Huntelaar to AC Milan

Word in today that Klaas Jan Huntelaar is on his way to AC Milan for what seems like a rather paltry sum of $21 million. Considering the crazy fees flying around this summer it seems like a heck of a bargain. I realize they don't play the same position but if Xabi Alonso at 28 is worth $30 million it's hard to believe that Huntelaar was picked up for such a relatively small fee, not too mention what Man City paid for Adebayor and seem willing to pay for Joleon Lescott. It's a great move for AC Milan who absolutely had to do something, with the loss of Kaka and the brutal form they've shown thus far in the preseason. If Ronaldinho can find some form and Pirlo can hold off father time for another season Milan should have a nice duo up front with Huntelaar and Pato. I've long been a big fan due to his propensity for bicycle kicks.

It will be interesting to see what the reaction is from Manchester United fans where Huntelaar has long been a rumored target. Sir Alex can't complain about out of control transfer market with Huntelaar moving for such a relatively small amount. It either tells me he is very satisified with the form Owen has shown and really feels Macheda is ready for real playing time. Or the contrarian, who are many, can point to the Huntelaar situation and make the claim that United truly are banking the Ronaldo money to pay off some of that debt. I'm in the former camp who feels that Sir Alex is happy with the squad he has and didn't feel the need to add Huntelaar to the strike quartet of Rooney, Berbatov, Owen and Macheda.

The madness of Real Madrid continues. They pay $29 million for Huntelaar in January and sell him for an $8 million loss in August. I think Huntelaar is someone they should have looked at keeping. The strike force at Real Madrid now consists of the very young in Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain and the very old in Raul and Ruud Van Nistelroy. Considering all the money they spent I'm not completely confident about this group--- even considering the fact they have Kaka and Ronaldo. Hiquain had a great year last season but prior to that he was largely seen as a bit of a disappointment. Benzema is an uber-talent but did have an inconsistent year last season and is only 21. You'd have to think Raul and Ruud will start to show there age at some point. All the reason to hang on to Huntelaar.

AC Milan and Guch

Due to the World Football Challenge and Justin TV I've had the opportunity to see AC Milan play a good part of four preseason friendlies in the span of a week. My initial thought is, good god. My second thought is that it could be one heck of a long year. Granted they lost one of the top three players in the world and his absence is glaring. Even with Kaka now in Madrid I'm absolutely shocked at how mediocre they've looked.

All I can say is poor Oguchi Onyewu. I wanted to chalk up the misplay last week in Atlanta versus America of Mexico to jitters. One could also blame the early goal for Inter in Baltimore on Sunday to bad team defensive effort. But after watching Onyewu get torched again versus Bayern Munich today it's not looking good for Guch and for the status of American defenders abroad. A reputation is developed easily and not forgotten quickly. I can't imagine the anti-Guch comments on Italian message boards and in the media. If my three years of college Italian actually helped me learn the language I suppose I could have picked up Gazzetta della Sport myself and found out. I'm pulling for you Guch, I hope you turn it around. It's a big deal for American soccer that things work out in Italy for you.

Beyond our guy Guch I'm also pretty shocked at how mediocre Pato has looked. I didn't really start watching Serie A last year until the second half when Pato had Beckham and of course Kaka setting him up. He looked every bit the quality player worth the huge offer from Chelsea and Ancellotti. After watching him over the past week I'm not so sure. At this point he doesn't seem to have the ability to create his own space and score and with the absence of Kaka and the brilliant crosses of Becks he doesn't have anyone to set him up.

Still Pato can't be that high up on the worry list. Ronaldinho looks like he is absolutely done. He showed flashes of his crafty self in the states, only to lose the ball constantly and really create no legitimate scoring chances. At this point I wouldn't expect much from him either. There's a lot of quality names, too bad their all on the wrong and of twenty and pushing thirty, ala Clarence Seedorf.

It will be interesting to see if Leonardo is able to spend some money come August. With Juventus strongly upgraded and Eto'o on his way to Inter AC needs something to compete for fourth place.

Come on Guch!

Real Madrid and Ribery

Sooner or later you'd think the madness will stop. Is it just me or why isn't anyone asking how Kaka and Ronaldo are going to play together? Better yet why does Real Madrid continue to go down the road of courting Franck Ribery. Bayern finally set a ridiculous transfer sum of 94 million Euros, or about 80 million pounds--- the same amount as Ronaldo. I picture Beckenbauer and Hoeness and the rest of the brain trust coming up with a sum that they figured is so patently absurd that all Real Madrid speculation will end. Lo and behold the speculation continues. If they go ahead and reach such a sum, while fighting over relatively tiny amounts with other clubs, they are not just crazy, they are drunk with Galactico madness. With Ronaldo and Kaka, what is the point of Ribery? How could this group possibly play together? Why bring in Ribery when you already have Arjen Robben to bomb down the wing? He had a fantastic season and you already own him!

The Madness of King Florentino.