AC Milan must look for Alessandro Nesta’s replacement
AC Milan travelled to Stadio Via del Mare on the weekend to face Lecce looking for a routine victory. Massimiliano Allegri had to stay content with a draw as the game finished 1–1 at the end of 90 minutes.
Where Luigi De Canio had his angles spot on, Allegri deployed questionable tactics once again. Starting http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Antonio-Cassano-c6302 warmed the bench was comical to say the least. Allegri must learn from his
mistakes or Milan would continue dropping points.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-c38029 was the hero for Red-and-Blacks once again, as he scored a stupendous goal from 35 yards out, but Ruben Olivera’s 80th minute equaliser cut his celebrations short. The goal,
which resulted from a corner, was Alessandro Nesta’s mistake. The legendary defender lost Olivera in the penalty box and the Uruguayan duly made him pay. It was not the first time Olivera had gotten the better of Rossoneri no. 13 in the game. Prior to the
goal, Nesta was already booked on a professional foul on the same player. On that occasion, Olivera had pulled out a perfect nutmeg on the centre back and Nesta had to hang on to the Uruguayan’s jersey to break up play.
The game started rather brightly for Nesta, but the second half was a complete disaster. His ageing legs simply could not cope up with the youthful Lecce attackers, and that must lead to alarm bells ringing
in Milanello. The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lazio-c39775 captain is arguably the best defender of his generation, but age is catching up fast on him. Although one might argue that Nesta had just returned from his injury, and lacked that extra yard of pace as a result, but that is being
optimistic to say the least. The former Italy international is still one of the best defenders when on form, but Nesta is clearly on a decline.
It is no secret that Nesta is prone to lapses in concentration, and as a result many preferred the latter from the Alessandro Nesta-Fabio Cannavaro Azzurri combo. In his younger days, such costly lapses
were too few to be taken seriously. The Aquile youth product was quick enough to mop up his mistakes. At the age of 34 however, Nesta has started making such howlers with increasing regularity. In the last season’s Champions League, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wayne-Rooney-c36736 inspired Manchester
United conquered San Siro by a 3–2 score line and Nesta was to blame for two of the goals. AC Milan simply cannot afford such results from their star defender.
Simply put, Nesta is no Paolo Maldini. He cannot keep on playing until the age of 40. Whenever the ball is in the opposition half, Nesta can be seen holding his back. Lady Luck has not been exactly forgiving
towards the Calcio legend when it comes to injuries. With half of his batteries being deployed towards staying fit, Nesta will only deteriorate with time. Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani must take note and start looking for defensive reinforcements.
In all honesty, they should have started the hunt three years back when Milan lifted the 2007 Champions League in Athens.
It is unlikely that Daviolo will go hunting for a centre back in the January transfer market. Furthermore, no quality defender will be available with half the season remaining in most elite European leagues.
However, AC Milan must make the acquisition of top class defenders its priority when the season ends and the transfer market gets flooded with quality players.
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