Mixed feelings in Milan about Ronaldo's 'return'

As the 2005/06 season is fast approaching its end, the debate whether Inter should re-sign Ronaldo or not is consistently gathering momentum.

Never before has the Inter clan been so divided. Some believe that with the signing of Ronaldo, Adriano will finally have an ideal partner in attack whereas others still have to forgive the Brazilian forward for leaving the club in acrimony and join Real Madrid days after he lifted the 2002 World Cup.

A month ago, on the eve of Real Madrid's Champions League home match against Arsenal, Ronaldo made his intentions public that he is not happy in Madrid and as such, he relished a new lease of life elsewhere, possibly in Milan.

Speculation was already rife in January that Inter, shorn of striker Obafemi Martins, who at the time was on international duty with Nigeria in the African Nations Cup, could make a headline-grabbing move for Ronaldo. The deal never materialised but next summer it could be a completely different story.

Come July, the former PSV and Barcelona hit-man could end up in the centre of a controversy between city neighbours Inter and Milan as the latter have also shown interest in signing him from Real Madrid.

Although Director General Adriano Galliani acted fast to play down the rumour, there exists the possibility that Milan may sign Ronaldo especially if Inter rule out the move. Only time will tell.

But will Ronaldo be useful to either Inter or Milan? Will he command a first-team place? What sort of impact will he leave and how will the fans react to the transfer?

If these past two seasons are anything to go by, then one can safely say that Ronaldo is not the player he used to be. He is not as fast and sharp as he was while with Inter.

In his first season in Italy, 1997/98, Ronaldo used to win games for Inter single-handedly. His dribbling was irresistible. His goals came regularly... he used to make the difference. This is not the case today.

At Real, Ronaldo is a completely different player. He has added the kilos and became clumsier and slower on the ball. More often than not, his name is on the front pages of the Spanish newspapers for the wrong reasons. No wonder he has also lost his place in the team.

Besides, both Inter and Milan have a number of first-class strikers within their squads.

Take Inter for instance. Throughout the season, Adriano has performed below his usual standards.

Probably, he is reserving his best for June's World Cup finals. But if Adriano remains with Inter even for next season, then he will surely be coach Roberto Mancini's first option in attack. Apart from Adriano, Inter also have Julio Ricardo Cruz, Alvaro Recoba and Martins.

The same applies to Milan. Andriy Shevchenko is irreplaceable at the moment. Alongside the Ukrainian, coach Carlo Ancelotti may deploy either Alberto Gilardino or Filippo Inzaghi. Marcio Amoroso is Milan's fourth striker.

It follows, therefore, that from a purely technical point of view, it does not pay for Inter or Milan to sign Ronaldo because both have an abundance of top quality strikers in their ranks.

A great chunk of Inter supporters are completely against the return of Ronaldo. They argue that he should have never left especially after the club had honoured his contract in full for two whole seasons while he was out nursing injuries. With Ronaldo at his best, Inter only won a UEFA Cup in 1998.

For the majority of the Inter followers, Ronaldo is a traitor... imagine if he had to sign for Milan!

1st defeat for Ascoli after a seven-match unbeaten run as Marco Giampaolo's side conceded three second-half goals to suffer their first defeat against Fiorentina in almost 12 years. Ascoli could not have aspired for a brighter start as they took the lead on the stoke of half-time. But, after the change of ends, the Viola took only 10 minutes to equalise through Christian Brocchi. Ascoli resisted boldly. When a draw was the most likely result, substitutes Luca Toni and Gianpaolo Pazzini stole it for Fiorentina in the dying moments of the game. Following Sunday's results, Fiorentina remained fourth, one point above Roma but with a game in hand. Ascoli's only win in 17 league visits to the Artemio Franchi stadium dates back to March 1992 (2-1 in Serie A).

2 wins on the trot saw Palermo reviving their hopes to claim a UEFA Cup berth. On Sunday the southerners were Sampdoria's latest executors as they won 2-0 at the Luigi Ferraris stadium for the first time since September 2001 (2-1 in Serie B). For the Blucerchiati, whose most recent home draw with Palermo dates back to May 1981 (1-1 in Serie B), this was their fifth straight defeat. The feeling is that Walter Novellino's reign at Marassi is nearing its end. In a game marred by controversial referee decisions, Chievo edged Siena for the first time in over five years to go sixth, level on points with Livorno. This was Chievo's first win after three successive draws and a defeat.

4 victories from their last five outings have steered cash-strapped Parma out of troubled waters. On Sunday, they made a giant step towards confirming their status by beating Lecce. For the record, Lecce have not beaten Parma at home since 1991. Nedo Sonetti's Cagliari recorded an away victory against Treviso to go three points clear of the relegation zone. Cagliari's second successive away win coincided with Treviso's third straight defeat. Juventus maintained their assuring 10-point lead at the top as they trounced Livorno 3-1 away. Livorno are in a dark patch. All they have to show from their last five outings are two draws.

5 players - Comotto (Ascoli), Conti (Cagliari), Mesto (Reggina), Tudor and Paro (both Siena) - received marching orders. Moreover, Palermo's Giuseppe Papadopulo became the latest coach to be ordered off his bench. Four penalties were taken last weekend. David Suazo ably converted a late one to give Cagliari a vital away win against Treviso. Mirko Vucinic pulled one back for Lecce in their 1-2 home defeat vs Parma deep into stoppage time. Elsewhere, Nigerian Victor Obinna was on target for Chievo as he converted a fourth-minute penalty. Later on in the same game, Siena got back in business as substitute Paolo Foglio equalised from the spot. Treviso are the only top division side still to have a penalty in favour. Roma and Lecce benefited of the highest number of penalties - eight each. Juventus and Empoli, with only one penalty against, conceded the least number of penalties so far this season.

13 successive league games without a win have seen Udinese taking a nose-dive in the standings. On Monday, former team captain Nestor Sensini stepped down from his role as a stop-gap coach together with Loris Dominissini and instead veteran coach Giovanni Galeone was appointed. Galeone had led Udinese to their last promotion to Serie A in 1995. On Sunday, Udinese were no match for Milan who went on to conquer the Friuli stadium for the first time since September 16, 2001. Roma returned to winning ways, after a draw and a defeat, by beating strugglers Messina 2-1 at home. This was Roma's fourth win in five home league meetings with the southerners. Messina's only win in the capital dates back to 1965.

23 years had to pass for Empoli to return to winning ways against Reggina away as the Tuscany side hit twice after the break to cruise to their second straight win. Reggina and Empoli have shared the spoils only once - in 1989 (0-0 in Serie B) - in 10 league meetings in Reggio Calabria. Inter remained in the hunt for the runners-up spot thanks to a comfortable 3-1 home win against Lazio. The Nerazzurri are undefeated in their last five outings (three wins and two draws).

34 goals were scored on the 30th day: 15 coming from the hosts and the remaining 19 from the visitors, who managed no fewer than six wins. The foreigners scored half of the tally while there were only nine first-half goals. Three players - Trezeguet (Juventus), Shevchenko (Milan) and Recoba (Inter) - grabbed a brace each. Luca Toni came in as a second-half substitute and scored a vital goal against Ascoli. So far, the former Brescia and Palermo striker has scored 24 goals (two from penalties). He is closely followed by Frenchman Trezeguet on the 20-goal mark. Besides Toni, five other players, namely Pazzini (Fiorentina), Amauri, Malago (both Chievo), Foglio (Siena) and Pozzi (Empoli), came in as substitutes and found the net.