By Kevin Koczwara

The Milan derby always looks to be competitive. Inter Milan and AC Milan are giants of the Italian football world (Serie A), but with AC’s recent financial struggles, the club has been forced to sell their star player and former world footballer of the year, Kaka. His replacement was sitting in the wings, or so they assumed, with Brazilian teammate Ronaldinho placed as Kaka’s successor, albeit he is older and not the player he once was.

While AC struggle with money Inter have made shrewd moves to make themselves better with less of a budget.

Jose Mourinho was the darling of England when coaching Chelsea to the Premier League title, but in Italy he is not as well liked. The Inter manager is not bashful in front of the press and lets his opinions known, but the former Porto and Chelsea manager always knows what he is saying, and seems to be one step ahead of the rest of world.

While Inter have some new faces to show off (most notably Samuel Eto’o), AC are trying to use what they have and make some splashes with young stars, and former world footballers.

The key for AC in the first match against Inter was going to be the play of Ronaldinho in the middle of the pitch. He needed to show the flair and creativity he had when he was the world footballer, the man in the Nike commercials, and leading Barcelona to Champions League glory. But he did not perform.

He looks slow, hampered by all the partying that comes with being famous. Inter know the struggles that AC is having with Ronaldinho, they had to deal with another Brazilian hot-shot, Adriano, and they shipped him back to his home country for some home cooking, and maybe some discipline. Eventually Inter terminated his contract.

This years derby kicked off with some new faces to Inter making a splash on the score sheet. Newly acquired Thiago Motta, from Genoa, scored first, opening up the game. Then, former Genoa teammate, Diego Militio scored 7 minutes later on a penalty which lead to the dismissal of Gattuso for AC. The Brazilian Motta and Argentine Militio were brought in to bolster Mourinho’s squad this season in the hope that Inter can move further in the Champions League, and keep the Serie A title in Milan for a third straight year.

After Gattusso’s dismissal AC just couldn’t keep up with Inter as they tried to fight off an embarrassing defeat with only 10 men. Maicon then scored to add a third. And the dagger came from Stankovic in the 67^th minute.

The embarrassing defeat shows a sign that this year will be a little more difficult for AC Milan as they try and dethrone Inter and keep pace with the ever-improving Napoli, Palermo, Juvetus and Fiorentina for a Champions League bid next year.

For AC to have great success this year they need a big year from the aging Pirlo and for Ronaldinho to find his past form and get fit for a long season. This is Ronaldinho’s time to shine and prove himself again. There is the added incentive that the World Cup is next year and maybe Ronaldinho can find his place back in the Brazil squad, but he needs to impress Dunga by playing top-flight football and staying in shape.

Hopefully the next meeting between these teams at San Siro is more closely contested.

Patrick Vieira To Play in US

Patrick Vieira hopes to continue his career after his contract at Inter runs up. Lets hope the reports are true and he wants to play in the US. (Courtesy flickr: segnaleorario)

Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Viera has stated that he would like to play in the USA after his contract in Milan runs out. There was interest in the midfielder from English clubs (like his former stomping ground in London, Arsenal). But with his age, international career status, and his lack of first team play in Europe unlikely in the future, Vieira is looking at all of his options.

The Sun in London is reporting this story. And if it is true, then it would be a great day for an MLS team. The former French captain, World Cup Winner and Arsenal captain would make great ways to paving the way for other top-names to the MLS. With Beckham here in his 30’s and now Viera that would mean more fans from over seas and more interest in the American game.

Thierry Henry is believed to also be interested in coming to America after his contract with Barcelona runs up. An influx of French players moving to the MLS is great for the MLS. Big names mean more people watch. The more people that watch, the more money the league and teams get. The more money the league and teams have means better quality players. The more global the league goes, the more influence it will have, and the more money it will have for teams to create youth academies to develop American talent.

Let’s just hope it is all true.

Note on Publishing:

Starting next week (September 7) The Soccer Guys will be published 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). Keep following us for all updates on Twitter (thesoccerguys) and our Facebook fan page.

Kevin Koczwara is a contributing writer and editor for The Soccer Guys. He can be reached at kkoczwar@gmail.com or fansoffutbol@gmail.com. Look out for his upcoming blog on pop-culture and all things news related in the near future.

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2. Champions League: Liverpool Done? AC Milan Miracle Turn Around?
3. Giants Stumble in Europe
4. Two Small Strikers with Injury Problems: Michael Owen and Taylor Twellman
5. The Headline Wrap-Up for Aug. 5