The reasons behind Milan's downfall

With only 11 games remaining till the end of the 2007/08 Serie A campaign, mighty Milan are still struggling hard to reach their objective - finishing among the top four and a place in the Champions League next season.

These are indeed difficult days for the Rossoneri.

Resounding triumphs in the European Supercup and the Club World Cup earlier in the season are not enough to justify their Last 16 exit from the Champions League, a similar premature elimination from the Coppa Italia at the hands of unfancied Catania, and their complete non-participation in the race for the Serie A title.

So, what went wrong for them this season?

Only last May Paolo Maldini was lifting Milan's seventh European Cup in the club's glorious history.

That triumph in Athens came at the end of a difficult year for Milan. At no stage were they involved in the domestic championship race. Carlo Ancelotti's position was in jeopardy but the club bosses were backing him all the way.

Eventually, Milan went all the way and won the European Cup for the first time since 2003 mainly thanks to the fact that they had peaked at the right time - April-May.

Once Milan made sure of finishing among the top four in the Serie A, they had nothing else to play for but the Champions League. That recipe may have worked wonders but the same cannot be said of the current season as Milan struggled to win games, particularly on home ground.

Signing of new players in both transfer windows were very scarce and left little impact on the side. With the arrivals of up-and-coming Brazilian Alexandre Pato and evergreen midfield dynamo Emerson, Milan failed to address their principal problems.

These two signings were simply not enough to transform the team into a force to reckon with in Europe and also in the Serie A. There were clear signs from the past two years or so that veteran goalkeeper Nelson Dida was past his best... he needed to be replaced. But Milan showed faith in the Brazilian keeper even though he kept letting them down, especially in key matches.

In defence, there are no replacements for Alessandro Nesta and Kakha Kaladze. The fact that 39-year-old Maldini has been Milan's best defender in recent outings says it all.

Marcos Cafu, Claudio Serginho, Dario Simic and Giuseppe Favalli need to be replaced. They are all well over 30 years of age and relying on experience to claim their place in the side. Daniele Bonera and injury-prone Marek Jankulovski are valuable additions to an otherwise impoverished department.

The same also applies, perhaps to a lesser extent, to the other two sectors on the field of play.

The last time Milan were Italy champions was in 2004. Since then, they misfired badly at home mainly because Ancelotti cannot rely on reserves of strength.

In recent years, Milan went on to build a reputation of their own for being 'cup specialists'.

That came about not only because Ancelotti's players are experienced and with a proven pedigree in Europe, but because Milan do not possess enough strength in depth to compete on more than one front.

Even more, the side lacks consistency to make a creditable challenge for the scudetto.

These past few years, it seemed that Milan saved their best for the Champions League only.

Their veterans rise to the occasion in Europe only. This has almost become a club policy lately. People like Adriano Galliani argue that European Cup success is more prestigious than winning a domestic league title.

Many reckon the way forward for Milan is not to revolutionise their squad and change coach.

But, in my opinion, if they could adequately replace the fringe (veteran) players with younger ones plus the signings of a quality goalkeeper, a reliable defender, an understudy for Riccardo Kaka and a top class striker, then Ancelotti would still be the ideal man to lead Milan back to glory at home and abroad.

Serie A statistics

0 wins for Empoli in nine home meetings with Milan as the latter returned to winning ways following their exit from the Champions League at the hands of Arsenal. Milan's first win, after back-to-back draws with Catania and Lazio, coincided with Empoli's third straight defeat. Lazio moved up the standings courtesy of a comfortable home win over Livorno. The Tuscany side have a truly dire record in the capital, where their only positive result in 16 Serie A visits came on February 14, 1943 (1-0).

1st win for Juventus, after a barren run of a goalless draw and two defeats, as the Bianconeri handed Genoa their fifth home upset of the term. Juve were always in the driving seat as they scored two early goals to consolidate third place. Their sixth away win of the season meant Genoa's second successive defeat (following the 1-2 reverse to Cagliari). For the record, this was Juve's 17th win in 41 visits to Genoa - the first since May 13, 1995 (4-0). Siena caused the biggest upset of the day as they went all the way to beat Fiorentina by a solitary Massimo Maccarone goal. This was Siena's second home win against Fiorentina in four meetings. Fiorentina's only away win against Siena came in October 26, 2005 (2-0). They have now slipped to four points behind Juve and just one ahead of fifth-placed Milan.

2nd ever win for Sampdoria in 14 visits to Parma as the Blucerchiati, shorn of Antonio Cassano among others, went on to record their fourth away win of the term. It was a must-win situation for both sides to keep their respective targets alive. Sampdoria were 2-0 up by the 59th minute. Igor Budan's consolation goal came perhaps too late for Parma to avoid a second successive home upset to Sampdoria. Relegation-threatened Catania were back on the right track after 10 matches without a win (three draws and seven defeats). Last weekend, they came from behind to beat bottom-of-the-class Cagliari 2-1. This was Catania's first home win over the Sardinians since November 28, 1965 (2-1).

3 penalties were taken last weekend. Zlatan Ibrahimovic ably transformed his eighth - Inter's ninth - of the season. Francesco Totti wrapped up Roma's 2-0 away win over Napoli by scoring from the spot. Of the 13 goals the Roma talisman scored so far, three came from penalties. Elsewhere, Parma schemer Andrea Gasbarroni hit the post from a penalty as his struggling side succumbed to a fourth home defeat of the season. Meanwhile, two players - Massimo Maccarone (Siena) and Maximiliano Pellegrino (Atalanta) - received their marching orders.

5th victory for Inter in eight home meetings with minnows Reggina. Last weekend, the Nerazzurri scored twice inside the first 34 minutes to preserve their six-point lead over nearest pursuers Roma following a 2-0 win. Reggina, without a win in their last three outings (one draw and two defeats) in the Serie A, have never emerged from the Giuseppe Meazza stadium with a win when playing against Inter. Meanwhile, Roma remained within sights of reigning champions and current league leaders Inter thanks a display full of attacking and flowing football. Prior to Sunday, the Giallorossi had last conquered Napoli's San Paolo stadium on February 22, 1998 (2-0). Napoli's most recent of 27 wins in 61 home meetings with Roma dates back to May 11, 1997 (1-0).

6 points less for Inter with respect to 12 months ago. By stark contrast, Sampdoria have improved their tally by six points. Back-to-form Siena have exactly the same points as last season at this same stage of the campaign.

8 positive results in a row (three wins and five draws) saw Torino moving out of the red zone. On Sunday, the Maroons were good enough to beat Atalanta at home for the first time since the second day of the 1993/94 season (2-1). This was Atalanta's third consecutive away defeat after setbacks to Lazio (0-3) and Udinese (0-2).

22 goals - equally shared between home and away teams - were scored on the 27th day. Foreigners contributed with 10 goals and there were 14 first-half goals. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 681. There were no fewer than four away wins last weekend. Palermo-Udinese was the only match that finished draw. Cagliari defender Michele Canini committed the only own goal of the day. Parma powerhouse striker Igor Budan was the only player who came on as a substitute and scored. Marco Borriello (Genoa) and David Trezeguet (Juventus) currently lead the scorers list with 16 goals each. They are closely followed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, of Inter, on the 15-goal mark.