Milan's 18th scudetto was won in a close encounter in Rome, one in which Roma was surprisingly timid considering they needed the 3 points for their Champions League aspirations. Still, the first half saw Abbiati, Nesta and Thiago Silva salvage a few dangerous situations, while Abate wasn't up to his usual standard. Milan did little of significance in attack, and the players seemed content to pass the ball around waiting for Roma to press higher up the pitch. Zlatan was invisible and the team lacked the drive to take the ball forward quickly and exploit the little space Roma's 4-5-1 formation left.
The introduction of Ambrosini for Gattuso at halftime was an excellent move from Allegri, as Massimo managed to connect the lines and was vital in creating the best chance of the match - one that Boateng missed, Robinho style. Robinho himself didn't have a bad game and his best move of the game almost resulted in a goal -he elegantly moved the ball to the right and hit a curling shot towards the far post, and then watched powerlessly as the ball bounced off said post. It should be noted that, even though Ambrosini was brought on at halftime, it was Seedorf who had the honor of wearing the armband until the final whistle.
All in all, the second half saw a much more focused Milan and Roma were pinned back....not that they made any significant effort to un-pin themselves. Totti was alone up front and, even though he had a good game and made some killer passes, his teammates didn't follow. Vucinic played as a winger, missed a sitter, spent half the game in invisibility mode and was substituted for Borriello late on - yet another chaotic game from the Montenegrin who has all the attributes of a great player...except for consistency and determination. But I digress - the scudetto is ours and I'm sure you couldn't care less about my opinion on Vucinic right now. With that said, back to the main topic...
As Galliani hugged Pato's girlfriend and flung his trademark golden tie into an ecstatic crowd of red and black, the players on the pitch let their emotions show in true Italian manner. As always, some are crazier than other, and it was a joy to watch the likes of Abate, Ibrahimovic, Gattuso, Inzaghi, Nesta and Cassano celebrate the title - for some it was yet another in a long sequence of trophies, for some it was the first piece of silverware they have to show for their effort. Milan's Brazilians embraced each other with big smiles on their faces, as Boateng yelled at the crowd in his happiest voice.
Next week there will be an even bigger celebration at the San Siro, and two weeks from now the Serie A trophy will be officially handed to Ambrosini so us Milan fans have a festive 14 day period to look forward to. In the meanwhile, we have the Coppa rematch with Palermo but now isn't the time to think about that. I'll leave you with a few photos that will warm the heart of every Milan fan, young or old - it's been a long time coming and we have every right to enjoy these moments to the fullest.
Reviewed by Jovan
on
3:00 PM
Rating:
