AC Milan Club Focus: Should the Rossoneri sign Kaka from Real Madrid?

Date: 8th August 2012 at 5:45pm
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‘The prodigal son returns!’ Expect this tagline to hit most of the dailies if Kaka’s proposed transfer from Real Madrid to AC Milan is completed this month. A prodigal son may return, but not for the first time.

Andriy Shevchenko had arrived in Milan in 2008 after his tumultuous stint at Chelsea. He made 18 appearances for Milan before he was shipped back to the English capital. During this term, Shevchenko failed to hit the back of the net, and departed a fallen figure, a distraught darling. Many expect a similar fate for Kaka.

I beg to differ though. Milan, in 2008 possessed a roster of attackers with phenomenal talent and ability. Shevchenko found his name inked beneath five star attackers. That explains why he started two games in the league. Ronaldinho, Kaka, Alex Pato, Marco Borriello and Pippo Inzaghi were well ahead in the queue and deservedly so.

Kaka, on the other hand, is unlikely to face similar competition at the club for a couple of reasons. He is a better player than Shevchenko was back in 2008. And, there isn’t a trequartista in the side capable of matching Kaka for quality. Milan’s best no.10 at the moment is, well, Kevin-Prince Boateng! Ok, he has his fans that adore him and believe he invented football. But simply put, he isn’t as incisive as a player playing behind the strikers should be. Kaka is a natural central-attacking-midfielder, and some may argue that syncing the midfield with the attack brings out the best in him.

Kaka’s personality oozes class beyond the grass. Sorry, that was corny, wasn’t it? What I intend to say is, his contribution will spill onto beyond the pitch duties too. His leadership, experience and persona are integral to a raw, young, fresh squad which recently saw the backs of a battalion of veterans. The team is severely inexperienced and is in desperate need of tutelage. Kaka brings knowledge of the club and may culturally amalgamate the new-found pieces, whilst also becoming a familiar face to the fans that are becoming disconnected with the club’s identity after the recent exodus.

Kaka’s arrival might urge Max Allegri to drop Boateng into a deeper role, perhaps that of a mezz’ala. Boateng is not a no.10, even if he chooses to wear that number on his back. His strength, stamina, drive and shot power puts him in the bracket of a ­box-to-box midfielder, which arguably is his best position.

A group of Stephan El Shaarawy supporters believe ‘The Pharaoh’ may see less of the ball if Kaka is signed. There is some truth to the argument, although I believe both these players are likely to play in different positions. Kaka may play behind a front two, unlike during the latter period of his Milan spell in which he played behind a prima punta. El Shaarawy is a second striker, and will face limited time on the pitch unless one of Antonio Cassano/Robinho is sold. Actually, Kaka’s transfer could take El Shaarawy’s game to the next level, given the young Italian forward’s fascination for Kaka’s style of play. He may receive first-hand education from the former Ballon d’Or winner, both on and off the pitch.

Popular belief suggests Kaka is glorified reserve at Real Madrid due to poor performances and fitness concerns. That is true, albeit partially. The Brazilian has netted a goal every three domestic games for Real, which is fairly impressive for a ‘reserve’. He is down the pecking order with Crisitano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil ahead of him. Not very easy to squeeze past them, I presume. I do admit, Kaka is no longer world-class. He has lost several yards of pace and his knee might annoy him for the remainder of his professional life. But, he is still a top player with few of comparable standards.

The project of trusting the youth is all nice and dandy, but is limited in its perspective. Merely signing youngsters won’t do. These youngsters must possess sufficient explosive potential to carry this gigantic club forward. A club either develops such talent or purchases it. Milan currently are not in a position to do either, because the former takes time and the latter is an expensive affair. The demand of European football every season will be satisfied by consistency of positive results, which only a bunch of top players can provide. Clearly, there are not very many options in the market for the price Silvio Berlusconi is willing to pay.

Kaka should not become part of the core, but aid in the process of building it. He would be a signing which papers the cracks, fixes the immediate problem of plugging the qualitative hole in the squad. There are couple of years left in those brittle legs of his. At a decent cost, his name in white, stickered over red and black jerseys may edge Milan past the finish line, while retaining the club’s lucrative commercial image.

Follow Rajath on Twitter: @rajathkumar and be sure to read his AC Milan blog

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3 responses to “AC Milan Club Focus: Should the Rossoneri sign Kaka from Real Madrid?”

  1. Ogo Sylla says:

    1. He won’t take that big a pay cut to return to Milan so it’ll still be an expensive transaction IMO

    2. I He’ll play half the season ’cause he’ll be injured most of the time, you wait & see

    3. his playing time relative to his big wages will make this a financial disaster. You don’t get rid of Ibra & Thiago to buy someone else on big wages when initial goals was to lower wage budget in 1st place

    4. At this stage of his career & with his fitness issues, bringing him back won’t take Milan deep in UCL & won’t win Milan the Scudetto either so what’s the point of taking the financial hit

    5. Last but not least, we sold Kaka in 1st place for a reason (-.-)

  2. Rajath Kumar says:

    All legit reasons Ogo, I suppose the other side of the coin. personally, I’d rather have Kaka in the squad than not have him at all.

  3. Rory Hanna says:

    If, from a financial perspective, the sale makes sense, I’m all for it. I think Rajath is right in saying that Kaka is no longer a world-class player but still a very good one. He would probably play well in Milan, but even if there is a chance of him flopping, right now Milan look set to perform worse than Juventus and Inter, and the Scudetto seems well out of reach. They need to take a gamble on someone who could possibly make a difference to salvage their season.

    In some ways the issue of finances is irrelevant for this debate. We know from experience that Galliani isn’t going to buy him if the coffers suffer greatly as a result.