Milan are in dire straits as Leonardo mulls return home

With 12 points still up for grabs in the Serie A, Milan are almost certain to finish third behind title chasers Roma and Inter.

Following the upset to Sampdoria on Sunday, the Rossoneri are now trailing Roma by seven points and six adrift of city neighbours Inter.

Before the season got underway, the Milan hierarchy had established a modest top-three finish as a chief target... indeed no big feat for a club of Milan's stature even though they had parted with coach Carlo Ancelotti and lost the services of captain Paolo Maldini and playmaker Riccardo Kaka.

But Milan's 'mission' became all the more complex when the club opted not to invest big money on new signings. Brazilian defender Thiago Silva and Dutch import Klaas Jan Huntelaar, together with the return of a fully-fit Alessandro Nesta, were Milan's main arrivals in the close season.

Veterans Flavio Roma and Massimo Oddo were other additions of note, albeit it was pretty evident that they were too seasoned to be considered genuine reinforcements to an already ageing squad.

Oguchialu Onyewu, Ignazio Abate, Gianmarco Zigoni, Rodney Strasser and Dominic Adiyiah, on the other hand, were too young and untried at top level football to help Milan bridge the gap with the other title contenders.

On top of that, Leonardo - a former club player but with no coaching experience - was named as Ancelotti's successor.

The arrivals of midfielders Amantino Mancini and David Beckham, also veteran in age, in the January transfer window did little to augment Milan's quest for their first scudetto in six years as a cruel run of injury did the rest to hinder Leonardo's works.

It may sound awkward for some, but in my opinion the Brazilian has done a pretty good job in having led Milan to a top-three placing this season.

Two years before, they had failed to make a top-four finish and Ancelotti could only secure third on the very last day of last season.

On both occasions, Ancelotti relied on a much stronger squad than Leonardo has at his disposal these days.

Rossoneri supremo Adriano Galliani wants Leonardo to stay for another season but in all probability he could opt for a move. In fact, Leonardo is widely touted as Brazil's next coach after the World Cup.

Re-joining his family in his native country could also be another motive why Leonardo may leave the San Siro in summer.

The Brazil job is very tempting for any coach even though Leonardo lacks experience for that role. Whoever succeeds Dunga will be called to assemble a formidable team, strong enough to win the 2014 World Cup which will be hosted by Brazil.

The Cariocas, five times world champions, have never won the title on home soil and they will definitely relish the opportunity to put that jinx to rest in four years' time.

Two factors could influence Leonardo's decision on his future whereabouts.

If his recent remarks are anything to go by, Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi does not seem too much enthusiastic on Leonardo and his attack-minded football.

Also, Berlusconi still has to clarify his true intentions vis-à-vis the club's transfer policy. If Milan decide to pursue with the owner's austerity plan, it will almost be impossible to convince Leonardo not to rescind his current contract and fly back home.

With the group of players in their current squad, Milan simply cannot compete with the best of the breed in the Serie A, let alone in the Champions League.

In Europe, Milan struggled to make the KO stages this season and were eventually knocked out by Manchester United 7-2 on aggregate.

The likes of United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter and Bayern Munich are all a cut above the Rossoneri.

For next season, Milan have already signed 34-year-old Colombian defender Mario Yepes from Chievo. But if they want to challenge seriously for the honours, they have to sign more quality players.

A bolstered squad could, perhaps, convince Leonardo to postpone his return to Brazil to a later date.

Statistics

1 st away win for Napoli since beating Livorno 2-0 in January as on Sunday they edged Bari 2-1 to remain within sights of the fourth spot. All Bari have to show from their last four outings is a 1-1 away draw at lowly Livorno. Also last weekend, Palermo came from the death to claim a 2-2 draw at Cagliari. The Sardinians, temporarily under the charge of Giorgio Melis and Gianluca Festa, have now gone 10 games without a win.

2 of last weekend's four penalties were not scored. Antonio Cassano grabbed Sampdoria's equaliser against Milan and Mirko Vucinic's penalty saw Roma draw back on level terms with Lazio. Earlier in the derby, Sergio Floccari's effort was stopped by Roma's Julio Sergio. Elsewhere, Maxi Lopez could have put Catania 3-1 up against Siena but his penalty was unsuccessful.

3 rd away win of the season for Genoa who went on to interrupt Parma's eight-match unbeaten run (four wins and four draws). This was Genoa's first win on the road since beating Bologna (3-1) way back in October and, overall, their first success after a five-match winless run (three draws and two defeats).

4 th straight away defeat for Juventus (vs Sampdoria 0-1, Napoli 1-3, Udinese 0-3 and Inter 0-2) as the Bianconeri were floored by two late Inter goals. Juve's eighth away defeat coincided with Inter's third home win in a row, with their previous successes coming against Livorno 3-0 and Bologna 3-0. Inter, Palermo and Sampdoria are all unbeaten at home so far this season.

5 th consecutive positive result at home for troubled Atalanta who edged Fiorentina 2-1 to record their fourth straight home success. All the Viola have managed in their last three outings are two draws and they are currently trailing sixth-placed Napoli by six points and seriously risk not participating in next season's Europa League.

6 th win on the trot for leaders Roma. On Sunday, they came from a goal down to beat city rivals Lazio 2-1. Roma's 24th successive game without defeat coincided with Lazio's first upset after a positive run of five matches. With four games to go, Claudio Ranieri's side still have a one-point lead over Inter and seven ahead of third-placed Milan.