Ac Milan Soccer School opened their 3rd location yesterday in the Eastern Suburbs!

The first training session went well with positive feedback from everyone.

Forza Milan!

Hi all
just a quick reminder that on Monday 8th March no training will be on at Sydney Olympic park
See you normally on 10th March
Kind Regards
Director of Coaching
Andrea Icardi

Roma and AC Milan drew 0-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

AC Milan lined up as follows : Abbiate,Bonera,Thiago Silva,Nesta,Antonini,Ambrosini,Pirlo,Flamini,Huntelaar,Boriello and Ronaldinho. Substitutions made :Abate for Antonini ( 71 st minute),Beckham for Flamini ( 72 nd minute) and Inzaghi for Boriello ( 78 th minute).

Roma started off the brighter of the two teams and Milan could not get into their rythym for the first twenty minutes. Milan got into the game as Ronaldinho got more involved inthe game and began to dominate with the majority of possesssion although they created few chances in the first half.

Milan started the second half in an attacking mood and dominated the half. Milan had lots of possession and the best chances fell to Boriello ,who forced a good save from the Roma keeper when in a one on one position, to Huntelaar who almost scored by chipping the Roma keeper when he was out of position and finally to Ronaldinho who should have scored with a free header from two metres out after a great cross from Beckham . Roma had their chances to snatch a victory on their rare counterattack when a Vucininic header went just wide and with almost the last keep of the game a long rane thunderbolt from Roma’s Norwegian defended Riise forced a good save from Milan keeper Abbiati.

Overall a good display from Milan who were the better team and were unlucky not to take all three points from the game. The display bodes well for next week’s Champions League clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford with hopefully both Pato and Seedorf fit to start.

FORZA MILAN !

Hi all
just a reminder the training will be held at Wilson Park on Wednesday 3 March
Clyde Street, Silverwater Road
Newington

See you soon
Kind regards
Andrea Icardi

AC Milan continued its run of good form in the Serie A to win the fourth game in a row with a 3-1 victory against Atalanta at the San Siro in front of a crowd of 30,000 spectators.

Milan lined up as follows :Abbiati.Bonera, Silva, Nesta, Jankulovski, Pirlo, Ambrosini,Beckham, Ronaldinho, Boriello and Pato

Milan started the game slowly but took the lead after 30 minutes when Ronaldinho flicked the ball into the path of Massimo Ambrosini on the left who crossed for an unmarked Pato to volley right-footed past the Atalanta goalkeeper.

Milan doubled their lead just before half time when Pato was allowed to get on the end of a Ronaldinho cross before scrambling the ball over the line to make the half time score 2-0.

Atalanta were back in the game in the 56 th minute after a wonderful goal from Atalanta midfielder Valdes. Valdes got free down the left and went past a couple of Milan defenders at speed before firing a wonderful shot past Christian Abbiati from just outside the area.

However, Atalanta’s hopes of staging a second-half fightback lasted a mere five minutes, as they conceded a penalty after two defenders bundled over Bonera in the Atalanta penalty area. Ronaldinho’s penalty was saved by the Atalanta golakeeper but fortunately Borriello was on hand to react quickly and finish the rebound.

The game ended on a sour note for Milan, though, as Pato was carried off on a stretcher in the 80th minute, having gone down clutching the back of his leg as Milan set off on a counter-attack. While it has been confirmed that there was no muscle tear ,it is at this stage unknown as to how serious Pato’s injury is.

Milan now face two very difficult games in the next week – next Saturday we take on third placed Roma in the Serie A before then travelling to Manchester for the second leg of the Champions League tie against Manchester United.

FORZA MILAN !

Congratulations to all the players who participated in the first ever AC Milan Soccer Tournament at the multicultural Festival at the Calabria Club.
The first round of the tournament saw the victory of Serbia with players born between 04 to 99 – well done to the whole team: Marko Kuzet (captain), Nicholas Bilokapic, George Christopoulos, Dylan Chau, Ryley Caswell, Joakim Cipriano, Jaron Soussa, Nathan Antunes, Jack Tavana, Blake Bamgbose and Raymond Le.
The second round of the tournament with players born 97-98 saw Iraq victorious against Australia with Christian Agliozzo, Billy Bosler, Stanley Leeansah, Adam Leroux, Eamon Caswell, Joshua Brock, and Alex Vasovic being the winning Team. Well done also to Italy and Argentina as the runners up.

Follwoing the 2-0 victory away to Bari on the weekend ,AC Milan kept up our recent good form to beat Fiorentina 2-1 in Florence in front of a crowd of over 38.000 to move to within 4 points of Inter at the top of Serie A.

Milan lined up with the same side that faced Bari last Sunday : Abbiati,Bonera,Nesta,Silva,Abate,Gattuso,Ambrosini,Pirlo,Ronaldinho,Boriello and Pato

In a keenly contested game, Fiorentina took the lead through Gilardino thin the 14 th minute of the first half. Though Milan had our chances throughout the game , it was goalkeeper Christian Abbiati who kept us in the game with two great saves.

Just as it looked like Fiorentina would walk away with the three points, Milan equalised late in the game. With 15 minutes remaining,coach Leonardo brought on Dutch international striker Huntelaar for Gattuso and it proved to be the right move because the substitute equalised five minutes later in the 81 st minute after he played a one-two with Ronaldinho before firing from the heart of the area past Fiorentina goalkeeper Frey.

Milan’s joy could have been shortlived had Abbiati not made an acrobatic clearance to palm over the bar Vargas' stinging drive from 25 yards.

Milan continued to push forward and our efforts were rewarded with seconds remaining when Ronaldinho’s cross found Pato inside the area and his right-footed strike beat Frey in the 92 nd minute and winning the game for Milan !!

FORZA MILAN

AC Milan Soccer School will be taking part in the Sports Festival at the Calabria Club in Manly 27/02/2010

Born 04-03-02-01-00-99 be there at 10.30am

Born 99-97 be there at 11.30am

All Milan Academy players to take part in tournamnets all day.

There are lots of prizes to be won!!!

It should be a great family day with refreshments and food available.

Fine volleys from Marco Borriello and Alexandre Pato revived Milan and sent Bari crashing to their first home defeat since September, while Christian Abbiati saved a penalty.

The wounded Rossoneri stepped into the San Nicola after their 3-2 defeat to Manchester United midweek, a result that prompted Leonardo to offer his resignation if President Silvio Berlusconi wasn’t happy. Nelson Dida, David Beckham and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were dropped, while Marco Borriello returned from an injury lay-off. Clarence Seedorf and Gianluca Zambrotta were sidelined.

Bari were flying high and had already taken points off Inter and Juventus here this season. Andrea Ranocchia, Alessandro Parisi, Mariano Donda, Vitalii Kutuzov, Pisano, Antonio Langella and Kamata were sidelined, but Paulo Vitor Barreto returned from suspension.

An Ignazio Abate cross from the right was flicked on for Massimo Ambrosini to fire over from the edge of the box.

Jean-Francois Gillet got down to smother an Alexandre Pato free kick, then the Brazilian’s cross only glanced past Borriello’s head in the centre. Abate’s cross-shot floated just over the far top corner.

Bari had penalty appeals on 26 minutes for Daniele Bonera’s push on Barreto, but the referee waved play on. It looked to be a pretty decent shout.

Borriello’s diving header was wide of the near post from Bonera’s cross, while an acrobatic Andrea Masiello clearance stopped Borriello pulling the trigger in the D.

Bari lost Riccardo Meggiorini to an injury, so he made way for Fernando Sforzini just 33 minutes in.

The home side had a great chance soon after. Abbiati came flying off his line to push Massimo Donati’s slide-rule pass off the feet of Edgar Alvarez and the follow-up was wide, but the flag had already been raised at that point.

Milan also had their best opportunity. Salvatore Masiello kept Borriello in play from an Andrea Pirlo through ball and the angled drive beat Gillet, but not Leonardo Bonucci, who performed the crucial goalline clearance.

The deadlock was broken before half-time with another magnificent goal from Borriello. The striker has shown a tendency to net acrobatic efforts this season and he got away from his marker to smack a left-foot volley in at the near post from Ronaldinho’s ball over the top.

In first half stoppages an Emmanuel Rivas cross-shot skimmed the bar, but he clattered into Abate during the move and required treatment.

After the break Masiello read the play very well to intercept Ronaldinho’s pass, as it would’ve sent Borriello clear on goal. Pato drilled wide from another Dinho assist, while Donati flashed a shot across the face of goal.

Barreto earned a free kick right on the edge of the box and he took it himself for Abbiati to flap it out from under the crossbar. The corner was not cleared effectively, so three Bari players had shots charged down in quick succession.

Donati wasted a good opportunity when he hesitated in the D and lost his moment.

Moments later Milan doubled their lead. Ronaldinho skipped past a defender down the left and his cross-shot stung Gillet’s palms, eventually falling to Pato’s volley from 12 yards.

Borriello limped off with that calf problem still causing him pain, allowing Pippo Inzaghi some rare playing time, while Beckham replaced Gennaro Gattuso.

The game looked to be coming to an end, but Pato showed he is a striker and not a defender by mistiming his tackle on Salvatore Masiello. Barreto stepped up for the penalty, but Abbiati guessed the right corner and palmed it off the line with one strong hand.

Milan failed to take their chances and paid the price, as Wayne Rooney’s brace gave Manchester United a 3-2 victory at San Siro. It’s a result that leaves their qualification hopes hanging by a thread.

David Beckham faced his former club for the first time since leaving in the summer of 2003, so emotions were running high. Marco Borriello was injured, but Alexandre Pato, Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva recovered to start. Manchester United had Rio Ferdinand back in action, but Ryan Giggs and Nemanja Vidic were out. Wayne Rooney was picked as the lone striker.

The Rossoneri had won all of their two-leg meetings with United, qualifying in 1957-58, '68-69, 2004-05 and the 2006-07 semi-finals. In those four visits to San Siro, United had always lost without scoring a goal. Recent Serie A form had been poor, but last Friday a 3-2 victory over Udinese ended their run of one point from three official games.

After just two minutes, Milan had taken the lead at a packed-out San Siro! Beckham swept a free kick in from distance, Patrice Evra tried to acrobatically clear, but it turned into a looping assist for Ronaldinho’s right-foot volley from 16 yards. It took a deflection off Michael Carrick on its way past a stranded Edwin Van der Sar.

Pato spread the play for Ronaldinho, whose angled drive was smothered by Van der Sar. Luca Antonini then went close, as he ran on to Ronaldinho’s through ball to cut back between two United shirts and drill inches wide of the near post.

However, there was a scare when Nelson Dida fumbled a Nani corner. Daniele Bonera’s sliding tackle was perfectly timed to close down Park in the area.

Ronaldinho pounced on a defensive error to go one-on-one with Rio Ferdinand with a series of step-overs and fell on the edge of the box, but the referee did not award a free kick.

Wayne Rooney’s first contribution was after 19 minutes, when he unleashed a sudden snapshot that whistled wide of the upright. Bonera, who was out of Milan’s Champions League squad for the first half of the season due to injury, performed another strong tackle and accidentally got kicked in the head twice by Rooney for his trouble.

Huntelaar got on the end of a poor clearance, as Evra deflected the shot out for a corner. Moments later the Dutchman was sent clear through the middle and flashed his finish across the face of goal from the D.

Nani fell when he tried to lean back on Antonelli and found no purchase, half-heartedly asking for a penalty.

Manchester United scored with a stroke of luck, their first ever goal at San Siro. Scholes had completely missed the low Fletcher cross from the right, but it hit his trailing leg and deflected in off the inside of the far post. Scholes also scored the equaliser against Inter here on March 17 1999, meaning he is the only Champions League player to have netted against both clubs at San Siro.

During that move, Antonini went down with a thigh strain and made way for Giuseppe Favalli.

Ronaldinho suddenly squirmed between two defenders and hit a rocket that Van der Sar beat away with difficulty, but Pato was unable to get on the end of it. The goalkeeper did well, as it bounced right in front of him.

Beckham curled a free kick over the bar and Rooney was booked for dissent. Thiago Silva’s cross flashed all the way across the face of goal with Pato just failing to make contact.

After the restart Pato nodded Favalli’s cross just over the bar from nine yards. Andrea Pirlo hit an absolute screamer of a free kick from 35 metres out that Van der Sar fingertipped out from the far top corner of the net.

Pirlo’s through ball only grazed Pato’s boot in front of the goalkeeper, while Rooney’s counter was deflected well wide.

On the hour mark Ronaldinho curled a fierce shot towards the far bottom corner that Van der Sar palmed round the post.

Rooney had another counter and Dida smothered the shot and Luis Valencia replaced Nani, which proved to be a key moment in the game.

Manchester United had been more solid in the second half and Rooney turned the game around completely. He backed off Bonera to get on the end of substitute Valencia’s cross from the right, sending a looping header into the far top corner. It was his 24th of the season in all competition, a new personal best.

Milan have not won a single home game in Europe this season, a poor record that was behind their runner-up spot in the qualifying group behind Real Madrid.

Ronaldinho tested Van der Sar, while Clarence Seedorf replaced Beckham. Rooney drilled wide and doubled his tally, as Milan visibly fell to pieces with their confidence evaporating.

Rooney sprung the offside trap between the static centre-backs to nod a Fletcher chipped cross in from seven yards.

Pippo Inzaghi replaced Huntelaar for the final 13 minutes, but by this stage the belief had gone from the Rossoneri.

Substitute Seedorf brought some back five minutes from time with a spectacular goal. Ronaldinho made it down the left and crossed low for Seedorf for a backheel flick from seven yards. It was the Dutchman’s first Champions League goal since Shakhtar in October 2007 on a record 40th knockout appearance.

It suddenly woke Milan up and moments later Inzaghi blasted over from the edge of the box. Ronaldinho knocked down a Bonera cross for Massimo Ambrosini, whose shot was deflected wide. From the corner Nesta rose above the crowd for a header wide.

It was too little, too late from Leonardo’s side, who visibly stopped playing for 20 minutes before this late burst of confidence.

In stoppages Carrick received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away. He will be suspended for the second leg at Old Trafford.

All trainings sessions at Sydney Olympic park this week will be at the Athletic centre.

Milan have announced the following squad to

Goalkeeper : Abbiati and Dida

Defenders : Abate, Antonini, Bonera, Favalli, Jankulovski, Kaladze, Nesta, Oddo and Thiago Silva

Midfield :Ambrosini, Beckham, Flamini, Gattuso, Pirlo and Seedorf

Forwards : Huntelaar, Inzaghi, Pato and Ronaldinho

The unavailable players due to injury are Borriello and Zambrotta.

The game will be broadcast live on SBS at 6.30 am Wednesday morning.

Milan enter the game as underdogs but let’s hope it will be another of those special nights for Milan fans at the San Siro !

FORZA MILAN !!

Milan beat Udinese 3-2 in front of a crowd of 34,000 at the San Siro. The win helped Milan reclaim second spot in the Serie A. The match was played on a Friday night to allow Milan time to recover in time before next Tuesday night’s Champions League clash versus Manchester United.

While Milan played solidly enough ,our game never reached great heights. Having said this the win was an important morale booster before next Tuesday’s match particularly as Udinese had beaten us twice this season – including a 1-0 win by Udinese only two weeks ago at the San Siro which knocked Milan out of the Coppa Italia.

The really good news for us was the return of both Nesta and Pato for the match. Both these players are world class and both will be badly needed if we are to get a result against Manchester United. The other good news was that Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, in the side due to the Boriello being injured, scored two good goals.The only concern from the match was the injury sustained by central defender Thiago Silva ,who pulled a muscle in the first half of the match although he was replaced by Boonera,who had a good game.The other encouraging news was Ronaldinho’s form – he had a hand in all of Milan’s three goals.

Milan lined up as follows : Dida, Favalli,Nesta,Silva,Abate,Pirlo,Ambrosini,Gattuso,Ronaldinho,Mancini and Huntelaar.

The match was watched by Manchester United’s manager Sir Alex Fergurson. Milan took the lead after a great bit of play by Ronaldinho who controlled the ball on the bye line before putting in a perfect cross for Huntelaar to score with a with a bullet header.

Milan doubled their lead in the 39 th minute when Ronaldinho put Pato through with a fine ball. Pato playing his first game for almost two months and who had come on for the injured Mancini in the 13 th minute, ran through with the ball ,rounded the Udinese keeper and doubled Milan’s lead with an excellent goal.

Just as Milan seemed to be going into the half time break with a comfortable 2-0 lead, Udinese scored with literally the last kick of the half when from a fine Di Natale cross Flores headed the ball firmly past Dida.

Milan’s two goal cushion was restored in the 57 th minute when from a Ronadinho freekick , Ambrosini headed the ball into the path of Huntelaar who calmly controlled the ball and blasted the ball to make it 3-1. After this Milan were again content to sit back and let Udinese make all the running although Milan should have sealed the game when both Gattuso and Pato had great chances but great work from Udinese’s golakeeper kept Udinese in the game.

And indeed Udinese were back in the game when in the 86 th minute Di Natale was put through and he bent the ball past the onrushing Dida to bring the score back to 3-2.

Milan held on to their lead for the rest of the game to register their first win in four games in the Serie A . We will have to do better to get a good result against Manchester United next week and we definitely start as the underdog but hopefully we can lift ourselves for the big occassion as we have done so many times before in the Champions League in the last twenty years!!

FORZA MILAN

Photos of the Milan Junior Camp held in Narrabeen in January are now displayed in the Gallery section of the website.

The camp was well attended and the feedback was excellent – at this camp the boys had the opportunity to train with ex AC Milan and Italy player Danielle Massaro who was here as a special guest of teh Milan Academy Australia.

Hi all
I inform you that on 12th February at Sydney Olympic Park there is no training.
We come back normally on 17th Wednesday and 19th Friday.
Kind Regards
Andrea Icardi

Training times for Monday 9th Feb

Venue – Sydney Olympic Park

Normal training

Venue – Dee Why

Milan Advanced 17:30 – 19:00

Milan hit the woodwork twice with Ronaldinho and Massimo Ambrosini, but emerged with only a point from Bologna as the match finished 0-0.

The Rossoneri had been the form team in Serie A, but since the 2-0 derby defeat appear to have lost their way. Including the Coppa Italia they were on a three-match winless streak before this game and were caught in second place by Roma. Alexandre Pato, Alessandro Nesta, Massimo Oddo and Gianluca Zambrotta were still on the treatment table, but January signing Amantino Mancini had a surprise start. Bologna had earnt eight points from the previous four rounds and discovered a star in Henry Gimenez, although Marcelo Zalayeta, Massimo Mutarelli and Emiliano Viviano were out of action.

As in other recent outings, the Rossoneri passed the ball around well but were unable to make much of an impact in the final third. They notched up a series of corner kicks without really threatening.

In fact, Massimo Ambrosini needed good defending to pluck the ball off the feet of Gimenez on the edge of the box.

Ronaldinho and Mancini combined to set up the on-rushing Clarence Seedorf, but the finish was terrible.

The first real scoring opportunity came after 31 minutes for Bologna veteran Marco Di Vaio. Nelson Dida needed two touches to get his shot under control from the left channel.

Ambrosini was booked for simulation after he ran on to a through ball and was approached by Colombo. Andrea Pirlo had a decent strike from distance that skimmed the crossbar.

Daniele Bonera’s sliding intervention stopped Andrea Raggi’s cross reaching Di Vaio in the middle after the restart. Roberto Guana had already been flagged offside when he put the ball in the net.

Milan had by far their best chance of the game so far on 56 minutes. Goalkeeper Colombo was caught in no man’s land by a corner kick, which Ronaldinho volleyed on to the crossbar.

Leonardo threw on Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for Seedorf and Colombo was at full stretch to deny Marco Borriello.

Pirlo’s through ball released Huntelaar in the box, but Colombo rushed off his line to close him down and Vangelis Moras cleared the loose ball off the line.

Ronaldinho’s through ball released Borriello to fire wide of the near post and late on David Beckham replaced Ronaldinho.

Beckham’s snapshot was off target and Borriello tested Colombo with a left-foot finish from the England star’s assist. Milan were very unlucky in stoppage tme, as Mancini’s cross found an Ambrosini header that thumped the crossbar.

Milan’s next game in Serie A is versus in form Udinese at the San Siro,and a few days after this we face an in form Manchester United in the Champions League.

Hi all , we had a great turnout at the Narrabeen Academy last night with many new players joining the Academy.

The programme for the new season 2010 for all Sydney Olympic Park Academy players is as follows :

Basic Skills players born in 2004-03-02 training from 4.00pm to 5.00 pm
Milan Academy players born in 2001-00-99 training from 5.00pm to 6.30pm
Milan Academy players born in 1998-97 training from 6.00pm to 8.00pm
Milan Academy Advanced players born in 1996-95-94-93 from 6.00pm to 8.00pm

Following the disappointing defeat to Inter in the derby the previous week, Milan’s hopes of challenging for the Serie A title took another hit when we could only draw 1-1 with lowly Livorno at the San Siro.

Milan had three key players injured for the game namely Pato , Pirlo and Nesta and hence lined up as follows : Abbiati, Silva ,Favalli, Antonini, Ambrosini , Flamini,Seedorf,Beckham, Ronaldinho and Boriello.

Milan came out om the attack against a Livorno side that was content to sit back and soak up the pressure. Milan came close on several occasions in the first half with both Ronaldinho and Beckham coming close from freekicks and Ronaldinho rattling the the post with a great shot from outside the area after a great Milan move on the edge of the area. Milan were finally rewarded for their pressure in the 44 th minute when a Beckham cross was not properly dealt with by the Livorno keeper and Ambrosini was on hand to slide the ball home.

Huntelaar was brought on for Boriello in the second half and the game continued on much the same path as in the first half with Milan attacking and Livorno content to defend in numbers. Livorno scored an unlikely equaliser in the 53 rd minute when from a rare attack a mishit shot from the edge of the Milan area ended at the feet of Lucarelli who slid the ball home past Abbiati. Milan threw everything forward for the rest of the game but were unable to create many other clear cut scoring opportunities. Inzaghi came on for Flamini in the 78 th minute as Milan searched for a goal and despite coming close on a couple of occassions the game ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw.

Milan remain second and are now 8 points behind Inter in the Serie A and face a potentially tricky game away to Bologna next Sunday. Hopefully the team will recapture its form before the big Champions League fixture versus Manchester United at San Siro on the 16 February.

FORZA MILAN !!

Hi all , the programme for the new Milan Academy season 2010 at Narrabeen is as follows :

Basic Skills players born in 2004-03-02 training from 4.00pm to 5.00 pm
Milan Academy players born in 2001-00-99 training from 5.00pm to 6.30pm
Milan Academy players born in 1998-97 training from 6.00pm to 8.00pm
Milan Academy Advanced players born in 1996-95-94-93 from 6.00pm to 8.00pm

Former AC Milan and Italy striker Daniele Massaro has returned back to Milan after two busy weeks in Sydney assisting the Milan Soccer School.

Daniele attended both Milan Junior Camps that were held at Narrabeen and Olympic Park during January as well as the 2010 Milan Academy trials that were also held in Sydney. A total of over 100 players attended these events and in which the boys had the opportunity to train with and be assessed by one of AC Milan’s legendary greats.

Last Friday at Portobello’s cafe overlooking Circular Quay,over 100 guests of the Italian Chamber of Commerce attended an evening cocktail party where the highlight was an interview of Daniele and Andrea Icardi, Milan Soccer School’s coaching Director, by SBS commentator Les Murray about their experiences and highlights as players of AC Milan and Italy.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the players who participated in our camps and trials during January . A big thank you also to Daniele for making the effort to travel out to Sydney to support the Milan Soccer School here.

Ronaldinho’s hat-trick and Marco Borriello’s candidate for Goal of the Season helped Milan to their eighth win in nine games. 10-man Siena could do little, as Leonardo’s men move to within six points of Inter.

Last night’s Inter hiccup meant a victory here would put the Rossoneri within six points of the leaders going into next week’s derby. However, Siena were not pushovers, as last Saturday they fell 4-3 in this stadium when Inter completed a comeback from 3-2 down at the 88th minute in controversial circumstances.

Alexandre Pato, Gianluca Zambrotta, Clarence Seedorf, Massimo Oddo and the suspended Massimo Ambrosini were out of action, while Marco Borriello was not 100 per cent fit and started anyway. Siena’s Emilson Sanchez Cribari and Reginaldo sat out bans, with Abdel Ghezzal at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Ronaldinho’s acrobatic chest and overhead kick went past the bar, but there was a huge turning point after 10 minutes.

Brandao was foolishly caught in possession inside the box for Borriello to rob him, then Gianluca Curci mistimed the intervention to blatantly trip his ankle. The penalty and red card were inevitable, reducing Siena to 10 men for practically the entire match. Gianluca Pegolo came off the bench and his first touch was taking Ronaldinho’s spot-kick out of the back of the net.

However, 10-man Siena risked an equaliser when Massimo Maccarone burst between three Milan defenders and fired over from 10 yards most likely with a deflection off Ignazio Abate.

It was a scare, but Milan survived it and doubled their lead with one of the goals of the season! The chipped cross from the left dropped over Borriello’s shoulder for a stunning volley from the tightest of angles. Simply sublime from the striker who was expected to miss this game due to injury.

After the restart Ronaldinho ran rings around two Siena defenders and drew out the goalkeeper, but the ball was over from practically the byline.

Dinho should’ve made it 3-0 with a right-foot snooker shot, but Pegolo got a fingertip to turn it inches past the far post in a fantastic save.

Alessandro Nesta had a slight muscular problem and made way for Giuseppe Favalli as a precautionary measure.

Ronaldinho completed his brace with a powerful header from David Beckham’s corner that caught Pegolo by surprise, as it hit the goalkeeper and he didn’t seem to know much about it, unable to push it off the line.

Siena were still in the game and a marvellous Nelson Dida save denied Emanuele Calaio’s header from point-blank range. Late on Maccarone was correctly booked for simulation, as he dived without making contact with Dida.

Ronaldinho was on sparkling form and completed his hat-trick with a marvellous strike. He found space on the edge of the box to unleash a shot with the outside of his right foot that swept into the far top corner.

Milan demolished sorry Juventus 3-0 in Turin thanks to Alessandro Nesta and a Ronaldinho brace. It’s the Rossoneri’s first win here since 2003-04 and leaves Ciro Ferrara’s position in real doubt.

The rivals went head to head in a battle for second place and the right to stay in the Scudetto hunt. Both sides had numerous injury worries, as Juve were missing Vincenzo Iaquinta, Mauro Camoranesi, Gigi Buffon, David Trezeguet and Sebastian Giovinco, plus Momo Sissoko (Africa Cup of Nations) and Martin Caceres (ban). Milan lost Alexandre Pato, Clarence Seedorf, Gianluca Zambrotta, Oguchi Onyewu and Massimo Oddo, so the same starting XI that thrashed Genoa 5-2 on Wednesday remained in place.

Ronaldinho was fortunate to avoid an early booking for a clumsy late tackle on Hasan Salihamidzic.

Diego had the first real scoring opportunity, as he took on two Milan defenders on his own down the left channel and eventually flashed an angled drive across the face of goal.

Giorgio Chiellini did well to stop Marco Borriello turning in a David Beckham cross, putting it out for a corner at the near post. Chiellini again used his body to block Borriello’s half-volley from a Ronaldinho through ball.

Milan broke through after 29 minutes from a corner kick. Andrea Pirlo’s set play looked to be easily cleared at the near post, but Felipe Melo did a fresh-air shot and it went through for an unmarked Alessandro Nesta at the back stick.

On 37 minutes Borriello and Beckham were both halted for an incorrect offside decision.

Juventus went close to an equaliser when a free kick was not cleared effectively, Chiellini diving on to Gennaro Gattuso’s feet to test Nelson Dida from point-blank range.

Thiago Silva almost made it 2-0, as he smacked a sudden snapshot from 25 metres that Alex Manninger pushed round the base of the near post. From the resulting Beckham corner, Ronaldinho’s header was deflected inches over by Christian Poulsen.

The crowd chanted for captain Alessandro Del Piero, but Ferrara made no changes at half-time. Juve started the second period with far more aggression and earned a corner, but Amauri’s towering header went just beyond Chiellini for a potential tap-in.

Chiellini’s header was straight at Dida, but on the counter Beckham spun round to fire over the bar.

Del Piero was introduced to cheers from the Olimpico crowd, replacing Salihamidzic, to act behind Amauri in a 4-2-3-1 system. Pirlo gave the ball away in midfield and Claudio Marchisio’s snapshot was deflected wide.

Poulsen picked up a calf injury and was stretchered off, making way for Paolo De Ceglie. Mathieu Flamini replaced a tired Gattuso.

Del Piero blasted a free kick over from distance. There was confusion between Manninger and Chiellini, almost allowing Borriello to aim at an open goal, but he was unable to turn round.

Manninger again flapped at a cross and was fortunate Ronaldinho couldn’t get on the end of Beckham’s pull-back.

The Rossoneri were beginning to put the pressure on again after a period of sitting back and they doubled their lead on 72 minutes. Another Pirlo corner was whipped in for Ronaldinho’s glancing header at the near post and it took a deflection off De Ceglie to confuse Manninger.

Massimo Ambrosini was booked for a foul on Del Piero and will be suspended for the next game against Siena. At this stage, groups of Juventus fans left the stadium in protest, while others started lighting fires in the stands. After a while it started to burn the seats and created an artificial fog throughout the stadium.

The fog also went to Juve’s head, as Milan made it 3-0 with Ronaldinho’s second of the game. A cross from the right found Ronaldinho at the back post to chest it down and fire in from six yards.

In stoppages Dida denied Del Piero a consolation goal by fingertipping his free kick round the near post.

FORZA MILAN

Daniele Massaro the star Italian striker who scored twice in AC Milan’s 4-0 European Cup Victory in 1994 will be arriving in Sydney next week after a stop over in Dubai. Daniele was also a regular striker for Italy with the highlight being his partenrship with Roberto Baggio for Italy during the 1994 World Cup Finals in the US ,where Italy got all the way to the Final only to lose to penalties to the mighty Brazil.

Daniele will assist the selection processt at the trials for the Milan Academy Trials at Sydney Olympic Park on 16th Janaury 2010. He will then be our guest coach at the Milan Junior Camp being held at the Sydney Academy of Sport,Narrabeen from 18th to 21st where he will pass on some of his special goal scoring techniques. Before flying back to Milan Daniele also assist in will assessing players at Narrabeen at the Northern Beaches at Trials being held on 23rd January.

Milan strted off 2010 in tremendous style by beating Genoa 5-2 at the San Siro.

Beckham made his Serie A comeback and was thrown straight into the starting XI, replacing the injured Alexandre Pato. Andrea Pirlo took a more advanced role supporting the trident that included Ronaldinho and ex-Genoa hitman Marco Borriello.

Milan went on the attack straight away and Within three minutes Beckham had crossed for an acrobatic Borriello flick from six yards and equally impressive Marco Amelia reaction save. The LA Galaxy man then combined with Ronaldinho for the Brazilian to turn wide.

Massimo Ambrosini burst through a gap in the Genoa defence and tripped over Giuseppe Biava’s outstretched foot in a pretty soft penalty, as the Milan midfielder left his leg trailing somewhat. There was an element of justice, as Ronaldinho’s weak spot-kick was comfortably smothered by Amelia.

Beckham then drilled wide at the end of a well-worked move as Ambrosini spread the play to the right channel.

But it was Genoa who broke the deadlock at San Siro. Rodrigo Palacio’s cross from the right went over Suazo, but found Giuseppe Sculli for a header at the back post. Sculli was unmarked, as he had shaken off Ignazio Abate.

Milan received their second penalty in the space of 17 minutes, as Borriello smartly knocked the ball down for the on-coming Ambrosini, who tried to dribble round Amelia and was hauled down. There were no doubts this time, nor in the finish, as Ronaldinho thumped a powerful spot-kick to send Amelia the wrong way.

Milan turned the game around to go 2-1 up aftre a goal mouth scramble. A free kick prompted several attempts, as Borriello’s header was cleared off the line by Rossi, Ambrosini’s follow-up saved by Amelia and eventually Thiago Silva bundled the ball in.

Straight after the restart Milan extended their lead. Ronaldinho’s through ball went past Domenico Criscito to reach Luca Antonini at the byline and he pulled back for Borriello’s easiest of tap-ins.

There was absolutely nothing easy about Borriello’s second ! He sprung the offside trap for a long Antonini ball over the top, ran backwards and lined up a sensational left-foot scissor-kick volley that went in off the inside of the far post. He was so overjoyed at this goal that took off his shirt and swung it round over his head, not caring about the yellow card.

Gennaro Gattuso nearly scored a rare Serie A goal when he won back the ball in the final third, but hesitated and allowed Amelia to rush out and close him down.

Milan were awarded the third penalty of the night, as Ronaldinho knocked the ball on and Rossi dragged the Brazilian back by the neck. Dinho decided to leave the spot-kick to Huntelaar, allowing him to score his first goal at San Siro. The Dutchman smashed the penalty into the near top corner.

Beckham was also granted a standing ovation and huge cheers from the crowd following a fantastic and versatile debut, as he made way for Marek Jankulovski.

It wasn’t over yet, as Suazo pounced on an Alessandro Nesta defensive error by intercepting his pass for Ambrosini and aimed a fierce left-foot strike off the inside of the far post. It was the Honduran’s first goal in a Genoa jersey.

A fantastic start to 2010 for Milan – a win which pits them back into second place in the Serie A and which hopefully bodes well for their top of the table clashed with Juventus and Inter later this month.

Forza Milan!

David Beckham reveals he “almost cried” when Milan drew Manchester United in Europe, but would do anything for the Rossoneri, even play in defence.

“When I first heard about the tie I think I almost cried because it is such a special place for me," he said of the upcoming Champions League clash.

It will be his first competitive trip to Old Trafford since leaving the club seven years ago.

"I would like to progress further in the competition and, of course, when you come up against a club that you support and a club you have spent so many great years at and where you have still got so many friends at the club, those things are always difficult, but it’s a nice problem to have.

"I’ve not returned to Old Trafford as a player in seven years. I miss it every day; I miss being a Manchester United player, I miss the club, I miss the fans and friends at the club. So it is always going to have a special place in my heart.

"To return as an AC Milan player makes it extra special, that’s the big thing for me – to return with a team like this and a club like this that has got so much history, which is the same as Manchester United, it’s such a special occasion.

“To be there in front of the fans and the manager and friends is going to be incredible."

The 34-year-old LA Galaxy star has returned to San Siro for another loan spell after playing for Milan from January to May last season.

Many wonder how he will fit into Leonardo’s new tactical set-up and one possible option is replacing the injured Massimo Oddo at right-back.

"I would be happy to play in any position, in defence, in attack, even in goal!” smiled the England star.

"I am not expected to start the games. I just want to be part of the team. My experience with the club was so special for six months. It was one of the best six months of my career.

"I missed the team, the players, the fans. The group is very similar. It is the same at Manchester United, it never changes.”

The Rossoneri are currently in second place in Serie A and Beckham is not shy about his ambitions for this season, even if Carlo Ancelotti, Kaka and Paolo Maldini have left.

"To win a title is my number one wish. To win a title with AC Milan. I don’t think the league has lost any charm. Definitely not. This is a great squad that can win the Scudetto.

“I am very honoured to be here again and to know I’ll be here for at least six months, which the first time around wasn’t so sure for many reasons. As for if Milan will be in my future again after that, we’ll see.

“Milan was always my first choice, even the first time when there was first talk of the Galaxy loaning me out.

“Going to the World Cup is certainly an objective, but I didn’t just come to this club so that I could go to the World Cup.”

Milan’s unbeaten run from October 28 was ended by Palermo’s perfect display of counter-attacking football as they ran out 2-0 winners at the San Siro.

The Rossoneri were just four points off leaders Inter and right back in the thick of the Scudetto race. Qualification for the Champions League came at a price, as Thiago Silva’s strain will keep him out for up to two months, joining Oguchi Onyewu, Massimo Oddo, Gennaro Gattuso and Daniele Bonera on the treatment table. With this in mind, Alexandre Pato was also rested.

Milan were looking for a sixth Serie A win on the bounce, but within 120 seconds Edison Cavani had flashed an angled drive across the face of goal from Miccoli’s assist.

Palermo got off to a blistering start with Mark Bresciano testing Nelson Dida from distance and Antonio Nocerino drilling over.

Clarence Seedorf’s cross-shot whistled across the face of goal with Marco Borriello sliding in a second too late to turn it in.

Bresciano was under pressure from Massimo Ambrosini to turn the angled drive across the face of goal, missing the far post by a matter of inches. At the other end Borriello had a very similar effort that shaved a coat of paint off the upright.

Moments later Gianluca Zambrotta also skimmed the woodwork from Seedorf’s assist.

Palermo were again very aggressive after the restart ad took a deserved lead when Miccoli walked into the left side of the box and curled a magnificent right-foot finish into the far top corner. It was a special goal for the striker, who started his career in the Rossoneri youth squad.

Pato was thrown on for Ignazio Abate, but this left even more space on the counter and Simplicio failed to take advantage of Dida failing to meet a cross.

Borriello nodded a Ronaldinho corner into Salvatore Sirigu’s arms, then Pato’s shot was charged down after good work from Seedorf and just as Milan were putting on the pressure, Palermo doubled their lead with a counter.

Once again Miccoli was involved, as he surged forward down the left flank and kept a tricky ball in play, rolled through for Javier Pastore’s effort palmed into the path of Bresciano.

Luca Antonini blasted wide and Pato accidentally got into the way of Ronaldinho’s shot. On yet another counter Alessandro Nesta’s last-ditch tackle proved decisive, while Sirigu got down to block a header from substitute Pippo Inzaghi.

Sirigu kept out a Mathieu Flamini screamer and Andrea Pirlo attempt, while Pato nodded Dinho’s cross wide. From a corner the Palermo goalkeeper needed a great save to deny Zambrotta’s strike with the outside of his right foot as it was flying into the near top corner.

Deep into stoppages Pato had the chance to open the game again, but hit an incredibly weak volley straight at Sirigu.

AC Milan are through to the second round of the Champions League after finishing second to Real Madrid in Group C. AC drew 1-1 to FC Zurich in Zurich, while Real beat Marseille 3-1 in France.

AC Milan lined up as follows : Dida, Abate, Nesta, Silva, Antonini, Ambrosini, Pirlo, Seedorf, Ronaldinho, Boriello and Pato.

Milan entered the contest in second place in Group C, knowing they would qualify if they won in Zurich. Although due to Marseille’s loss, Milan got the result they needed,it was a fairly lack lustre performance. After 20 minutes, Milan Kaladze replaced the injured Thiago Silva to injury and eight minutes later Zurich took the lead thanks to a fantastic freekick from Gajic.

Milan equalised in the second hallf after Boriello was brought down in the box by Rochat, who was sent off for the foul. Ronaldinho converted from the penalty spot after 63 minutes to give Milan a 1-1 draw.

In other results, Juventus were eliminated out of the Champions League after crashing 4-1 at home to bayern Munich,despite taking an early lead.

The second round of matches in the Champions League now beckons for the Rossoneri in February .

FORZA MILAN !!

Milan Academy Australia’s Director Anton Tagliaferro recently returned from a trip to Milan ,where he held various meetings with AC Milan officials to report on how the Milan Academy in Australia is progressing. AC Milan were pleased to hear the progress over the last twelve months and remain committed to supporting the improvement of the level of soccer talent in Australia.

Of note was the meeting held with Filippo Galli, a good friend of our coaching Director Andrea Icardi, at Centro Vismara . Filippo Galli is now AC Milan’s new Youth sector coach having taken over from Mr Bianchessi six months ago. Filippo was an integral part of AC Milan Champions League winning team in 1994 coached by Capello that came into the Final as underdogs and that beat Barcelona 4-0 in that memorable final in Athens !

Until recently ,Filippo was the third coach of the AC Milan first team working with Ancellotti and Tassotti before being appointed in charge of the Milan youth Department. Filippo has been told to reinvigorate the Youth area as over the last few years it has failed to produce much in the way of new players for AC Milan’s first squad. Since being appointed ,Filippo has alraedy undertaken many changes to the Milan Youth area since his appointement, including the replacement of several youth coaches with his own appointees as well the as introduction of new levels of accountability and reporting all of the Youth Department.

The changes are already yielding favourable outcomes with all of AC Milan 's youth teams (from under 11 to under 16) at the top of their repective tables. In addition Filippo is keen to work with the overseas Academies and is keen for any of our exceptional players to go across to Italy for him to have a look at - in fact we are currently arranging for our most promising Academy players to go across in January for a week or two of training with the AC Milan youth team. Filippo is also keen to visit to Australia sometime in 2010 to have a look first hand at the local talent pool at our Sydney Academy. Milan’s Head office IT departement is also working on several web based programmes that will enable all the Milan Youth Academies from around the world to submit all details of players registered at their Academies .In addition in future all training sessions at Academies overseas will follow the curriculum what is being done by the youth teams in Italy.

Anton also met with ex Inter player Paolo Tramezzani while in Milan – Paolo was a guest coach at our Milan Junior Camps held earlier this year and Paolo is very keen to revisit us again in 2010. Another meeting of note was with Danielle Massaro – the two goal hero of the 1994 Athens final – and arrangements are currently underway to bring Danielle to Australia in early 2010.

So all in all as we come to the end of the Academy programmes for 2009 ,we look forward to another great year in 2010 and we look forward to working closely with Filippo and the rest of the AC Milan Youth Department going forward.

Milan Soccer School will be holding Trials for our 2010 academy programmes at two locations in November.

Nov 14th – Sydney Academy of Sport Narrabeen between 3pm – 6pm

Nov 22nd Sydney Olympic Park 9 – 12 pm.

Both venues will hold trails for players born between the years of 1995 – 2004.

Specialised Goalkeeper Trials will also be held at both Venues

Book now online and learn how to play the game the correct way..... the AC Milan way.

Milan Soccer School will be holding Trials at two locations in November.

Nov 14th – Sydney Academy of Sport Narrabeen between 3pm – 6pm

Nov 22nd Sydney Olympic Park 9 – 12 pm.

Both venues will hold trails for players born between the years of 1995 – 2004.

Specialised Goalkeeper Trials will also be held at both Venues

Book now online and learn how to play the game the correct way..... the AC Milan way.

A late brace from Alessandro Nesta and some Nelson Dida heroics completed Milan’s comeback to beat Chievo 2-1.

Milan, with back to back wins , were on the road and and found themselves 1-0 down at half time to a Chievo side who have only lost one of their previous 5 games,although Chievo could have been 3 up within the first ten minutes.

The 4-3-3 was reshuffled with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar receiving a rare start upfront. Massimo Ambrosini was suspended with Gennaro Gattuso, Daniele Bonera, Oguchi Onyewu, Christian Abbiati and Marco Storari injured, so Nelson Dida kept the gloves despite the midweek Bernabeu howler.

Milan started the second half strongly and shots rained on the Chievo goal, However Milan left it late to break the deadlock with Nesta scoring a rare brace of two goals – both with his head!

Forza Milan !

A.C Milan Soccer School’s trials for new players wishing to join our Academy Programmes in 2010 will be held:
Saturday 14th November,Sydney Academy of Sport, Narrabeen 3pm to 6pm
Sunday 22nd November, Sydney Olympic Park 9-12 noon
Trials are free. Register online.

Hi all – yesterday Milan Jankovic visited our Academy to say hello to Misha Radovic and to all the boys and girls.

Misha and Milan played together at Red Star Belgrade and are still good friends. Jankovic moved later in his career to play for Real Madrid !

Sydney Olympic Park looks forward to seeing him on Friday

We always welcome players with such a great professional career behind them to our Academy to give our kids something to aspire to.

Hi all
Sunday 25th October – Friendly games

Homebush Academy Vs Narrabeen Academy
Times for each age group are listed below :

The Basic Skills from Homebush will play a game against each other

9am kick off for players born 99/00 arrive 8-30am

10am Kick Off for players born 97/98 arrive 9-30am

11am Kick Off for players born 96/95 arrive 10-30am

In a classic match between two giants of European football, AC Milan beat the mighty Real Madrid in Madrid by three goals to two .

Milan lined up with an attacking 4-3-3 formation being : Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta; Ambrosini, Pirlo, Seedorf; Ronaldinho, Pato and Inzaghi

The match started with both teams looking determined to attack. Real Madrid often looked for quick touches at the edge of the area while Milan attacked more on the wings to create danger on counterattacks.

Milan’s were lucky not to concede a penalty in the 13 th minute when Zambrotta brought down Benzema in the Milan box. Real took the lead in the 19 th minute when Dida fumbled the ball from a Granero shot from outside the area and gifted Raul and Real Madrid the opening goal. Real continued to attack but Milan’s defence, with Nesta back at his best, held out so that the half time score ended with Madrid up 1-0.

The second half started with Kaká playing behind Real’s two strikers and madrid exerted significant pressure on the Milan defence. Madrid came close on several occassions with shots by Raul, Kaká and Benzema. Just as the game seemed headed for a Madrid victory Milan scored two brilliant goals in the space of three minutes to turn the game on its head !

In the 62 nd minute Andrea Pirlo fired a stunning shot from well from outside the Madrid area and the ball flew past Casillas to give Milan the equaliser. The goal charged up the Milan team and three minutes later Pato received a great pass from Ambrosini, went past Casillas and shot the ball into an empty net to give Milan into the lead, much to the delight of Milan’s fans.

Real then pushed forward for the equaliser but Milan seemed comfortable soaking up the opressure. Real’s coach Pellegrini then brought on Drenthe and this move immediately paid off when from a Raul’s corner Drenthe fired a low left-footed shot from the edge of the area past a host of players to make it 2-2.

However, Milan were still in confident mood and started to push forward for the winner. In the 84th minute Casillas saved from Pato while in the 85th minute referee De Bleeckere disallowed what lookd like a perfectly good goal when Thiago Silva headed in from a Pirlo corner. But Milan were not to be denied and in the 88th minute Ronaldhino passed to Seedorf in the area and the Dutchman crossed the ball to the unmarked Pato who vollied the ball briliantly past Casillas.

The game ended 3-2 to Milan on the night – the best result for Milan for a long time. As always in the big European games, Milan showed what we are capable of and showed that when we play to our full potential we remain one of the best teams in the world. Now its back to serie A with a tricky away game to Chievo in Verona on Sunday.

FORZA MILAN !

AC Milan won the crunch game versus Roma 2-1 in a fantastic game at the San Siro in front of a crowd of over 50,000.

Milan lined up for the match as follows : Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta; Abate, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf; Pato, Ronaldinho

Milan got off to a very poor start when Roma winger Jeremy Menez, deputising for the injured Francesco Totti, ran on to Thiago Silva’s mis-hit backpass to put Roma ahead after only three minutes. Milan struggled to find any rythym in the first half and Roma were unlucky not to double their lead when Vudovic and De Rossi both came close. The AC team were whistled off the pitch at half time by fans ,disappointed with the performance.

The second half was a completely different affair with Milan appearing in a very determined mood straight from the kick off. Inzaghi was brought on for Abate at the break and he immediately came close right after the break when the veteran striker’s header from a Pirlo corner was cleared off the line by a Roma defender. Milan continued to press and got their just reward in the 56 th minute from a Ronaldinho penalty, after Nesta had been brought down by Burdisso in the Roma area.

Milan took the lead in the 67 th minute when a superb long ball from Ronaldinho was chested down by Pato who ran with the ball past a Roma defender and the goalkeeper to score a sensational goal. Milan’s confidence now was on the rise and they should have sealed the game when Ronaldinho put Pato through again but the 20 year old Brazilian 's control let him down when he had been put clean through. Milan had to play the last 9 minutes of the game with ten men after Ambrosini received his second yellow card in the 81 st minute and despite Roma pressure ,Milan held on for a priceless win.

The win lifts Milan to joint sixth in the Serie A table and right back in contention for a spot in next season’s Champions League. The win was also a critical morale booster after recent poor results,especially given Milan travel to Madrid on Tuesday to prepare for the much anticpated Champions League clash versus high flying and high spending Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

FORZA MILAN !

Hi All

A reminder for all parents and players that Milan Academy Training will start again on Tuesday 20th October at Narrabeen and on Wednesday 21st October at Sydney Olympic Park

Milan Academy Coaching Director Andrea Icardi and his team of coaches head to Melbourne to host the first Milan Junior camp to be held in Melbourne.

The Junior camp is to be held at Camberwell Grammar school and the response from Melbourne players has been excellent.

We will see you all theer and we look forard to having another very succesful and enjoyable training camp .

FORZA MILAN !

Amid much excitement and enthusiasm, AC Milan’s held its first camp at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast in typical beautiful Queensland weather.

Over 30 boys turned up for the camp at Runaway Bay and enjoyed being coached by Milan Academy head coach and ex AC Milan player Andrea Icardi.

Coaches Frank Gigliotti and Rocco, who both train players at the Milan Academy in Sydney assisted Andrea with today’s training as did Nicholas McGauley ,a local rep player from Queensland.

All the boys loved it and the feedback has been great so we will be back !

AC Milan could draw draw 0-0 in their Serie A clash against Bari in front of a crowd of 37,000 at the San Siro.

This was another disappointing result for coach Leonardo ,who has appealed for patience from the increasingly impatient Milan fans following this result. AC Milan failed to create many clear cut opportunities during the game. Indeed were it not for some great saves from keeper Storari , Bari should have won the game as their fast counterattcking style caught out Milan’s defence on several occassions.

AC Milan continue to miss the presence of playmaker Kaka who was sold to Real Madrd for a club record 66 million Euros. To date the much hoped for return to form of Ronaldinho has not occurred and new signing Huntelaar is still settling in. Milan have only scored 3 goals in their opening 5 games in the Serie A and will have to start scoring goals if their season is to improve.

On Wednesday , we play FC Zurich in the Champions League and this weekend we face a tough trip to Bergamo to play Milan’s bogie team Atalanta.

AC Milan take on newly promoted Bari at the San Siro in a match we badly need to win,especially following our narrow 1-0 defeat to Udinese in mid week.It will be no easy task – Bari drew their first match of the season 1-1 versus Inter and have only conceded 4 goals in their first 5 games in the Serie A.

With Inter’s 1-0 loss to Sampdoria overnight,the Serie A is shaping up to be very interesting.

The called up players for AC for the match are : Storari,Dida, Favalli, Jankulovski, Kaladze, Nesta, Oddo, Onyewu, Zambrotta, Abate, Ambrosini, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Huntelaar, Inzaghi, Pato, Ronaldinho.
Unavailable players for this match are through injury are : Abbiati, Antonini, Bonera, Thiago Silva, Borriello and Di Gennaro while Flamini is suspended following his sending off in the Udinese game.

Following this match,on Wednesday AC Milan play FC Zurich at the San Siro, while in the same group Real Madrid play Marseille at the Bernabeu in Madrid.

Forza Milan !

Training for Sydney Olympic Park Friday 25th Sept has been moved to the Warm Up Arena( opposite the Athletics Field) This is for all groups.Parking arrangements are the same.

AC Milan defeated Bologna 1-0 in front of 40,000 fans at San Siro to grab a valuable victory in Serie A. The win took Milan to joint 5 th in the Serie A table.

Coach Leonardo named a much changed team from the one that defeated Marseille 2-1 last week in the Champions League and retsed several key players.Interestingly,after a poor run of form recently Ronaldinho was left out of the squad altogether.

AC Milan’s starting eleven were as follows : Storari,Favalli,Nesta,Kaladze,Abaate,Ambrosini,Pirlo,Gattuso,Seedorf,Huntelaar and Pato

Substitutions made were as follows : in the 62 nd minute Inzaghi and Oddo came on for Huntelaar and Gattuso and in the 70 th minute Jankulovski came on for Favalli.

AC Milan played a good first half and pressed hard for a goal against a defensively minded Bologna team and came close thanks to Gattuso and Huntelaar, but at half time it was still 0-0. In the second half, Bologna tightened things even more and just as the game looked like it was heading for a scoreless draw,in the 75 th minute veteran Dutch player Clarence Seedorf received the ball outside the Bologna penalty area and took on the Bologna defence on his own with some great dribbling and he put the ball past the Bologna keeper,much to the relief and joy of all present.

This was Milan’s second victory in the Serie A and the first victory at home this season.This week the team faces two games in Serie A – on Wednesday we play Udinese in Udine and then on Sunday we play Bari at San Siro.

FORZA MILAN !!

AC Milan made a succesful start to their Champions League campaign when they overcame a very stong Marseille team at the Stade Velodrome in France.

AC Milan lined up as follow : Storari,Silva,Nesta,Zambrotta,Oddo,Pirlo,Seedorf,Ambrosini,Flamini,Inzaghi and Pato

Coach Leonardo made a number of changes from the team that could only manage a goalless draw against Livorno in the Serie A on the previous weekend – the most significant were bringing in Seedorf in place of the so far disappointing Ronaldinho and also playing evergreen striker Pippo Inzaghi up front to partner Pato.

After a balanced opening, Milan took the lead in the 27 th minute when after some quick interplay on the edge of the area between Pato and Seedorf, Seedorf crossed the ball for the totally unmarked Pippo ,who vollied the ball low past the Mareille keeper.

Marseille immediately reacted and pushed Milan back but Milan held out well till half time for the score to remain at 1-0 in Milan’s favour at the break. It was a different story in the second half when soon after the restart of the second half a cross from a set piece into the Milan box was headied in strongly by Heinze to bring the scores level.

Marseille were now a different team and they launched wave after wave of attacks against Milan,with Milan struggling to cope with the speed and strength of the French team. Both Nesta and Silva played extremely well at the centre of the Milan defence and managed to hold out against the persistent attacks from the French team.

In the 74 th minute and against the run of play Milan re-took the lead when Seedorf once again found Pippo in the box,and although closely marked Superpippo managed to be first to the ball to slam the ball past the Marseille keeper. Marseille’s wave of attacks continued and they came close on several occassions but luck and detremined defending managed to keep Milan ahead and when the final whistle went the score was stil at 2-1 ,much to the jubilation of the AC Milann team and many fans who had traveelled to the game in France.

This was a truly significant and morale lifting win for Milan. In the other game in Milan’s group,Real Madrid thrashed Zurich 5-2 in Switzerland, with two goals from world record signing Cristiano Ronaldo.

In the next round of games , AC Milan play Zurich at the San Siro while Madrid play Marseille at the Bernabeu in Madrid.

It was a fantastic day for our Under 12 team .....with goals from Jamie(3) Marley(2) and one each from Conrad and Declan. The team went undefeated to win their gala day competition.

With only 11 players available and no substitutes, everybody played out of their skins with intensity and desire.It was great to see.

All the boys diligently listened and carried out their coach’s instructions – to press at all times when the opposing team had the ball, to keep possession when we had the ball and to have lots of shots at goals. These tactics paid dividends with some spectacular goals from both Jamie and Marley....!!

At the other end Marco was at his sharpest between the posts...Well done Marco...!!

Congratulations to all the team for a wonderful performance.........a truly well deserved win

And a big thanks to all the parents that were there all day to give boys great support.

Frank Gilgliotti
Team coach

The Milan Academy 1996 team ,which trains at Narrabeen and plays for the North Sydney Bears, won their knock out competition today. The boys recently won their under 13 championship with eleven wins from twelve games and they will be playing in the Champion of Champions in Woolongong in two weeks time.

Our team was drawn in a Group together with Northbridge ,Lindfield and last year’s winners Kissing Point. Each team had to play each other in matches lasting 20 minutes and whoever finished top of the group would qualify through to the Grand Final in Hornsby to play the winner of the other Group,which was being played at another location.

Our boys began their Group well with a convincing 3-0 win over Northbridge. We opened the score midway through the first half when Alfie received the ball just inside the opposition’s penalty area for him to turn and hit a low left foot shot past the Northbridge keeper. Lorenzo doubled the score in the second half with a fine goal after some very good build up play from our midfield. Alfie then made it 3-0 blasting his shot in from the penalty spot after Eddie had been brought down in the box when he was bearing down on Northbidge’s goal.

In the second game we played against a very determined and physical Lindfield side. We struggled to contain Lindfield in the first half, however we dominated the second half and despite several chances to score the match finished 0-0. Our final Group game was against Kissing Point. In truth this was a pretty ordinary game with both teams appearing tired and it was no surprise that the game finished 0-0, in a match that produced few chances.

Thanks to the results of other games in our Group, we finished top of the Group and qualified for the Grand Final ,which was played at Hornsbuy Heights and where we had to play the winner of the other group, Mt.Colah.

Our boys played a fantastic Grand Final ,totally dominating the game and playing a very good passing game. We were unlucky not to score on several occasions and when the game finished at 0-0 ,the game went into extra time. Once again we pressed hard and dominated to find the winner and after several more chances,the game finished 0-0 .

A penalty shoot out was the used to determine the winner. After 5 penalties each ,the score stood at 4-4 so the contest went into sudden death to determine the winner. Every player in both teams had to take penalties and with the score tied at 9-9 on penalties, Mt Colah missed their 12 th penalty. Alfie then walked up and converted his penalty for the boys to win the Grand Final by the amazing score of 10-9 on penalties , to the jubilation of all the parents and boys present. It was only the seond time in 40 years that the North Sydney Bears had been succesful in this knock out competition and the club are delighted that we have brought them such success this season.

Well done boys,you showed real character in picking yourselves up after a tiring day to play with so much determination and so well in the Grand Final against Mt.Colah and despite so much pressure you did extremely well in the extremely tense penalty shoot out.

And congratulations to Darren Wagstaff ,the team’s coach ,who despite all sorts of pressures continues to drill the boys in the true AC Milan style of playing.

FORZA MILAN E FORZA NORTH SYDNEY BEARS

It has been a very succesful yearin our initial season for us North Sydney Bears colours.Let’s hope we do well in the Champion of Champions and repeat this year’s success next year.

Under 10 Abbotsford / A.C. Milan Academy team beat A.P.I.A. Leichhardt A 1-0 on Saturday 22 August. This A.P.I.A. Leichhardt A team went the whole season undefeated and after beating us 11-4 in only the second round of the competition, our boys fought hard to earn their great win.

This encounter was a game of two halves.In the first half the Abbotsford team took control of the game from the outset and after hitting the post on three separate occasions hit the lead from a left foot strike by Ramy Najjarine just outside the box half way through the 1st half and went to the break 1-0 up and were unlucky not to have had a 2 or 3 goal advantage.

In the second half A.P.I.A. Leichhardt A displayed why they were undefeated and won the championship with a reversal of our dominance in the second half. Credit to our backline of Michael, Alfie, James (who played the entire 2nd half with an injured foot) and Michael Van Walsum in goal for holding the opposition out. The midfield of Anthony, Mathew and Ramy worked tirelessly in a physical encounter throughout the match and Archie, Alex and Yowan had the opposition defence running backwards.

This was truly a great result from our boys and speaking on behalf of all the parents who were present, each and every one of you made us proud. You all went out and played your best, played as a team and got up every time you were knocked to the ground.

Congratulations and an acknowledgment must go especially to our coach Dave Madden our 10th man who guided our boys to victory – this was now our 7th consecutive victory.

We can be happy for that especially because we hav only played as a team for seven months.

Andrea Icardi

The AC Milan Narrabeen under 13’s, playing for the North Sydney Bears club, won the KDSA First Division championship after defeating Lindfield 2-0. This was our boys 9th victory in a row and next week we play our remaining league game against Mt.Colah, who will be looking for a good result against us to finish in second place.

Our boys played well against a strong Lindfield team, although it was a close game. The boys used much of what they learnt in training – playing the ball around well and calmly on the ground when we were in possession and closing Lindfield down well whenever they had the ball. As a result we didn’t give the opposition any space when they had the ball throughout the whole game,so much so that Lindfield barely had a chance throughout the whole game.

After a spell of possession we took the lead midway through the first half when Giuseppe crossed from the left and Alfie, who timed his run well to anticipate the oncoming Lindfield keeper, headed the ball past him into the back of the net. We continued to play well after this and just before half time we added a crucial second goal. Will won the ball in midfield and passed the ball to Alfie, who playing as sole striker, shielded the ball just inside the Lindfield penalty area and laid it back for Jack who hit a great shot on the volley from the edge of the area which deflected off a Lindfield defender and flew into the back of the net.

In the second half Daniel and Lorenzo came on up front and we continued to control the game well. We could have added another goal or two with some great play from Eddie, Giuseppe, Will and Jack playing some very good short passes in the middle of the field. . At the back , Cooper and Dario were solid as a rock while Joshua and Alessandro did well when defending and also overlapped well to control the flanks. Conor in goal also had another solid game when he was called into action and this also gave our boys confidence. In the first half both Alfie and Phil contributed well to the team effort.

So well done to all the boys and coaches involved for a great 2009 championship. We also have to say a big big thank you to the North Sydney Bears for allowing our boys to represent their club in the KDSA competition.

We seem to be running into a spell of good form now, with the boys noticeably playing at a better rythym and intensity since our participation in the Friendship Cup in Milan in June, where we learnt many important lessons. We have to contnue to train well as we have many important games to go now – following the game against Mt.Colah next weekend , we then play in the finals series where we play a knockout tournament against the other top teams in our league. Following this we will be playing in the prestigious Champion of Champions tournament and hopefully we will do well here.

FORZA MILAN e FORZA NORTH SYDNEY BEARS !

All the boys who attended the Friendship Cup as well as those who attended the training clinic in Milan over the last fortnight have arrived safely back in Australia.

Director of coaching, Andrea Icardi,and his family arrived back in Sydney today and will be at all training sessions next week at Homebush and Narrabeen.

All the boys that participated in the Friendship Cup and attended the clinic benefitted greatly from this trip and also had a great time.It was truly a unique experience.

The best team members from AC Milan’s current 1996 and 1997 team will be attending tomorrow’s afternoon clinic session to train with the boys attending the clinic. It is then intended to organise a game with the AC Milan youth team members in order to assess the standard of play of the Clinic attendees and to be able to compare the level of play of the current AC Milan youth team members with those from the Academies overseas.

It will be another interesting test to see how our boys compare with the AC Milan youth team,who are amongst the best in the world.

The Milan Clinic commenced on Monday 23 June and will go on till Wednesday 25 June.

In total there are 26 boys attending the clinic from Milan Academies from around the world, of which six are Australian boys from our Milan Academy.

The clinic is run by the AC Milan youth coaches.It consists of two training sessions a day – a morning session from 9.30 am to 11.30 am and an afternoon session from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. They are very intensive sessions and in them the boys are practicing lots of technical skills.Our boys are focussed and training well hoping to gain as much as they can from training with the AC Milan youth coaches.

After today’s morning session ,all the Academy coaches from around the world,including our Director of Coaching Andrea Icardi,stayed back at the Vismara Centre while the boys returned to the hotel. The coaches attended a lecture from a sports psychologist professor who works for the Milan University in collaboration and who does research for the Milan lab. The pyschologist was lecturing the coaches on the latest research in regards to effective training methods for the different age groups.

The Closing ceremony for the Friendship Cup Tournament was held on Saturday following all the grand finals for the different age groups at the Centro Vismara stadium. The semi finalists,finalists and all the winners for the 1996 through to 1998 tournaments wee presented with their winning trophies.

The majority of the Aussie boys and their parents left for Australia on Sunday,although a few are extending their trip and extending their holidays to visit different parts of Europe.

We hope you all had a safe and pleasant trip back to Sydney and we look forward to catching up again in Australia – for all boys returning to Australia ,please remember to attend your normal training sessions at the normal times in Narrabeen and Homebush.

As our boys did not make the final stages of the Friendship Cup tournament, we organised some friendly matches for them at the Centro Vismara in Milan on Saturday morning.

Our 1997 team played against Academia Segrate in what was a terrific and very keenly contested game. Our boys matched the Italians in every way, both physically and technically and the game ended 6-6 after full time. Our boys were jubilant as the officially won the game from the resultant penalty shoot out 6-3.

Our 1996 team were divided into two teams of 6 and then played a round robin tournament against a 1996 team from the US ( made up of 3 Argentinian ,2 Mexicans and one Columbian boy) . The American team,reflecting their South American heriatge, knocked the ball around beautifully and controlled their two games to comfortably win this mini tournament.

Once again our boys learnt many things from today’s today and it was particularly pleasing to see the 1997 team play so well and being so competitive.

I am particularly happy to warmly welcome all the dirigents, technicians, and more than 600 athletes arrived in Milan from various parts of Italy and the world to take part in the second edition of the Milan Friendship Cup: the only international football tournament organised by a professional club.

It is a very important event for our Club, which for more than ten years is involved in the development of sporting activities and events for young people. In 2009 Milan will be present with activities and initiatives in more than 30 Countries in the world, developing Camps, Football Schools, formation courses for coaches and fairs that will actively involve more than 130 thousand youngsters.

In particular with the Milan Friendship Cup we want to offer a moment of sports, meeting and comparison between young people of different nationalities who share a passion for the Rossoneri colours.

In this second edition we have doubled the amount of teams participating and subscribers compared to the first edition. This important result confirms the interest for this initiative and pushes us to make sure that this tournament becomes a regular appointment in the next few years and a reference point for the many coaches and footballers who live their passion for football every day.

I hope you spend a pleasant time in Milan and experience fully all the emotions and moments only football can offer.

Have fun!

Adriano Galliani
President

Featuring Alan Fitzgibbon’s proud moment of leading the Australian tea into the stadium at the Vismara centre ,Franco Baresi’s speech , the 1996 squad running out for their first game and lots of shots of our boys training here in Milan !

The draw for the Friendship Cup being held next week in Milan has been announced .

All games will be played at the Centro Vismara in Milan and the first games of the Tournament start on Tuesday 17 June after the opening ceremony.

There are 8 teams participating in the 1996 tournament and 12 teams participating in the 1997 tournament.

The draw for our 1996 squad is as follows :

17/6/09 18.00 Australia vs Squadra Masseroni

18/6/09 17.00 Australia vs Squadra La Dominante

19/6/09 18.00 Australia vs. Accademia Segrate

The first two teams qualify for the semi finals and finals on Saturday 20 June to play the top two teams from the other group.

There are twelve teams in the 1997 tournament . The draw for our 1997 squad is as follows.

17/6/09 18.00 Australia vs Naviglio Trezzano

18/6/09 17.00 Australia vs Corver Lombardia Uno

19/6/09 18.00 Australia vs USA

The semi finals and finals for the top two teams from each group will be held on 20 June followed by the closing ceremony that afternoon.

The competition will be tough with all teams trying to impress – we will have training sessions on the 16 June at Centro Vismara to acclimatise to the conditions.

Good luck Australia !

Hi all
Sunday 25th October friendly game
Homebush Academy Vs Narrabeen Academy
Times for each age group are listed below.
The Basic Skills from Homebush will do a game against each other

9am kick off for players born 99/00 arrive 8-30am

10am Kick Off for players born 97/98 arrive 9-30am

11am Kick Off for players born 96/95 arrive 10-30am

The friendly Match will take place at Sydney Olympic Park Stadium in the Athletics Centre with Free Parking in P2

Andrea

Paolo Maldini ended his career with AC Milan in Florence to rupturous applause from all the fans at the Stadio Franchi. Maldini is expected to take a 6 month break from football before deciding on his future.

Shortly after the Florence game ,it was announced that Carlo Ancelotti will be leaving AC Milan after 8 years as team coach, one year ahead of Carlo’s contract. The agreement to leave was made by mutual consent with AC and allows Ancelotti the chance to pursue the offer made by Chelsea for Carlo to take over from caretaker coach Guus Hiddink.

Underlying the amicable nature of Carlo’s departure, AC Milan President Adriano Galliani said “With Carlo Ancelotti, these have been fantastic and marvellous years: eight years, eight trophies. By mutual consent , we decided to allow carlo to leave one year before the expiry of his contract, but our friendship and his closeness to the club will continue. We hope, in some years time, to see him again on the bench with us and maybe to win other Champions Leagues with Carletto as a coach. A thing is certain: when he will return, he will do better than Sacchi and Capello."

Brazilian Leonardo is expected to be officially unveiled as the new AC coach in a press conference in Milan today. Leonardo, who won the World Cup with Brazil in the US in 1990, had a wonderful playing career with AC Milan and since retiring as a player, he has been employed by the club as a technical advisor.

We wish Leonardo lots of success in his role as coach of AC Milan in the years ahead.