Here we go again. Another season is about to start and AC Milan fans could have yet another case of deja vu in the midfield with Lazio, Gattuso-Ambrosini-Seedorf. Stuff of the Champions 2002-2003, apart from Pirlo. And if Ambro does not start, there's Mark Van Bommel.

All big names, no doubt about it. But do not ask them to show their passport. It could create a little embarrassment. The "youngest" is Rino Gattuso, 33. Then there is Ambrosini and Van Bommel, 34. Clarence Seedorf is 35. No offense to these great champions, but is it not a rather old midfield?
For this reason Milan have looked for fresh faces on the market.  Aquilani and Nocerino arrived, 27 and 26 years old. But it seems that these great old players will still be the backbone of the team, ailments allowing.

You only need to take a look around Europe to understand how old-fashioned Milan’s strategy is. Observe the midfield. In Barcelona the only player over 30 is Xavi, who with the arrival of Fabregas and the pressure of the emerging Thiago Alcantara has no longer even secured a place. In Madrid, renovated by the arrival of Nuri Sahin, the old man is Xabi Alonso, 30 years in November. In Manchester United Ferguson has quietly shelved the old, putting young people like Anderson, Cleverly or Smalling. There is still the eternal Giggs, used intermittently, and in the final in London was sitting on the bench without saying a word. Can you see Allegri leaving out Gattuso and Seedorf in the final? In Bayern Monaco there is no one. The only exception is at Chelsea, which still relies on Lampard (33).