Same old story again. Milan fail to perform and are once again beaten by arch rivals Inter. Juventus claimed the prize in the end for the first time in their history. Beating Inter on penalties and then Milan by two goals to nil.

It is hard to find anything good to say about Milan’s on-field performances so far. At the World Football Challenge against Chelsea, there were glimpses that this team that may actually be competitive this season. Just glimpses, nothing more. In the subsequent matches against Inter, Bayern Munich, Boca and Benfica, Milan’s performances have been under par and not just by Milan standards.

The TIM Cup has added to the misery of Milan’s preseason and with the start of Serie A not far away both Leonardo and Galliani have much work to do.

Zejlko Kalac was released this week by Milan and with good riddance. Kalac never performed for the Rossoneri and it is amazing to think that after so many below par performances the Aussie goalkeeper actually lasted the time he did.

So we released him and in his place we brought in Flavio Roma. Not a sure bet that is for sure, but Milan, it seems, like taking gambles these days. Buying Ronaldinho certainly was a gamble and to a lesser extent Onyewu and Flamini both were.

Whether Roma will prove to be much better than Kalac it remains to be seen. It is, after one half of football only, too early to judge him. But it must be said that he should have done alot better with Amauri’s strike on 13 minutes that opened the scoring for Juve. In his defense though, he did make a number of other significant saves. So perhaps with time to settle into the side he may get better. Fingers crossed.

Beckham is rumoured to want a return to Milan. If it happens it will not be until January. This move, if it happens, really cannot come soon enough. Beckham’s professionalism and resilient attitude would do wonders for the team right now. He is a proven winner, who when written off has always proved the doubters wrong. Does this not sound similar to the situation that Milan find themselves. It is most likely that this move will have until January, but be sure that when the time comes around we will welcome Becks with open arms.