Torino 1, Milan 1: The Ruining of the Bulls

Torino had a big day planned. It was Ventura’s 1,000th game coached, Quagliarella’s 100th game played for the Granata, and they also broke ground on the remodeling of their Stadio Filadelfia, too. Despite having lost their last match vs. Carpi, they likely looked at Milan’s woeful record and were hoping this game was winnable. But not today. This Milan had a secret wookiee… I mean weapon, and despite the lack of performance by most of the rest of the squad, he managed to ensure the ruining of the bulls.

Moments of brilliance is still an improvement

I must confess that I am running out of ways to say that this squad played below their level. The lack of grinta was palpable, and though many commended Milan for not conceding in the first half, I saw it more as being lulled to sleep like the frogs in the pot when the water temperature steadily rises.

So, unable to save them from their own fate, it took Chewie coming on in the 55th to wake everyone up. And wake everyone up he did, in the 63rd, thanks to a nice assist from Bertolacci. 1-0 Milan. But like the frogs in the analogy, it was too late, the water was too hot. And so Torino fought back like bulls, resulting in a Baselli equalizer in the 73rd. 1-1.

Chewie is not getting sucked into this mentality business

There were fouls, of course, and yellow cards, too. Because when Glik is on the pitch, that is going to happen. And while several players took some good knocks, I don’t think anyone will be joining our injured ranks from that match. Those carrying yellow cards were Kucka in the 12th, Bonaventura in the 51st, Romagnoli in the 79th, and Diego Lopez in the 88th, if you are keeping track.

The good news is that still sitting on the bench we have one Nigel De Jong. When he was starting as central defensive midfielder and wearing the captain’s armband, the team played with heart for 90 minutes. Because even more than the skills we are lacking, grinta is something he brought to the team in every match. Meanwhile, his counterpart, Montolivo, not only seems to have the opposite effect on the team, but also interpreted his role in this match as a lone striker. With just seven shots and zero goals in five starts, he definitely has a lot of catching up to do for a striker., or at least he seems to think The bad news is that I see no signs of this changing, and a De Jong exit seems inevitable, possibly as soon as January, meaning a guaranteed contract renewal for Montolivo, too. So wrong.

Thanks for watching us and you're welcome for the extra sleep

If you’ve never read this blog, sorry, but I have no more words for Cerci starting or playing at all. I wasn’t impressed with Bonaventura playing as a winger. He’s been sold to us as a jack-of-all-trades midfielder, but he really does best in the midfield three. Kuco was subbed about 15-20 minutes after his expiration date, and at least Bertolacci now has an assist for our €20m. Abate & Antonelli both did well, with Romagnoli mostly beasting it, but obviously still with a big learning curve. Alex… if you take that free kick out of contention, he played okay, too. Poor Adriano did not seem suited to the new formation, but I still think he’s an important player for us. Diego Lopez got a yellow for having heart, and was his usual beastly self otherwise, too. I’d say the 4-3-3 has potential, but it’s always a shame when a system pushes out key starting players.

So a mediocre performance once again, with some moments of brilliance. At least we only conceded one goal this time and managed to get a point while playing away, too. But it’s the same old same old. And until something changes within the organization, I just don’t see the Milan experience changing, either. We root for our players, have faith in our coach, but in the end they are all subject to a darker magic under this management. So on to the fabulous Trofeo Berlusconi on Wednesday… a meaningless friendly with a team that will destroy us… exactly what this team needs before hosting a dangerous Sassuolo next week. Like I said, it comes from the top down. Oh, well, at least we can say we robbed Torino of two points and contributed to the ruining of the bulls.

This post inspired by the music of Lush

Our next match is the illustrious

Trofeo Berlusconi

Milan vs. Inter

Wednesday, October 21 • 18:00 CEST (12noon EDT)