Club Focus - Milan - Beckham makes second Milan debut

David Beckham’s return to Serie A for the remainder of the season in a similar move to last year’s loan stay kicked-off with an impressive 5-2 battering of Genoa. Il Grifone were no match for the Rossoneri’s midfield and attack, spearheaded by Marco Borriello. The striker worked hard and his link-up play with Beckham was quite exemplary given the little time the two have had to practice together.

They will now turn their attention to the much anticipated clash with Juventus in Turin. The Bianconeri are a mere point behind Milan, who have a game in hand, but a loss in Turin would damage the morale in Milanello which is now approaching unprecedented levels. Coach Leonardo, who was once the scourge of the Italian Press, is now being earmarked as the rightful choice to bring back glory to the San Siro. The Coach has done well to stick to his tactics which have brought the best out of Brazilian pair Alexandre Pato and the resurgent Ronaldinho.

Speaking of Pato, the young striker was missing but the presence of Beckham was the perfect tonic for the Milan side as the Englishman whipped in a number of crosses and provided some crucial passes to his teammates. The midfielder was substituted 15 minutes prior to the end of the match to a standing ovation following a positive performance which included the initial ball which led to the second goal and the two passes which resulted in penalty kicks converted by Ronaldinho and the much maligned Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

The absence of Pato would have been the perfect opportunity to field the Dutch striker to assess how he copes without the Brazilian youngster by his side, yet Leonardo chose to keep the player on the bench in another sign the Coach does not rate Huntelaar. Borriello was preferred to the Dutchman and rightfully so as the Italian continued his scoring run at the Giuseppe Meazza by adding a brace to his home tally with the second goal being as good as they come. It appears Leonardo has his mind set on which players will continuously feature in his starting line-up and those who are either confined to the bench or not fit to represent the club’s colours. Huntelaar appears to be stuck in the super-sub role and this may push the striker to seek a move elsewhere prior to the closure of the winter transfer market.

The match was notable for the inclusion of midfield terrier Gennaro Gattuso, given a rare start through the absence of Dutchman Clarence Seedorf. It remains to be seen how Gattuso will be used once both Pato and Seedorf return. Beckham was pushed in a role further upfront due to the Brazilian prodigy’s absence while the usual suspects of Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini took their positions in midfield. The presence of Gattuso freed up Pirlo to move further up the pitch, which was a positive sign considering Pirlo was in good form. Gattuso is unlikely to break into the starting line-up given Ambrosini’s stellar performance against Genoa and Beckham’s convincing debut marked by a telling contribution and a plethora of decisive passes.

The defensive line was surprisingly susceptible with the normally infallible Alessandro Nesta making a mistake which led to the second Genoa goal. Nesta’s error was overlooked due to the emphatic score which confirmed Milan in second place. While Nesta’s mistake is out of the norm, the right-back position remains an area of concern for Coach Leonardo. With the aging Massimo Oddo out injured the Coach once again drafted in the speedy Ignazio Abate, but the young man failed to impress and was the Rossoneri’s worst performer. Abate is clearly not the man to take over the troubling full-back spot and it would not be surprising if Milan delved into the market to sign a defender. They will continue to be linked with defenders as long as the struggles in the full-back position continue, while the potential departure of Huntelaar will kick-off a media frenzy linking the side with a number of strikers, particularly Edin Džeko.

Next up for Coach Leonardo and his charges will be a stern test against the struggling Old Lady. The Bianconeri may have escaped the Stadio Ennio Tardini with three points but the pressure is still on their Coach Ciro Ferrara due to the unconvincing performances. Juventus were able to beat Inter in Turin to prolong Ferrara’s stint and a similar result will be needed to extend his troubled stay. The sense of urgency in Turin is perhaps what concerns Leonardo the most as he plans for the weekend clash.