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AC Milan Go Brazilian - Ronaldinho links up with Kaka & Pato at the San Siro

Monday, 11 August 08, 10:29 PM

Ronaldinho, Kaka, Pato, Ronaldo, Emerson and Dida make it six Brazilians in AC Milan’s squad for this season.

The younger three Brazilians, Ronaldinho, Kaka and Pato, are set to takeover from their older countrymen. Ronaldo is out with a serious knee injury, newly-acquired Mathieu Flamini should start ahead of the veteran Emerson and it’s about time Milan bought a younger keeper to replace the ageing Dida.

Milan finished 5th in Serie A last season, just 2 points behind Fiorentina, which means Milan will be competing in the UEFA Cup this season rather than the Champions League. While disappointing for the team and Milan fans, missing out on the Champions League could help them develop into one of Europe’s best teams once again. It gives them the chance to phase out the older generation of players who were instrumental in their Champions League wins of 2007 (against Liverpool) and 2003 (against Juventus) but are now past their sell-by-date and have hindered the emergence of younger talent at the club.

One young star who has emerged despite the dominance of the old guard, is Alexandre Pato. He joined AC Milan from Internacional of Brazil for 22 million Euros in August 2007 and has so far scored 9 goals in 18 league games. English fans may remember seeing Pato playing against Arsenal at the San Siro in the Champions League last season. Arsenal won the game 2-0, but Pato came close to scoring a few times and put in an all-round impressive performance. However, since Pato is just 18 and still inexperienced as he has only played in 28 senior league games in total, so the responsibility for Milan’s resurrection will be shared by Kaka and Ronaldinho.

Kaka’s form and attitude has never been in doubt. His conservative Christian lifestyle and dedication to his wife has prevented him facing the distractions that left Ronaldinho out of the Barcelona team for a lot of games last season. Ronaldinho’s critics have often publicised that he’s more interested in partying than training, which has resulted in him putting on weight and losing form, they say. However, Ronaldinho showed the cameras his “six-pack” stomach at his AC Milan unveiling, proving that he’s shed the alleged excess weight he was carrying last season. In terms of skill and talent, Ronaldinho is the best player on the planet, but he needs to regain the hunger to win if he is to once again be the showman with a deadly strike that he once was.

Dunga, the manager of Brazil, has chosen Ronaldinho to captain Brazil’s team at the Olympics. The responsibility and honour of leading his country should help Ronaldinho mature as a player, which will benefit Milan and all of us fans who miss seeing the magic and genius of “Little Ronaldo”.
Check out www.thefootballfix.com for more interesting articles.

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