Kickin’ It Old Skool With Allegri

After winning the Scudetto in May, there can be no doubt as to who is the most gangsta coach of them all… Massimiliano Allegri. So I wondered if the success had gone to his head, or if he was still the same old Allegri we learned to know and love last season. I imagined what it might be like to interview him, and this is how that went…

Welcome Aquaman

Alberto Aquilani joined Milan last week on loan from Liverpool. His nickname, given to him by Roma fans, is actually “il Principino,” or the Little Prince. But English speaking fans have a much better nickname for him: Aquaman. Why is it better? Picture him in a crown and silly tights, then picture him as the famed superhero of the seas, then you decide. (Superheroes always trump stuffy royalty.)

The Saturday post that should have been a game review

In the absence of a Milan game to write about, I won't focus on any particular topic for this post. Instead, you're getting the same thing you would get if you asked any given Serie A club owner about football. A rant. Since the players are on strike, I am too. Except I showed up for the game and I don't make millions of Euros a year, like millions of other disappointed fans across the world.

Cagliari-Milan Preview: Maybe??

With the threat of a strike still very possible as of this writing, Our Serie A season debut may need a raincheck. Even using player reps as feared as Gennaro Gattuso and Giorgio Chiellini, the owners are  still unwilling to budge. After voting 18-2 against the players' demands on Wednesday, Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis said, “Let them strike. We cannot continue with a gun pointed at our heads.” And he’s right, you know. It is very difficult to go on tirades and ride off on someone’s scooter if there is a gun pointed at your head. Which I suppose is why he wants the strike, given that his most recent act of crazy was due to perceived congested fixtures for his club. If they don’t play at all, problem solved.

Where did everybody go?

Season preview: what to expect of 2011/12

After years of mediocrity, the summer of 2010 was a turning point for Milan. The arrivals of Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Boateng and Yepes proved enough for Milan to catch up to Inter in terms of quality. Well, the arrival of Rafa Benitez didn’t hurt either. During the winter transfer window, Cassano, Emanuelson and van Bommel were brought in to give the final push to Milan’s title ambitions. Van Bommel did more than that, quickly becoming a fixture in front of the defense and the most reliable player on the team next to Thiago Silva and Abbiati. This summer, Milan had yet another positive transfer window, so let’s take a look at what the coming season may look like.

Milan 2, Juve 1: What We Will Do For a Trophy

So Milan picked up another Berlusconi Trophy today. And if the curse is to be believed, Juventus will now win the Scudetto. But the winner of the traditional preseason match has gone on to win the Scudetto 3 times before. And if Juve continue to play like they did today, I have no doubts we will win back to back league titles and snub the curse for a 4th time. But if Milan continue to pick up injuries like today, it will be impossible to break that curse.

Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi Preview

The name Silvio Berlusconi means different things to different people, but to most, there is at least a little tarnish on it. Ironically, there is a piece of silverware that is contested once a year that Silvio established that is untarnished, as it carries the name of his father, Luigi Berlusconi.

Six Months in Hell

Exactly 6 months ago today, this tiny little blog went live. My co-blogger, Jovan, and I have since put up many posts about our beloved team. As obsessed Milan fans, this six months in Diavoli “hell” has actually been quite the opposite for us. For one, Milan won a Scudetto and a Supercoppa. (And yes, we are still celebrating!) 

Through wins and losses, the reason we are all here. Grazie ragazzi

Trofeo TIM at a Glance

In a mere hours from this writing, three giants of Italian football will converge on the Stadio San Nicola in Bari for the most enthralling three 45 minute round robin games of the preseason in the incredibly popular Trofeo TIM Tournament. Hold onto your jerseys, calcio fans, one of these teams walks out of there with a trophy.

It looks good with red and black, don't you think?

The Legend of il Faraone

I have resisted writing about Stephan El Shaarawy for some time now. Primarily because I hate it when young players come along and are expected to be the second coming of Pelé. But also because by helping to add to the hype, then I also help to increase your disappointment when you find that Pelé is actually still alive, and thus it is impossible for anyone to be his second coming. And I just couldn’t live with myself if I knew I’d contributed to your disappointment. So be forewarned, my intentions here are not to build any hype surrounding il Faraone, but rather just to tell you a little more about him.

EXACTLY how the ancient Pharaohs rolled.

Malmö 2, Milan 2* : The Conclusion of Ibra Week

Ironically on the heels of The Discovery Channnel’s fearsome Shark Week in the United States, we here at the Milan Obsession blog have celebrated “Ibra Week,” which was twice as ferocious and at least six times more frightening. (At least one completely non-scientific survey shows that fear of Ibra is 12 times more common than fear of sharks. Although our demographics may have been skewed, surveying primarily teammates and opposition players.)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic previews Malmo-Milan for us

On Sunday, Milan will play yet another pre-season friendly, which is rather meaningless so we weren't going to preview it. However, as I was strolling down the street the other day I accidentally stepped on somebody's foot. I heard a loud yell (sounded like hi-ya! but I can't be certain) and then everything went black. The next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital this morning with the doctor telling me I'd been kicked in the back of the head. Standing next to him was Zlatan Ibrahimovic who, during my 3 day "rest" had been given orders to make up for the damage he'd done by previewing this game for us. So, without further ado, Ibra's take on Sunday's game in its unedited form...

The Ibrahimovic dilemma

Picture this situation: it's a cold, damp Sunday in autumn. Milan is playing a league game dubbed as a must-win by the media. In midweek, Milan is playing a Champions League game dubbed a must-win by Berlusconi. Next weekend, Milan is playing Juventus. Naturally, we need to win that. After that there's that pesky midweek round that will provide a chance for Inter to close in on us. We gotta win that one, right? This continues until the league is won. Every game is a must-win in its own right. So we should have our best player play 90 minutes of every game until he breaks mentally and physically...right?

The Mercato Inquisition

By this point in the summer, everyone is ready for the transfer market to be done. But with three more weeks left, we are still subject to this endless torture. Rather than sit around and wait, I grabbed my imaginary team of doctors: Dr. Who, Dr. What, and Dr. Why, and a ridiculously large amount of imaginary truth serum and I imagined myself heading to Italy for an imaginary inquisition of epic proportions of some of the big Serie A mercato players.

Supercoppa Milan 2, Inter 1: Snake Soup

You know that story about putting frogs in a pot of water and slowly raising the temperature until it boils, at which point they realize it is too late to jump out and they get cooked? Well Milan used that concept to make some snake soup tonight in Beijing, winning the Supercoppa for a record 6th time.

Supercoppa Preview: Derby to Go

Saturday, half a world away from Milano, Inter and AC Milan will battle for the Supercoppa trophy. Oddly enough, this is the first time that these two teams will meet in this specific competition, which has been held since 1988. But with both teams having reached the Supercoppa match 8 times, and each winning the trophy 5 times, this one will be the tiebreaker to take top spot. This Supercoppa also marks a return of the preseason match to Beijing, where it was first held in 2009. I’d like one Supercoppa trophy to go, please.