Last day in Dubai for AC Milan. The Rossoneri will be headed back to Milan first thing tomorrow, and have concluded their Winter break training in the United Arab Emirates by playing the local national team in a friendly match. For their supporters, the two goals by Alberto Gilardino which gave Ancelotti’s team the 2-0 victory, are hopefully a good omen for a future which will include many many more wins, preferably at home at the Stadio San Siro.

For this game, Milan decided to field two entirely different teams in both halves, thus giving almost the entire roster a chance to get some practice. The 1^st half team was composed of Dida in net, Oddo, Maldini, Kaladze, and Serginho at the back, Cafu (in a more offensive right wing position), Gattuso, Pirlo in midfield, and Ronaldo up front supporter by Seedorf and Gourcouff.

Speaking of Yoann Gourcouff, the French youngster was at the heart of most of the Rossoneri’s chances in the first fraction of play (diagonal shot saved by the keeper, and key pass for Cafu’s header, wide), and judging from his recent practice sessions, has been growing almost exponentially this month. It wouldn’t be surprising to see more of the French U-21 in Serie A in the upcoming months, possible as another wild card in addition to Alexandre Pato.

Regardless, the half ended 0-0 despite the many AC Milan chances, and Ancelotti inserted his “2^nd line” at the restart: Kalac – Bonera, Simic, Nesta (70′ Digao) Favalli – Emerson, Brocchi, Gourcuff – Kakà – Gilardino, Paloschi.

Once again, the Rossoneri were the ones dominating the game, especially through some good chances by Alberto Gilardino. In the final 15 minutes, Gila was finally rewarded for his efforts, but not before missing the unmissable with an open net (double dribble on defenders and keeper, but shot wide with the goal wide open). In the 77^th, Christian Brocchi broke through on the right wing, crossed it into the box, and the ball landed for Gourcouff at the corner of the penalty area. The French midfielder slammed a hard cross-shot across the goal, which transformed into an easy tap-in for Gilardino. This time, he really couldn’t miss, 1-0 Milan.

Minutes later, the Rossoneri doubled the score once again through Gilardino, who exploited an assist by Daniele Bonera from the right wing, and surprised the keeper onto the first post. 2-0 Milan. There was little left in the game, and the game thus ended on that same scoreline. Overall, Dida and Kalac had very little to do, except neutralize a shot by Darwish Ahmed in the 1^st period, and 2 shots from outside the box in the 2^nd.

Now let’s see how long AC Milan can keep winning in 2008. It only takes 2 games to make a streak…
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	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES-MILAN 0-2 [Match Highlights]
GOALSCORERS: 77’, 85’ Gilardino (M)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (4-4-2): Naser – Masoud, Abdulrahman, Qassim, Obaid – Khater, Saeed, Ahmed, Alshihi – Matar, Mohamed. Coach: Metsu.
MILAN (4-3-2-1): Dida (46’ Kalac) – Oddo (46’ Bonera), Maldini (46’ Simic), Kaladze (46’ Nesta, 70’ Digao), Serginho (46’ Favalli) – Cafu (46’ Emerson), Gattuso (46’ Brocchi), Pirlo (46’ Paloschi) – Gourcuff, Seedorf (46’ Kaká) – Ronaldo (46’ Gilardino). Coach: Ancelotti.

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Posted in Milan, Pre-season, World News |

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