On Monday, Mihajlovic and this new Milan team play their
first competitive match. It is the third round of the Coppa Italia, an early
entrance to this competition due to our poor form last season. We will face
Perugia, the Serie B team that defeated Reggiana 3-1 last week to earn their
trip to the San Siro. However important it will be to win and move to the next
round, I must confess that I am seriously distracted by this one. You see
Perugia is where the famous Perugina chocolate factory is. And they make the
most delicious chocolates, including Baci, perhaps my favorite chocolate in the
world. So while most of the Milan community will be thinking about lineups and
possible outcomes, I will probably not be my usual Milan obsessed self, I’ll be
immersed in my chocolate dreams.
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| In Perugia, for Euro Chocolate, they made a gigantic chocolate Italy. This distracts me. |
Sorry, I keep getting distracted. Perugia’s football team
has a lot of interesting stories behind it, including multiple bankruptcies and
comebacks, but their best ever finish in Serie A was second place in 1978-79.
Still, they are on the rise right now and cannot be underestimated. It is
interesting to note that there are a few former Milan players who also played
for Perugia, like former goalkeeper Kalac, who came to us from there. Also,
Sebastiano Rossi, our legendary former keeper, played a season at Perugia after
he left Milan. But lest you underestimate this little club with the chocolate
factory nearby, it is of note that Gennaro Gattuso came through their youth ranks
and began his senior career there, too. I wonder if he likes Perugina
chocolate?
But chocolate aside for a minute, Perugia’s current roster
looks like a retirement club for some very familiar former Serie A players.
Well, and half of them are currently on loan from Serie A teams, too, many of
them young players getting experience. For their match vs. Reggina, Coach
Andrea Camplone lined up Rosati; Comotto, Marco Rossi, Alhassan, Mancini; Rizzo,
Salifu, Di Carmine, Lanzafame; Ardemagni, and Fabinho. Substitutes included
Alexis Zapata and Rodrigo Taddei, a couple of names that also may sound
familiar. You know what else sounds familiar to me? Those luscious Perugina
chocolate eggs they make for Easter. Mmmmm…. Dark chocolate…
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| Wait, how did this picture get here? There's no chocolate in this picture! |
Focus, Elaine, focus. I am sure that Mihajlovic will not be
distracted by the luscious, perfect little chocolate and hazelnut confections
in the silver and blue foil that have the little quotes transltated into
different languages. No, I’ve definitely got that covered for him. Instead, I
know he will line up our best eleven for this one, not taking any chances. The
Coppa Italia (also known around here as the
Precious,) is a great trophy for us to aim for this year. And not just
because we’ve been saying that the past couple of years as a way to make
mediocrity seem elevated somehow. But rather if you look
at the table, we have a relatively easy road to the semifinals compared
to teams like Napoli, Juve, Inter, and Lazio. And for once this year, the Coppa
Italia won’t be our only objective. We will also be gorging ourselves on
chocolate… wait, that’s just me… we also have a much more realistic chance of
returning to Champions League next season. And that’s not just Galliani
spinning words this time, our team is by far the most competitive we’ve seen at
Milan in two or maybe even three years. Speaking of years, it’s been too many
since I had like a whole box of Baci to myself. I need to go shopping before
the game on Monday.
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| Some see a plate of chocolates, I see lunch. |
Do chocolate calories count if you are eating them to support
your team? I guess I’ll know if I get on the scale come Tuesday. But on Monday
for 90 minutes, I’m pretty sure I can suppress my chocolate urges to watch my
team play (there’s always halftime to scarf down a whole chocolate bar, plus
the before and after Baci.) This game is more important than you might think as
it is a must win (how embarrassing would that be, to be eliminated in August?)
But it will also set the tone for our competitive season. Up until now,
Mihajlovic has done a great job at giving time to everyone, but now we will see
him honing his starting 11 and also see how he subs in a real match. We’ll see
if our newly discovered ability to score will be accessible when it counts, and
if his conditioning and his defensive phase coaching for the whole squad helps
keep us from conceding. It may be “just” a Serie B team and “just” the Coppa
Italia, but it is important for the mentality of this team, as well as us fans.
You know what else is good for your mentality? Chocolate. Now if you’ll excuse
me, I think I’m going to start supporting my team now. There’s a lot of
chocolate to eat and dream about between now and kickoff.
This post inspired by luscious,
decadent, sinfully amazing chocolate
Coppa Italia Third Round
Milan vs. Perugia
Monday, August 17 • 21:00 CEST (3pm EDT)
This match is NOT being broadcast in the U.S.