Milan are used to facing every match with complete
uncertainty: without a proper squad, a good coach, and consistency at the club
in general, it was anyone’s guess what could happen traveling away to Genoa. It was almost as if we were addicted to losing. Surprisingly,
this calendar year, with a proper squad, a motivated coach, and a 13 game
unbeaten run, bringing three points back from the Marassi is now expected. After
Thursday’s loss to Arsenal, though, finding that confidence again and
especially finding goals may prove more difficult. But if winning is the
expectation, then Milan must find a way to get back on the wagon.
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| A tough draw won't be enough this time |
Genoa used to be the club where Milan paid too much for
sometimes up and coming stars, Galliani’s favorite feeder club. Then that nasty
old woman Barbara Berlusconi had a look at the books and tattled on the old
man, and things were never the same. Gratefully. Maybe Fassone and Mirabelli
are newbies in the football management world, but they’re certainly not stupid
enough to pay too much money for Preziosi’s mediocre players. Now we just have
to worry about facing them.
Currently, Genoa sit 13 th on the table, 14 points behind
Milan. But to their credit, they did beat Inter a few weeks back. And Lazio
before that. Their current run of form is L-W-W-W-L. Unfortunately for them,
they fell to Bologna in their last match two weeks ago 2-0. For that match,
Ballardini lined up Perin; Spolli, Zukanovic, Rossettini, Hiljemark, Bessa, ex-Milan
star Bertolacci, Laxalt, Rose, Galabinov, and Pandev. Ex-Milan fan favorite
Lapadula was subbed on for that match, and should be available to hurt us. He
will be missing Izzo and Veloso, while former Milan loan special Taarabt is doubtful.
Lifelong Milan fan Giuseppe Rossi will be available and I’m sure hungry.
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| There and back again, a Genoa player's tale |
Certainly there is no pressure on Gattuso to get the team
back on track. I mean he raised the hopes and dreams of Milan fans everywhere,
and even Fassone and Mirabelli said he had exceeded expectations. But then he
smashed those dreams with two excellent goals conceded from an opponent with
more experience and skill, and as a coach, it’s now on him to pick up those
pieces and move forward. The players will wear a special “Ciao Davide” patch on
their kits to honor Astori, let’s hope that doesn’t weigh too heavily on them.
In Gattuso’s favor, Antonelli and Musacchio return to the squad. However with
Conti still out, and Calabria battered from Thursday, missing Abate is an even
bigger loss. Never fear, though, Borini could play at right back. The
all-purpose, one size fits all position superstar should be feared even more
the further out of position he is played.
Ten years ago, and maybe even six years ago, Milan were in
losing sobriety. But we fell off of that wagon and we fell hard, we became used
to that fix, used to the heartache and pain that came the drug of losing.
Gattuso’s mentality brought us back into recovery. We lost weight, found Jesus
(Suso), and realized that no matter how difficult it was, winning was a better
life for us. Detox was going well until we met Arsenal and forgot out higher
powers, succumbing to the temptation to lose once again. Now we need to sober
up again and beat Genoa to get back on the wagon again.
This post inspired by the music of Garbage
Serie A Week 28
Genoa vs. Milan
Sunday, March 11 •
18:00 CET (1pm EST)*
*Remember to
change your clocks due to Daylight Saving Time in North America
This match will be
shown on RAI Italia in the U.S.