If you saw the friendly vs. Manchester City
yesterday played in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, you’ll know that the game was
delayed for about 30 minutes because of lightning and gusty winds. Fans had to
take cover inside of the stadium or under the roof of Heinz Field and wait it
out until the game could restart. But that shouldn’t have fazed Milan fans, especially not while their team wore those hideous yellow jerseys. We
have weathered many a storm in the past few years, and we’re looking ahead at
more severe weather conditions, too.
 |
| The actual weather is the least of our worries. |
The 5-1 loss to Manchester City brings back flashbacks of
losing 5-3 to them last summer in the Audi Cup. You know, when they
scored 5 goals in the first 36 minutes? Only Milan were able to pull back 3
goals in about 7 minutes to make it a little easier to swallow. This time, we
were only privy to a Muntari goal to save a little dignity while facing the
reigning English champions. And speaking of dignity, why was Muntari wearing
the captains’ armband? If his hot temper and behavior on national team duty are
considered leadership qualities, then Milan are facing much more than severe
weather conditions.
However, unlike so much of Twitter who watched the Olympiacos
match on Thursday and proclaimed our squad the worst Milan squad in
years, I saw a lot of improvement vs. Manchester City. First of all, Niang and
El Shaarawy were so fast and explosive. If it weren’t for the legendary
Willy Caballeros, the scoreline would have been quite different. And
Balotelli had a goal that was called off for offside, he changed so much when
he came on late in the game, too. I’m not saying this squad are great, either.
There are a lot of problems. (*cough*Agazzi*cough*) But we are only 2 ½ weeks
into training, and this was their fourth friendly in that time. Under their
third coach in the space of about seven months. So, despite the fact that even Nocerino scored yesterday
for Torino, I can wait out the storm and hope for better days ahead.
 |
| Agazzi in goal is like the perfect storm. |
So I refuse to believe that this is a hopeless squad, I have
faith in them and in Inzaghi. Remember these are just friendlies, too. I am not
going to hold out hope for our mercato, because that is something that has been
proven to be an epic fail time and time again these past three years. If this
is the squad we get, like Inzaghi
said, they will win with grit and determination instead of quality. Until then,
we are likely in for some severe weather conditions, starting on Sunday against
Liverpool, so take cover.
This post inspired by the music of
Jane Siberry’s “It Can’t Rain All the Time”
Our next match is
Guinness ICC Tournament
Liverpool vs. Milan
Saturday, August 2 • 6:30pm EDT
An all-new Milan
Obsession Podcast coming soon! Stay tuned!
Sorry for any inconvenience, but the
comments section will be closed until further notice