Just when Milan thought that we were approaching some semblance of normalcy, we find out that our club are one of 12 teams who left the ECA and are attempting to form a Super League. While money is clearly the objective, they claim to be trying to offer better quality games for the fans. Fans are so busy trying to digest all of this that they may be surprised to learn that we are actually playing a game tomorrow. Hosting Sassuolo at the San Siro, Milan need to prove they can beat Serie A's eighth place side before we can think about playing against Europe's "best" teams.
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| Yes, there's a game and Ibrahimovic should return, too |
Just to clarify, Sassuolo are not amongst the 12 soulless clubs destroying European football for personal game. Rather, they are the team that beat Fiorentina 3-1 on Saturday, and have 46 points in Serie A. They are the team that has historically caused Milan problems, even an in-form Milan. A team that features "Milan-killer" Berardi, who specializes in scoring against Milan, especially at the San Siro. The Sassuolo hit man scored a brace on Saturday, bringing his goal tally for Sassuolo to 100, and he is also Sassuolo's all-time top scorer.
De Zerbi's side have a current form of L-D-L-W-W, and didn't have anything in particular to play for until this Super League thing was announced. If the three Italian sides involved in this idiotic scheme are disqualified from UEFA competitions next year, Sassuolo could snatch a European spot. Which gives them a reason to win. For their win over Fiorentina, De Zerbi lined up Consigli; Chiriches, Ferrari; Mulder, Lopez, Obiang, Rogerio; Traore, Djuricic, Boga, and Raspadori. Against Milan, Caputo is a question mark due to fitness, but De Zerbi should otherwise have a healthy squad as of this writing. That squad includes Locatelli, who was infamously pushed out of Milan, and probably wouldn't mind scoring at the San Siro again himself.
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| Berardi demonstrates how massive he's been for Sassuolo against Milan |
Pioli will have Ibrahimovic back from his Maresca-induced suspension. We also saw Calabria return to training this week, even playing in the training match yesterday. Whether or not he will be called up or made available for this match is still unknown. The only player still definitely out injured is Daniel Maldini. Not much has been said about his injury, but I believe it may be his soul that has been injured, due to this Super League nightmare. That won't be healing anytime soon, either.
With Milan only nine points behind Inter, it is more imperative than ever to collect all three points in every match. That will be difficult for the team now that their soulless ownership has put the players' entire careers into jeopardy They risk being banned from all FIFA and UEFA competitions, even their national teams, thanks to the stupidity of our ownership. This Super League debacle is such a distraction from the thing it claims to want to improve: the football. Everyone in the football world, from the top leadership and owners to the players and the fans, are inundated with this disgusting and untimely news. Leaving us all to ask, "Wait, there's a game?"
This post inspired by the music of Lush's "Ladykillers"