Missing out on this season's Champions League could be a blessing in disguise for AC Milan as it tries to recapture the Serie A title for the first time since 2004.
Milan will find itself in the unfamiliar setting of the UEFA Cup this season after only finishing fifth in the Serie A in a dismal season that also saw it knocked out in the Champions League quarterfinals.
But a less demanding European schedule _ and the addition of Ronaldinho _ could be just what Milan needs to wrest the title away from crosstown rival Inter Milan.
Ronaldinho was the blockbuster signing of the offseason, as Milan brought out the checkbook to rebuild what had been criticized as an old and unmotivated team. The former FIFA player of the year, who transferred after a poor season with FC Barcelona, looked sharp in the Olympic Games in Beijing and will form an all-Brazilian attack built around Kaka and teenager Alexandre Pato, who showed flashes of brilliance after joining the club in January.
"I'm very happy to be here and I'm going to make sure Milan's fans have a good time." Ronaldinho said.
Andriy Shevchenko returns to Milan, where he had seven successful seasons and in 2004 was European player of the year. Shevchenko had two disappointing seasons at Chelsea where he got little playing time and struggled with his form.
Gone is Ronaldo, who was not re-signed after his contract expired at the end of the season. Ronaldo had much of last season ruined by injury, and it remains unclear if he will return to football.
With Ronaldinho and Pato spending all of August in China for the Olympics, manager Carlo Ancelotti had to go through the preseason without his newest star.
"I'm worried that I can't try Ronaldinho out in our game plans, but he will return from China in incredible condition," Ancelotti had said.
Italy midfielders Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini will again be joined by Clarence Seedorf, along with the new addition of Frenchman Mathieu Flamini who signed from Arsenal. Switzerland defender Philippe Senderos also moved from Arsenal on a one-year loan.
An aging defense anchored by the 40-year-old Paolo Maldini _ who again says he is playing his last season _ and injury-prone Alessandro Nesta has been strengthened with Gianluca Zambrotta who joined from Barcelona.
Ancelotti has said he will play a 4-3-3 lineup, with either one playmaker behind two strikers or two playmakers supporting one striker.
Milan lost forward Alberto Gilardino to Fiorentina but added Marco Borriello, who had 19 goals for Genoa last year _ third in Serie A behind Juventus duo Alessandro Del Piero (21) and David Trezeguet (20). Filippo Inzaghi is back after a scoring spree at the end of last season when he netted 10 goals in the last seven games.
The club's biggest question mark is in goal, with Dida losing his No. 1 position to Australia's Zeljko Kalac midway through last season. Christian Abbiati has also returned to the club after a year with Atletico Madrid, and the Italian is tipped as the new starter even though Ancelotti has called it an open competition.
"I always said I wanted to return to Milan, this is my home, and as soon as I had the chance to come back I accepted immediately," Abbiati said.
But despite successfully fending off reported interest in Kaka from Chelsea, the offseason has produced concerns among fans after some lackluster performances that included a 5-0 loss against the London club.
"The defense is not working, the attack is not working, the only thing functioning is the midfield," Ancelotti said last week, before his club defeated Juventus 1-0 in a friendly.
Kaka is also struggling with a swollen knee and could miss the season opener this weekend, while Nesta is battling a bad back. Borriello and Inzaghi have also been sidelined during the preseason with injuries.
But Milan's main worry remains Inter, which is coming off its third straight league title.
"Inter is the team to beat for the scudetto," Ambrosini said.
