FOXBORO – Oguchi Onyewu was among foreigners on native soil yesterday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
Onyewu made his first start at center back for AC Milan in a 2-0 loss to Inter Milan in a 2009 World Football Challenge match before 42,531 fans. The match was an Italian appetizer for Onyewu, who made the huge leap from the Belgian league to the elite Serie A earlier this month.
“Inter Milan is a very good team and we knew it was going to be a tough match,” said Onyewu, a Washington, D.C., native and member of the U.S. national team. “But like I said before, this is preseason and it shouldn’t be a prelude to anything to come. We use these games as preparation to start the season and we still have a couple of weeks to rectify any weak spots that we have.”
Onyewu’s credentials were challenged in the opening minutes. Esteban Cambiasso sent a long, arching ball deep into AC Milan’s patch on the left flank. Onyewu reacted to the flight of the ball but was a step behind Diego Milito, the Inter Milan forward he was marking.
Milito caught up with Cambiasso’s feed on the right wing 20 yards from the goal. He made Onyewu overcommit to the inside with a clever fake toward the goal, then reversed direction. Milito faced the goal and fired a shot that deflected off goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac and entered the net for a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute.
“They scored early and I’ll take responsibility,” said Onyewu. “The guy did well to get space to shoot the ball, and I think we need to work a lot on creating chances and making those chances count.”
The defensive gaffe aside, AC Milan coach Leonardo remains optimistic about what the 6-foot-4, 201-pound Onyewu can bring to the club, although his role remains undetermined.
“There is nothing decided. He is a good player and he needs to train with the team and understand who we are,” said Leonardo. “I think he will be a very important player on this team.”
Onyewu will only improve once he can get a handle on the abilities of his new teammates.
“I’ve only been here a week and we’ve only had two full (training) sessions,” said Onyewu, who came to AC Milan from Belgian champion Standard Liege. “Slowly but surely, I’m learning the weaknesses and the strengths of the players around me and (I’m) sure they are doing the same with me. Obviously we need to jell and let that chemistry set.”
