Traveling
to Pescara, it’s hard to fear a team that only has 12 points on the season.
That’s six points from draws, three points because an opponent was judged to
have fielded an ineligible player, and three points from a coaching change
miracle win. So it’s not the team I fear so much, but rather the coach. That
coach, of course, is Zdenek Zeman. He’s coached 17 different teams in his
career, some of them multiple times. And yet his only claims to fame are
winning Serie B two different times and winning Serie C2 once. So I’m not
worried about him chasing Juventus for a title now or any time in the future.
But what I am worried about is his ability to create brilliant individual wins.
His infamous attacking style can throw even the best teams off guard, and take
three impossible points any day of the week. So watch out, Milan. On Sunday,
you’re entering Zeman Country.
Pescara
particularly loves Zeman, as it was under his cloud of smoke that they were
promoted to Serie A after the 2011-12 season. And not only were they promoted,
but players such as Verratti, Immobile, and Insigne were nurtured into the
spotlight that year under his watchful eye. But this time around, Zeman took
the reins after Oddo was sacked. And in true Zeman form, they destroyed our
feeder club, Genoa, 5-0 in their first match under the Smoking Man. Despite the
fact that they’ve only really won that single game this season, anything is
possible under the man with the leather face.
Of
course, it didn’t pay off for them vs. Atalanta before the break, who defeated i Delfini 3-0. For that particular
smackdown, Zeman lined up: Bizzarri; Coda, Bovo, some guy called Muntari,
Biraghi, Zampano, Verre, Memmushaj, Benali, Crescenzi, and Cerri. Wait did I
just say some guy called Muntari? Oh yeah, that guy. The one who just scored
his first goal since returning to Serie A the week before vs. Udinese. So you
know he’ll be ready to hurt us… either physically or on the scoreline. Or both.
Speaking of hurting, Zeman will be missing Caprari, Stendardo, Vitturini, Pepe,
and Gilardino to injury. And yes, it’s that Gilardino. The man of so many exes.
![]() |
Some guy called Muntari |
Montella
has some injuries as well. Bertolacci, Suso, Abate, and Bonaventura are all out
with injuries. The infamous Montolivo has returned to training this week, and
also to tweeting about football, but it’s hard to know if he’ll be called up
yet. We can only hope that he is waiting until he is fully fit, which if judged
correctly, may not be ever again. (Did I just type that out loud?)
Anything
can happen with Zeman. The man is a living, smoking legend, and he manages to
make the impossible happen, especially in a single game. Personally, I’m really
hoping that Pescara still have only 12 points at the end of this one, because
we need the mentality and momentum heading into the Derby the next week. I am
also hoping that Muntari doesn’t score or injure any of our players, but that
might be too much to hope for. Besides, if Pescara take points from us, it will
be one more slap in the face to our ex-Milan Oddo. But despite facing the most
bottom of the bottom of the table, I’ve learned to never count your cigarette
butts until they’re trashed. Because you never know what you’re going to get in
Zeman Country.
This post inspired
by the music of Mark Snow’s “The X-Files Theme”
Pescara vs. Milan
Sunday, April 2 •
15:00 CET (9am EST)
This match will be
shown LIVE on RAI in the U.S.
And now, as promised...
OK guys, I've given up fighting this sexism thing. So look for those topless photos to be posted to the blog within the hour. #YoureWelcome— Milan Obsession (@milanobsession) April 1, 2017
Pescara-Milan Preview: Zeman Country
Reviewed by Elaine
on
7:30 AM
Rating:
![Pescara-Milan Preview: Zeman Country](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlk8htSKh0yk4qzaw4GU_nZUCiQ0cmXXf_TrfB7kKrdI3nsFWWUZjKMUjorpsUk-TkGgaEXSicglPVZHcQyma9T2EcS9TaWWhmW-lfhICRbDxWT8_Um1m5tOsnTZ3CbPOmcqgbuprmlk/s72-c/Trust+no+one+Milan+files.jpg)