Thus ended a two game winning streak that had Berlusconi
claiming we would win the Scudetto (even if he was only hoping to fill his
stadium after he scared all of the fans off these past 2-3 years by selling all of our quality players.) It was a
tough one to swallow, especially with Allegri on the opposing bench. A bench he
didn’t even get off of to shake Inzaghi’s hand at the beginning of the match.
But a necessary lesson for Galliani that you have to spend to win, and a
reminder to all of us that unfortunately the beautiful game has a pecking
order, and investing in quality players is at the top, irresponsible management
and not investing in quality players will always land below on that pecking order.
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| Sometimes grinta only gets you so far |
I’m gonna keep this relatively short and sweet… well, it won’t be
so sweet, but that’s not my fault. I was so glad we had Rizzoli officiating.
If anything, I actually felt his calls went against Juve a little more, but he
really had his work cut out for him to keep it civil, and he did a fantastic
job. I mean Muntari always gets away with murder, but he finally got his token
yellow card in the 84th. Torres also was shown a yellow card in stoppage time. It
was a pretty brutal game, as these matchups often are, with some ugly and dirty
fouls from both sides, even if Juve out-fouled us 18-9. There could have easily
been a number of yellow cards, especially for Milan, and those “penalties” that
people wanted weren’t penalties. Rizzoli was my man of the match.
Perhaps Milan’s best chance of the game was in the 27th,
when Honda released a header just in front of goal while under pressure from
Chiellini, but Buffon brilliantly saved it. Menez had a sweet chance in the
40th, too, on a breakaway, but Buffon saved that one as well (are you sensing a
theme here?) Abbiati had some crucial saves, too. And Marchisio had him beaten
in the 38th, but gratefully hit the post.
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| I don't even want to think about where that came from |
Of course the only thing people will remember will be the
goal. The goal came in the 71st when some (insert shock and horror here) poor
defensive work let Pogba chip it up to Tevez, beating Abate, and leaving Abbiati
to just get a hand on it before it hit the back of the net. 1-0 Juventus. But
Tevez ruined the goal with his disgusting celebration: pulling a pacifier out of
his pants and sticking it in his mouth.
Despite our boys giving it everything they had and leaving
it all out on the pitch, two things were confirmed in this match: Milan always
have the best coreografia, and
Juventus have a better team. If only Berlusconi would invest in the team and
buy players who were as amazing as our fans, then the pecking order would be
quite different. Oh, and a third thing was confirmed, Allegri is a bigger jerk
than we thought. Inzaghi had to walk all the way over and offer his hand to the
man who ended his career. And Allegri smirked as he walked away and said who
knows what to the person next to him. He literally has no class, no wonder
Milan’s DNA had to be restored. We may have lost this one fair and square on
the pitch, but Inzaghi showed the world what a man is, and I am proud of him
and of our boys.
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| Brilliant coreo: "A year of anger to return to greatness" |
Just as in the circle of life, the pecking order can be
brutal. But Milan should hold their heads high and use this to fuel their “year
of anger to return to greatness.” There is no shame losing to a team that has
won three consecutive league titles. The only shame should be Allegri’s for his
poor sportsmanship and complete lack of humanity. But even people like that
sometimes find themselves at the top of the pecking order. So let’s hope when
we next meet him, the grinta and
desire help us turn that pecking order upside down, if only to teach him a
lesson. Until that time, I’m pleased with the changes in the mentality and
efforts of our team, and I believe Inzaghi has us on the right track. The loss
hurts, but I’m still proud to be a Milanista.
This post inspired by the music of
The Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry”
Our next match is
Empoli vs. Milan
Tuesday, September 23 • 20:45 CEST (2:45pm EDT)