The Hague: AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri could rest Brazilian star Ronaldinho for Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Ajax in Amsterdam.
Milan have started the group well with a 2-0 victory over Auxerre in their opener while Ajax lost by the same score away to Real Madrid.
“I’m thinking about changing something for (Tuesday’s) game,” said Allegri.
“Up until now, Ronaldinho has played a lot and if he doesn’t play I could also change the system.
“I’m a big fan of Ajax’s system of play, it’s a pleasure to watch this team playing now like they did in the past during which they made a difference and changed the mentality of European football.
“Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be my first away match in the Champions League and it’s against a big team so I’ll be a little emotional, at the beginning at least.”
One of the changes Allegri could make would be to bring Dutch veteran Clarence Seedorf into the team to play against his former employers.
That would mean dropping one of the forwards and playing the 34-year-old between attack and midfield.
Seedorf believes that his team is starting to gel despite a difficult beginning to the season which saw them win only two of their first five league games.
“We have many new players but we’re trying to build something important, the aim is to win,” he said.
“The Champions League is a tournament for great teams and both ourselves and Ajax are amongst those.
“We’ll both be trying to win tomorrow. I saw Ajax’s game in Madrid, they lost but watch out because they’re better than what they showed in that match in which, amongst others, they were missing (Luis) Suarez.
“We’re not afraid of Ajax but we respect them.”
Ajax coach Martin Jol believes his team will face the best striker in the world - Zlatan Ibrahimovic - but wants his team to avoid being star-struck, as he said they were against Real.
“In Madrid we were enjoying the experience of it all too much before the match, when it should be after the match, and we forgot to play football because of that,” he said.
“The lesson we learned is that you play against a lot of quality. AC Milan also have that quality.
“With players like Ronaldinho, Zlatan (Ibrahimovic), Robinho and Pato (who is injured and will miss thre game) you have to find a solution for that in defence.
“But up front, where we play at least five attacking players, we will also have to play the way we normally do at home.
“They usually play 4-3-3. Zlatan is the best striker in the world in my opinion, he has shown that already in almost every league.
“Robinho is unpredictable and can do something phenomenal and when it’s Ronaldinho’s day...
“So I think they are no weaker then Real Madrid. They have a new coach, their results are usually good, and when those are good, the goals often will follow. I think that Milan, potentially, are one of the best teams in Europe.”
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 09:25