Milan-Torino Preview: Sitting Bull

For those of you familiar with American history, you’ll recognize the name of Sitting Bull. He was a Lakota spiritual leader who inspired victories for his people such as the Battle of Little Bighorn, aka Custer’s Last Stand. Well the Bulls of Torino also have a spiritual leader whose name you will recognize: Sinisa Mihajlovic. And he has led his people to 9th place on the table, just one point behind Milan, despite having missed his star scorer, Belotti, for a while to injury. And yes, that is the Belotti that Milan fans wanted this summer. But he’s back alongside the unpredictable Ljajic, the underrated Iago Falque, and our former Niang. Together, they create a formidable attack that any team should be wary of, especially if their coach is like Sitting Bull.

Miss you

Mihajlovic has Torino playing well enough, and with a bit more luck, they’d be even higher on the table. They have drawn more times than any other team, winning four, drawing six, and losing three. They drew last weekend to Chievo, dropping points due to a rare Belotti penalty miss. For that fateful match, Mihajlovic lined up Sirigu; Burdisso, N’Koulou, Ansaldi, De Silvestri, Baselli, Obi, Rincon, Belotti, Ljajic, and Iago Falque. It appears he should have a full or nearly full roster to choose from for tomorrow’s match.

Montella is no Sitting Bull. Well he’s stubborn, but he’s no spiritual or inspirational leader. Any success this team are going to have will be in spite of him, not thanks to him. It was discovered today that in 22 matches, he’s used 22 different lineups. Allegri much? So now he is being criticized for his excessive rotation. But when you can’t match up your trousers and socks, it takes a lot of time in the closet.

Miss you, too

Most specifically, he faces criticism for not using Cutrone and Silva more in the league. They both have the highest number of goals with the least starts for Milan. But of course, most of those goals came in the Europa League, against lesser defenses. But the truth is, no one knows what they can do in Serie A, because they’ve barely been allowed to play there. Unable to play due to injury are of course Conti, Calabria, and Abate. The good news is that Suso and Romagnoli are back. Bonucci has a slight knee problem, but has been called up, much to the disappointment of his son, I’m sure. Kalinic has been called up of course, because Montella prefers to watch his experience in not scoring than the lack of experience that Cutrone and Silva have in not scoring. I just want the goals, but wouldn’t mind the younger players getting more time.

Where is the love?

Will this match be Montella’s Last Stand? Unlikely. According to some poorly written investigative news articles, Milan’s ownership is not who they said they were, and fans have every right to worry, even if that's not really news. For that and the fact that all signs show there isn’t much money available, Montella has job security by poverty. And lack of a decent replacement. But this game will be very tough, and pits our former striker and coach against our new purchases and coach. At least Mihajlovic knew how to match up his clothes. It’s not a cause like the Battle of Little Bighorn, but it does pit two teams against each other who are fighting for European spots for next year. And one coach is more of a sitting duck, while Torino’s coach is more of a modern Sitting Bull.

This post inspired by the music of Ludo’s “Battle Cry”

Serie A Week 14

Milan vs. Torino

November 26 • 15:00 CET (9am EST)

This match will NOT be shown LIVE in the U.S.

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