In
the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius lies the Stadio San Paolo. It is one of those
stadiums that I would call “hostile” – heavy on the fans, light on hospitality,
and very difficult to get a win there. The inhabitants of that stadium are
Serie A’s new brute squad, and have just recently slipped from second on the
table to third after keeping up with Juventus point for point for the first
part of the season. After a slight dip in form, they are ready to explode back
into the Scudetto chase. And we are their next victims. Consider this an
official volcano advisory. On Saturday, Vesuvius is gonna blow.
Mazzari
has also seemed emotionally volcano-esque this season, I think he was jonesing
for the unofficial title of “most likely to snap under pressure” amongst the
Serie A coaches. But the vast, cavernous disparity between Milan management’s
habitual votes of confidence and Milan’s results (as well as the fans’ vitriol)
have left Allegri stretched like a blister of molten lava. And Allegri has
shown numerous signs of cracking already, so Mazzari is just going to have to
go back to managing the squad most likely to challenge Juve for the Scudetto.
With
a record of eight wins, two draws, and two losses, they find themselves just
one point behind a lucky Inter and only five points behind Juventus. After a
great start and having lost only to Juventus, they were stunned at the end of
October by a 1-0 loss away to Atalanta. Since then, they stumbled back to their
winning ways, with Genoa being a tasty 4-2 appetizer for them last Sunday ahead
of us. Like a volcano ready to explode, we can only hope and pray that we are
able to find safe shelter from their fiery hailstorm.
 |
| Cavani is like Vesuvius herself, goals simply erupt from his feet |
They
have struggled a bit in the Europa league, with a 2-0-2 record. But their most
recent match was a 4-2 win last week against Dnipro, with Cavani scoring all
four goals. They have also quickly gained a reputation for being the most
physical team in Serie A, or as I call them, “the Brute Squad.” So we will need
to be aware of cards and injuries against us, too. Also, that I am aware, they
are only missing Behrami to yellow card suspension and possibly Pandev to
injury, and have a full strength squad to call upon beyond that.
And
what a full-strength squad it is. Against Genoa on Sunday, Mazzarri lined up De
Sanctis; Cannavaro, Gamberini, Campagnaro; Dzemali, Behrami, Hamsik, Dossena,
Maggio; Cavani, and Pandev. Two of their four goals came from subs, too, with
Mesto, Inler, and the young Insigne called from the bench. Even on our best
day, our squad is not even equivalent, it will take mountains of luck to escape
their brilliant goalscoring ways.
 |
| Allegri also about to erupt |
Now
to address the elderly and feeble with this volcano advisory. Allegri is
rumored to be considering trying a 4-3-3 formation, which we’ve proved time and
time again we do not have the right players for. It’s like he’s dangling the
team and all of us fans inside the mouth of the volcano, playing with our
hearts. To be fair, he is stretched thin on defensive options this week.
Bonera, Antonini, and Abate are all injured, which makes 3 of his favorite 4
defenders. Plus, Yepes and Zapata featured for Colombia on Wednesday in the
U.S. and will not return until Friday. To make matters worse, in front of the
defense, he’s got Ambrosini suspended for yellow card accumulation, too.
I
don’t like my heart being dangled inside an active volcano that is ready to
erupt. But I also have completely given up trying to guess what that man will
do. Apparently, according
to your votes, the theory is that he is either running gerbil races or
getting his masters degree and testing the butterfly effect to determine his
lineups each week, and who could accurately predict those things? The only
thing we know for sure is that the lineup
will be unique. And it is most probable that Boateng will play, although if
he goes with the 4-3-3, that leaves him out of Allegri’s favorite trequartista
spot, so maybe not. Bojan is healthy again and should be available. So see? It
is impossible to guess what he’ll do.
 |
| Please don't injure... well, okay, maybe just this one... |
With
Mount Vesuvius looming like Mount Doom, and the invitation to the San Paolo
calling, all we can do is try
to cope and give our boys courage to do their best. A draw would be like
winning the Scudetto… or even a treble. A win… like Antonini winning the Ballon
d’Or, although less probable than that. When a volcano erupts, your only real
hope is to be as far away as possible when it actually does. Since Milan are
travelling into harms way, we can only hope they escape with some dignity. We
will hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and keep on bleeding red and
black.
This post inspired by the music of
the Lord of the Rings Soundtrack
Napoli vs. Milan
Saturday, November 17 • 20:45 CET (2:45 ET)
This match will be shown LIVE on RAI in the U.S.
Check the comments for streams prior to the match
Napoli-Milan Preview: Volcano Advisory
Reviewed by Elaine
on
12:00 AM
Rating:
Reviewed by Elaine
on
12:00 AM
Rating:
