Oguchi Onyewu signs with AC Milan
by Jason Green of Predictem.com
AC Milan made a quick decision to sign American center back Oguchi Onyewu, as they look to regain the support of their angry fans. Onyewu was stellar for the U.S. team in the Confederations Cup, where the U.S. lost in the finals to Brazil. Onyewu comes to the Italian giants on a free transfer from Standard Liege in Belgium and signed a 3-year contract.
AC Milan announced the recent signing on their website and since Onyewu has a passport from Belgium he will not count as a non EU player. Italian teams are only allowed to sign 2 non-EU players each season.
The Italian media had barely reported the interest in the center back. The recent signing comes only 1 day after hundreds of hardcore AC Milan fans protested the team at the first day of training for the pre-season. Fans unveiled banners and chanted negative slogans criticizing AC Milan, and Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi and his decision to sell Brazilian star Kaka to Real Madrid for $94 million.
This has not been a good off-season for AC Milan, as they not only lost Kaka but also head coach Carlo Ancelotti to Chelsea. AC Milan finished a disappointing 3rd in the Italian A league last season and they flamed out of the UEFA Cup and did not even play in the Champions League. So far this off-season AC Milan has only signed Thiago Silva of Brazil and several other lesser-known players, but no stars.
AC Milan are looking to sign a solid striker, as Real Madrid forward Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Sevilla’s Luis Fabiano, Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor and VfL Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko are all on their radar.
Onyewu may partner up with Silva in the central defense and they will need to be solid on defense since Paolo Maldini retired at the end of last season and both Alessandro Nesta and Kakha Kaladze are prone to injuries.