Shareholders and Appeals and Friendlies, Oh My!

Our club has a lot of parallels between the story of the Wizard of Oz right now. For example, we just learned that the man behind the curtain is not an all-wealthy wizard, and so now our club is owned by a company that is much closer to Kansas than in some fantasy world. So now we are vulnerable and forced to take a path through strange woods, where we will undoubtedly meet shareholders’ meetings and appeals and friendlies… Oh my!

Not such a wizard without the curtain

The shareholders’ meeting is scheduled for Saturday, when the Wizard (Yonghong Li,) Han Li, Renshuo Xu and Bo Lu will all be removed from the board. The shareholders will definitely need a brain, as they have a lot to do. They must ratify the change of ownership as well as instate a new board and president with the Elliott representatives to replace the Chinese members. Additionally, it is expected that they will answer the questions about Milan management: will Fassone and Mirabelli both make the cut? It is highly rumored that Leonardo will be brought in to oversee the technical sector… will Elliott defy the Curva Sud’s objections? It almost seems more than any scarecrow could bear.

Everyone is still awaiting the answer from the CAS hearing about our appeal on our UEFA ban. It takes courage to wait it out. We thought we would know by now, but apparently the documents Milan provided were more complex than expected and even after working through a lunchbreak, they were unable to make a decision today. Fassone certainly gave it everything he had, his presentation was reportedly two hours long. But even a lion would cower under the pressure and intensity that this singular decision affords our club.

Do they have the courage to fight for our club?

Just as the tin man wanted a heart, our boys will need an extra large heart to face Novara in our friendly tomorrow. Not that it is a team to be feared by a squad like ours necessarily, but rather because they will have to play as if the world is not crashing down around them. This will be their first public appearance outside of Milanello since the change in ownership, and with the aforementioned verdict from CAS scheduled to be handed down earlier in the day, it will be hard to maintain focus and play with heart like they should.

We're not out of the woods yet

At the end of the day, we all need to keep our brains about us and we all need courage to deal with the circumstances we find our hearts in. It may feel like we’ve been whisked away by a tornado, but even when the house lands on the wicked witch, there is always more evil to be faced. We must remember that even if it seems like things are getting better, there is always the possibility of things getting worse. For example, players may leave, and the new regime may not allow comparable replacements for them. But at the end of the day, there’s no place like Milan.

This post inspired by the music of Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

Our next match is a Friendly

Milan vs. Novara

Friday, July 20th • 17:00 CEST