By Sean Connolly

In one of the most drawn out signings in recent memory, Ronaldinho has officially signed with AC Milan. It seems like such a long time ago when it was first said that Ronaldinho would be a part of AC Milan, and after several months and several teams getting involved it’s finally over with.

Many things have happened but in the end I have become a Rossonero player. I am happy to find so many Brazilians but also all the champions that wear the Rossoneri colors. I am really happy. After many years I am here. I am delighted to have arrived to AC Milan and I hope to be able to give a lot of joy to everyone.

Ronaldinho on Finally Signing With AC Milan

AC Milan’s new product will be shown off on Thursday as Ronaldinho will be welcomed with welcomed arms at the San Siro Stadium at 9:30 P.M. This tedious transfer hasn’t taken its toll though. Both Inter Milan, and Manchester City were very well involved in looking to pick up the once world’s greatest player. It has also affected other players who have been unsure where to go, with a portion of their decision in the hands of Ronaldinho. Emmanuel Adebayor seemed the likely choice for Milan but suddenly chose Ronaldinho over the Arsenal star. There has also been rumors that Frank Lampard and Ronaldinho wanted to join forces and that a trade could put those two together.

This transfer should open the flood gates for a lot of moves in the next week or two. It seemed like this and the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer seemed to be blocking the door for a lot of teams. Barcelona haven’t looked back on Ronaldinho as they themselves have signed Alexander Hleb to a 4 year deal from Arsenal.

Who are the losers in this move though? It has to be Manchester City. At one point it seemed imminent that Manchester City would in fact steal Ronaldinho from AC Milan and sign the star but even after offering more than the 21 million Euros that AC Milan will pay Ronaldinho, his heart is in Milan. Signing Ronaldinho looked like such a smart and promising move for Manchester City that would have garnered them much attraction and could possibly allow them to compete with Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United. Now, even after signing Brazilian Jo, things look bleak for Manchester City as they may need to pull out another blockbuster to bring them up the table.

What does moving to Serie A mean for Ronaldinho? Personally I think this is where it ends for the star. The league is way too strong defensively for Ronaldinho to pull out his magic and he will soon become an average player whose impact won’t reflect his paycheck. I think it’s time to bid Ronaldinho farewell as he will become lost in Italy.

Champion’s League Final, May 21st 2008

Manchester United-2 Chelsea-1

Yeah, that’s my prediction but with the way the Champion’s League has gone this year who knows. Manchester United, after wrapping up the Premier League title over the weekend, go into the final on May 21st with the most momentum. Alex Ferguson had an interesting way of explaining their momentum coming into the final in Moscow,

If we’d lost the title it would have been a great knock but we are bouncing into the Champions League final

Both Chelsea and Manchester United went into the final weekend of the season tied in points, but United’s win over Wigan Athletic, 2-0, and Chelsea’s 1-1 tie to Bolton gave United the cup. Chelsea goes into the final beat up after a long season of injuries and trade rumors that have slowed, but not stopped Chelsea. With questions surrounding Didier Drogba, and John Terry’s fitness coming into the match Chelsea will be coming into the game already down.

Although Drogba and Terry have confirmed that they will without a doubt be ready for the final, they will definitely not be 100%. Terry who dislocated his elbow on Sunday against Bolton and Drogba who hurt his knee assured the Chelsea faithful that they will be on the field when the whistle blows. This is what Drogba had to say about he and his captain,

He (Terry) will play in Moscow. No one wants to miss this gigantic match, the match of our careers.

There is less question about Terry who is arguably the toughest player in the world but more about Drogba. Drogba’s season has been riddled with knee injuries and it seems that he gets injured nearly every game. Drogba and Terry aren’t the only Chelsea stars who will be overcoming injuries for the final, Ricardo Carvhallo is also scheduled to come back after battling a back problem.

As for United, they come into the final relatively injury free and on fire. Cristiano Ronaldo won the English Player of the Year award after his most spectacular season yet. He has had 38 goals and has done nothing this year but prove he is the best in the world. His back to back awards as PFA Player of the year has made him the main target for Chelsea in the final. Ronaldo’s speed, agility, and sheer genius will be too much for Chelsea and their injuries. Chelsea will have to find a way to keep the ball on Frank Lampard’s feet and distribute vertically to Drogba to avoid Ronaldo. Against Barcelona, Ronaldo was given room to roam and just torched the Barcelona defense and midfield. Ronaldo is the key for Manchester United, and the only way Chelsea can prevent a Manchester United double will be to contain him. But, as I predicted before Chelsea will come up a goal shy and expect United to take home a 2-1 victory.

By Sean Connolly

With two games remaining, Chelsea and Manchester United are now tied for the lead in the Premier League. A bad week for United ended with as they lost 2-1 to Chelsea, and now both teams are tied with 81 points in first place.

The week began on Wednesday when Manchester United tied with Barcelona in the Champion’s League. The game could have been won, but Cristiano Ronaldo failed to convert a penalty early in the game. He shot wide right as they keeper dove left and could do nothing but put his head in his hands. The poor performance could have stemmed from the league complaining about Ronaldo’s approach to the penalty spot, calling it questionable. Obviously concerned, Ronaldo choked with an opportunity to steal an away goal in Barcelona.

As for the weekend in England, Chelsea pulled out an important win that left them tied for first. Just weeks ago it seemed as if Manchester United was unstoppable and en route to the title. Surprisingly, Arsenal is still in the mix after a 6-2 thrashing of Derby County. Arsenal sit 4 points behind both Chelsea and Manchester United. Although improbable, Arsenal stealing the title would only prove that this season has been one of the most unpredictable. Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal still has hope for Arsenal and is picturing them taking the title…

Nothing is Impossible. We have to win the next two games and then we’ll see. We are not the favorites, but you never know.

You never know is right. Arsenal were running away with the title coming down the stretch and suddenly gave the title to the streaking United with a string of poor results. Chelsea surprisingly, have been hanging around and now have momentum coming into the final two games of the season. Despite several Chelsea trade rumors, which included its coach, Chelsea has overcome outside talk and have played solid soccer down the stretch. I expect Chelsea to walk away with the title with United falling one point shy of glory.

Silvio Berlusconi, President of AC Milan, has now admitted that the cost of Ronaldinho may be too high. This has led to Manchester City and AC Milan rival, Inter Milan, to get into the mix. With the cost of the 28 year old superstar is too high because there is a lot of doubt surrounding the star. The Ronaldinho trade to AC Milan has caused quite a stir, but now it seems he may be open to more clubs who are willing to spend a great deal of cash. Here’s what SIlvio Berlusconi had to say about the transfer of Ronaldinho…

We still want him and we know he wants to come to Milan. But Barcelona have asked for a price which we feel is excessive.

Ronaldinho has had his worst season yet as he riddled with injuries and his fitness level has not been up to par. The uncertainty of Ronaldinho playing throughout a season is the main concern. He has only played 13 of Barcelona’s 30 games this year and will me the rest of the games. Who would pay so much for only 13 games a season?

I think Manchester City will take the risk of bringing in Ronaldinho. With young Kasper Schmeichel in goal for the next couple of seasons, Manchester City could have a solid young team in their hands. An addition of a superstar like Ronaldinho could bring them up to the top of the premiership table.

Samuel Eto’o, striker from Cameroon, has added to Barcelona’s growing problems. He has now said that he will leave if Barcelona does not come up with a trophy by the end of next season. A loss of this magnitude will certainly send Barcelona down to the middle of the Spanish Primera Division. This is what Eto’o had to say…

If we continue not to win any trophies next year, then I will go somewhere else. I’ve done it all in Spain, I’ve reached the heights here and so if I do leave I will go to another league.

Eto’o, who comes off as a selfish player, proves that he is selfish off the field as well. He joined Barcelona in 2004 and has won trophies with the Spanish powerhouse. His team’s performance ended Barcelona’s dreams of winning the Spanish League as they tied 0-0 Espanyol, leading Eto’o to make remarks of possibly leaving the team. With only the Champion’s League trophy to win, Eto’o has become very anxious about his future with Barcelona.

Barcelona has done fairly well in the Champion’s League despite its poor play in Spain. They had a close call last round with Turkish squad, Fenerbahce, but overcame a first leg loss to win in the second leg and advancing to the next round. Barcelona find themselves in the final four of Europe’s most prestigious league matched up with a surging Manchester United team, who unfortunately for Barcelona fans, are playing their best soccer of the year. A loss for Barcelona could send fans into a deep stage of depression as nothing seems to be going right for Barca at the moment. The Eto’o situation is not helping coming into the first leg of the semi-final round and could hurt team morale.

Barcelona fans might not be able to endure another big name loss as earlier this month they learned that fan favorite, Ronaldinho, is more than likely heading to Italy, possibly a trade to AC Milan. Rumors of French superstar Thierry Henry heading back to England have also swirled. Luckily for Barca fans Vice President, Ferran Soriano, shot down those rumors. When asked if Henry will be headed back to the Premiership he had this to say…

I don’t think so. I spoke with him at length a week ago and he is happy in Barcelona. We were a bit disappointed because the team we have is the team to win all competitions and we are not doing very well in the domestic championship. But apart from that he is fine and I’m sure he is not coming back to the UK.

Henry isn’t the only one who has been rumored to leave Barcelona to go to the Premiership. Coach, Frank Rijkaard, has been rumored to be leaving Barcelona to head to Chelsea. Current Chelsea coach, Avram Grant, has been under fire this season and is likely out of Stamford Bridge soon. Rijkaard would be a perfect fit for Chelsea but all remains to be seen. When asked about Rijkaard’s possibilities of heading to the Premiership, Soriano refused to comment.

Barcelona face Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United on Wednesday as heavy underdogs. The 27 year old Eto’o, still has hope though to go to Russia for the Champions League final.

They are a step above us, but let’s see what happens on Wednesday…For me it is a big motivation that they are being classed as the favourites, that makes me even more keen to beat them.

By Sean Connolly

In one of the most drawn out signings in recent memory, Ronaldinho has officially signed with AC Milan. It seems like such a long time ago when it was first said that Ronaldinho would be a part of AC Milan, and after several months and several teams getting involved it’s finally over with.

Many things have happened but in the end I have become a Rossonero player. I am happy to find so many Brazilians but also all the champions that wear the Rossoneri colors. I am really happy. After many years I am here. I am delighted to have arrived to AC Milan and I hope to be able to give a lot of joy to everyone.

Ronaldinho on Finally Signing With AC Milan

AC Milan’s new product will be shown off on Thursday as Ronaldinho will be welcomed with welcomed arms at the San Siro Stadium at 9:30 P.M. This tedious transfer hasn’t taken its toll though. Both Inter Milan, and Manchester City were very well involved in looking to pick up the once world’s greatest player. It has also affected other players who have been unsure where to go, with a portion of their decision in the hands of Ronaldinho. Emmanuel Adebayor seemed the likely choice for Milan but suddenly chose Ronaldinho over the Arsenal star. There has also been rumors that Frank Lampard and Ronaldinho wanted to join forces and that a trade could put those two together.

This transfer should open the flood gates for a lot of moves in the next week or two. It seemed like this and the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer seemed to be blocking the door for a lot of teams. Barcelona haven’t looked back on Ronaldinho as they themselves have signed Alexander Hleb to a 4 year deal from Arsenal.

Who are the losers in this move though? It has to be Manchester City. At one point it seemed imminent that Manchester City would in fact steal Ronaldinho from AC Milan and sign the star but even after offering more than the 21 million Euros that AC Milan will pay Ronaldinho, his heart is in Milan. Signing Ronaldinho looked like such a smart and promising move for Manchester City that would have garnered them much attraction and could possibly allow them to compete with Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United. Now, even after signing Brazilian Jo, things look bleak for Manchester City as they may need to pull out another blockbuster to bring them up the table.

What does moving to Serie A mean for Ronaldinho? Personally I think this is where it ends for the star. The league is way too strong defensively for Ronaldinho to pull out his magic and he will soon become an average player whose impact won’t reflect his paycheck. I think it’s time to bid Ronaldinho farewell as he will become lost in Italy as I said months ago in my earlier post…

April 13th 2008

Ronaldinho to AC Milan, and the Beginning of the End for the Star

With Ronaldinho headed to AC Milan in the best defensive league in the world, he will surely struggle again next season to find his form. His whole career has been offensive-minded, whether it be in Brazil or Spain, and changing his entire style of play to a defensive-minded atmosphere will be a total shock to the two-time FIFA World Player of the Year. His game will be slowed down not only by his own team but by others as the defensive patterns stress slowing down opponents’ midfield attack.

Ronaldinho, who up until this year has been considered the best player worldwide, will be headed to Italy when the season ends, as rules state that the season must complete for the transfer to be completed. AC Milan and Barcelona only have to agree on a few things and the deal should be done and Ronaldinho will be as Italian as spaghetti. OK, maybe not, but he will play in Italy nevertheless. Ronaldhino has had a tough season as he is out injured for the rest of the season, and before the injury that set Barcelona back to mediocrity, he struggled to find the fantastic form we are accustomed to.

This is a bad move for Ronaldinho. He will not be the Ronaldinho we saw cutting up defenses, making those who attempt to stop him fall flat on their face, and free-kicks hugging the edge of the wall and hitting the side-netting. We will see a semi-productive midfielder who can create chances for Kaka and others on AC MIlan, but he will not be the main fixture in Milan’s lineup. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ronaldinho to become a 12th man for a majority of his career in Italy. But, that we cannot tell.

But, what if Ronaldinho does find his form again? If he does than AC MIlan will quickly, and easily become the most complete, dynamic, and talented teams in the world. If he and Kaka, last year’s player of the year award winner, can perform well together, who could possibly stop them in Italy, better yet, in all of Europe? Probably no one. But I fear that that is not possible, as Ronaldinho’s play has taken a toll on him and it looks as if these injuries may have a recurring role in Ronaldinho’s career.

Ronaldinho is a fantastic player, don’t get me wrong. He is one of the most exciting and entertaining players I have ever seen. But, I don’t see how going to a defensive-minded league will exacerbate his entertainment value. It will only hamper it. You will see him much more frustrated, as he attempts cutting passes that don’t make it pass the defensive third, leading him to play even worse and possibly create more injuries. There is nothing more that I would like to see than a little excitement to the monotonous, unexciting Italian league, but I don’t see it happening with Ronaldinho heading to AC Milan.