Sometimes, there are just no words. I have spent the day in
denial and then in tears and then in denial again about the loss of NBA legend
and lifelong Milan fan, Kobe Bryant, as well as the loss of his daughter and the other
passengers aboard that helicopter. I watched Kobe his whole career, and watched
him as a father, too, and saw the great things he had accomplished after
retiring from basketball, as well. This one was just too close to home. I know that
those of us left behind must keep going, but it doesn’t change the fact that I
feel absolutely gutted.
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| Ciao, Kobe |
Speaking of gutted, Torino come into this match after being
destroyed 7-0 by Atalanta and finishing on nine men in their Serie A match on Saturday. Whether they
will react or be deflated when they face us on Tuesday remains to be seen.
For
that fateful match, Mazzarri lined up Sirigu; Izzo, Nkoulou, Djidji; De
Silvestri, Meité, Lukic, our old pal Laxalt; ex-Milan youth Verdi, Berenguer; and Belotti.
Although Izzo and Lukic were sent off, that suspension applies only to Serie A
matches, so they would still be available for this one. Mazzarri was missing
Zaza, Ansaldi, and Baselli to injury for that match, it is unclear as of this
writing whether or not any of them will be available for this one.
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| It was a really bad day at the office |
Pioli comes into this one with four wins in a row, including a 1-0 victory over
Brescia on Friday. He will still be missing Duarte, Calabria, and Biglia for
this match due to injury, but should otherwise have a full squad, an extra day
of rest, and home advantage for this match. Typically, the second keeper will
play in the Coppa matches, but with Begovic being brand new, it’s not clear yet which keeper he will line up. Certainly, Antonio deputized for his little
brother well enough against SPAL, so hopefully no matter who plays, they can
help maintain a clean sheet.
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| We've got backup |
I am hoping that Milan will honor Kobe with a Mamba
Mentality performance for this match. Having grown up in Italy while his father
played basketball in the Italian leagues, Kobe was not only fluent in Italian,
but also always made it very clear that he was a Milan fan. “If you cut my left
arm, it bleeds black and red, if you cut my right arm it bleeds purple and gold
(for the Lakers.)”
There is a new star in the sky tonight over Los Angeles, and
another little angel, too. As a lifelong Lakers fan and Milan fan as well, I
can only hope that Kobe will never be forgotten, but rather live on in our
hearts and in the future performances of Milan. Tonight, my heart is absolutely gutted.
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| Ciao |
This post inspired by the legendary
Kobe Bryant. RIP Mamba.
Our next match is
Coppa Italia Quarterfinals
Milan vs. Torino
Tuesday, January
28 • 20:45 CET (2:45pm EST)
This match can be
streamed LIVE on ESPN+ in the U.S.