Normally,
I would do a farewell and a welcome post, but with the season opener upon us
and Galliani
Day™ looming near, there is simply not enough time. Besides, there is so
much to talk about in trying to figure out where Milan’s next great champion
will be signed from (my bet is on the MLS) as well as how to cope with Milan’s
suicidal summer, so this post will have to do double duty. Which is fair,
considering these players played side by
side to form one of my favorite striker pairings in recent memories, then each
leaving Sampdoria for one side of Milan for a year and a half. This swap is
just another part of their intertwined careers, so I suppose they are used to
sharing.
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| Their partnership at Sampdoria left them tied together forever. |
First,
farewell to the one and only Fantantonio. I can never support anyone in the
Nerazzurri jersey, and picturing your son wearing one makes me actually cry.
But it is your dream, and I cannot begrudge you that dream.
Your
time at Milan was both magical and heartbreaking.
It was at Milan that you recovered from the evil Garrone and found your
beautiful form again. It was at Milan that you helped us win a Scudetto and
then celebrate like only you could. It was at Milan that you matured, married
your sweetheart, and became a father. It was at Milan that you nearly died, and
yet made a miraculous recovery to wow us just a little more before you moved
on. We watched you change before our eyes from a wild, untamed creature to a
wild, partially tamed man.
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| So many life changes while wearing red and black |
But
you gave us so much more than just this amazing transformation. You gave us such
joy and you filled the team with smiles and laughter with your devilish pranks
and silly jokes. On the pitch, you showed us why they called you Fantantonio.
Breathtaking skills and amazing goals and assists. Dancing around defenders to
our delight, perfect passes and crosses to bless your teammates’ stats. And all
of this in such a short time, of the 18 months you were with the club, six of
them you spent recovering from your heart surgery. Even if you had a bad game,
the energy you brought to the team when you stepped onto the pitch was
electrifying, you made everyone around you better.
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| The source of smiles and laughter this past year and a half |
Sadly,
all good things must come to an end. So much speculation as to why you left,
about why your smile faded this summer, and about why you would move to our
bitter enemies. But I trust that it was meant to be, and like so many of life’s
most extraordinary gifts, our time with you was only momentary. You left your
mark on our hearts and on the red and black jersey. Like a sudden and
spectacular breakup, it will take a while to heal, longer having to see you in
those filthy colors. But in my heart, I will keep the gifts you gave us and
treasure them forever… or until you celebrate after scoring on us. If you do
that, you are dead to me.
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| The team clown-turned disciplinarian, loved and respected by all |
I
like to think you loved us, too, and did not do this as an act of ingratitude.
As much as it pained me to see you cross to the dark side, your smile is back,
and that’s all I really want for you. Well, that and for you to lose both
derbies this season to pay a small penance for this crime. But mostly, for your
happiness. So farewell, Fantantonio. And thanks for everything, on and off the
pitch. You will always be an inspiration to me.
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| Always intertwined, for club and country |
Benvenuto, Giampaolo Pazzini! Despite
our reluctance to spend so much for your arrival or depart with your old strike
partner, you are a sight for sore eyes! I have watched you from afar since your
magical pairing with Cassano at Sampdoria, but now you are here in the red and
black. You were right not to accept the comparisons to Pippo Inzaghi by the
press, but you are a predator in your own right.
“Pazzini” in Italian literally means
“little crazy ones.” But Pazzini’s career was never destined to be little.
Instead, he earned the nickname “Il
Pazzo,” or “the Madman.” Maybe it is his ability to do the unthinkable to
find the back of the net, or the fact that he will be all over the place in the
box, but I will certainly not complain when he does it in the red and black.
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| I always wondered if he ever poked himself in the face while doing that. |
Giampaolo
Pazzini started his senior career with Atalanta for two seasons. Oddly enough,
he had started as a left back (and now the wisdom of the swap comes to the
forefront!) but made the switch to striker, scoring 12 goals in 51 appearances.
From there, four seasons with Fiorentina. This is where he got to know
Montolivo quite well, and their chemistry off the pitch should also revive
their former chemistry on the pitch.
Oddly
enough, it was our very own Gilardino who pushed him out of the starting lineup
at Fiorentina, which sent him to Sampdoria for a legendary two years. It seemed
as if he and Cassano could finish each other’s sentences, it was so beautiful
to watch them together. The hunter and the decoy, but you never knew which one
was going in for the kill. It’s such a shame we couldn’t see them together
again, but the finisher in that pairing is now ours, something we definitely
needed. And did I mention the man knows how to use his head? We certainly need
that, too.
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| "What are you going to do? I don't love the jersey, it just pays the bills." |
After
Garrone’s late midlife crisis that saw him singlehandedly destroy his own club,
Pazzini was begrudgingly on the auction block. There he was stolen by Inter,
where he was neglected and abused, as is their custom to do with truly talented
players. After a year and a half, 50 appearances (many of which were merely
substitutions,) and only 16 goals, he was frozen out by Stramaccioni this
summer and waiting to be saved.
That
is where Milan came in. Like we have done for talents such as Pirlo and Seedorf
in the past, it is my hope that our rescue mission pays dividends both ways.
Despite his “snake eyes” celebrations (which he did long before joining Inter,)
it shouldn’t be tough to get the cold-blooded Nerazzurri filth out of him and restore his massive goalscoring
ways. Just don’t let him take penalties against Udinese.
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| Welcome, please don't let the Collar of Doom™ strangle you. |
He
chose the number 11 jersey, recently vacated by some very big shoes to fill.
But I don’t think he’ll be intimidated by that at all. In fact, maybe he’s
planning his revenge on the dark side of Milan by eyeing the capocanonniere,
too. But even if his plans aren’t as lofty, I’m sure he’ll make us proud and
give us something to cheer about this season. Heaven knows we need that.
So
welcome, Pazzini! You are joining a club who wants and needs your passion and
goalscoring prowess. Just a few tips… don’t go to the Bunga Bunga parties, and
don’t piss off Allegri. Other than that, I’m sure you’ll do just fine.
This post inspired by the music of
NIN
Our next match is
Milan vs. Sampdoria
Sunday, August 26th • 18:00 CEST (12noon EDT)