Real Madrid 2, Milan 4: BLING.

Milan won their fourth consecutive Dubai Football Challenge, and more impressively they won vs. Real Madrid. You can dismiss it as a meaningless trophy, but our boys didn’t. They played with heart and grinta, and made the most of Real Madrid’s errors. And they won a CUP. The third trophy of the season. That’s right, people, BLING.

Trophy number three for Milan this year. 

Real Madrid-Milan Preview: Family Reunion

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about families and spending time with them and such. But when the rich brother gets richer and the poor brother loses everything he has and gets even more poor, it’s more tragedy than football. So even if it’s just a friendly, tomorrow’s match in Dubai proves to be a very painful family reunion for Milan fans… both on and off the pitch.

Like most family reunions, embracing beneath the Champions League trophy

The Transition

Mercato rumors of a swap for Torres and the potential for really just about anyone to leave the club in January highlight the incredibly transitional nature of Milan since the summer of 2012. Forget bandiere, the players who represent one club for most if not all of their careers. And does anyone even remember when we had senatori, those who spent many years at Milan? The current trend seems to be that if a player makes it 3 consecutive transfer markets and is still at Milan, then he is in line for the captain’s armband. What a vast difference from the squads who won all of those trophies whom we now rest our laurels on.

Remember when talented players came and stayed at Milan and we won trophies? They are not mutually exclusive ideas.

Must Be Santa

Who’s got boots and a kit that’s red…. and black? As our players and many fans around the world wake up to see what Santa brought them, it’s a great time to reflect on the good things that have been happening at Milan this year, too. So Merry Christmas from.... Santa?

Great news! De Sciglio, Montolivo, and Poli were finally able to grow facial hair this year

Podcast: Dear Santa

Milan surprised at the beginning of the season, and again in the last two fixtures, with a win vs. Napoli and a draw with second place Roma. So we go into the holidays in seventh place, but only two points behind third place. These results have people dreaming of more than just sugarplums, but will Santa deliver the goods this Christmas for Milan fans? And if so, what exactly is it that he is supposed to deliver? What part of this season is fantasy and what part of it is reality? With pleas to Santa and coming off of a surprise result, Milanisti everywhere have plenty to talk about this Christmas break.

Will the real Santa bring the goods for Milan fans this year? 

Roma 0, Milan 0: Bullet Dodged

Sometimes a draw is like a win, and tonight was absolutely one of those times. Coming into the match in seventh place, facing the second place team who were only one point off of the league leaders, I had planned to spend the match in a bunker to try to avoid the pain. So I can’t help but be happy with a draw, even if we only played really well for maybe 15-20 minutes of this match. We played well enough, we got our fourth clean sheet of the season, and stole a point, too. Like a Christmas present I wasn’t expecting, I definitely feel like this was a bullet dodged.

An epic battle

Roma vs. Milan: Fear

in bocca al lupo...

Roma-Milan Preview: In Bocca al Lupo

In English, it is considered superstitious by those in theater to wish someone good luck. So instead, they say “break a leg.” But in Italian, they have a great phrase for luck. They say “in bocca al lupo,” which means “into the mouth of the wolf.” The person then replies, “crepi,” which means “may he die.” Well on Saturday, we literally go into the mouth of the wolf. Whether or not the wolf dies or we die remains to be seen at the final whistle. But one thing is for certain, this fixture is never pretty.

Perhaps he should have stuck to the violin

Did Galliani Say It?

Any Milan fan knows that Galliani says a lot of ridiculous things. And since he turned 70 this year, he seems to like to play the “rambling old man” card a lot, too. Well it was Milan’s birthday, yesterday, and I think he thought it was a wedding where he was meant to give the toast or something. Only there’s a reason that 70 year old men don’t give those toasts. It ended up to be quite a long chat with the Milan Channel in the end. But do you think you are savvy enough to tell what he did or didn’t say yesterday?

Happy 115th Birthday, Milan!

Milan have looked better, let’s be honest. But if you were turning 115, would you look as good? I didn’t think so. After enjoying years of Italian and European history with all of the trophies to show for it, Milan are kind of in that awkward stage now. And while there was no Champions League or even Europa League draw for us yesterday, Sunday’s win was a great birthday present to give ourselves. So let’s celebrate 115 years of history, even if we may not be at the peak of that storied history. 115 years of passion and the club that all of our hearts belong to no matter where we sit in the table. Happy 115th Birthday, AC Milan!

Milan 2, Napoli 0: Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

The simple but wise Forrest Gump said it best, “Life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re gonna get.” And the same is true of Milan this season. Just when we thought we could predict mostly underwhelming performances, conceding goals, and frustrating draws, Inzaghi’s boys wow us with a defeat of a more talented team and a clean sheet to sweeten the deal. Ninety minutes of grinta, where we thought that tank was starting to run on empty. Surprise. Of course, I have always loved chocolate anyway.

The two J's, Jeremy and Jack

Milan vs. Napoli: Sulley “The Grinch” Muntari

One Christmas, the Grinch took all of the good midfielders from Milanello  

Milan-Napoli Preview: A Chance in Hell

As we pointed out on the most recent podcast, Napoli may be doing better than Milan, but they are inconsistent. Additionally, they had to play a Europa League match yesterday, so they will likely be tired. But our best chance of overcoming them will be our home advantage and our 12th man. If we are the Diavoli, then the San Siro should be hell, and playing at home gives us exactly that: a chance in hell of winning.

Benitez' expression after hearing that Inzaghi would probably start Bonera again

Podcast: In Search of the Fortress

Since the last podcast, Milan produced a draw, a win, and then a loss, and have two big games looming before the end of the calendar year. We are still in search of consistency, and waiting for this team to make the San Siro a fortress again. The fans seem to be coming back, but will the team be able to soldier up and make other teams fear Milan at home? We discuss where the team is at now and some promising news for the future.

Finding the Fortress

Genoa 1 , Milan 0 : Way Too Early

For the second straight week, I have had to get up at 5am to watch my beloved team play. I am not a morning person. And when I say that I am not a morning person, I would rather watch 11 Boneras play for Milan than wake up at this hour. So due to my lack of sleep (and thus ability to string sentences together,) as well as some holiday commitments, today you get a raw deal: instead of a coherent review of the match, you get my real-time notes as I watched the match. No editing, no filter. My apologies in advance to your sensibilities. It was just way too early.

His dad must be so proud.

Genoa-Milan Preview: On Fire

Going to Genoa  always seems to be an eventful affair. From the fatal stabbing of Genoa fan Vincenzo Spagnolo by a Milan fan in 1995 to the tear gas used on supporters three years ago outside the stadium that delayed the game as it wafted into the stadium, it’s perhaps a less heralded rivalry that always seems to get out of hand at the Marassi. But hopefully Galliani’s peacemaking efforts of giving them way too much money for their players and dumping our poor players on them who turn out to be gold for them will keep the tension at a manageable level and no one gets hurt. Instead of fans literally setting the Marassi on fire, let’s hope that Milan are metaphorically on fire instead.

Is it too much to ask for a trouble-free match from the fans?

Poll: Fortune Telling

Milan started out the season in first place, something we all knew would end sooner rather than later. They have since occupied nearly every spot in the top ten at one point or another. But how will Milan finish? Can you predict the future?

Vacation Destination: Derby della Madonnina

Recently, our very own Derwuin left sunny Southern Florida to head to cold Milano for the Derby della Madonnina. That's right, he was our very own 12th man for the Derby. He also toured the stadium, went to the San Siro museum, went to Casa Milan, the Milan museum, the trophy room, and more. You can see all of those pics by checking his Twitter timeline and also the last comment thread. Today, he has also been kind enough to share some very awesome pics of the best part with us: The Derby.

Our 12th man, the Legend himself