The Derby della Madonnina
is always intense. This one should be no exception. Milan were flying high
before the break, and sit third place on the table. However, we should be
missing our best defender in Romagnoli, which is a tough blow before a big game
like this. Inter have managed to slither back up to ninth on the table, but
sacked De Boer ahead of their last league match. However they have hired Pioli since
then, after “casting” for a new manager. With the luck of a new manager’s first
game on their side, it's impossible to predict how it goes. And with Tagliavento as our ref, we could all be in for a big surprise.
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| I wanna see this again |
Inter fans mocked Milan
incessantly after comparing our mercato to theirs this summer, but so far the
joke has been on them. With a few amazing young players we had lying around our
youth sector (read: free,) we have made a laughing stock of the quality talent
they paid tens of millions for. I mean at some point, their quality should kick
in and then they could reverse the humiliation. Maybe even on Sunday. But so
far, our youth has outclassed their spending.
The biggest question mark
in this Derby will be Pioli. Will he be able to use his one-time new manager
win card? Was two weeks of training during international duty enough for him to
create a team out of Inter’s spoiled misfits? Will he be able to overcome the
mental issues that De Boer claimed were holding Inter back?
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| This is what Icardi looks like after a penalty miss in a Derby. Let's hope he looks like this at the end, too |
Before the break, De Boer
had been sacked, so youth sector coach Stefano Vecchi led the team through a
2-1 Europa League loss to Southampton and then a 3-0 pummeling of the mighty
Crotone. That win was thanks to a Perisic goal and a soulless Icardi brace. He
lined up most of De Boer’s usual suspects, keeping tens of millions of Euros on the
bench in Gabigol and Kondogbia alone. It is said that Pioli is ready to play Gabigol,
something De Boer wasn’t willing to do, which was probably the nail in his
coffin. Pioli will be missing Ansaldi, Yao, Palacio, Radu, and possibly
Ranocchia, who are all on the injury list.
Milan have injuries, too,
with Montella still missing Vangioni, Montolivo, Calabria, and
Bertolacci and Romagnoli doubtful. Romagnoli picked up a groin injury on
national team duty on Tuesday, and leaves a particularly large hole in our
defense. Montella’s options appear to be Gomez, who scored a fantastic own goal
on his national team duty, or Zapata, who is great when he’s on, but also
spectacularly inconsistent and recovering from a long injury. With Milan’s mentality blissfully the opposite of
Inter’s, it seems that it's only these injuries that could really hurt us.
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| Always destined to be MOTM |
It is no secret how much I hate Inter. Every Derby is very personal to me. And yet with the unknown factor
in Pioli and our recent injuries, I am not as confident as I was a few weeks
ago. Well, that and they assigned us Tagliavento. Plus, it’s a Derby, and there are never any guarantees when it comes to
family. Not even when you are facing your rotten, filthy, cheating,
scum-sucking snake cousins. Especially not then. So be prepared for anything to
happen. With so many unknowns, this one could easily be a surprise attack.
This post inspired by the music of Lush’s
“Sweetness and Light”
il Derby della Madonnina
Milan vs. Inter
Sunday, November 20 • 20:45 CET
(2:45pm EDT)
This match will be shown LIVE on RAI
and BeIN Sports in the U.S.