After last season, Milan
are so lucky just to be playing for the Supercoppa. But we got the easy road,
playing Sampdoria, Carpi, and Alessandria on the way to the Coppa final, while
Juve had to face Torino, Lazio, and Inter to get there. And it is also thanks
to them that we are playing for the Supercoppa trophy, since we won neither the
league nor the Coppa Italia final. But since they won both and couldn’t play
themselves, Milan are going to Doha by virtue of being the runner up in the
Coppa Italia. Literally, Milan are just happy to be here.
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| Just happy to be on the plane |
Another reason Milan will
be just happy to be here is that they are having a little plane trouble
actually getting to Doha. It seems that their flight, arranged by tournament
officials, was cancelled due to mechanical problems, and another flight would
not be available for about 24 hours. Rather than being grateful for the safety
of his team, particularly in the wake of recent plane-related tragedy, Galliani
took the low road and complained that Juve arriving in Doha almost 24 hours
earlier was a “serious sporting disadvantage” and threatened that Milan would
not play. And no, the irony of our shirt sponsors being Fly Emirates and our
coach being l’Aeroplanino has not been lost on anyone.
Juventus have every
advantage, arriving in Doha a day earlier and already training there being the
least of them. It was thought that Allegri would be without Pjanic and
Lichtsteiner due to injury, but both were called
up and made the trip. Instead, he will only be missing Alves, Bonucci,
and Mandragora to injury. How and whom Allegri will lineup will always be a
surprise, so I won’t even try to guess. He’s even brought a few youngsters,
perhaps to fight fire with fire. But he has actually won the Supercoppa with
both clubs, so he can relax, as he has that advantage, too.
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| Diesel made them killer new threads just for this match, too |
Milan, on the other hand
are just happy to be here. So many other teams deserved to be runners up in the
Coppa Italia, but were on the wrong side of the table. Milan do not have their
own stadium, nor do we have five consecutive Scudetti, nor does our starting
lineup even rival their bench. Oh yeah, and they got an extra day in Doha, I’m
sure that will make all the difference.
Additionally, Montella has
never coached a Supercoppa, even if he may have won one as a player with Roma.
In fact, as a coach, he’s never really won anything yet. Except our
match with Juve in October, of course. That was awesome. However things
have changed since then in both squads. With the last two matches bringing less
than perfect results for Milan, it’s difficult to know how the mentality of the
squad will be. And he will be missing Calabria, Fernandez, and Montolivo to
injury, even if all of the players are traveling with the squad.
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| Donnarumma is always just happy to be here (and the feeling is mutual for all fans, I'm sure) |
This is a final. It’s a
one-off. Winner takes all. And Milan are the serious underdogs. If Galliani can
stop whining about sporting disadvantages, he might notice that we’ve actually
got a slight chance at bringing home a trophy. On the pitch, not in the press.
And even if we lose, there’s no shame in losing to this Juventus, who have been
built to win not only the league, but also the Champions League. So we should
enjoy the chance to have our league match for this week postponed until
February and to be playing for a trophy at all under the circumstances. It’s
the holiday season, after all, and no one needs a Grinch complaining about time
while his team are safe and doing better than expected. Milan should be just
happy to be here.
This post inspired by the music of
Boris Karloff’s “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”
The Supercoppa
Juventus vs. AC
Milan
Friday, December 23 • 7:30pm AST
(11:30am EST)
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar
This match will be shown LIVE on
GolTV in the U.S.