Cagliari
are like the foster child that everyone looks at with pity. They started their
season away to Juventus and now have to travel to the San Siro to face Milan.
Ouch. Meanwhile, Milan fans are anxiously awaiting the chance to welcome their
team at home. After a record breaking Europa League qualifying attendance of
65,000 fans, season ticket holders are waiting to see their newly revamped team
at the San Siro. Sorry, Cagliari. This season is not smiling kindly upon you.
But for Milan fans, we are thrilled to host anyone in our renewed fortress,
home sweet San Siro.
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| Hoping for a hero's welcome |
Cagliari
have to be slightly traumatized at the 3-0 trouncing they received from Juventus
last week. Other than eight days of rest, they come to Milano with pretty much
every disadvantage. For the loss to Juve, Rastelli lined up Cragno; Pisacane,
Andreolli, Capuano, Padoin, Farias, Cigarini, Barella, Ionita, Farago, and Cop.
It appears that Rastelli has a full squad at his disposal for their trip from
Sardegna. But let’s not be careless in assuming that Cagliari are going home
empty handed. They finished 11th in the league last year and are fully capable
of ruining our homecoming. However traveling away to two big teams for the
first two weeks is a pretty hard pill to swallow.
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| Poor Cagliari are the first team awarded a VAR penalty... only to have it saved |
Montella
should be pleased coming home from Macedonia with a qualifying berth in the
Europa League group stage. But no time to even think about the draw, because he
must prepare the team for Sunday. He will still be without Biglia, Bonaventura,
and Niang. Not sure whether Paletta, Gomez, and Sosa will be called up with the
transfer window closing this next week. And we’ll see if Montolivo has overcome
his shock in scoring to join the squad again. Gigio did not travel with the
squad to Macedonia, but will undoubtedly start in goal.
Tactics
are an even bigger question than callups. Montella opted to try a 3-5-2 vs.
Shkëndija, which was awful, albeit without his normal starters. Switching
tactics like that is going to be a work in progress, but he really seems
committed to that system, so we should perhaps get used to it. The good news is
that with a decidedly better squad than last season, they just may be able to
pull it off. If Montella plays all of the good players. Whether or not they can
sustain it or have the personnel to make it our best system remains to be seen.
And this week is a test of their endurance, having just played on Thursday.
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| Rotating players, settling on a system... the man has to step very carefully so early in the season |
Milan need every point possible in the league. If the team are tired this week, it’s only going to get worse the deeper we go into Europa League competition. These games are so important to stay focused and fight through to the final whistle. Cagliari is exactly the type of team to come along and steal three points or even just a point before we even know what happened. They are rested and likely wanting some revenge after their result last week. So we need to take advantage of the power of the fans at the San Siro. With that support, the team can overcome tired legs and travel weariness and be empowered by home, sweet San Siro.
This post inspired by the music of
Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom”
Serie A Week 2
Milan vs. Cagliari
Sunday, August 27 •
20:45 CEST (2:45pm EDT)
This match will NOT
be televised LIVE in the U.S.
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