Sports

Saturday August 22, 2009

AC Milan begin life without talismanic Kaka

ROME: Serie A kicks off today with former European champions AC Milan facing searching questions over the potency of their armoury and depth of their creativity following the loss of Bra­zi­lian superstar Kaka to Real Madrid.

Milan, as well as champions Inter and fellow powerhouses Juventus, begin their campaigns with relatively gentle openers this weekend before facing their first big challenges in only the second week of the season.

The two Milans will clash in their city derby while Juventus will travel to the capital to tackle AS Roma, only sixth last season but the runners-up from the previous three campaigns.

But first there are some potential banana skins to negotiate and most eyes will be on Milan following their torrid summer.

The seven-time European champions lost Kaka to Real Madrid and have failed to replace him with anyone even approaching the Brazilian’s quality.

Dutch striker Klaas Jan Hun­telaar, while a regular goalscorer, is not a direct replacement.

Added to the departures of Paolo Maldini (retirement) and David Beckham (end of his loan spell) Milan are looking decidedly weaker. And a tricky trip to minnows Siena will provide a distinct test of their championship credentials.

Pre-season has suggested they face major problems. Milan lost eight out of 11 matches ahead of the new season, with their only victories coming on penalties and against lower league opposition.

A lot will be expected of Ronaldinho this season and if he cannot unlock defences like Siena’s then there won’t be much hope of him being the hero a week later against Inter.

The champions begin tomorrow at home to newly promoted Bari and despite the loss of their best player from last season – Zlatan Ibrahimovic – will be expected to carry on from where they left off.

Jose Mourinho’s side are favourites to secure a fifth straight scudetto.

Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito will bring potency to their front line while Thiago Motta gives them options in midfield and Lucio is the commanding, ball-playing centre-back they lacked last term.

Juve host plucky Chievo in their opening game and all eyes will be on Brazilian playmaker Diego to see what kind of an impact he will have on the team since his arrival from Werder Bremen.

Roma begin with a trip to Genoa, who finished above them in fifth in May, and it will be interesting to see if last season was merely a blip for the capital based team or whether they really have dropped a level since taking the championship race to the final match of the 2007/08 season. — AFP

EUROPEAN ACTION THIS WEEKEND

FRENCH DIV 1

TODAY: Le Mans vs Nancy, Montpellier vs Sochaux, Monaco vs Lorient, Auxerre vs Lyon, Valenciennes vs Paris Saint Germain, St Etienne vs Boulogne, Rennes vs Marseille.

TOMORROW: Grenoble vs Lens, Bordeaux vs Nice, Lille vs Toulouse.

GERMAN DIV 1

TODAY: Borussia Dortmund vs VfB Stuttgart, Cologne vs Eintracht Frankfurt, Freiburg vs Bayer Leverkusen, Mainz 05 vs Bayern Munich, Nuremberg vs Hanover 96.

TOMORROW: VfL Bochum vs Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg vs Hamburg, Werder Bremen vs Borussia Moenchengladbach.

ITALIAN DIV 1

TODAY: Bologna vs Fiorentina, Siena vs AC Milan.

TOMORROW: Catania vs Sampdoria, Genoa vs AS Roma, Inter Milan vs Bari, Juventus vs Chievo, Livorno vs Cagliari, Palermo vs Napoli, Udinese vs Parma.

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE TODAY: Falkirk vs Hibernian, Celtic vs St Johnstone, Hamilton vs Aberdeen, Motherwell vs Kilmarnock, St Mirren vs Dundee United.

TOMORROW: Hearts vs Rangers. SPANISH SUPER CUP

TOMORROW: Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao (second leg; Barca lead 2-1)

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