If the papers are to be believed, Sampdoria’s coach, Sinisa
Mihajlovic, is a frontrunner to be Milan’s coach next season. And while he is
out of contract at the end of this season, Inzaghi’s contract lasts another
year. So if you are inclined to believe the papers, then perhaps this will be an
audition of sorts for Mihajlovic. If not for the club, then at least for the
fans and rumor mills. That is if the Curva Sud decide to show up, of course. With
their senseless boycott, they seem to be auditioning for the worst fans this
year, and that title will be really tough to steal from the fans of a couple of
other clubs. Yet this match could also be quite the test for Milan, who have
defeated the bottom three teams and now Palermo. Will they be able to defeat
fifth place Sampdoria? If so, it could prove to be an audition for our
finishing spot this season.
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| And the winner of Most Entertaining Owner is... |
I will personally be somewhat distracted on Sunday because
we are playing the team with the owner who is hands down the most fun ever, he
doesn’t need to audition. I speak, of course, of the incredibly entertaining
Massimo Ferrero. His biggest crime to date was saying something racist about
Inter’s owner. And despite it being someone related to Inter, he lost some
points from me for that, that’s just not cool. Especially when there are so
many other bad things you can say about Inter without earning yourself a three
month ban. Hopefully he learned his lesson and will just shut up and dance.
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| He took extreme precautions to insure that he doesn't say anything racist again (must have watched my video on treating Premature Exclamation) |
But I digress. When we are not watching for crazy Ferrero
sightings, we should be watching Sampdoria the team. They currently sit in
fifth on 48 points, seven points and three places on the table higher than us.
So we absolutely should pay attention and not be looking to see if Ferrero is
doing crazy things with his scarf again. Also because of Mihajlovic. Despite
his Inter background, he is the best and possibly most likely candidate for the
Milan bench next season should management decide to sack Inzaghi. Or not.
Either way, the point is still to pay attention to what’s happening on the
pitch.
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| "You're going to steal my coach? That's a good one! You almost had me there" |
Under Mihajlovic, Sampdoria has thrived this year, they were
the surprise of the season early on for sure. And in fact, their current form
is W-W-W-W-L, including back to back wins over Roma and Inter. Their loss to
Fiorentina this past Sunday in Florence will likely be a motivator for them to
come away from the San Siro with three points. Which would make Ferrero
celebrate wildly, I’m sure, but I don’t adore him so much that I want to see
that celebration. Not in my house. He was deprived of celebrating last week in
Fiorentina, where Mihajlovic lined up Viviano; Romagnoli, Regini, Silvestre, De
Silvestri; Obiang, Palombo, Soriano; Eder, Muriel, and Eto’o. He will still be
without Cacciatore, De Vitis, and Rizzo, with Munoz and Okaka uncertain for
fitness reasons.
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| You'll never catch Berlusconi doing that. All he does are the awkward Hip Hip Hooras |
Inzaghi, on the other hand, after seeing the rest of Milan’s
56 center backs return this week, got the ultimate boost as Bonera returned to
training on Thursday. That’s right, Bonny is back, baby. I’m sure even Ferrero
will cheer about that. So Inzaghi will only be missing Honda, El Shaarawy, Mastour,
Agazzi, Armero, and Montolivo. That is our shortest injury list in some time,
which allows Inzaghi the opportunity to choose almost his best squad. Well
except for Muntari, of course. He’s got cars to buy, I don’t think he’ll be
gracing us with his menacing presence anytime soon. But even without “The
Killer,” this match is going to be a very tough one to get a result from. And
fans (except the Curva, of course,) will be watching closely, because after two
straight wins against lower teams, winning this one would be like an audition
for some credibility and consistency, both of which Milan could desperately use
this year.
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| He is so committed to youth, women allow him to kidnap their babies |
The question for me will be whether or not the fun loving
and eccentric Ferrero will travel to the San Siro. I don’t know if he’s
actually crazy like Zamparini and Lotito and De Laurentiis, but he’s the owner
that shows the most spirit and enthusiasm for his team, so he’s really fun to
watch (even better than Fiorentina’s sweaty, dancing Della Valle.) But of
course I hope his enthusiasm is dampened severely by the scoreline on Sunday,
as a result for Milan would make me equally enthusiastic in return. And whether
or not Mihajlovic is auditioning for a new job or the Curva Sud audition for
the part of Inter fans or Milan audition for their credibility, if Ferrero
shows up, it will be a party. Hopefully a party for the home team.
This post inspired by the music of
Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
Milan vs. Sampdoria
Sunday, April 12 • 20:45 CEST (2:45pm EDT)
This match will be shown LIVE on RAI and BeIN Sports in the U.S.