Leonardo keeping Milan in the reckoning

Inter are perched at the top position of the Serie A with the 2009-10 campaign almost at its half-way stage.

On January 27, Inter's advantage could be whittled to five points if by then, the gap between the two top teams remains unaltered and Milan win their game in hand against Fiorentina in Tuscany.

Even though Leonardo's new-look Milan are currently Inter's main challengers, doubts still exist over their ability to go all the way and dethrone their rivals at the end of the season.

The Rossoneri got their act together after a shaky start but life without veteran captain Paolo Maldini (retired), playmaker Riccardo Kaka (Real Madrid) and long-serving coach Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea) was always going to be difficult for them.

At the start of the season, Leonardo came under considerable pressure after back-to-back league draws with Bari (0-0) and Atalanta (1-1). After the seventh day, Milan were lying in a mid-table position, far behind Inter and Juventus.

Then, Milan came from behind to beat Roma at the San Siro and from that day Leonardo stuck to a new playing module irrespective of his opponents.

Milan embarked on a scorching run and only dropped two points from their next seven matches.

"During that velvet patch, Milan beat Real Madrid 3-2 to revive their Champions League hopes and eventual qualification.

Milan were now firing on all cylinders and went on to record 10 successive positive results (seven wins - five in a row - and three draws) before surprisingly going down to Palermo at home.

On that same day, Atalanta came from behind to salvage a home draw against Inter and that equaliser kept Milan in the hunt for the scudetto.

Milan owe their revival to four players mainly.

Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva have made the defence impregnable. Marco Borriello, who like Nesta was sidelined for most of last season, is playing a crucial role in attack and Ronaldinho is finally vindicating club president Silvio Berlusconi's conviction that he could resurrect his career at the San Siro.

Ronaldinho was a non-starter last season but since mid-October the Brazilian ace has rediscovered his best form and produced some superb performances for the team, displaying his whole catalogue of talents.

If he retains his current form, Ronaldinho could also earn a recall to the Brazil national team ahead of this year's World Cup finals in South Africa.

Success always comes at a cost, however. Veterans Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo and newly-appointed team captain Massimo Ambrosini have all been in fine form this season, leaving limited space to the likes of fellow midfielders Gennaro Gattuso and Mathieu Flamini.

So, it was only natural that someone of Gattuso's calibre would seriously consider quitting his team. But, a few weeks back he decided to sign an extension to his contract.

This was a wise decision. If Milan are to seriously challenge for the honours, Leonardo must count on reserves of quality. The club's strength-in-depth will inevitably come under scrutiny later on in the season, particularly if Milan oust Manchester United and qualify for the latter stages of the Champions League.

In this regard, David Beckham's second loan spell and the signing of Ghana striker Dominic Adiyah, the star of last year's U-20 World Cup in Egypt, should be seen as two valuable additions to an already-solid base.

On a different note, summer signing Klaas Jan Huntelaar still has to leave his mark at the San Siro but Milan will not be rushing into conclusions and dump the Dutchman to the first bidder that comes along as happened with Edgar Davids way back in 1998.

These past few years, Milan made a name for themselves by becoming a successful cup team with the 2003 and 2007 Champions League victories being their most recent achievements on the continent. In the meantime, the scudetto has been eluding the Rossoneri since 2004.

It won't be easy to wrest the league title from Inter's grasp this season. Jose Mourinho's side is strong in all departments.

But with the way Milan have been playing lately, everything seems to be possible. Everything hinges on Leonardo and his ability to revive Milan's fortunes. If he repeats the trick as he did with Ronaldinho, the Rossoneri could defy the odds and break Inter's dominance in the Serie A this season.