Frosinone-Milan Preview: The Force Awakens

Let’s just be right up front here: there is no way that this match will even be in the same universe as the new Star Wars movie. Even Milan at its height would have trouble competing with that level of awesome. But in the epic galactic battles of good vs. evil, there is a correlation. Will Milan as a team band together like the Resistance and fight the evil First Order, aka Milan’s management? Will they secure this victory and silence Supreme Leader Snoke (aka Berlusconi) and his apprentice Kylo Ren (aka Galliani) and see that Miahajlovic will be allowed to fight the battles ahead?

A rare sighting of Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren together

Certainly this battle on paper does not appear to be epic. But as Finn, or Mihajlovic, has always pointed out, matches aren’t played on paper, they are played on the pitch. As an ex-Stormtrooper, he should know. And Milan are hardly ready for battle. After two consecutive draws vs. the other two relegation teams, they will have to change mentality and possibly even use the force to defeat 18th place Frosinone. Adding  to their misery, many starters played 90 minutes on Thursday when Milan were able to dispatch Sampdoria and secure their spot in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals. So to recap Milan’s current state: poor mentality against small clubs, a victory on Thursday, but also tired legs. Oh, and did I mention this match will be played away?

Frosinone, on the other hand, have nothing to lose. Literally, they already have ten losses this season, what is one more? When they were promoted, it was pretty clear that they were going to be relegated at the end of the season. Especially since they really didn’t do enough in the transfer market. Stellone may have seen them jump from Lega Pro just over a year ago to Serie B and then to Serie A this season, but he is no Sith Lord. In their most recent beatdown, they lost 4-1 to Palermo. For that match he lined up Leali; Blanchard, Pavlovic, Diakite, Rosi; Gori, Soddimo, Paganini, Sammarco; Ciofani, and Dionisi. He will be without Longo, Verde, Chibsah, and Russo for this match, but again, they have nothing to lose.

Who knew Canaries would choose the Dark Side?

The Resistance, on the other hand, may or may not be visited by Supreme Leader Snoke ahead of, during, or after the match. Sometimes he helicopters into Milanello, but rarely does he appear at an away match. Although if he does, sometimes he wanders into the opposition dressing room afterward. But in addition to worrying about Snoke and the evil Kylo Ren of the First Order, Milan are missing some soldiers for this battle. Kucka will sit due to card accumulation, whereas De Jong saw straight red last week and will be banned. Lopez and Menez are still injured, however Antonelli was on the bench for the Coppa Italia match and may make the squad for this match as well. Also in doubt are Alex and Balotelli, both struggling with an illness that included fever this week.

So who will step up to fill the amazing shoes of Poe Dameron for Milan? (I laughed when you thought Montolivo. Really hard. That will never happen.) Will it be Balotelli, if he recovers? Or today’s birthday boy, Niang, who is really finding his form now and finally scoring, too? Or will it be Milan’s resident Wookiee, Carlos “Chewie” Bacca? Even the best star pilots need backup, so it will be up to the entire team to unite and battle like the Resistance.

It's always good to have a wookiee on your side

Like the Resistance, it’s time for a renewal at Milan. Time to crush evil and let good truly win again. If we are to defeat the seemingly endless evil powers of Supreme Leader Snoke, we may need to summon some Milan grinta from years past, which is kind of like searching for an old Jedi warrior. This is only one small battle in that endless saga, but winning this one just ahead of the holiday break would certainly keep Snoke… I mean Berlusconi quiet until the new year. Let him go back to digging for gold in the empty pockets of Mr. Bee and worrying about his Forza Dudu website. Finn Mihajlovic is no Jedi master, but he is doing his best in a war that is nearly impossible to win. Our Resistance are fighting for a cause they believe in, and if the stars align, they will win this battle tomorrow. As fans, we must simply ask them to fight their best for the cause of good in the bigger scheme of things. So I say to our soldiers, “May the force be with you.” Oh and Forza Milan!

This post inspired by the music of John Williams

Frosinone vs. Milan

Sunday, December 20 • 18:00 CET (12noon EST)

This match will be shown LIVE on RAI in the U.S.