AC Milan's treasure's price rose by 10 million in two months, and he is the third person to reach the top level from Milan in 8 years.

by cc8rrfa32 on 2009-11-27 01:22:49

AC Milan drew 1-1 with Marseille at home. Due to having rested two days less than their opponents, they were physically exhausted. In the second half, Marseille began to press aggressively. Nesta's performance was average in this game, and his partner Thiago Silva took the spotlight. According to OPTA statistics, Thiago Silva made a total of 15 clearances throughout the match! In the post-match ratings by "Slow Motion," Thiago Silva's 6.5 points tied him with goal scorer Borrello as the highest-rated player on his team.

As usual, most of Thiago Silva's clearances were headers. The 1.83-meter-tall center back has now become AC Milan's aerial fortress. Thiago Silva seems particularly suited to playing against Marseille because Marseille excels at flank crosses. More high ball crosses almost always end with the Brazilian. Adding the 18 clearances from the first leg against Marseille, Thiago Silva made an astonishing total of 33 clearances in the two games against Marseille!

Thiago Silva also demonstrated excellent footwork defensive skills. In the 87th minute, Ben Arfa forced a breakthrough past Abate, forming a one-on-one situation with Thiago Silva. However, the Brazilian calmly judged the moment when Ben Arfa was about to accelerate, using a shoulder check and cutting the ball with the outside of his left foot, keeping possession while Ben Arfa was already close to AC Milan's small box!

In attack, Thiago Silva's long passes are an additional weapon for AC Milan. In the 24th minute, his long pass created a one-on-one opportunity between Borrello and goalkeeper Mandanda, nearly resulting in a goal. And at the 37th minute, another long pass led to Pato seeing Mandanda's position ahead, attempting a direct shot that narrowly missed over the crossbar.

Since joining AC Milan, Thiago Silva has consistently performed well. In fact, AC Milan only lost one game where Thiago Silva started - the Milan Derby. In all other losses this season, whether against Zurich or Udinese, Thiago Silva was not on the field. His presence has resulted in AC Milan's record this season being 6 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss in the league, and 2 wins and 2 draws in the Champions League - no coincidence. Thanks to his outstanding performances at AC Milan, Thiago Silva was reselected for the Brazilian national team and started in both recent friendlies, becoming a key focus for Dunga. With this season's momentum, he is highly likely to replace injury-prone Juan and partner with Lucio, potentially becoming a starter for Brazil in the South Africa World Cup.

In the past few years, AC Milan has adhered to a policy of acquiring already established players. Although there have been many cases historically of lesser-known players brought into AC Milan who later became top stars (such as Gattuso and Ambrosini in the late '90s), such instances have been rare in the last 7-8 years. Since 2001, besides Kaka who joined in 2003, Pirlo, who did not shine upon joining in 2001 but surged from 2002 onward, is a rare example. Now, Thiago Silva has become the third player to reach the top level at AC Milan. In fact, before joining, Thiago Silva had said: "I hope to follow the path Kaka once walked here." As a defender, it's not easy to achieve what Kaca did, but at least Thiago Silva is gradually gaining recognition in the global football scene. AC Milan acquired Thiago Silva for just 10 million euros, but according to "Milan Sports Daily," the current value of this 25-year-old Brazilian defender is at least over 20 million euros - and this was the estimate from just a month ago, when the season had only begun for two months! With AC Milan's transfer policy now shifting towards acquiring young players with potential, we will likely see more "Thiago Silvas" emerge in AC Milan over the next few years.