MILAN - Stefano Pioli spoke to the press ahead of Bologna-Milan tomorrow evening:"We want to get on the pitch with attention levels as haigh as possible. We wnat pressure, intensity, running, concentration and to help the forward line more than we did in Verona. A team like Milan has a lot of solutions, their midfielder get forward with good timing and we'll have to concede less space than ever and not let them get themsleves into our area." 

MILAN - Here's the first photo of Milan's latest signing with the club's colors.

MILAN - Here's some of what Nigel De Jong had to say to the Milan Channel:"For me, Milan has always been a really big club, the most decorated in the world. Dutch players have always have a big impact here and I'll be giving 100% for this team".

MILANELLO – Here’s what Massimiliano Allegri had to say in today’s press conference ahead of Bologna-Milan:
“With the Cassano-Pazzini swap, we have another out and out forward apart from Pato. We needed to improve the team’s technical abilities and Bojan can even play as a centre forward. He’s not that physically strong but given the characteristics of our midfield and their ability to get forward I don’t think I’ll have to revolutionize much. The team’s philosophy of the past few years won’t change. We’ll try not to have single reference points. Ibrahimovic used to help the midfield a lot. To win games, you also need big players like he is, but it’s not that every squad has those champions. Obviously he was a player who made a lot of goals for other players as well. If I didn’t have the necessary enthusiasm, I would have left. I know that when a team is dismantled, you have to start from scratch with players of different qualities and characteristics as well as a squad that’s much younger. These are players that have improve through getting results and putting to one side what the team was until last May. We didn’t deserve to lose against Sampdoria, but we paid for dropping our attention levels. The team played badly but we conceded on the only shot that they took. Then we pushed forward and hit the post twice, but we can’t get demoralized. We need results but that shouldn’t take away the serenity of the group. I have the upmost faith and esteem for this side”.“This team is playing for the top three spots and as an absolute minimum, Champions League qualification, after that we’ll see where we can get to. This pessimism is never something that I like. We’ll play first and then we’ll see. If we’re good and we get better then we win. After that if our adversaries are stronger, then that means we’re not good enough, but it’s the pitch that will show that. I think our market moves are finished as I have enough full backs. Anything can happen between now and 19.00 but I don’t think there’ll be any big news. Results will help us gain trust. With the players I have now, I have the chance to make various changes in the games that we’ll be in. We have the players to play a back three, but more than the formation, what counts is the willingness of the players and luckily, I have lots of that. De Jong will come with us and he’ll be on the bench and he’ll play if need be. The situation with Van Bommel when he arrived was different because we were really counting heads then. Pazzini and El Shaarawy will start up front with Boateng behind. He’s improving his fitness, but obviously with different forwards, he’ll have to adapt as well. Teams get better with time because the players get to know each other better. We have a lot of young players in this squad so I think it’s a balanced squad with important players and other young players who have to grow. Niang will stay with us all year. We have a much different group in the Champions League than last year. It looks easier but it’s actually more complicated as it’s much more balanced. The points will be more evenly distributed and we’ll need to start well. Malaga, Zenit and Anderlecht re teams that can make you suffer. We’ll need to be ready as there’s no easy team in our group.”“We’ll see in May how the hierarchy will change. Maybe we’ll even be on top but at the start of the season, the favourite is always the team that won the year before. We did well in transfers and I have to thank the President for that as despite the economic situation he had done a lot for this squad and Galliani did well to go and get the players. Winning isn’t easy. I think a process is underway with a team that won the title, then came second and got to the quarter finals of the Champions League. In the last two years, thanks to the squad given to me by this club, we’ve won a league title and a Super cup. I give the technical valuations for the players but in the market, there are many variables.”“It’s another ugly team that we play against tomorrow with a very good coach and with Diamnati they have a much improved player, both technically and in terms of character. They did well in the transfer window. We’ll need patience tomorrow, we’ll have to play well and I think the team will. Pioli is very good tactically. He’s lost important players in Di Vaio and Ramirez and he won’t have Perez or Portanova. They’ll play an important game like they did last season, but all the smaller teams when they play against Milan are very competitive and organized. Niang is a boy of 17 years of age, he has qualities and he has to improve. There’s no need to put pressure on him as there’s no need to put pressure on El Shaarawy and Di Sciglio. Bojan has already played a lot with Barcelona and has a different level of experience compared to El Shaarawy, Di Sciglio and Acerbi who played 15 games last season with Chievo and could well play tomorrow.”

The team will meet up on 3 September in Roma's Mancini Park Hotel and leave for Gineva in the afternoon. Here's the squad: 
Goalkeepers: Emilio Audero (Juventus), Andrea Zaccagno (Padova);
Defenders: Francesco Bordi (Roma), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Ivan De Santis (Milan), Filippo Ghizzardi (Parma), Davide Masiero (Milan), Giorgio Piacentini (Albinoleffe), Andrea Punzi (Palermo);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Cagliari), Tommaso Fantacci (Empoli), Gianfilippo Felicioli (Milan), Simone Minelli (Fiorentina), Filippo Romagna (Juventus), Demetrio Scopelliti (Reggina), Andrea Stocco (Juventus), Claudio Zappa (Albinoleffe);
Forwards: Federico Bonazzoli (Inter), Luca Clemenza (Juventus), Valerio Trani (Roma), Tiziano Tulissi (Atalanta).
 

MILANELLO – Milan have finished training for the last time ahead of Bologna-Milan at 20.45 on Saturday evening at the Dell’Ara stadium in the city.After a tactical meeting, the Rossoneri warmed up followed by some calisthenics for the limbs and a stretching session.The team continued training with some work on ball possession as well as ironing out the tactics that the team will use against Pioli’s team tomorrow evening.Training ended with an 11-a-side practice match with goalkeepers.Ambrosini and Mexes trained with the main group as did Niang and Bojan. Ignazio Abate trained alone.At the end of the session, Massimiliano Allegri read out the list of the 23 players called up for tomorrow’s match:
32.Abbiati, 1.Amelia, 59.Gabriel, 13.Acerbi, 77.Antonini, 25.Bonera, 2.De Sciglio, 15.Mesbah, 76.Yepes, 17.Zapata, 23.Ambrosini, 10.Boateng, 21.Constant, 34.De Jong, 28.Emanuelson, 16.Flamini, 18.Montolivo, 8.Nocerino, 12.Traorè, 22.Bojan, 92.El Shaarawy, 19.Niang, 11.Pazzini.

MILANELLO - Here are the 23 players called up by Massimiliano Allegri for the game against Bologna:32.Abbiati, 1.Amelia, 59.Gabriel, 13.Acerbi, 77.Antonini, 25.Bonera, 2.De Sciglio, 15.Mesbah, 76.Yepes, 17.Zapata, 23.Ambrosini, 10.Boateng, 21.Constant, 34.De Jong, 28.Emanuelson, 16.Flamini, 18.Montolivo, 8.Nocerino, 12.Traorè, 22.Bojan, 92.El Shaarawy, 19.Niang, 11.Pazzini

A. C. Milan wishes to announce the signing of Nigel De Jong from Manchester City. The player has signed a contract which expires on 30 June 2015.

A.C. Milan wishes to communicates that the club has bought Johad Ferretti from and sold Antonio Donnarumma to Genoa C.F.C.

MILAN - Here's what Pippo Inzaghi had to say about Milan's new signing: "De Jong was on the other side of that legendary 3-2 and in other Champions League matches between Milan and Ajax. He'll be very useful, I'm happy he's here."

MILAN - Bologna who play host to Milan on Saturday evening, have announced the arrival of midfielder Michele Pazienza.The team trained last night at the stadium. Radakovic rejoined the main group while Natali trained apart. Riverola and Krhin both underwent physiotherapy.

MILAN- After a dramatic summer transfer window with various ups and downs, Nigel De Jong now makes some sense of the club’s transfer strategy. With the midfielder, fresh from winning the Premier League title in England and not yet 28 years old, Milan is all set to play ball and to challenge once again for the title.An important sign for the team, the fans and all observers was the operation finally brought to a close by the club. The arrival of De Jong gives a precise profile to the team’s engine room, the lungs of the side: the midfield.Ahead of Milan Champions League commitments as well as Serie A and Tim cup matches, Milan now look the part. Young, compact and determined are the words that best describe this squad.With De Jong, Montolivio and Constant in the middle, Pazzini, Bojan, and Niang up front as well as Acerbi and Zapata at the back, not forgetting Gabriel between the posts, the Rossoneri look to have done their transfer business well over the summer.Nigel De Jong was born on 30 November 1984 and played against Milan twice with Ajax in the Champions League of 2002/2003 as well as during the 2003/2004 campaign as one of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s team mates. Nigel went on to play for Hamburg and Manchester City and so far has 6 titles to his name; three from Ajax and as many from Manchester City: 1 Dutch League title, 1 Cup win and 1 Dutch Super cup as well as 1 Premier League title, 1 FA Cup and the Community Shield with the reigning English champions. He arrives in Milan with a league winner’s medal after making 21 appearances for City in the last campaign. In total, he has 344 appearances in his career to date with 21 goals.

MILAN - Nigel De Jong is undergoing his medical before signing the contratc that will tie him to the club.If the player is ready to play tomorrow against Bologna, it would bring back shades of Mark Van Bommel who arrived in the city on 25 January and was on the pitch against Sampdoria in Genoa the day after in the Italian cup.

MILAN - The signing of Nigel De Jong has given a lift to the Rossoneri faithful and the club have sent numerous faxes and emails to both the Milan Channel and the club's wesite.Milan's on the move and so are the fans!

MILAN - Adriano Galliani spoke to the press last night:"Barring any big name last minute arrivals, De Jong is the biggest foreign import into Italy in this transfer window. Talk of third place is no longer acceptable and it's right that Allegri knows this. Now we need to play to win".

MILAN - Nigel De Jong arrived in Milan this evening and was seen at "Giannino's" having dinner with Adriano Galliani and Massimiliano Allegri.

MILAN - Here are Mialn's dates for the group stages of the Champions League Tuesday 18 September Milan-AnderlechtWednesday 3 October Zenit St Petersburg-MilanWednesday 24 October Malaga-MilanTuesday 6 November Milan-MalagaWednesday 21 November Anderlecht-MilanTuesday 4 December Milan- Zenit St Petersburg
 

MILAN - Here's what Umberto Gandini, Milan's sprting director had to say after the Champions League draw:"Adriano Galliani is outstanding and I'm confident he'll be able to improve the team by making miracles. There were moments during the draw when we were close to facing tough obstacles, but we're in a balanced group. Spalletti will be the toughest adversary, Malaga is the fourth team in Spain. We'll have to be careful not to underestimate them. It's a stuation that could help the team grow. We'll need the right attitude. This is a different Milan side, but we're still Milan."

MILAN - Here's the complete draw for this season's Champions League draw group stage:
Group A: Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Paris St Germain, Dinamo Zagreb
Group B: Arsenal, Schalke, Olympiakos, Montpellier
Group C: AC Milan, Zenit St Petersburg, Anderlecht, Malaga
Group D: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund
Group E: Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, FC Nordsjaelland
Group F: Bayern Munich, Valencia, Lille, BATE Borisov
Group G: Barcelona, Benfica, Spartak Moscow, Celtic
Group H: Manchester United, Braga, Galatasaray, CFR Cluj

MILAN - Fabio Cannavaro has drawn Malaga as the fourth team in Group C of this season's Chmapions League. There are no precendents between the Spanish side and the Rossoneri.