Q: I enjoy hearing how people gravitate to a club they wind up loving. How did you begin supporting Milan?
A: "My dad was a Milan fan for a good chunk of his life and I suppose he got me into supporting the club when I was young. Although I suppose that PES 2006 (Pro Evolution Soccer) got me to love Milan rather than just calcio as a whole. That team was immense and I think I understood why I was so attracted to the club whilst playing exclusively as Milan during my time with PES. Gattuso, Pippo, Kaka, Costacurta. What a group of players that was. That was the point of no return for me, and the rest, as they say, is history."
Q: You cover an array of different football, from Dutch to Italian. Which league do you enjoy covering the most and why?
A: "Definitely Serie A, although the Eredivisie is a very close second. Eredivisie is infinitely more exciting and entertaining to watch, and every year there is an influx of young talent starring in the place of those who left. Serie A is a tad less interesting when it comes to the title race because, as much as it pains me to say it, Juventus are going to be top for God knows how many more years. Roma are also pretty much set in their position, as no club has shown a capability to challenge for 2nd. However, the race for 3rd is almost as exciting as the title race in a non-one-sided league. I suppose it could be linked to the Premiership race last season between Chelsea, City, and Liverpool, except there are 5-6 teams fighting for 3rd instead of the 3 title challengers in England."
Q: You are a consistent contributor to Italian Football Daily, among other sites. How does being a valuable member of the staff make watching football that much more enjoyable?
A: "It has given me a new way to watch calcio. Doing things like player ratings or match reviews has forced me to pay a lot more attention to individual players and the details of their performances. I had done this before starting with IFD but working with the site has definitely increased both my knowledge of calcio and has helped me watch matches in a more intelligent way."
Q: For Milan, what do you see Inzaghi and the men (and woman) upstairs doing this January to bolster the squad?
A: "Realistically? Not much. I suppose that Vangioni lad who's been linked to the club since the summer will join, but that raises the question of what to do with our fullbacks. There would be too many, and the possibilities I see are either Armero's loan gets terminated or a sale of De Sciglio. Beyond that, I can see us going for a player whose contract expires in 2015 because they'd be fairly cheap."
Q: Finally, you back Liverpool as well in the Premier League. Is this Mario Balotelli's final big club?
A: "Balotelli is an interesting case. I think that it is a bit too early to judge him on his time with Liverpool because nobody is really performing outstanding on the team. As for his behavior, I think he is at the end of the road. More nonsense like his Instagram post or some other regrettable action could well mean that no big club will want to sign him. He is very close to turning into a less technically gifted (Antonio) Cassano."
Again, I just want to thank Daniel for taking a few minutes to answer some questions for this fan blog post. If you don't follow Daniel on Twitter, please do so. He works hard to bring his views and thoughts to the forefront of football. Give him a follow, @muntarinho.
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