Staying Put: Why doesn't Italy's youth move abroad?

With the recent rumor of German club Borussia Dortmund being linked with Torino's Ciro Immobile as Robert Lewandowski's replacement, I thought to myself "Why haven't Italy's youth attracted more interest?" I often think about this topic as I witness young Spaniards, Germans, and Brazilians transfer across Europe to big-time clubs. Serie A is loaded with talent and anyone who watches Italian football knows that. Calcio fans could compose their own list  of the top 10 young talents in Serie A and I bet many of the lists will contain different players.


Here are just a few of the many Italian gems in Serie A, 24 and under:

Milan's Mattia De Sciglio- age 21
Milan's Stephan El Shaarawy- age 21
Milan's Riccardo Saponara- age 22
Milan's Bryan Cristante- age 18
Sassuolo's Domenico Berardi (on loan from Juve)- age 19
Sassuolo's Simone Zaza (co-owned by Juve)- age 22
Roma's Mattia Destro- age 22
Roma's Alessandro Florenzi- age 22
Roma's Alessio Romagnoli- age 19
Samp's Manolo Gabbiadini (co-owned by Juve)- age 22
Genoa's Mattia Perin- age 21
Torino's Ciro Immobile (co-owned by Juve)- age 24
Napoli's Lorenzo Insigne- age 22
Livorno's Francesco Bardi (on loan from Inter)-age 22


Some of these players have attracted major interest from big clubs across Europe. Stephan El Shaarawy was subject to transfer rumors last summer as clubs from Russia and England enquired about the young Milan star. Domenico Berardi's 4 goal display v Milan earlier this year caught the attention of many across Europe. The 19 year old has had an incredible year for Sassuolo and has virtually carried the club. Ciro Immobile appears to be a target for Klopp and Dortmund this summer as they look to replace Lewandowksi, who has agreed to a move to German rival Bayern Munich. Catching the trend?

Mario Balotelli was the most recent big-time Italian talent to move abroad when he made the switch from Inter to Manchester City for around 20+ million in 2010. After a few seasons under Mancini at City, Mario Balotelli moved back to Italy when he joined Milan in the January transfer window last year. Mario is one of the few in the past few years to move out of the homeland and that has been the trend for a while now.

Why haven't we seen such talent move abroad when they have proven their worth in one of Europe's elite leagues? Could it be related to past trends of some players not being able to adjust to the different playing style of the league? Are they homesick? Or does club loyalty mean more in Italy than it does in other leagues? It remains a question mark. What we do know is that Serie A holds some valuable gems that are certainly ready to shine as we approach the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Azzurri fans should be foaming out the mouth.

Recap: Milan v Bologna

After last week's loss to Napoli, Milan had nearly a week to re cooperate in time for a Friday match v Bologna at the San Siro. In the week leading up to the match, it was Mario Balotelli again, who grasped the attention of the media. His tears have been publicly displayed across multiple media outlets. A rumored Arsenal move according to English papers. Some skeptical mid-week comments regarding a future move back to England.  Let's not forget that Milan had a match to play v Bologna followed by a huge CL match v Atletico Madrid just 5 days away. Time to start climbing up the league table.

Seedorf went with a 4-2-3-1 formation that looked like this: Abbiati; De Sciglio, Rami, Zaccardo (Zapata was a late scratch due to an injury suffered in pre-match training)Constant; De Jong, Montolivo; Taarabt, Kaká, Honda; Balotelli

Aside from Taarabt, Rami and Abbiati playing well, the entire first half and most of the second half was disappointing for Milan. Kaká, again, looked tired, Honda couldn't really get anything positive going on the right side and shockingly, De Sciglio underperformed. The match had "tie" written all over it. Bologna failed to cash in on their chances to score thanks to, in the eyes of many, the MOTM, Christian Abbiati. De Jong was replaced by Muntari, Honda by Pazzini and Kaká by Poli. Balotelli had another underachieving performance. Some of the blame falls on the center mids who couldn't really feed the striker reasonable chances. Yes, Balotelli needed to stay focused and keep active but still, he can't seemingly pass the ball to himself. He needed to find a way to get Milan 3 pts but would that happen for the "late party arrivals" in Milan? Well.....

In the 86th minute, Mario Balotelli received a pass about 40+ yards from net. He took a few touches forward and effortlessly launched one towards Curci, who was off his line. The ball flew into the back of the upper left corner for one hell of a match winning goal. Just like that, Milan snuck away with 3 pts.

Balotelli's superb goal ignited the Milanisti and silenced many of the doubters despite 85 minutes of non-existent football. Sure, Milan fans want to see more urgency, motivation and more consistency from their star striker but when your striker can score goals like the one he did today, you must remain positive and optimistic. Like many of the Milanisti across the world, we have always been by his side and we will continue to do so. Balotelli's match winner earned himself some "head turns" and his side 3 pts ahead of a huge CL match v Atletico Madrid this Wednesday. Forza Milan

Recap: Milan v Napoli

In case you missed it, Milan lost to Napoli 3 goals to 1 Saturday evening. This match had several key notes prior to kickoff and as the match progressed, a few more developed. Let's take you through the match, shall we?

Prior to the match, many people expected a few changes to Seedorf's starting XI as Honda was ruled out and Kaká expected to start on the bench. As expected, Seedorf made some changes to the 4-2-3-1 formation as he fielded the following formation: Abbiati; De Sciglio, Rami, (c) Mexes, Emanuelson; Essien, De Jong; Abate, Taarabt, Robinho; Balotelli. Here were the key notes to take from this:

1. The French pairing of Rami and Mexes making their debut. A move many thought needed to be done in order to see if something would help sure up the continuous defensive woes.

2. Phillipe Mexes wearing the captain's armband. This shocked everyone. Seedorf's reasoning behind this move was that he hoped to ignite the Frenchman's confidence  given his recent shortage of playing time.

3. Essien making his Milan debut alongside De Jong. This pairing needs to be fielded as it will be the expected tandem in front of the defense when Milan plays Atletico Madrid in less than 2 weeks.

4.Abate starting as a winger while Taarabt makes his debut as a center attacking mid behind Balotelli.

In the first 10 minutes, Napoli and Milan went back and forth with exciting displays of football but it was newcomer Adel Taarabt that took the ball more than half the length of the pitch and scored his first goal on his first shot for Milan. It didn't take Napoli much longer to equalize as Gokhan Inler scored a beautiful left footed goal from outside the box that appeared to take a slight deflection. Milan were able to survive the first half even with Napoli, despite the half being owned by Benitez's side.

The second half saw an immediate switch by Seedorf as he subbed in Kaká for Robinho, who had yet another disappointing performance in an attacking mid role. The second half was all Napoli. Insigne and Jorginho played extremely well for Napoli and were heavily involved in nearly every buildup. Jorginho outperformed his €5mil fee Napoli dished out for his signature. Gonzalo Higuain scored his first of two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half on a headed ball served up by Inler. In the 70th minute, Riccardo Montolivo came on for Urby Emanuelson. Montolivo performed pretty well in the final 20 minutes of the match, nearly setting up a Balotelli goal opportunity.

The drama arrived as Mario Balotelli, who had an off match, was subbed out for Pazzini in the 73th minute. The squad needed a change and Seedorf hoped Pazzini would be the man to spark the squad in the attack. As Balotelli left the pitch, he appeared to be calm about the move. Once he sat on the Milan bench and watched on, something happened. Something forced a shocking emotional twist from the Italian. Tears were seen running down the striker's eyes as he sat on the bench disappointed and emotionally torn. He covered his face in his jacket to hide it but everyone was able to see his sadness. Nobody knows entirely what caused the tears but either way Milan had a match going on that could still result in some points. Higuain would later add to his goal total on the season by putting another past Abbiati, clinching 3 pts at San Paolo for Benitez and Napoli.

Seedorf suffered his first league loss as Milan manager. Despite the result, some positives should be taken away from the match. Adel Taarabt, who arrived to Milan, looked sharp in his debut. Coming from an immediate criticizer, he did all you could ask for in a debut. Secondly, Michael Essien had a decent second half after a poor first half where he seemingly looked out of sync alongside De Jong. The negatives were, besides the result, Abate and Robinho who provided practically nothing for Milan going forward. Mexes, as captain, proved that he is highly suspect once again. The Rami-Mexes experiment was a failure in its debut as well.

Bottom line: Milan need to pick it up these next few matches if they want any chance at Europe as well as advancing past Atletico Madrid. Seedorf experimented with some new ideas v Napoli which I found necessary. He made all the right subs at the right time and he even subbed off his best player, something many managers wouldn't do in a big match. Again, these hiccups are symptoms of what we hope to be maturity for this Milan side. Seedorf and the boys need to learn from these trials, find who fits where and who doesn't. The growth of this squad can't be rushed as much as we want it to be. The future of this squad won't contain a handful of the current players on the squad so we must be patient in our club's growth going forward.

AC Milan among 8 clubs to participate in this summer's International Champions Cup across the U.S

The official announcement came early Tuesday that A.C Milan, Inter, Roma, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Olympiakos will participate in this summer's International Champions Cup that will span across the United States. The announcement was made via Twitter from the official ICC account that the eight teams will be a part of the tournament. The matches will take place in the following cities: Phoenix, Denver, D.C., Charlotte, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York/New Jersey, Miami and an additional city.

No official announcement has been made in terms of the fixtures, the dates and the venues except for the Cup final, which will be at Sun Life Stadium once again in Miami. However, here are the rumored Milan fixtures:

July 27th, Manchester City v Milan @ 4pm ET, Pittsburgh, PA
July 30th, Milan v Liverpool @ 7pm ET, Philadelphia, PA
August 2nd, Milan v Olympiakos @ 2pm ET, Hartford, CT

Again, these aren't official so please check in with the official International Champions Cup Twitter account (@IntChampionsCup) for announcements in the coming weeks.

Hopefully, these fixtures are true and we can have another Milan ICC tailgate like we did last year with AC Milan Club NYC/NJ, Milan Club Philly and the rest of our Milan crew. Could be another great summer event!

Champions League Round of 16 Preview: Milan v Atletico Madrid

As we all know, Milan will face current La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 this month. The first leg is Wednesday, February 19th at the San Siro with the 2nd leg being Tuesday, March 11th at Vicente Calderon Stadium in Madrid.

Milan are coming off a 2nd place finish in Group H with Barcelona winning the group. Atletico Madrid finished atop their group rather convincingly.

Milan are fully aware of the monster that is Atletico Madrid. When you surpass Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona in the league table, you certainly have caught the attention of Europe. This club led by Diego Simeone hasn't shocked anybody with their performance this season. The talent is obvious. The quality is world class. To those who think Atletico Madrid are a notch below Barcelona and Real Madrid, you need to re-evaluate your thoughts. This club is the real deal. Here is a breakdown of their squad:

Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois- The young Belgium international is among the elite keepers in Europe. On loan to the Spanish side from Chelsea, the 21 year old has certainly made a name for himself. One of the reasons Simeone's side has become a defensively sound club is because of this guy.

Defending: CB Diego Godin, LB Filipe Luis, CB Miranda and RB Juanfran- This unit, in the eyes of many football experts, is the best back line in all of Europe. The 27 year old Uruguayan Diego Godin is a rock. Very strong in the air, clears his line often and likes to dribble. Miranda likes to play the long balls and has a great chemistry with Godin. They work off each other exceptionally well. The Brazilian Luis might be their best defender. A technically sound left-back who likes having the ball at his feet, looking to create. Due to a right adductor muscle tear he is currently working his way back from, he is questionable for the first leg. Finally, there is the Spaniard, Juanfran. The right-back tends to cross the ball a lot in the attack. At times, he can be exploited in the air. Overall as a unit, this back line is solid.

Midfield: CM Tiago, CM/LM/RM Koke, AM Arda Turan, DM Gabi, AM Diego- These are a few of the midfielders Simeone has to play with. Just because their last name isn't Iniesta or Fabregas doesn't mean they aren't legit threats. The crop can flat out play and has showcased top-flite ability this season. Turan and Koke, I feel, will provide Milan with the most headaches. Both have the ability to score and have shown that this season. Turan is arguably the club's best midfielder. He is a plus passer and dribbler. The Turkish international is a creator in the attacking mid role. The young Spanish international Koke has few flaws to his game. Simeone can deploy him in several attacking midfield roles. Where he plays v Milan is up to Simeone but he can be moved around and be effective. Simeone has an array of midfield options with some not even mentioned here.

Attacking: FWD's Diego Costa and David Villa- These two forwards have been the best for Atletico Madrid in terms of getting on the scoresheet this season. Costa has netted a total of 24 goals this year, 4 coming in the group stages of the CL alone. Villa has 11 goals in all competitions in his first year with Madrid. The former Barcelona man has had another solid season. He has a knack for scoring big goals, whether it be around the box or from set pieces. Villa remains an elite finisher and one who has burned Milan from a free kick before. At age 32, he still has goals left in his boots. Arguably the most coveted forward this summer will be the 25 year old Brazilian Diego Costa. The now Spanish international has broken out this year. He ended 2013 on fire. However, 2014 started off slow for Costa, scoring only 2 goals after the break. Still, he remains the target man for Madrid and one they will rely heavily on to take them to the next round of the Champions League. Costa is exceptional on the counter attack and with a supporting cast like his, its no surprise.

Milan has their work cut out for them. February 19th v Atletico Madrid is Clarence Seedorf's CL debut for Milan as a manager. Under Article 18 (18-21) of the UCL regulations, clubs can register up to three new players by February 1st and Seedorf made good use of this regulation as he included Michael Essien, Adil Rami and Adel Taarabt into the 25 man roster. Essien and Rami should be key for Milan as they will need a great defensive effort in order to contain Simeone's squad. In the Milan attack, a key performer returns in the name of Giampaolo Pazzini. Pazzini is an aerial threat and does well in holding possession. In last year's 2-0 win over Barcelona at the San Siro, Pazzini did an exceptional job holding the ball and drawing fouls that slowed the flow of the game, something Barcelona doesn't enjoy. They like to pass the ball around, keep the gaming moving and they bring the game to their opponent. Obviously, the Milan defense is the biggest concern especially when you have to defend a squad like Atletico Madrid. The player Milan needs the most from is? You guessed it, Mario Balotelli. His talent level speaks for itself but his attitude has always been a question mark wherever he's played during his career. Look for him to carry Milan in attack. I fully expect him to prove to the world why he's a world-class player.

Coming up with a probable formation v Atletico Madrid is difficult being as Montolivo and Muntari are suspended plus the absence of Honda because he is cup-tied. Seedorf could experiment with either a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-2-1. Here is how both formations could look:

Our Predicted Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Abbiati; Abate, Rami, Zapata, De Sciglio; De Jong, Essien; Taarabt, Kaka, Poli; Balotelli

Our Predicted Starting XI (4-3-2-1): Abbiati; Abate, Rami, Zapata, De Sciglio; De Jong, Kaka, Essien; Taarabt, Birsa; Balotelli

Milan's January Transfer Window Report Card

Here is the list of players that arrived to Milan and those who departed (both sold & loaned)

Arrivals

DEF Adil Rami (loan) from Valencia
MID Michael Essien (free) from Chelsea
MID Keisuke Honda (free) from CSKA Moscow
MID Adel Taarabt (loan) from QPR
FWD Andrea Petagna (from loan) Sampdoria

Departures

FWD M'Baye Niang (loan) to Montpellier
MID Antonio Nocerino (loan) to West Ham
DEF Jherson Vergara (loan) to Parma
FWD Alessandro Matri (loan) to Fiorentina
MGR Massimiliano Allegri was fired

Report

With the additions of Keisuke Honda, Adil Rami, Michael Essien and Adel Taarabt for virtually nothing except the Giannino dinner tabs, Galliani made out pretty well given the low-risk, low-cost for a few players that are both eligible for Champions League play v Atletico Madrid and who can help propel Milan into yet another late season push towards European qualification. The one questionable addition was Adel Taarabt, who carries a bit of an attitude as well as a reputation known for being lazy and selfish as a player on the pitch. Factor in his comments from December of 2012 and you get another risky move. Time will tell if the move pays off for Seedorf as he tries to find a spot for Taarabt.

Milan were rumored to have been in on several players, a list that includes now Inter and Napoli players Danilo D'Ambrosio and Jorginho as well as Radja Nainggolan who made the switch from Cagliari to Roma. Other players included Parma's speedy winger Jonathan Biabiany, Manchester United's Nani and Porto's Fernando. In the end, none of the players mentioned above arrived, with some staying put and others moving to clubs higher than Milan in the table.

Given that Milan failed to add a defender, the mercato rating took a hit. Only reason why Galliani can't be completely criticized about this is because the defender market appeared stingy, with little available to help the squad this season. Another objective high on the list of many Milan fans was the goal to offload high-wage players and excess baggage like Mexes, Robinho, Muntari, Constant and Zaccardo. They did well in loaning out Matri and Nocerino. However, Galliani could have done a bit better in cutting wages. January wasn't a bad month for Galliani in terms of the mercato but it wasn't a great one either. Expect more money to spent this summer as Galliani looks to provide Seedorf with handpicked players he can build with.

Milan's January Transfer Window Rating: C or C+