Fine As We Are

Today the Italian transfer market closes. This used to be called Galliani Day™ around here, a day of excitement because you never knew when Galliani was going to just hop off of that bicycle, undo another button from that white dress shirt he always wears with those casual shorts, and ruthlessly sign a big name player before their club even knew what hit them. Generally offering them an infinite contract and wages, of course. But still, it was exciting. You woke up with one team on Galliani Day™ and at the end of the day, you had an entirely different team. Bam! But as the past four years have seen, even Galliani’s false bravado has gone a bit impotent and our transfer markets make you want to crawl up inside yourself with fear. Each mercato getting worse, each time thinking “he can’t do worse than the last time,” but then he has. Every time. But this one is the best ever. Even though we knew up front we wouldn’t even have one. (Thanks Sino Europe Sports.) In fact, it’s so bad, not even Galliani is saying his catch phrase, “Fine as we are.”

Surprised he hasn't had to sell the bike

Udinese 2, Milan 1: Ouch

Losing hurts. Losing to the same team twice in a season hurts more than twice as much. Especially when they are below you on the table. Losing when the winning goal was scored by a player who shouldn’t have been on the field is a very bitter pill to swallow. But to lose not one, but two starters to injury does more than add insult to injury. This kind of loss is one of the worst ways to lose, and it hurts. Badly.

Plays 26 minutes, scores Milan's only goal, named MOTM by some. We'll miss him dearly until he heals.

Udinese vs. Milan: Year of the Condor

For most people, it’s the year of the rooster, but for Milan…

Udinese-Milan Preview: Wake Up Call

Like watching video replay of a train wreck, Milan fans have watched our team concede not one but two goals in the first 25 minutes in not one, not two, but three games in a row. Enough with the excuses, this is not a fluke. This is a problem, and one that needs to be fixed quickly. Before we continue our downward spiral down the table. So Sunday afternoon, after being sent packing by Le Zebre, we face the Zebrette in their house to see if we can buck our own trend. How it ends is entirely up to us. Because how it begins is now the most important thing. This match is a wake up call.

"Wait, there are more zebras in this league? What's with all the zebras?"

Coppa Italia • Juventus 2, Milan 1: Sleeping Giants

Milan were caught sleeping. Juve are the giants. To be honest I was going to use the title “Sleeping with Giants” but that seemed like it could produce a lot of unwanted searches. So through every fault of our own, Milan are out of the Coppa Italia. And Juve are poised to win all the trophies. Again. No surprises here, really, just disappointment. That and concern for an issue that is becoming very, very disconcerting. Almost as disconcerting as sleeping with giants.

A little something to be happy about

Coppa Italia • Juventus vs. Milan: Slipping Up

Milan have been Juve’s banana peel twice already this season. Can we do it again?

Coppa Italia: Juventus vs. Milan: The Letter J

Let’s face it. We beat them in the league in October. We beat them to win the Supercoppa in December. But what are the odds that we would beat them in their house on Wednesday? I mean our form is dipping, theirs is surging. For us, going out of the Coppa at the quarterfinals is a little sad, but not really shameful, especially considering our opponent. Whereas for Juventus, going out now would be more shameful than their new logo. And that’s shameful. Especially to a team that now sits in seventh on the table. So this preview isn’t about winning so much as it is about the letter J.

"That not letter J! That not even cookie! That messed up!"

Milan 1, Napoli 2: Caught Sleeping

Montella has talked for some time about getting 90 minutes out of our boys, and yet he really hasn’t ever quite gotten it. More specifically, when rotations are made, we tend to be caught off guard. And such was the case today as Napoli went up 2-0 within the first ten minutes of the match. It seemed as if our boys were literally asleep, and couldn’t seem to wake up. For fans, of course, it was our worst nightmare. Luckily, eventually they did wake up, but not before losing the game for having been caught sleeping.

At least someone was awake

Milan-Napoli Preview: Under Siege

Last year at the San Siro when Napoli rolled into town, the unthinkable happened: a 4-0 loss to the Partenopei in our house. The biggest margin we’d ever lost to them by. Ouch. I think our players have been waiting for this match to avenge it, and with the team playing so much better this year, they were hopeful. But with Coppa Italia matches crowding the schedule and key players out injured or suspended, a win to avenge last year seems less likely. Instead, just surviving with our heads held high would be an amazing feat. Particularly when you consider what Napoli has been doing this season. So tomorrow, look for the San Siro to be under siege.

More Suso, less Napoli, please

Podcast: Midseason Musings

The podcast has freed itself, at least for one episode, from the closet in the basement which it has been hiding in. Because midseason. There’s just too much to talk about. From day to day news, a season update, talking about Montella and the squad, to the vast amount of mercato news. Oh yeah, and that little subject of the sale of the club. So take advantage of this temporary freedom and listen… for the sake of the podcast.

Find out if Montella makes the grade

Torino 2, Milan 2: Revenge-ish

At kickoff, it was quite clear which team was more focused. And also who had done their homework since our meeting last Thursday. For the first 45 minutes, Torino closed Milan down at every turn and forced us to pay for our errors. But in the second half, Milan were “slapped awake” as Bertolacci said, and did everything they could to even the score, but not quite enough to win. So we only took one point home and Mihajlovic and company got a little revenge… sort of.

Next time maybe they could just put "C-O-M-P-L-A-C-E-N-C-Y" on their jackets and spare us our time

Torino vs. Milan: Turn the Other Cheek

He lives to fight another day

Torino-Milan Preview: Déjà Vu

It seems like just the other day that we were facing off against Torino. Oh, wait... it was just the other day. But that was in the Coppa Italia, and that was in our house. On Monday, we go to their house and play for three points in the league. So... same but different. It will be another tough battle, and Torino will want revenge after we knocked them out of the Coppa on Thursday. But in many ways, it will seem like déjà vu.

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner"

Coppa Italia • Milan 2, Torino 1: Grit

I was really nervous for this match. Despite what Montella said in his prematch press conference, he was definitely switching up our starting eleven more than I was comfortable with. But they all stepped up. And while we saw a few errors from the likes of Sosa and Gomez that we wouldn’t see in Locatelli and Romagnoli, the team rallied together and got the win. After being down early. There is something that is replacing the heralded winning mentality, and that is good old-fashioned grit.

So many feels

Coppa Italia • Milan-Torino: Go Big or Go Home

Thursday marks game one of a double header this week with Torino. Only this game is a win or go home match. Torino have already played two rounds of the Coppa Italia and sent Pro Vercelli and Gattuso’s Pisa home. Now, most ironically, Milan enter this deep in the competition largely due to the great work Mihajlovic did at Milan last year. Only now Mihajlovic is at Torino. You know he’d love nothing more than to send Milan out. So it’s time for Milan to step it up: Go big or go home.

I was robbed of my Coppa Italia final. Berlusconi will pay.

Raise a Glass

Last weekend marked a special opportunity for Milan Ladies, as six of them got to represent the team and make an appearance on mainstream television. Unlike the Milan men’s team, the Milan Ladies’ games are unfortunately not televised every week, so the chance to be on television at least talking about football was a very special occasion.

A much deserved moment in the spotlight for these great athletes

Milan 1, Cagliari 0: Heartbreakers

In the match of fifth vs. fourteenth, Milan weren’t thoroughly convincing as a team who were nine places ahead of Cagliari on the table. One would think that playing the team with the most number of goals conceded in the league, more of Milan’s ridiculous 29 shots would have found the back of the net. But Cagliari, who had scored an equal number of goals to Milan coming into this one, defended with their lives (as well as attempting to take some of Milan’s players’ lives, too.) And they almost kept a clean sheet. Except for Bacca’s very late decider. It seems that Milan are heartbreakers.

Who needs tactics or skills when you have a winning mentality?

Milan vs. Cagliari: Sniper Training

Like lambs to the slaughter

Milan-Cagliari Preview: Keep On Winning

Things are not well at Cagliari. They may be in 14th place on the table, with more than twice as many points as the three relegation zone teams, but they have conceded the most goals in the league, at 42. So far. Their hero-turned-villain, goalkeeper Marco Storari, has seen 36 of those goals hit the back of the net himself. And now it seems that he is being pushed out in a move that will directly impact Milan. Maybe. Or perhaps this game will change that. What we do know is that a loan swap deal that was said to be hours away from being done was suddenly postponed until after this game. No one has said why, but maybe Milan just wanted to keep on winning.

Injuring teammates, or the Storari Special™, is what he does when he's a hero

Words

There is an anomaly that occurs on social media quite frequently, actually. People accusing people of being negative, or being told to be more optimistic. People being called angry (or much, much worse,) or being told their opinion is wrong. I don’t know if these people who accuse and yell and correct people for their opinions realize that they are making complete fools of themselves, but with everything you post online being public (unless you are that lame guy on Twitter who deleted his half of the convo with me this week because I schooled him,) it’s good to know some words. (It’s also good to know how to screen cap for convos like that so I can preserve his ignorance forever and share with anyone I choose.)

Perhaps Chiellini is just sharing his opinion.

The Anti-Mercato

Due to the nth delay in the sale of the club, everyone has said that there will be no investments in the mercato. The only way anyone will come in is if someone is sold. Not that Galliani hasn’t said that before, but considering that results have been better than expected this season and there are so many steps to approve any movement in the mercato at all, this time it seems a very harsh reality. But never fear, Galliani is still in charge. And so far, he has not disappointed at all. Brace yourselves for the anti-mercato.

"That is a waste of a whole lot of money. I'm just going to walk away now."

The Trouble With Gabriel

Once upon a time there was a young keeper called Gabriel. Talented enough to be called up to the first team of a big Brazilian club, he was rotting on the bench there, not playing at all. But his exploits in the U20 national team gained the interest of a big European club, AC Milan. So in the summer of 2012, just before his 20th birthday, he was signed by AC Milan. He was signed to be backup to the oft-injured Abbiati and good ol’ butterfingers Amelia, so his chances were good at getting some playing time. In fact, he made seven appearances in his first season. But things changed, as so often they do, and at 24 years old, he is now third choice keeper behind two keepers who are both younger than him and Italian. So what do Milan do with him now? That is the trouble with Gabriel.

Sucks to be the "old man" at 24