Mad Mercato

Watching teams like Juventus and Inter pick up good players by dropping a lot of cash in the January mercato has a lot of Milan fans very angry. Some feel that we are conceding the Scudetto race or even risking Champions League qualification by not also spending big. Even their plan to bring in a new defender after losing Kjaer for six months has not come to fruition, and the market closes on Monday. Will anything else change for Milan before it closes? Do we lose faith in our team and the club's project? For some fans, there is only anger.

Don't be mad, just break even

Why Italy Can't Have Nice Things

Yesterday, with Gabriele Gravina's confirmation that Italy would bid to host either Euro 2028 or Euro 2032, the irony was not lost on me. The FIGC president's announcement is in sharp contrast with the reality of football in Italy, particularly the condition of the stadiums. It has been over 30 years since Italy hosted the World Cup, which is the last time there were any significant renovations or stadiums built in the entire country. It is hoped that being awarded such an important tournament would be the impetus for local authorities to stop blocking new stadiums from being built. But why would UEFA even trust that Italy could get the job done and be worthy hosts when there are so many better existing infrastructures in other countries? This is one of the reasons why Italy can't have nice things.

Clinging to history is making Italian football part of history

Perfect Pitch: Another Casualty of Overscheduling

There is nothing like a pristine playing field for footballers, the perfect pitch. Yet with the overscheduling of matches, I doubt any footballers have seen one in a very long time.  This is particularly true of the pitch at the San Siro. Even before Ibrahimović's injury on Sunday, many have tied the increase in injuries at Milan and elsewhere to pitches that are subpar due to scheduling too many matches. If the pitches cannot heal, how do we expect our players to be healthy?

A casualty of turf wars

Milan 0, Juventus 0: Pointless

Milan vs. Juventus is typically a match worth watching. But not this one. On a San Siro pitch that was poor before the six matches played in the past ten days, the most remarkable thing about this match was Ibrahimović aggravating his Achille's injury because of that pitch. Allegri's negative football sucked the life out of our game and also the life out of fans worldwide who made the error of watching. So Milan dropped to third on the table, tied on 49 points with Napoli, but behind them on goal differential. Even if we technically earned a point, this match felt pointless.

What was even the point?

Milan-Juventus Preview: The One to Watch

Milan vs. Juventus is always a fiery match, and there is a fierce rivalry between the two clubs. Ten years ago, the infamous "gol di Muntari" not only inspired Goal Line Technology (GLT,) but also a very unhealthy acrimony between these two clubs that has continued to take the spotlight away from the players and on to the referee, may God rest his poor soul. Milan come into this match seven points ahead of Juve on the table, but it should have been 10, were it not for... you guessed it... the referee vs. Spezia on Monday. Milan have had some spectacularly tragic luck with referees this season, so no one really cares what Milan or Juventus are doing, the referee will be the one to watch.

Just keep those cards in your pocket, and no one gets suspended

Even More of Milan's Tragic Luck

In October, I wrote about Milan's tragic luck. Chronicling absences due to injuries, COVID-19, and surgeries, just after Maignan's surgery was announced, and the poor refereeing was also part of our story with bad luck. There were other games with poor referee calls, of course, but if Serra is suspended for the Spezia match as expected (nothing is official as of this writing,) he would be the fourth referee to be suspended this season after a Milan game. Also since then, of course, we lost Kjaer for the season, and now Tomori had surgery as well as other injuries, COVID-19 cases, and absences due to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). I thought in October that we had seen the worst, yet here we are talking about even more of Milan's tragic luck.

Devastating. And we still have four more months without him.

Milan 1, Spezia 2: Rage Against the Machine

I have defended referees until I'm blue in the face. Even defended them and then received horrific attacks from Milan fans. But there is no defense for Serra, the referee for this match. He screwed up, massively, and not just by calling the goal off. Gyasi, the one who scored Spezia's second goal, should have been sent off more than once with a second, third or maybe even fourth yellow in this match alone. He missed other calls, too, which also influenced the outcome of the game for Spezia. Sure, Milan could have scored more, but it's not like they didn't try. With 25 Milan shots, Spezia's Provedel had the game of his life, but it was Serra who determined this match. He apologized to Milan players after the match, and the Italian Referee Association reportedly did as well, so he will undoubtedly be facing a suspension. But Milan fans are left without any points when we should have had three, leaving all of us to rage against the machine.

Giroud and Rebić trying to talks some sense into Serra, to no avail

Milan-Spezia Preview: Defenseless

From the beginning of the season, we knew that January was going to be a challenge without Bennacer and Kessié during the AFCON tournament. No one could have ever predicted the unbelievable injuries we have had this season. With Kjaer missing the last six months of the season after injury and surgery, Calabria having been out injured for weeks, and now Tomori out for a month after arthroscopic surgery on his knee, we are missing three of our four starting defenders going into Monday's match. Romagnoli has still not tested negative for COVID-19, either, and Ballo-Touré is still at AFCON as well. This basically guarantees a lineup of our remaining three defenders plus a winger/fullback for this match. With no backups. Milan are practically defenseless.

Can history repeat itself? 

Milan 3, Genoa 1: Delayed Gratification

In a match that lasted 120 minutes, including added extra time,  Milan phoned it in for the first 75 minutes. Maybe they were trying to let Shevchenko win for some job security, or maybe they are allergic to competitions where you can win trophies. But as a fan, it was very frustrating to watch them languish for so long before equalizing and then ultimately winning while wasting 30 extra minutes of energy. Once the Milan goals started, it was much better, but felt a lot like delayed gratification.

120 minutes for some delayed gratification

Coppa Italia Round of 16 • Milan-Genoa Preview: Shevacoppa

Shevchenko's Genoa side earned their spot in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 with the first goal and only win for his side since he was brought in by U.S. owners 777 back in November. Rumors surrounding Sheva's future have been swirling as the beloved former Milan star faces his old club on Thursday. The  COVID-19 outbreak in Serie A features only 54 players now who are unavailable due current positive tests, with both teams are affected. Milan have players back, while Genoa had two more players test positive on Monday. Pioli said he will field his strongest starting 11 available. If Milan knock Genoa out, will we be the final nail in the coffin for Sheva's Genoa managerial career?

Will Sheva's trip to San Siro be his last for Genoa?

Podcast: Only in Italy

Serie A has kicked off 2022 with more drama surrounding COVID-19 cases. Milan have also kicked off 2022 with back to back wins, despite missing so many players, including five players who have tested positive for COVID-19. Joining me from Argentina this time to catch up on all things Milan was our longtime friend Francesco, aka the President Curva Sud America.

Fans on the way to the stadium – only in Italy

Venezia 0, Milan 3: Picnic in Venice

Early games always scare me, not just because they are at 3:30am in my time zone, but because Milan seem to struggle at that hour. With 11 players missing again, I confess I was a bit worried. However,  with our quality and a bit of luck, Milan were able to cruise past Venezia, who finished on 10 men. A lovely gift for Pioli for his 400th Serie A match as a manager, too. It wasn't always easy, but in the end it seemed like a picnic in Venice.

Lunchtime in Venice? Sounds lovely

Venezia-Milan Preview: Slow Boat to Hell

While the Italian government is concerned about the rising numbers of COVID-19, the Lega Serie A is not. They are forcing teams to play who have clearly been exposed to the virus, creating a super-spreader situation amongst talented athletes. Now they have agreed to reduce the number of fans in the stadium after this round until February 5th, which hurts the clubs, too. Milan are still decimated with 11 players out, five whom have tested positive for the virus and are self-isolating at home. Meanwhile, Venezia are only missing two players and have home advantage. Either Milan will be able to unite together as a team again and take advantage of our quality of players, or this match will be more like a slow boat to hell.

How the team rolls in Venice

Milan 3, Roma 1: Defying the Odds

Going into this next month was frightening enough knowing that we would face three of the top six teams without two of our best midfielders. Then we were hit with five COVID-19 positive cases in the three days leading up to this match. Meaning that with injuries as well, we were missing 11 players, with five or six of them starters. Roma's squad were not as impacted because most of their missing players were bench players, and thus seemingly had the upper hand in this match. But they shot themselves in the foot, and Milan also refused to give in for 90 minutes. Tempers flared, Roma were called for 20 fouls, two yellow cards, and two red cards, ending on nine men. Milan just kept fighting, and in doing so, defied the odds.

Celebrating defying the odds

Milan-Roma Preview: Positive Start?

With dozens of players in Serie A currently testing positive for COVID-19 after the Christmas break, the league insists this week's matches will be played. They have clearly learned absolutely nothing from the past two years. Postponing a couple of week's matches would allow the outbreak to slow enough to prevent a complete shutdown. Having made new restrictions that require all of the players and staff to be vaccinated by January was too little, too late. Worse still, in addition to the normal injuries, many teams are missing players to the African Cup of Nations (AFCON.) Assuming this match is played, will it be a positive start?

A year ago October, this fixture was played without fans, an eerie reminder

Midfield Exposed

The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) begins on Sunday and is scheduled to run through February 6th. Despite many efforts to have it rescheduled, or for clubs to be able to hang onto players, it is an important tournament, and for players it is truly an honor to represent their country. For Milan, though, this tournament presents a potential nightmare. Two of our best midfielders and our backup left back are all called up for their national teams, and will miss up to six Milan matches between the league and Coppa Italia. But it's not just that they will miss just any six matches, they will miss our matches vs. Roma, Juventus, and Inter. This leaves us with very few options, and with Milan's injury history, truly this leaves our midfield exposed.

Bakayoko is French for "liability"