Chievo 0, Milan 1: Swamp Brutality

The Stadio Bentegodi gave us a preview of what this match was going to be like: ugly. In fact, I think it was unacceptable for a Rugby pitch, and the fouls also followed suit. Rugby players would have been on the ground begging for mercy had they met up with this lot. But at the end of the day, none of our players left in an ambulance, and we left with three points. Laundry can be cleaned, cuts and bruises heal, but these three points will be incredibly helpful to us come May.

Survival of the fittest

Chievo vs. Milan: Game On!

Chievo-Milan Preview: Easter Surprise

After a painfully long International Break, our boys will travel to Chievo on Saturday, the day before Easter. Whether or not you celebrate Easter, it is traditionally riddled with the celebration of Spring and new life, which is very appropriate for our squad this year. Especially with our current run of form. But with nine squad members having traveled with their International teams this past week, will our resurgence continue? Or will the Flying Donkeys give us an Easter surprise?

"I give you six months of my career and all I get is this chocolate egg? Really?"

Podcast: Forging On

Closing out the International Break, we are looking ahead to the coming fixtures in the league. Beginning this weekend, we prepare for probably our toughest run of the second half of the season. Coming off of the Champions League, now the competition is heating up, and we need to forge ourselves to get through meetings with the number 4, number 2, and number one teams on the table. Will the boys strengthen like steel or melt in the heat? And will Allegri stay welded to the bench?

Italy & Milan's Man of Steel

The Maldini Dynasty

Milan fans over the past 60 years years have had the pleasure of witnessing a footballing dynasty. Every great once in a while, you will hear of a father to son career, or a couple of brothers who both play professionally, but rarely are there two or more family members who achieve any kind of comparable success. And it’s even more rare that the success is achieved with the same club. But Milan have been blessed with the Maldini Dynasty. First the father, then the son, and now, two grandsons in our youth sector. If either of those young players can even come close to replicating the careers of their predecessors, then Milan truly have a Dynasty of football talent to span the decades. As it is, we are blessed to have witnessed the careers of two Maldini Legends.

Kings of Milan, a Dynasty that dreams are made of

The Second Star to the Right

I suppose you could say that I’m a dreamer, reality is never as fun as escaping to a place like Never Neverland. So one night, as I tucked my two sweet Milanisti into bed, I looked outside the window to see if I could see Never Neverland. Neverland can be reached by heading to the “second star to the right, and straight on till morning.” I had long dreamed of a second star above Milan’s crest, indicating 20 or more Scudetti, but I had a hard time believing that I could reach it just yet. I don’t know if I fell asleep singing this song or if I maybe had a little too much pixie dust, but this is how this adventure happened…

The Trouble with Racism

On this day in 1960 in Sharpeville, South Africa, 69 people were murdered by police because of the color of their skin. In memory of this and so many other tragedies that have happened due to hatred and discrimination, the United Nations declared March 21st the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This year, the UN are sponsoring an event to talk about “Racism and Sport,” to talk about both the damage inflicted on sport by racism as well as the potential for sport to help combat discrimination. Our very own Kevin Prince Boateng joins the legendary Edgar Davids and Patrick Veira in Geneva to weigh in on this important topic. The trouble with racism, though, is that there seem to be no clear cut answers as to how to solve it.

Courage in the line of duty

Mattia De Sciglio: Heart of a Lion

The fairy tale for this little girl was one of many knights of valor, winning trophy after trophy. But knights get old, and they have to move on. Sometimes, all at once. It was hard to imagine that anyone could fill the shoes of our Senatori, in talent or class. But one brave knight has captured my heart and filled me with hope that the knights of old will live on in him. Of course, I speak of Mattia De Sciglio. At just 20 years old, he displays the talent of a champion, the wisdom of a leader, and the heart of a lion.

A Knight in Shining Armor

Milan 2, Palermo 0: Bottom Feeders

Milan were feeling lucky again today, but this win wouldn’t be chalked up to luck. I chalk it up to grit and determination, and taking advantage of a team that were bottom of the table and missing three of their best players. Before you get upset, I don’t mean any disrespect. This is what champions do: get the win no matter the weather, who is available, or who the opposing coach is. Our boys didn’t play beautiful football today. But they played with determination, and they won. Sometimes it’s pretty, sometimes it’s ugly, but the result is the most important statistic in the end. History won’t necessarily recognize that this three points came at the expense of the team at the bottom of the table. History will show a win next to Milan’s name. Bottom feeders for the win.

A victory is a victory, and this team is still a team.

Milan vs. Palermo: Game On!

Milan-Palermo Preview: Pink Kryptonite

It’s inexplicable how Palermo so often seem to have our number. We are two points behind second place, they are dead last in the league, and yet I fear them. For one, it is hard to be certain if Sannino will last as manager for the five whole days until they come to the San Siro, so we can’t be sure of who will be coaching them. For another, when we met them last, we managed a 2-2 draw with them, but it was a complete horror show on our part, and Milan should have had the win. For these and so many other reasons, I can never be confident facing Palermo. They are like our Pink Kryptonite.

Bottom of the table, and still a threat to us: Pink Kryptonite

Mad Libs: How Bang Bang Niang Got His Name

Every once in a while, I like to use a little help writing a post, and today is one of those days. So I turned to Twitter to get input for this one. Today’s post features contributions from @FJGadsby, @maliciousglee, @DavidLSwan, and @sposatoalnemico. For those unfamiliar with Mad Libs, they are stories that are missing key words. Without knowing the context, others are asked for parts of speech, etc. to replace them, and the result is sheer madness...enjoy!

The curse continues

Champions League - Barcelona 4, Milan 0: When Heart Just Isn’t Quite Enough

The combined perfect performance of Milan on the home leg as well as being 2-0 up gave all of us hope that our boys would pull off the unthinkable. Throughout the world, red and black supporters (and maybe even others) wanted us to complete the upset. Barcelona’s poor performances against Real Madrid gave us even more hope. But it was tempting fate to expect a second perfect game in a row. Barcelona left nothing to chance, playing their best game, and Milan left it all out on the pitch. Sometimes heart just isn’t quite enough.

Eleven Lions, Eleven Hearts, No Shame

Champions League –Barcelona vs. Milan: Game On!

Podcast: Getting Lucky

It’s not even St. Patrick’s Day yet, and Milan have been very, very lucky to help us with our rise to the top of Serie A. Just how lucky? I recently wrote about Milan’s Revolution, you can judge for yourself. And you can also tune in to the podcast where luck is a subject that just kept popping up.

Mortal Kombat

Champions League Round of 16 • Barcelona-AC Milan Preview: On a Wing and a Prayer

After a perfect game in the first leg, Milan now travel to the Camp Nou for the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 matchup. We bring with us two goals – a wing and a prayer- and a lot more attention from the media. Will we be able to knock out the La Liga leaders? Or will they punish us for humiliating them at the San Siro? And if we do knock them out, what will they complain about? We all know they are not that accustomed to losing. But hopefully for our sakes, they will get another taste of it on Tuesday, because Milan are coming for them… on a wing and a prayer.

Boateng was the wing, Muntari our prayer

Genoa 0, Milan 2: Violent Playground

In my preview, I warned that strange things are always brewing at the Marassi. So it shouldn’t have surprised me the beating our boys took at the hands of Genoa. But still, it did. The Genoa players weren’t just playing rough, they were flat out playing dirty, fouling to injure. And injure, they did. But it got the better of at least one of our players, who got himself sent off for his rage, and so we played the last half an hour on 10 men. If Genoa hadn’t already been brutalizing our players, you could chalk their violence up to revenge, claiming 2 penalties but receiving none. And so this game wasn’t about playing well, it was really about Milan escaping with their very lives. But in doing so, we did manage to score two unanswered goals in this violent playground. A victory for the battered.

Giving us something to celebrate about

Genoa vs. Milan: Game On!

Genoa-Milan Preview: Haunted House

The Stadio Communale Luigi Ferraris, more commonly called the Marassi, is different than many stadiums. Not only is it a tough stadium for opposing fans to come to and win, but in a way, it’s haunted. In December of 2011, when we played there, tear gas delayed the match. Last year, I wrote about it on another blog after Genoa fans stopped a match and demanded their players’ shirts, saying they weren’t worthy to wear them. Fan violence for Serie A and International teams alike is not at all uncommon at the Marassi. But technically, it could be considered haunted. You may or may not have heard of a Genoa fan called Vincenzo Spagnolo. In a clash of fans in 1995, a Milan fan stabbed Spagnolo to death near the stadium. So not only could it literally be haunted, but Genoa fans are not exactly thrilled when Milan fans come to town.

There are always strange things brewing at this stadium

Breakfast with Thor

Everyone dreams of meeting a Superhero, but not everyone dreams of meeting them over a stack of hot waffles. I do. I dreamt that I met Captain Massimo Ambrosini, also known as Thor, for breakfast. And here’s how that went….

Milan’s Revolution

After the worst start in 70 years, this Milan team has experienced a run of form that seems to have surprised even themselves, to a certain degree. Since November 17th, Milan have only lost one game in Serie A, with 10 wins in 15 league games. All of this while making it to the Coppa Italia Quarterfinals and still playing in the Champions League, including a perfect game against Barcelona. While many have speculated and jumped to conclusions as to how this was possible, I have a few theories of my own. But first I’d like to take a quick look at each match and some of the defining details in their Serie A performances…

This Milan looks very different from recent Milan teams, but costs a lot less, too

Milan 3, Lazio 0: Get Lucky, My Friends

I never know quite what to say when Milan win like this. It’s not that we didn’t entirely deserve the win, because we definitely worked hard. But anytime an opposition player is sent off with 75 minutes left to play, it’s hard to fairly claim dominance. And when the call came late, and was slightly questionable, it’s not like I feel comfortable bragging about the win. It continues our trend of Milan working hard, but also being blessed by luck and the poor fortune of our opponents. As The Most Interesting Coach in the World might say, “Get Lucky, My Friends.”

Don't tell these guys it was luck, they worked for every goal

Milan vs. Lazio: Game On!

Let’s keep those Eagles grounded in 2013.

Milan vs. Lazio

Saturday, March 2 • 20:45 CET (2:45pm EST)

This match is being shown LIVE on BeIn Sport and RAI in the U.S.

(look for streams posted in the comments before kickoff)

Drinking Game Rules

Milan-Lazio Preview: Going the Distance

Milan had their worst start to the season in 70 years. One of those initial losses occurred at the Stadio Olimpico in October. But then Milan found some form and have been producing some results fairly consistently, mainly by playing one great half of football. But now it is March, and 45 minutes of great football isn’t enough anymore. If we truly want third place or better, we have to play 90 minutes every match. We can’t keep relying on luck and our opponents dropping points, we need to take the initiative and make our own fate. It’s time for Milan to be going the distance.

Will we see Pazzini again in this matchup?