Pato Can Become The Best In The World - Ancelotti

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Carlo Ancelotti watches on anxiously as his side play out a 2-2 draw against Portsmouth in the UEFA Cup.

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Next January it will be exactly a year since Alexandre Pato first wore Milan's shirt, in the home match against Napoli, after the wunderkind sealed a record-breaking transfer from Internacional in the summer of 2007.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti drew up a balance of the Brazilian striker's first year at the club, in which the 19-year-old scored an impressive 15 goals.

"For me he is potentially the strongest striker in the world," he said in an interview to 'Il Corriere della Sera'. "He has an incredible shot and great speed, in fact he's twice as fast as a normal athlete."

Asked if he could be compared with countryman and former Milan player Ronaldo, the coach said: "There are some similarities. But Pato still has to improve a lot. Too often when he receives the ball he takes too much time, he has to be more concrete.

"The perfect example of what he should do on the pitch is the move that led to Kaká's goal against Udinese. I say that if he doesn't become the best striker in the world in the next 10 years, the blame will be partly his and partly that of his coaches."

Pato has found the net eight times so far this season, scoring six goals in Serie A and two in the Uefa Cup. He scored in both the first and last match of the Rossoneri in 2008, on his debut against Napoli and in the match against Udinese just before the Christmas break, when he scored a brace.

Danilo Pochini