Storm clouds rose at the San Siro in May as both Milan teams were beaten to the Serie A trophy by Juventus. Milan finished 2nd, whereas Inter has a horrible season, finishing 6th and they would have to Qualify for the Europa League. Up until the 13th week of the season, they were 16th in the League. Three managerial changes later, they revived their season to gain a spot in Europe, if only the lesser of the two competitions.
However, the end of the season came and neither club was happy. Both squads were ageing and Milan Club President Silvil Berlusconi wanted change. Despite finishing 2nd, Inter had beaten Milan twice in Serie A in 2012 and their season relied largely on the goalscoring form of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
So, change is considered as a priority for both clubs. For Milan, the old guard of Gattuso and Seedorf were the first to go, with Gattuso signing for FC Sion of Switzerland and Seedorf moving to Brazil with Botafogo. This was followed by Alessandro Nesta, Gianluca Zambrotta, Filippo Inzaghi, Massimo Oddo, Flavio Roma and Mark van Bommel who will move back to Holland with PSV Eindhoven.
In addition to this, a trimming of the squad was carried out, with fringe players being let go. Maxi Lopez's loan deal from Catania came to an end and youngster Dominic Adiyiah moved to Arsenal Kyiv.
Mathieu Flamini was told that he would be able to leave, however, it now appears as if the former Arsenal man will stay for atleast another season.
The situation of Milan was summarised by Adriano Galliani's unwillingness to pay a large sum of money for Alberto Aquilani, instead looking for another loan deal, and even requesting that Liverpool release him from his contract so that Aquilani was available for free.
With so many players leaving, they had to bring some in, and they did immediately. Riccardo Montolivo has been their most notable signing. The midfielder, who has had a fantastic Euro 2012, was signed from Fiorentina on a free transfer. Aswell as this, Bakaye Traore arrived from Nancy and Sulley Muntari was signed on a permanent deal, both for free.
Players continue to arrive, Kevin Constant (Genoa) and Francesco Acerbi (Chievo) also arrived recently with Constant on loan. The actual quality of these replacements can be argued, Montolivo is a good player, evidenced by his Euro 2012. But the rest will not cause any fear for an opposition, and after last season, that is what they need.
However, current squad members continue to be linked with moves away. Alexandre Pato was virtually non-existent last year, mainly through injury. He has since been linked with a move away from the club, possibly to big spending PSG. Aswell as Pato, Thiago Silva had previously stalled over new contract talks, demanding higher wages, but then, in came the predatory PSG and snapped him up for an astounding 42million euros. This makes the Brazilian the most expensive defender of all time. In addition to this, Silva look like he will be park of a double transfer with PSG also expected to take star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic away from the Rossoneri. This will be a huge blow to them.
Even Robinho, the Brazilian forward, has been rumoured to be moving away. Last season was not a good one for him and he could make way for another signing. These activities are causing murmurs of unrest among the Rossoneri. This unrest could be categorised by the supposed reduction of Muntari's wages after he suffered an injury playing beach football on holiday. He will be out of action for a portion of the new season, this lead Galliani into rage and he has reportedly told Muntari that he will have his wages decreased by a third!
As you can see, an entire team can be made from the players that have left Milan:
Roma, Oddo, T.Silva, Nesta, Zambrotta, Gattuso, Seedorf, Van Bommel, Aquilani, Inzaghi, Ibrahimovic
Milan's Possible starting XI 2012/13 (with current squad)
Gabriel/Abbiati/Amelia, Vila/Antonini, Acerbi/Yepes, Mexes/Bonera, Abate/De Sciglio, Ambrosini/Strasser/Traore, Montolivo/Emanuelson, Nocerino/Muntari, Boateng/Constant, Robinho/El Shaarawy, Pato/Cassano
At Inter, wholesale changes are also in the offing. Old heads such as Lucio and Ivan Cordoba are already history, with the former on his way to rivals Juventus. Diego Forlan is off to Internacional (Brazil) and the signing of Samir Handanovic from Udinese will be likely to pave the way for the exit of Julio Cesar. In addition to these losses, Sulley Muntari made his loan move to AC Milan permanent, as did Goran Pandev to Napoli and Mauro Zarate returned to Lazio after a disaster or a campaign.
In terms of signings, Rodrigo Palacio (Genoa) and Fredy Guarin (Porto) are two solid acquisitions, as is Matias Silvestre from Palermo. However, surely if they are to challenge again this year, they will need much more. Sneijder is ageing, as is Cambiasso and the youngsters coming through arent good enough just yet.
Rumours are abounding all over Europe of players that are supposedly targets for both clubs. The silly season couldn't be a more apt name for these two clubs. Murmurs of AC Milan being interested in Andy Carroll and Robin Van Persie, and Inter Milan wanting Demba Ba have been just a few of those seen so far.
What is certain is that if the two San Siro outfits are to chalenge Juventus this year, they will need to up their game. The 'Old Lady' have strengthened yet again, making quality signings all over the park. Already, they have secured the services of the likes of Giovinco, Caceres, Isla, Asamoah and Lucio, and are also being linked with Van Persie.
Our predictions for this Serie A season therefore, are simple. Juventus will be very tough to beat, and so are our favourites to retain their title. AC Milan will be the biggest challengers, they will recognise their current squad is not strong enough and sign one or two big names. Udinese have lost players and Napoli's three prized assets are being targeted by most of Europe! This means AC Milan should have a clear run to 2nd place. Internazionale may struggle, their old heads are not getting younger and Sneijder doesn't seem to have the same form as he did a couple of years ago. They will battle for the Champions League place but will fail to achieve it.
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