As fans, many look at our position on the table and think
that this year was a complete waste. But actually, it was a year of so many
changes, and in many ways, Milan are actually in better shape as a club, even
if we are in a lower spot on the table. One of the advantages of having a blog
is that everything about Milan is documented, good and bad. So for today, I
present “A year with Milan.”
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| Looking to the future |
The year started off with some failures (losing
to Juve in the Supercoppa,) and some successes (drawing
Napoli in the league, then beating
them in the Coppa Italia.) We reinforced in January with the likes of
Paqueta
and Piatek,
but our good form (and mentality) came to a screeching halt with a soul-stealing
Derby loss in March.
Everything was downhill from there, although Milan had seemed
almost certain to finish top four early in the year, we finished one point shy
of a Champions League spot. One point. There was also the
ridiculousness of Acerbi’s jersey, and the
pervasive racism that haunted Bakayoko and Kessie thereafter. As if
that wasn’t enough, Gattuso left
by mutual agreement, and Leonardo left,
then snaked back to PSG to plot to steal more players from us.
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| Hard to say goodbye |
The summer brought immense changes. We finally
resolved our FFP issues with UEFA, after Elliott Management’s lawyers
and Milan hierarchy agreed to forfeit the Europa League this year. Maldini was
promoted to head of the technical area, and brought in Boban from his job at
FIFA. While they
have since been highly criticized by short-sighted and small-minded
fans, they cut €25m in wages and brought in great signings like Theo
Hernandez and Ismael
Bennacer, all on low salaries. They decreased the squad size and their
moves largely made sense, creating a young, cohesive squad unlike any we’ve
seen in years. They also brought in some
guy called Ricky Massara as the sporting director, but it’s not like
they had a lot of choices there.
The biggest and most costly error was the
coach they chose this summer, Marco Giampaolo. But honestly, there
weren’t really any better options at that point, either. They kept their faith
in him as long as possible, despite his bizarre “tactics” and his
unwillingness to integrate new players into the squad. Many actually criticized
them for sacking him too soon, not looking at the table or the long-term damage
to the mentality of our young players. However, Maldini and Boban made the
right choice to bring in the
experienced Stefano Pioli, who has steadily improved the team’s
mentality with consistent tactics and lineups.
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| Don't forget the return of Bonera |
After meeting Juve
pace for pace in November, but still dropping three points, Bonaventura’s
return to the starting lineup and his spectacular goal helped us draw
with Napoli. We gained a few
points on the table, things seemed to be looking up, and then we
celebrated Milan’s 120th Birthday. Maybe that was the pressure that
crushed our young team, but closing out the year with the soul-stealing
massacre at the hands of our neighbors in Bergamo was not what I asked
for this year for Christmas.
Something I had asked for Christmas for many years, and
finally got this summer, was the
exit of Montolivo. No more getting coaches fired, whining about playing
time, then watching goals roll past him and more. That might have been my
personal Milan highlight of the year. Well actually, my personal highlight of
the year was the Milan
love shared with my son when he was in the hospital for 11 very long
days this summer. In a year where Milan fans became the worst version of
themselves, it was one bright spot of hope for their collective humanity.
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| They say you can never look back, but Ibra doesn't need to |
I fear the hype around Ibra’s
return may lead to more fan misbehavior, but he certainly brings hope
and a level of awesomeness that no one else could at this point. Despite the
Milan curse of players who have tried to come back to Milan and failed to do
nearly as well, his return brings closure to the rift in Milan’s history that
was opened up wide when Galliani forced
him out in 2012.
This year was a year of ups and downs, long-term it may lead
to more ups, but short-term it may feel like more downs. Certainly ending on
such a sour note can only be washed clean by good things from the start of the
new year. Ibra’s return seems like it could be one of those good things. Let’s
hope that the Mary
Poppins of Football™ brings only good things for 2020.
Happy New Year!
This post inspired by the music of AC/DC’s
“Back in Black”