Who Needs Pato?

By: chris | February 11th, 2008

The hype machine in Milan has surgically attached itself to the nut sack of Alexandre Pato since last summer, and things have only become worse since he started finding the back of the goal with regularity. So flying under the radar has been another striking phenom, but is much less sexy because Silvio didn’t have to consider selling off Mediaset to pay for him. Alberto Paloschi is actually a 90’s baby, as opposed to Old Man Ale. Berto one upped the Brazilian this weekend by scoring on his first touch in Serie A, a whole 15 seconds after he’d entered the game. Eat it, Pato.

First game would have been nice. First strike would have been sensational. First touch? It’s the type of stuff legends are made from. It would have been even more magical were it his first professional game, but he’s played in two Coppa Italia games to break the ice. Of course he scored a goal in each, probably enough to give Carletto the confidence to insert him into the lineup of a tie game in the 63rd. Details, details, though. Kid’s now got 3 in 3 after turning 18 way back on January 4th. That’s studly, and a ratio Pato could only dream of.

Milan ended up winning 1-0, and I suppose there are 20,000 words to be written on an ancient Milan being carried by a couple of hormone-enrage, acne covered teenagers, but that’s for another day. At the moment, a Milan team which was struggling desperately to stay afloat on the domestic scene now finds itself 2 points from Fiorentina in 4th with a game still in hand, and a couple of gems in their arsenal.

And as you can see in the video, even Carletto was giddy:

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Category: Europe, Serie A

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Hana

Yeah, the assist and goal were both beastin'. Made my day =]

HAHA! Oh man. I've watched that goal a good 5-10 times between yesterday and today, and I NEVER noticed the crotch catch. And now I'm laughing hysterically. You guys are brilliant.
Dave

That crotch catch was a little strange... I don't know what was worse- the catch or how long he held him up in the air. (Although the longer he held him up there, the funnier it became to me!)
Safari

Can they take Gillardino off the tit and transfer him.. what a waste of bench!

Lol @ crotch catch!
mctalian

Bruno:
Good point.
That's why I said "...given all the help, including that which you received from referees."
Bruno

mctalian: Inter07/08: not to mention all the bogus PK's calls they've been given to help win/tie games that they didn't deserve any points. And the Cambiasso goal yesterday that was clearly offside.
wsc

I love that he scores, runs over to the sideline, and looks like he's just staring off into space... then BAM! He catches Brocchi by the crotch.
Matt

lol, this kid looks like Micheal Cera
Brian

Fantastic. Exciting times in football with all the great young talent coming along right now.

Although we should take a moment to admire that pass from Seedorf. How deft was that?
mctalian

Posted this elsewhere but thought some here would like to consider it. It’s in response to an Inter blog:

Wow. Pretty smug aren’t we, Robert? That’s fine, but I’d like to point out a few things Interistas will hear for years to come. Call them asteriks.

1. ****2005-06 scudetto: A. “It’s a courtroom title. You finished 15 points off the pace and didn’t win it on the pitch. It means nothing.” B. You’ll say, “We deserve it because we accumulated the most points without cheating.” C. Everyone else will say: “Whatever. Inter’s hands are stained somewhere along the line. You just didn’t get caught.”

2. ****2006-07 Scudetto: A. “This is a title on paper only. Juve were not in the league. Other sides, most importantly Milan, carried the burden of a points reduction.” B. You’ll say, “We finished 22 points ahead of second place Roma. Milan’s deduction was only 8 points and they were way, way further off the pace than that.” Everyone else will say: “The scandal cast a pall over Serie A and the level of play was diminished as a result. Teams reeling from point deductions and key personnel departures are not at their best. These off-the-pitch factors contributed as much to Inter’s title as on-the-field ones. Oh, and again, there was no Juve.”

3. ****2007-08 Scudetto: A. Yes, you’ll win it. And here you’ll say, “Ha. This one is legit. There was no points deductions and Juve was in the league.” B. Everyone else will say, “This title is rooted in an advantage gained as a result of the scandal. Inter became superior, at least partly, because of calciopoli. Juve and Milan lost top-shelf stars (Ibra, Canna; Sheva) and Inter added star-power as they rode the somewhat dubious wave of being Italy’s ‘clean team.’ These non-football factors created a perfect storm of conditions for Inter to become champs. It would be a real embarassment to you if you didn’t win given all that help, including that which you received from referees.”

Winning the Champions League might erase the 2007-08 asteriks. But I’d wager that Liverpool is going to find Inter out and the nerazzurri won’t make it to the quarters.

Finally, this Inter squad will go down as one of the most disliked and controversial teams in Serie A history and that’s saying a lot.