On the alleged veteran AC Milan

It has 112 years, and over a few drinks, but remains so enviable. It may not look like in the eighties when it was the queen of the catwalk, in the spring of 94 when Fabio Capello led his designs or a few years ago when he came to reign in the old Europe, but the beautiful Rossoneri, who yesterday met years living a good time after recovering the Italian throne after five years of absence from the highest ranks. A common criticism received by the Milan was the advanced age of your template as usual reason for the lack of results, a topic which still rooted endures today becoming a half-truth.

The presence in recent years in the eleven players like Inzaghi, Pirlo, Gattuso, Nesta, Seedorf, Zambrotta, Favalli, Oddo, Jankulovski or Ambrosini, plus the taste of the sport by signing veteran leadership, contributed to Milan was called nursing and the like regularly. However, in two or three years the team has been gradually regenerating clocking youth players or a good point in their careers, thereby achieving lower the average age of its workforce. On the other hand, some veterans like Jankulovski, Oddo, Pirlo or just one of the last he had to have gone, have left the club and others have begun to see the bench more regularly.

Rejuvenate a template is not something that can be done in one year to another especially if the coffers are not living a good time, as is the case with the Rossoneri. Galliani and his entourage have specialized in recent years in achieving fish in troubled waters reductions and thus lower prices. So Ibrahimovic and Robinho arrived in Barcelona and Manchester City, as Ronaldinho in his day came, and it is intended that the next one is Tevez. All of these players with a difficult character, something that has never worried and have been known to get along in Milanello. Nor has resigned to signing veteran players and in the downhill of his career if the opportunity was ripe, as in the case of Beckham, Van Bommel and Yepes.

However, it is conscious in the Lombard city of the need to lower the average age, and thus came in recent times Boateng, Cassano, Aquilani or Nocerino. Before, after the success of Kaka, the Brazilian market continued to watch and so came Thiago Silva and Pato, two big successes mainly in the case of the first. In the quarry come Antonini and Abate, who settled in the team after a series of assignments. Last summer came also the Shaarawy, Taiwo and Mexes, but for different reasons, none of them has managed to capture the starting job, like Emanuelson, who arrived last winter.

So, Nesta Zambrotta and remain fixed after not having worked so far the signings of Taiwan and the French arrived Mexes-free but with a serious injury. Van Bommel has shown a good performance and is a fixture in the less grateful task of midfield and is adamant Abbiati in goal while living a second youth. Seedorf and Ambrosini green alternating with the bench, while Inzaghi barely counts. For its part, Gattuso had the vision problem that prevents you from playing time. All of them provide veteran dose every team needs.

So, players who have not reached the thirty-just as compliments Ibrahimovic, Pato, Robinho, Thiago Silva, Abate, Boateng, Aquilani and Nocerino are fixed or regular starters. If the lack of pace in Milan under what circumstances is something that is given not by the age of their players, but football is like the calcium, more slowly than in other competitions. It's something that their teams have in Europe and Mourinho's Inter only remedy has been known in recent years. It's a shame that a team with history and tradition of Milan is forced to rely on veteran players or their clubs bounced with little options to compete in the marketplace by big stars, but are the times they play. Berlusconi knows well.

Photo | Elena Rybakov