The Resurrection of the Rossoneri

To the surprise of fans across Italy, A.C. Milan have appointed 43-year-old Antonio Conte as their new manager following his departure from Serie A champions Juventus. Conte, whom left Juventus by mutual consent, has signed a three-year deal at the Rossoneri and will replace Clarence Seedorf after he left the club earlier this summer.

"It's a great pleasure to announce Antonio as our new manager," said club owner Silvio Berlusconi to the baying media. "I hope that he will guarantee success at Milan for many years to come. Our rivals Juventus made a big mistake by letting Conte slip through their fingers and we have now benefitted greatly. A 19th scudetto will soon be ours."

Conte's managerial career didn't begin well as he was fired from his first managerial role at Arezzo before leaving Bari by mutual consent. At his next club, Atalanta, Antonio Conte was forced to resign by the clubs ultras after a series of confrontations during a 2-0 loss to Napoli. In May of 2011, Juventus Director Giuseppe Marotta appointed the Italian manager with the intention of returning the club to the pinnacle of European football.

Despite winning three consecutive Serie A titles, Conte failed to help Juventus progress on the European stage. In the 2012-2013 season, Juventus were beaten 4-0 on aggregate by eventual winners Bayern Munich in the Quarter Final. As Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez arrived to help their European efforts, Juventus were disappointingly knocked out of the Champions League at the Group Stages before exiting the Europa League to Benfica.

"After enjoying three successful years at Juventus, I have now decided to challenge myself here at Milan," said Conte at his unveiling. "I've inherited a squad which needs work and that's what we'll be doing this summer. We've already earmarked a number of targets which we hope we can bring to the club. I will do everything in my power to bring a 19th scudetto to this great club."

good luck!

2014-07-29 00:15#186990 fzemdegs : good luck!

Thank you! I've been a member for a while but it's pretty much the first time I've contributed to the forum - hopefully it can be a success!

Following his unveiling at A.C. Milan last week, Antonio Conte has made his first ventures into the transfer market with the arrival of three players. Following the arrivals, five first-team players were shown the exit due to their poor performance last season which saw the club finish in a disappointing 8th position.

German goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler is the first arrival at the San Siro as he joined from Bundesliga side Hannover for a reported fee of €6.5 million. The 6'2" stopper played four seasons at Hannover, making just shy of 100 appearances, following his free transfer from Manchester United. It is rumoured that upon appointment, Conte was angered by the poor standard of goalkeepers at the club. Experienced Italian Christian Abbiati has been deemed adequate enough for a substitute place, whilst Zieler will fit straight into the first-team.

Torino striker Alessio Cerci moved to the Rossoneri for a fee of €8.8 million. The 26-year-old striker, whom has 5 Italy caps, enjoyed a successful season last year for Torino - scoring 13 goals in 36 games from out wide. Cerci began his career at Milan's competitive rivals, AS Roma, before moving to Brescia, Pisa and Atalanta on loan. Fiorentina eventually snapped the forward up before he moved to Torino.

22-year-old wing-back Gabriel Silva is the third signing under Conte's leadership as he joins from fellow Serie A side Udinese. The fee agreed for Silva is reported to be around €4.7 million as he is expected to fit straight into the first-team. Kevin Constant, the clubs former first choice left-back, is expected to be consigned to the substitutes bench whilst Didac Vila is in negotiations with Spanish side Deportivo.

Experienced Italian striker Giampaolo Pazzini was the first to leave A.C. Milan after he was immediately placed on the transfer market following Conte's arrival. English side Tottenham Hotspur snapped up the 29-year-old for a deal reported to be worth around €12 million. Pazzini scored 14 goals in 30 games for the Rossoneri last season after joining from city rivals Inter, although Conte was reportedly unimpressed with the strikers work ethic.

French champions Paris Saint-Germain then splashed the cash on Milan captain Riccardo Montolivo. Antonio Conte was hoping to keep the Italian midfielder at the club - before deciding the lump sum of €26 million was too much to decline. Montolivo joined Milan two years ago on a free transfer and the profit made from the midfielder, whom has 51 Italy caps, will surely be regarded as a coup.

Fellow big spending French side AS Monaco then signed tough-tackling midfielder Nigel de Jong for €8 million as Conte believed the 28-year-old Dutchman wouldn't fit into his style of football. The maraduering midfielder almost doubled his weekly wage by joining Monaco as he now earns a staggering €91,000 per week.

Sulley Muntari and Phillippe Mexes then joined Lille and Southampton respectively for a combined fee of €7 million. Manager Antonio Conte apparently told the Milan board that midfielder Muntari was nowhere near the standard he wanted at the club, whilst he was also astounded at Mexes' weekly wage - reported to be around €110,000 per week. Neither of the pair were in Conte's first-team plans despite their involvement last season.

Following the departure of several first-team members, Italian manager Antonio Conte is now scouring the market to pinpoint potential signings. It's rumoured that Thomas Vermaelen, Marc Barta and Shinji Kagawa are all in initial talks with the Rossoneri.

Good start buddy, best of luck with the story and save!

2014-07-29 11:16#187048 pompeyblue : Good start buddy, best of luck with the story and save!

Thank you again for the advice and help!

Great start mate. Will definitely be following. Look forward to more. : )

Following the arrival of three players last week, new manager Antonio Conte has added a further three signings to his first-team squad. This second trio of signings sees Conte's spend this summer increase to a staggering €58.5 million. Despite the huge outlay, Conte has recouped almost €55 million with the departure of a further two players.

Mexican defender Hector Moreno is the fourth player to join the ranks of the Rossoneri this summer after he left Spanish team Espanyol. Milan manager Antonio Conte is said to have been impressed by Moreno's natural ability on the ball as well as his work rate. Moreno, whom cost Milan €10 million, has 31 caps for his national team and will hope to earn his place in the first-team with a number of friendly games scheduled.

Upon his appointment as Milan manager, Antonio Conte immediately pinpointed the need to sign a creative midfielder ahead of the Serie A season. Initial talks with Japanese international Shinji Kagawa stalled due to Manchester United's excessive asking price which led to Conte and his staff searching elsewhere. A strong interest in Clement Grenier quickly led to Milan agreeing a €9.5 million fee with Olympique Lyon as well as personal terms with the French international. After progressing through the Lyon youth teams, impressing at all age groups, Grenier has signed a three-year deal at the San Siro.

Spanish giants Barcelona sparked interest across Europe when they declared defender Marc Bartra up for sale. Arsenal, Manchester City and Juventus all had bids accepted for the 22-year-old before Conte matched their offer to Barcelona of €19 million. Personal terms were quickly agreed with Bartra, a deal reported to be around €70,000 per week, whom is yet to make his full international debut.

"At this point we have made six very good signings," said Milan manager Conte. "We've not only added quality to the team but also depth. The financial outlay this summer has been huge but we've almost broken even and that was important to keep the club financially stable. We have six pre-season friendlies scheduled for the forthcoming month and a half which we will use to gel our new players. The new Serie A season will be an exciting one for all Milanista's."

AndySams10: Thanks buddy, I'm eager to get into the new season.

Really fantastic start to this story, really enjoying this. Nice twist with Conte coming to Milan, and some great signings. Grenier is my favorite, I hope he does well for you!

Some very good signings mate, very interested to see how they do in the new Milan line up! Keep up the good work.

Great signings mate!

Neal: Thank you! I'm a big fan of Conte and thought there was no better way to get back at the Juve board than join Milan

AndySams10: Thanks buddy, I'm pleased with the progression made in the transfer market which will hopefully enable us to challenge at the top.

AAN: Thank you!

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A.C. Milan 3-1 Benfica (Friendly)
Essien (x2), Honda
Essien

Club Brugge 0-2 A.C. Milan (Friendly)
Robinho, Moreno
Robinho

Wolfsburg 1-1 A.C. Milan (Friendly)
Robinho
De Bruyne

Crystal Palace 1-3 A.C. Milan (Friendly)
Honda, Niang, Balotelli
Honda

A.C. Milan 1-2 Juventus (Friendly)
Balotelli
Marchisio

Leganes 0-6 A.C. Milan (Friendly)
Niang, Constant, Saponara, Balotelli, Cerci (x2)
Balotelli

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Antonio Conte's reign as A.C. Milan manager got off to a mixed start in pre-season as the Rossoneri recorded 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. German side Wolfsburg proved to be, perhaps unexpectedly, the toughest opposition for Milan in all of their pre-season friendlies.

The Rossoneri began their pre-season with the visit of Portuguese champions Benfica. A maraudering midfield display from Michael Essien as well as a spot of creativity from Japanese international Keisuke Honda helped the home side comfortably beat their opponents whom, disappointingly, proved to be an easy test. Club Brugge were swept aside in a fairly routine encounter as a Milan side featuring several reserves efficiently controlled the game from start to end.

A trip to the Volkswagen Arena to face Wolfsburg was next for Conte and his men. A dominant display from Wolfsburg wasn't enough to earn all three points for the German side due to an 89th minute Robinho equaliser. Shortly after the draw, Conte appeared furious at his teams performance and didn't hold back in a short interview with Italian media.

"Today we have been atrocious. Wolfsburg undeniably are a great team but we should not allow them to walk all over us like this again. Internationally experienced players went missing for us today and that shouldn't be happening, even in friendly games. Maybe some of the players in my team need awakening but we can not play like this all season or we will be in trouble."

Conte and his staff had a week to prepare his team for their next game in England at Crystal Palace. Perhaps tellingly, three changes were made to the starting eleven from the Wolfsburg group as Adil Rami, Mario Balotelli and Alessio Cerci were excluded and replaced by Alex, Jeremy Menez and Riccardo Saponara. A much improved display from the Rossoneri was personified when Balotelli appeared at half-time from the bench and scored a goal, adding to earlier strikes by Niang and Honda.

Milan then travelled home and played host to Conte's former team and Serie A champions Juventus in an annual friendly. An impressive attendance for a pre-season friendly turned up as 46,667 fans enjoyed an exciting end-to-end game. An excellent Mario Balotelli strike wasn't enough to prevent the loss in an even game in which Milan enjoyed the majority of possession whilst Juve had one more shot than their hosts.

In the final friendly scheduled of the pre-season, Milan travelled to the outskirts of Madrid to face Leganes. A route win was sealed by five different goalscorers - with improving Alessio Cerci getting himself on the score sheet twice.

Really like the way you've set out the matches and then have a brief report on each game. Top work mate. Keep it going.