Calcio Debate: Is Gilardino Good Enough For Milan? Following Milan’s disappointing 2-1 defeat at Atalanta last night – Carlo Garganese highlights the individual performance of Alberto Gilardino and asks whether the player is good enough to play for the Rossoneri… Anyone who watched the game in Bergamo last night will tell you that Alberto Gilardino was not the only Milan player to disappoint. Daniele Bonera and Alessandro Nesta had rings run round them by Antonio Langella, Kakha Kaladze made a disastrous error that resulted in Atalanta’s winner, Giuseppe Favalli was awful as usual, while Alexandre Pato looked like a school-kid and missed a glorious one-on-one. Gilardino has been under-fire for quite some now and it has become increasingly obvious for the past two years now that the striker is just simply not good enough for a club of the stature of Milan. This does not mean that Gilardino is a bad player – he proved at Parma when he scored 23 times in consecutive Serie A seasons that at smaller and mid-table teams (even those fighting for UEFA Cup qualification) he can be a superbly useful player. The biggest problem of all is that Gila just does not have the technical ability required to play for one of Europe’s giants, more so a team like Milan who base their game on these qualities. The 25-year-old has no skill, he cannot create an opportunity for himself and in simple terms he is what in England is called a “lumbering centre forward”. Filippo Inzaghi has none of these attributes either, but what he does have, or did in his prime, is brilliant striker intelligence. This is not the case for Gilardino. His movement is abysmal, in fact he is almost always static. His anticipation is poor, and so are his reactions. In order to be a penalty-box striker, these things are vital and this explains why Inzaghi is the most prolific goalscorer in the history of European competition. We often hear arguments from Gilardino-supporters of how he scored 17 goals in Serie A in his first season at Milan, that he hit 12 last campaign, and that he has six to his name this year. However, how many of these goals were against the top teams? Well I will tell you. In 2005/06, of Gilardino’s 17 goals, none were scored against the Big Four. Gila failed to hit the back of the net in both games against Juve, Inter and Roma. All of his strikes were against mid-table and relegation-threatened opposition such as Treviso, Reggina, Messina and Cagliari. In 2006/07 he scored just twice in six games against the three other teams in the Champions League places (Inter, Roma and Lazio). And one of these, against Inter, came when Milan were already being thumped 4-1 by their city rivals and had nothing to play for but pride. Finally this season Gila has failed to hit the back of the net against any of the big teams; Inter, Roma and Juve. His record in the Champions League is even worse. In 2005/06 he failed to hit the back of the net in 10 games as Milan reached the semi-final. He scored just twice in 11 matches last year, while there has been a very slight improvement this term with two strikes in the group stages. What this surely tells us is that Gilardino, when faced by stronger opposition and better defenders, is simply not up to the task. When he plays against smaller Serie A sides he can hold his own, and it is against these teams that he accumulates all of his goals. However against top-class and world-class players it just doesn’t look like the 25-year-old has the ability. Quite why Milan continue to insist that Gilardino is the right player for them I simply don’t understand. What are your views on this topic? Is Gilardino good enough for Milan? Is he more suited at a smaller team? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think. Carlo Garganese http://goal.com/en/articolo.aspx?contenutoid=559418
no he's not good enough just look at how hyped we were when he scored against udinese u shouldnt be THAT hyped when a STRIKER scores he sucks in 80-90% of his games that's gotta do with the horrible play of the backs too though but it has been that way since he came here
I would suck to if I was getting the same service from my team. Gilardino is simply used incorrectly in my opinion. I don't think this author realizes how terrible the entire Milan team played against Atalanta.
1. How should he be used?? 2. He's been terrible since day 1 at milan. Needs to go back to a mid table team where he can be the star that he used to be at parma. With Kaka, Pirlo and Seedorf in your midfield you should have no problem with the service. He just can't finish or seem to find the back of the net like he used to 3 years ago. A fresh start somewhere else I think would help him
Ancelotti has tried Gila in every possible formation since he came to Milan. He has been poor in all of them. Gila is just one of those players who can't perform for a big club. He'd be better off going to a another Serie A club to rejuvenate his career, kinda like what Borriello has done this year.
It's not whether or not he's good enough - there's no question he has enough talent. He has shown his skill at Parma, and has always done well when playing for the Azzurri. I think the more accurate question is "Does Gilardino fit in at Milan?" And to that, I say no. He should definitely move to a different club.
@va il totti exactly!! although i want to see him play some more games alongside pato. i really like gila and still have a glimmer of hope for him
What if we dealt him to Juventus for some pieces? Juventus has a lot of youth players moving up their ranks and half of them are pretty solid. I don't know if Nocerino or Palladino would be available but Gila still has value and trading him for some prospects would validate strengthening a direct rival like Juventus.
well that's the problem, juventus is still in reuilding mode and their best young prospects they value very strongly and would not be very keen to let go. combine that with gila's falling stock and it is hard to see them giving up many (or any) of their better prospects. juve fans would be irate if they gave chiellini or giovinco to milan, even guys like palladino and marchisio wouldn't go down easy.
You're probably right especially since they have Iaquinta on the books already who ironically is preferred after Palladino. My player swap notion is still valid I think; who would pay for Gila currently? Most Serie A teams would be laughed at for paying a hefty fee with a steep salary for a player like Gila let alone being able to afford it in the first place. My hope is that some mid table EPL team like Man City throws a few million quid at us knowing that they can more than afford it. Ultimately I think its gotten to a point where people are starting not to care about the Gila situation anymore because right now he's just simply old news. If his stock can bring us in some young blood great; or if he's sold for a reasonable fee thats good too, either way I think his time here is almost at an end.
Very well said. Maybe he can't handle the big stage? But the Gila experiment is too expensive and if the Rossoneri want to continue competing for Scudetti and in Europe; he is NOT the striker to answer the call.
First off I feel you guys are throwing away such talent so soon! Do you expect the next Sheva or him to play like Pato? Gilardino's style is close to Inzaghi's poacher style. Milan need that! See with Pato and Ronaldo moving in closely a player who is in the right space and the right time like Gila and Inzaghi are needed! I'm personally a fan of his, i would like to know what you guys expect out of Gila?
Well, his problem isn't just scoring goals. It just seems as though, the team really need to baby feed him in order for him to score, he cannot do anything on his on. Sure, he is good on set-pieces sometimes, but it's just not enough, and a team like Milan really can't depend on him if he is inconsistent.
Yeah, it seems obvious thus far. Let's see how he reacts after he recovers from the injury. Sometimes these things affect a player's confidence considerably.
Gilardino has been molded into a different player whilst playing for Milan. He is playing deeper and more for the side. He definately possess the talent and he still has a good domestic goal scoring record for Milan which proves he can play for an elite team. The service at times he gets in a match is woeful. He plays better with a second striker next to him. It's just strange how all of a sudden he is missing easy opportunities however, you don't lose your talent over night.
I don't even know what I can say about Gilardino. I hate him. When he plays, it's as if we're playing with a man down, and I think he's redefined the striker position into a sub-category: A pedestrian.... I think Gilardino is one of those players who needs to be the best individual player on the team to succeed. At Parma he was treated and hailed like a God, so he had total confidence, and played with a swagger that he has been missing ever since we signed him. Skill wise he's a mystery. I have no idea who the real Gilardino is anymore. Was he lucky for two straight years with Parma? Or just very unlucky with Milan? I want him out of Milan, he needs to play for a mid-division team to reach his full potential, whatever that may be.
Except for one small, minute difference. Borriello never got a chance at Milan and always had the talent to succeed if given a shot. Gilardino has played himself out of Milan with consistently horrible performances.
I still have a soft side for Gila, even though he has been an absolute disaster in a Rossonero jersey. I still think he has lots of talent and has the potential to be a great striker, but Milan was just not the right environment for him. I think he works like Cassano, if he can move to a team where he is the main man and loved by the fans and he is happy, he will do well.