon to re-consider giving Inter a second chance. In my opinion, he is better off playing regular football with treble winners Inter than fighting for a position with a club that finished to second in La Liga.

According to Real’s transfer consultant Ernesto Bronzetti, Mourinho seems to have been impressed with Serigo’s World Cup performances.

“Mourinho is convinced to leave Sergio Ramos on the right and now he wants a central defender or midfielder like Gerrard,” Bronzetti told GR Parlamento.

“Real did not make an offer for Maicon, there was a request of €35 million [from Inter].”

So Inter fans can rest assured knowing that Maicon will continue being a part of their rock-hard defense that also includes: fellow compatriots, Lucio and Julio Cesar as the last line of defense.

Photo credit: from ahmed khatam – interisti

After having such a glorious year at club level, helping Inter Milan winning the treble last season, Dutch midfielder, Wesley Sneijder looks ready to lead his country for a World Cup glory in South Africa. This fine showing for both country and club have eventually set the midfielder as a top candidate to win the upcoming best player award, the new FIFA-Ballon d’Or, which recently has been combined into one award.

The acknowledgment of Sneijder’s possibilities as the Ballon d’Or winner was written on France Football magazine, the initiator of the award, the magazine wrote an interesting statement that pretty much approved the 26-years-old place as one of the awards’ candidates. Surely, should the former Real Madrid player manage to take Holland cruising on their first World Cup glory this year, the inspirational midfielder would be the prime candidate to win the award.

“Champagne this season for Sneijder after the triumphant Inter campaign and his excellent performance so far in the World Cup.” read the writings in France Football. “He has been so impressive that the Dutchman becomes a prime candidate for the Ballon d’Or.

If what the article predicted becomes a reality, it would what people called as a twist of fate for Sneijder as just before the start of last season, his future is still on doubt due to his position at Real Madrid. As many have known, the dutch player was practically being thrown away by Madrid after they manage to acquire the likes of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. The midfielder was finally sold to Inter with a considerably lower price compare to what Los Blancos payed to sign him from Ajax Amsterdam.

Being treated like a useless player, the 26-years-old looked keen in proving his worth, not only to Madrid but also for those who considers him as a flop at the Spanish giant. With his skills and vision Sneijder didn’t need a long time in showing what he’s made of, not only becoming a key figure in Inter’s treble winning, so far he has also play an important role for his country’s success in the World Cup.

Who would’ve thought that a wasted talent,who wasn’t being consider being on the same class as Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo could have a chance to overcome their achievement this season, not only in a club level but also in the International stage. Even if he fails to lead his country to glory, the former Ajax player’s achievement this season has been more than enough to show that he is a player with a class of his own.

photo credit: alemaxale

Juventus Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo proved just why he was voted Serie A’s worst player for 2009. Melo was part of the Selecao’s World Cup squad that  was bundled out of the tournament in the quarter finals for the second consecutive time.

As you would expect, fans are not taking that defeat too well. One fan in particular, told Melo not to return to Brazil for holiday. Three time world player of the year and record world cup goal scorer Ronaldo Nazariao da Lima wrote on his twitter account that Melo should come back to Brazil for holiday.

“Felipe Melo better not come to Brazil for his holidays,” Ronaldo said via his Twitter.

“To my friends with sympathies, it’s a difficult time, but you guys are warriors. [World Cup] 2014 will be he soon and we will have a great one.”

I said this before, picking Melo over players like Pato, Neymar and Ronaldinho was Brazil’s biggest undoing. Not only did Melo cost them heavily in the Quarter finals, but he also proved his critics right.

In all fairness to Brazil, if there was one thing i did like about their squad, it had to be their backline. With Cesar in goal and Maicon, Juan, Lucio and Bastos in defense, Brazil had one of the best defenses in the whole tournament.

That said, after failing to lead Brazil to their record 6thtitle, Dunga quit as Brazil coach. The world cup winning captain had this to say:

“Millions of people wanted the title, including myself,” he told the Brazilian press. “I know there are a lot of sad people but there isn’t a sadder group than us. It’s too late to blame someone, I was one of the leaders and there are others like the squad of twenty two and the coach who are all guilty.”

Top on the CBF’s list to succeed Dunga is their 2002 world cup winning coach Luis Felipe Scolari.

Photo credit: from Calcio Better

If there is one thing i like about the Italian national side, it has to be there confidence. The Azzurri were so confident going into the World Cup that some of there players even had the word World Champions Tattooed on their arm. Imagine that!

Now that they are out of the tournament, Vicenzo Iaquinta will definitely be seeing his doctor as early as tomorrow to get it out. Italy arrived home to one of the most dullest and sullen receptions yet.

With very few fans on hand waiting to receive them, Lippi and his boys knew that they would experience the wrath of the Azzurri fans the moment they got of the plane. True to his expectations, Lippi had a hard time making it to his vehicle as the fans hurled abuses and hit before the authorities managed to get him in the car.

“Shame on you! What a disgrace, you should be ashamed!” These were the words that Lippi had to endure as he made his way to his get away car. This was one of the worst performances by the Italian national side and the fans did not hesitate to make their feelings known.

Cesare Prandelli is expected to take over in July 1st and some players were confident that he would do a fantastic job.

“Yes we are all bitter with what happened. Prandelli? Yes I know him well,” Pazzini said. Focus now shifts to Euro 2012 and the Italians hope that with a new coach and younger players coming into the squad, they will be a formidable side in the European championships.

Italy’s group stage World Cup exist marked the end of an era for its dominating golden generation that included star players like: Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Gattuso, Camoranesi and Buffon.

The 4 time World Champions learned their hardest lesson yet when a mixture of poor coaching decisions, old age and out of form players saw their 2010 campaign end in disaster as they exited the tournament bottom of their group and with just two points.

What’s even more shocking is the fact that the unfancied All Whites of  New Zealand had a much better tournament than the defending Champions. Existing the tournament in the group stages, New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert is definitely a proud man.

Drawing all their three games and against very formidable opposition in the form of Paraguay, Italy and Slovakia, New Zealand will forever be remembered as the nation that denied Italy a chance to defend its title.

Their 1-1 draw 5 days ago spurred belief in a Slovakia side (ahead of last night’s game) that is only making its debut in football’s biggest stage, the World Cup. As the country’s most iconic players prepare to exit the scene, a new breed of stars is taking over.

Montolivo, Pazzini, Marchisio, Criscito, Chiellini Marchetti and Guiseppe Rossi are the player who have the huge task of returning Italy to the the status it enjoyed 4 years ago.

Not only are these players talented, they are also young and as agile as ever. With Euro 2012 just 24 months away, now would be the perfect time for who their new coach (whoever it will be) to build a formidable side not only for Europe’s senior national football competition but also Brazil 2014.

With many coaches now opting for younger, youthful players in their squad’s, Italy will definitely have to break with tradition if they are keen on winning in tournaments of such great stature.

So to Cannavaro and company, i wish them the best of luck and great success in their club careers.

Photo credit: from WorldCupSouthAfrica

The shock of the World Cup has just emerged today as the defending champion, Italy crashed out from the tournament in a depressing and shocking fashion after loosing out to Slovakia 3-2 in a very intriguing and emotional game. The Azzurri just left everything late on the game which pretty much showed the outcome of the game as they have to trail twice and only came up close without manage to save the game, although there were some controversial decisions that could actually goes their way.

As I predicted, Lippi’s cautious move in the start of the game by fielding Gattusso-Montolivo-De Rossi as their midfield line up pretty much cause their very slow start as they were awful in the first half, letting Slovakia take control of the game and scored through Vittek after an error by De Rossi’s. Beside the midfield line ups, I can’t quite understand the option of fielding Simone Pepe as a wide attacking forward as with the need to win, it would be better in fielding a pure attacking forward than a winger like the new Juventus player.

On the second half, Lippi did made a bold move by putting Quagliarela on as Italy looks to change the 4-3-3 back into 4-2-3-1, it’s not a bad move although I’m bit puzzled by the other early sub, Napoli’s Christian Maggio as they I don’t really think they need another wing back. However, the biggest mistake would be taking to long for Lippi to introduce Andrea Pirlo, who did improve the movement of Italy’s attack right after he enters the field. Sadly, just as I said it was all pretty much too late for Italy to work anything as the longer they get frustrated the easier for Slovakian players too hit them on the break.

Without denying some of the controversy that happens such as two possible goals for Quagliarela, which one was being verdict as hasn’t crossed the line and the other was offside, Italy just too late in taking the initiative, if they only play their game just like what they did in the last 20-25 minutes of the second half, they would have won the game. Surely, Lippi will be the one that will be attacked by the press and fans as not only because of his stubbornness but also the small mistakes he made that in my opinion cost them a lot in the tournament.

One of my biggest critics about Lippi, aside from the players that he left out is his insecurity over the formation that he tends to play and also the composition of the players he picked to play it. He start of with 4-2-3-1, change it into the classic 4-4-2, than back in using the old 4-3-3 before in the second half against Slovakia he once again uses the 4-2-3-1. There’s nothing wrong with playing with different tactics, but changing them a lot even in one game kinda showed that the former Juventus coach doesn’t really have a clear play of how his team should play.

Surely, going out of the World Cup in the group stage is a humiliation for the defending champion as there will be a huge and heavy critics coming fro the whole team, especially towards Marcello Lippi. His stubbornness in leaving out some of the hottest talent and inform players in the serie A for his favorable players has already been highly critics by many people in Italy, now surely it will all be brought up again. Personally, I can understand some of his choices, however I just can’t really get why t Lippi seems so clueless in the tournament? he might argue that two of his most important players, Buffon and Pirlo, were injured in most of the games but the fact that he doesn’t seem to have a back up plan is what caused their failure this year. After France, the World Cup now said goodbye to another footballing country power house who before the tournament was being predicted to walk away easily from this group.

photo credit: Abdullah AL-Naser

After getting two disappointing draws in their first two games, Italy looks set to change their formation once again for the last group game against Slovakia. Reports from the journalist that witness the team’s training suggested that Marcello Lippi will get back to his old formation 4-3-3, as his final card in getting the best result against Vladimir Weiss’ squad. On training, Lippi doesn’t seem to change a lot of things especially upfront as he still puts Gilardino and Iaquinta with the addition of Antonio Di Natale.

The trident, has actually been tried out many times before, Di Natale was replaced by Simone Pepe who started before him in the previous two games. In the three forward formation, the Udinese striker will be placed as the one of the wide men with Iaquinta while Gilardino will be placed on the middle as center forward. Meanwhile, in the midfield, reports stated that Lippi might not use Pirlo as a starter and still relying the creative force on De Rossi and Montolivo with the addition of Gattuso in place of the disappointing Claudio Marchisio.

It looks like Lippi, won’t try to take a gamble early on as he opted to bench Pirlo and stick with a more balance midfield by adding another work horse in Gattuso. Although the former Juventus’ coach looks to play it save with the composition, it would actually still a gamble for the Azzuri as they could still miss that creative force the team badly missed in the first two games. If Montolivo and De Rossi fail to provide that cutting edge for the forwards, Italy could be in for another frustrating evening as I doubt that Di Natale or Iaquinta could provide the creative assistant for the world champion.

However, the good thing for Lippi’s squad would the the availability of Pirlo on the bench that could provide the creativity needed if Montolivo and De Rossi still fails to deliver the goods for the Azzurri’s game. Meanwhile, at the back it seems that the charismatic coach will still keep his defense line up consisting of Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chielini and Criscito which hasn’t actually looked that bad, although they already concede two goals both but all of those goals comes from a free kick process that involved the whole team set pieces defense set up rather than just the four back line organizations.

Personally I do believe the 4-3-3 formation would be the best line up that Lippi could come up with the players he had as his disposal, which consist plenty of wide attacking players rather than playmaker or trequartista. Although, I would actually put a different set of players in the middle and upfront than what he would probably put put against Slovakia. My choice of line up in the mid would be De Rossi-Pirlo-Marchisio, while up front I’d rather take Di Natale-Pazzini-Iaquinta or Camoranesi as I am not convinced in having both Gilardino and Iaquinta playing together up front. Whatever formation and composition that Lippi will set up, the Azzurri fans would only have one desire, which is winning and qualifying from their group.

photo credit: Abdullah AL-Naser

Despite having a bad world cup so far with most of the players seems under performing actually the Azzuri still have some exciting players to watch such as Ricardo Montolivo, Daniele De Rossi and surprisingly Gianluca Zambrotta. Both Zambro and Montolivo could very well be the surprise performers for Italy in this world cup as many fans pretty much would predict that De Rossi will be someone important for the team even before the tournament, which completely the opposite of the other two.

Coming into the first team only because of Pirlo’s injury, Montolivo provides more than enough to get his presence in the Azzuri’s midfield gets many appreciation from many football lovers and experts, as his composure, passing and long range shootings have been a bright spark in the gloomy Azzuri’s performances. The only thing that can be considered lacking from the Fiorentina midfielder is that he and De Rossi still unable to provide consistent dangerous assist for the strikers, although I kinda believe that occurs because they were playing a bit to deep at times.

Montolivo’s exciting performance has now cause a confusion in Lippi’s mind due the the recovery of Andrea Pirlo, the charismatic coach would need to think carefully whether he would put the young midfielder back on the bench to give Pirlo his post back or working out a way to play them together. Whatever happens, now surely the Fiorentina’s ace can held his head high as at least he can say that there’s is a future for him on the Azzuri shirt.

Meanwhile, Zambrotta’s performance is also something worth noticing as many fans have written him off before the World Cup and simply questioned his inclusion to Lippi’s squad. However, now everyone would pretty much stunned witnessing the fact that the Milan’s right back has arguably become Italy’s best players in the tournament, rarely troubled in defense, consistently threatening in going forward are pretty much the highlight of his performance in this tournament that cannot be denied.

Surely seeing Zambrotta’s form in Milan this season, the way his performing raises some eyebrows from Milanisti as the veteran right back seems a completely different player when playing for Italy in this tournament. Despite all the gloom and disappointing result that the Azzuri’s having, still there’s a light of hope and delight for the fans, surely with more effort from Montolivo, Zambrotta, De Rossi and other players, maybe Italy can re-discovered their form so the World Cup can be filled with more bright performances from their exciting talents.

Italy’s chance of advancing to the second round in the world cup is in jeopardy after getting two draws in their first two games at the tournament, not to mention failing to win on their last game against New Zealand seems to effect the players’ mentality. However, a little bright light set to spark for the Azzuri’s final game against Slovakia as they could very well have their most creative player in this World Cup, Andrea Pirlo, back on the field after recovering from his injury.

Having Pirlo fit again for the next game, will provide a little bit of creativity that Italy seems lacking in the previous games, however there are still some doubts of whether Pirlo’s return would bring enough creativity for the Azzuri? And would the Milan playmaker be fit enough to battle against Hamsik and co.? I guess the answers for those questions can only be answered after the game ends, although Lippi can really minimize all of the minor aspect that could trouble Italy for the upcoming game, such as picking the right option.

The trouble that probably looming in Lippi’s mind is who should Pirlo replace? Would he go for the basically tactical thing by playing the 30-years-old deep lying playmaker instead of Ricardo Montolivo, who in my opinion has been a pretty bright spark for Italy in the last two games or re-arranged his formation by taking off Marchisio and put both Pirlo and Montolivo together on the field. Referring from the players latest performances, the second option probably the obvious options, however it’s also depends on the way Lippi want to take his team’s approach, getting Monto, Pirlo and De Rossi together could be dangerous if they fail to hold the ball longer than Slovakia as they De Rossi would be the only one who has the muscle to battle with Hamsik and co.

However, if Lippi decide to be conventional in his approach by taking off Montolivo for Pirlo, it would also be a gamble as there are no guarantee that the not 100% Pirlo have what it takes to unlock Slovakia’s defense. Having both Pirlo and Montolivo in the game would probably the gamble that the former Juventus’ coach should take as Italy seems in need for tons of creativity to get their attack going, without having any trequartista, the Azzuri looked lost in the final third as both Montolivo and De Rossi were too deep at times that forced them to play direct passes wide to the flank or straight to their strikers.

Surely with Pirlo and Montolivo, at least one of them can be placed in a more advanced position so Italy can finally linked their midfield and strikers, this should at least give more flair on the Azzuri’s attacking force and if the two can work well, I believe there will be much more dangerous pass for their strikers. Now everything lies on Lippi’s on how would he wants his team to play, taking a cautious step or gambling with a much more innovative and attacking formation, either way the Azzuri fans would surely hope that Pirlo’s addition will quench the team’s thirst on creativity