Soccer-Milan's Berlusconi at odds with coach over formation

MILAN | Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:36am BST

MILAN Aug 25 (Reuters) - AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has risked undermining new coach Leonardo before the city derby by saying he prefers a different formation to the one used by the Brazilian.

Milan won 2-1 at Siena on Saturday in their Serie A opener with the impressive Ronaldinho playing behind frontmen Alexandre Pato and Marco Borriello.

However, Berlusconi wants to see Ronaldinho pushed further forward for Saturday's meeting with champions Inter Milan, who were held 1-1 at home by Bari on Sunday.

"If I was choosing the formation, I would play Clarence Seedorf in the hole, Pato as the main striker with Ronaldinho as second striker," the Italian prime minister told 7 Gold television late on Monday.

New striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar is available for the derby after serving a ban against Siena carried over from his time at Real Madrid.

Inter are close to a deal for Real playmaker Wesley Sneijder, media reports have said, with the Dutchman possibly starting the derby after coach Jose Mourinho questioned Sulley Muntari's fitness given the Ghanaian's commitment to Ramadan.

(Reporting by Mark Meadows; Editing by Ian Ransom; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.