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Calcio Debate: Is Amantino Mancini A Good Signing For Milan?
Club supremo Silvio Berlusconi might have been unimpressed with the acquisition of the Brazilian, but Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal says that his arrival is a boon for the Rossoneri...
04-Feb-2010 9:00:00 PM
By Subhankar Mondal
Silvio Berlusconi scratched his head and looked into the dark with a blank expression. He had just received a phone call in the middle of the night and a voice had said that Milan have signed Mancini.
"Mancini," the Italian prime minister mumbled to himself. "Mancini? Did he mean Roberto Mancini? Wow! We have a legend here."
Then he remembered that Mancini is no longer playing and is coaching Manchester City at the moment. 'Ah, Adriano must have appointed him, then! Good job." Then the 73-year-old recalled that he had given no orders to sack Leonardo and soon the realisation dawned upon him. "Mancini!? That Mancini!? The one who plays for Inter, our rivals!? That Mancini who was at Roma not so long ago?"
Yes, Silvio, your Milan side have signed that Mancini, that Mancini who was one of the best players in Europe at Roma, that Mancini who could muster only 11 Serie A starts in the past one-and-a-half seasons at Inter.
Old Is Not Gold
Now, it's not that Milan haven't made awkwardly weird signings in recent years. Ronaldinho appeared a comic purchase until now, Emerson was never needed at Milan, Andriy Shevchenko was a 'used-up' player when he returned and Massimo Oddo shouldn't have come back. But what was interesting to note in this instance was that club supremo Silvio Berlusconi himself came out and expressed his disdain at the club making this strange signing, saying, “I disagree with the purchase and that's what I told Galliani."
On the face of it, the Godfather of modern Milan isn't too far from the truth. After all, Mancini is 29 and in his one-and-a-half years at Inter has started 17 matches in all competitions, coming on as a substitute in a further 16 and scoring just once. The stars appeared to have aligned in his favour when Inter swooped in on Roma to seduce the Brazilian in the 2008 summer and indeed with a new coach in Jose Mourinho, it did look very promising for both club and player.
But things didn't work out positively. This season Mancini has started just one league fixture and none at all in the Coppa Italia. Mancini dropped out of Mourinho's plans the only way he could play football again this season was to sign for another club. But few could have predicted that that side would be Milan, Inter's archrivals.
Discerning The Positives
Yet it would be naive to suggest that Milan do not know what they are doing by signing an old, washed Brazilian and that too for just the second half of the campaign. For one, Milan have serious problems with age and although Mancini's arrival does not reduce their average age - remember, he is 29 - it does allow Leonardo to exercise more options.
Mancini offers width and although this hasn't been exactly lacking with Ronaldinho playing on the left and David Beckham filling in for Alexandre Pato on the right, a natural winger with experience wouldn't do any harm. The former Sao Caetano player can feature either on the right or on the left and also as a playmaker.
Milan are fighting on two fronts at the moment, rather three. The Scudetto race is realistically over but Inter have exhibited in the recent past a spooky intent to make things interesting towards the end by dropping points, while Manchester United come to town soon for the Champions League. But perhaps more importantly, there is a strong suspicion that the Rossoneri's season could still go awry and with them not having won in their last three matches, there is a feeling that Milan's 'honeymoon period' has come to an end.
Which is why Mancini's arrival comes as a relief. Of course, it is unlikely that he is going to start each and every game, but with injuries creeping in and the aging legs suffering from fatigue, the Brazilian's presence on the bench would be a welcoming sight. And even though Mancini is not going to rediscover his Roma form, the point that he has quality and ambition shouldn't be lost on the detractors.
Add to that the fact that Mancini is prepared to play at right-back (where he started his career), one of the areas that Milan have struggled even when they have been winning, and suddenly Berlusconi's disdain at signing the Brazilian appears far-fetched.
"Mancini," the Italian prime minister mumbled to himself. "Mancini? Did he mean Roberto Mancini? Wow! We have a legend here."
Then he remembered that Mancini is no longer playing and is coaching Manchester City at the moment. 'Ah, Adriano must have appointed him, then! Good job." Then the 73-year-old recalled that he had given no orders to sack Leonardo and soon the realisation dawned upon him. "Mancini!? That Mancini!? The one who plays for Inter, our rivals!? That Mancini who was at Roma not so long ago?"
Yes, Silvio, your Milan side have signed that Mancini, that Mancini who was one of the best players in Europe at Roma, that Mancini who could muster only 11 Serie A starts in the past one-and-a-half seasons at Inter.
Old Is Not Gold
Now, it's not that Milan haven't made awkwardly weird signings in recent years. Ronaldinho appeared a comic purchase until now, Emerson was never needed at Milan, Andriy Shevchenko was a 'used-up' player when he returned and Massimo Oddo shouldn't have come back. But what was interesting to note in this instance was that club supremo Silvio Berlusconi himself came out and expressed his disdain at the club making this strange signing, saying, “I disagree with the purchase and that's what I told Galliani."
On the face of it, the Godfather of modern Milan isn't too far from the truth. After all, Mancini is 29 and in his one-and-a-half years at Inter has started 17 matches in all competitions, coming on as a substitute in a further 16 and scoring just once. The stars appeared to have aligned in his favour when Inter swooped in on Roma to seduce the Brazilian in the 2008 summer and indeed with a new coach in Jose Mourinho, it did look very promising for both club and player.
But things didn't work out positively. This season Mancini has started just one league fixture and none at all in the Coppa Italia. Mancini dropped out of Mourinho's plans the only way he could play football again this season was to sign for another club. But few could have predicted that that side would be Milan, Inter's archrivals.
Discerning The Positives
Yet it would be naive to suggest that Milan do not know what they are doing by signing an old, washed Brazilian and that too for just the second half of the campaign. For one, Milan have serious problems with age and although Mancini's arrival does not reduce their average age - remember, he is 29 - it does allow Leonardo to exercise more options.
Mancini offers width and although this hasn't been exactly lacking with Ronaldinho playing on the left and David Beckham filling in for Alexandre Pato on the right, a natural winger with experience wouldn't do any harm. The former Sao Caetano player can feature either on the right or on the left and also as a playmaker.
Milan are fighting on two fronts at the moment, rather three. The Scudetto race is realistically over but Inter have exhibited in the recent past a spooky intent to make things interesting towards the end by dropping points, while Manchester United come to town soon for the Champions League. But perhaps more importantly, there is a strong suspicion that the Rossoneri's season could still go awry and with them not having won in their last three matches, there is a feeling that Milan's 'honeymoon period' has come to an end.
Which is why Mancini's arrival comes as a relief. Of course, it is unlikely that he is going to start each and every game, but with injuries creeping in and the aging legs suffering from fatigue, the Brazilian's presence on the bench would be a welcoming sight. And even though Mancini is not going to rediscover his Roma form, the point that he has quality and ambition shouldn't be lost on the detractors.
Add to that the fact that Mancini is prepared to play at right-back (where he started his career), one of the areas that Milan have struggled even when they have been winning, and suddenly Berlusconi's disdain at signing the Brazilian appears far-fetched.
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