Ignazio AbateBayern Munich 4 AC Milan 1
Allianz Arena isn't the easiest place to go. Especially now, that Van Gaal has players who have the ability to create havoc like never before. Munchen are strong, even without Ribery or Lucio, they can make an impression that will go a long way before its forgotten. This team lacked Toni, Klose, Podolski, Schweinsteiger(until the second half), Lucio, Ribery and Borowski. Yet, the standard of play was as good as that of FC Barcelona. I am not being irrational, no, I am not. At the end of this game, you would have seen a fine example of how a good team plays and how a bad team plays. Munich would have probably had a tougher time against Arminia Bielefeld, a German club that finished last in the Bundesliga last season.
Lets take a simple aspect of the game which hold tremendous importance - passing. Bayern knew what they were doing with the ball. Their passing was crisp and enjoyable, even for me, whose a Milan fan. The ball moved and every pass was read with great understanding. This for a team which has been injected with many new players over the course of the month. Munich thoroughly defied the team chemistry law of the game, making it appear as though they have been playing for several seasons together. Milan on the other hand were appalling. The passes lacked conviction, direction or meaning. Milan evidently miss training often, or they spend far too much time showboating during training.
Braafheid, a Danish defender, who was purchased for 2 million euros by the Bavarians was provided with the duty of marking Pato, and he bullied the Brazilian with immense authority. Pato's unproductivity cannot be questioned any further, and his marriage has only hampered him as a player. He seems to exhaust himself of all the energy and enthusiasm with his wife. Ahem, ok. A striker is asked to shoot, to hold or to score. He can't do any of the mentioned. Abate was certainly the highlight and a livewire down the right. His movement and his clever passes earned him great respect in our eyes. The management would be brainsick to consider the option of loaning him post this display. Pirlo's goal did seem splendid when it was scored, but replays do suggest that the keeper was afraid of breaking his fingers. I guess he dint trust the gloves were good enough for a simple block. Once Silva and Nesta were substituted, I knew all hell would break loose. Oguchi and Kaladze, who epitomize dreadful defending formalized the clobbering by placing it on the scoreline. Kaladze very conveniently went to ground on the Schweinsteiger goal. Oguchi was made to look an oaf by Sene on the third goal, and the American summed up a catastrophic night by ball watching on the 4th goal, instead of marking Muller. Leonardo, wake up!
The gaffer lacks managerial experience. That I knew. But he lacks any sense of tactical awareness, that I got to know. What was he thinking when he took of a stable defensive pairing while replacing them with these clowns? What was he thinking playing Abate and Jankulovski as wingers, isolating the terrible Pato upfront? Why stick with Zambrotta when he was too busy trying to impersonate Lionel Messi, but failing miserably? Audi Cup is surely over, but I doubt the mortifying is.
Scorers -
Bayern Munich - Muller 12'+90', Schweinsteiger 80', Sene 89'
AC Milan - Pirlo 81'
Lets take a simple aspect of the game which hold tremendous importance - passing. Bayern knew what they were doing with the ball. Their passing was crisp and enjoyable, even for me, whose a Milan fan. The ball moved and every pass was read with great understanding. This for a team which has been injected with many new players over the course of the month. Munich thoroughly defied the team chemistry law of the game, making it appear as though they have been playing for several seasons together. Milan on the other hand were appalling. The passes lacked conviction, direction or meaning. Milan evidently miss training often, or they spend far too much time showboating during training.
Braafheid, a Danish defender, who was purchased for 2 million euros by the Bavarians was provided with the duty of marking Pato, and he bullied the Brazilian with immense authority. Pato's unproductivity cannot be questioned any further, and his marriage has only hampered him as a player. He seems to exhaust himself of all the energy and enthusiasm with his wife. Ahem, ok. A striker is asked to shoot, to hold or to score. He can't do any of the mentioned. Abate was certainly the highlight and a livewire down the right. His movement and his clever passes earned him great respect in our eyes. The management would be brainsick to consider the option of loaning him post this display. Pirlo's goal did seem splendid when it was scored, but replays do suggest that the keeper was afraid of breaking his fingers. I guess he dint trust the gloves were good enough for a simple block. Once Silva and Nesta were substituted, I knew all hell would break loose. Oguchi and Kaladze, who epitomize dreadful defending formalized the clobbering by placing it on the scoreline. Kaladze very conveniently went to ground on the Schweinsteiger goal. Oguchi was made to look an oaf by Sene on the third goal, and the American summed up a catastrophic night by ball watching on the 4th goal, instead of marking Muller. Leonardo, wake up!
The gaffer lacks managerial experience. That I knew. But he lacks any sense of tactical awareness, that I got to know. What was he thinking when he took of a stable defensive pairing while replacing them with these clowns? What was he thinking playing Abate and Jankulovski as wingers, isolating the terrible Pato upfront? Why stick with Zambrotta when he was too busy trying to impersonate Lionel Messi, but failing miserably? Audi Cup is surely over, but I doubt the mortifying is.
Scorers -
Bayern Munich - Muller 12'+90', Schweinsteiger 80', Sene 89'
AC Milan - Pirlo 81'
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