PSV 3, Milan 0: Final Blow

Milan traveled to Eindhoven for a well-intentioned final friendly of the year in preparation for the return of Serie A on Wednesday. However, instead of looking polished and ready to take on all four competitions, they looked as sickly as their split pea soup puke kits. PSV were as explosive as their surprising pyrotechnics before and after the match, and took full advantage of Milan's inability to function as they dealt them a 3-0 final blow to end our intense year of 2022.

There is only so much these two can do with no budget.

PSV-Milan Friendly: Dutch Detour

On Friday, Milan are taking a detour through the Netherlands to play one more friendly against PSV Eindhoven. Serie A will officially resume again on Wednesday, when we face Salernitana. Our final friendly of an eventful 2022 will give Pioli and the guys one last chance to tune up before that match. With all but two players having returned from international duty, there are only injury and fitness concerns to worry about when choosing a starting 11. With a match so close to the restart, we will likely see more starters get some playing time as Milan make a Dutch detour.

The guys are back and ready to return to Serie A, with a friendly detour on Friday

The Problematic January Transfer Market

After watching Milan struggle more during the first part of this season as compared to recent seasons,  it is natural to look to the January transfer market for reinforcements. Given the sheer number of serious injuries to important players and how much their absences impacted our results, the need to improve squad depth is very obvious. However, making improvements in January could prove very challenging. Not only is it unclear how much money, if any, is currently available for investment, but we already have a bloated squad, and would need players to leave before we could sign anyone new, even just on loan. Then there is the danger of interfering with the team mentality midseason, which is the very secret to Milan's success. Which is why this January transfer market could prove to be very problematic.

Milan fans' transfer enemy number one

AC Milan's 2022, Wrapped

With Christmas here and 2022 coming to a close, it is a good time to look back and reflect on Milan's year. Most importantly, this was the year that Milan won their 19th Scudetto, and Pioli's first trophy, celebrated by over a million people in Milano and millions around the world. But there was so much more. There was the sale of the club to RedBird Capital, saying goodbye to Elliott Management. Milan's second season back in the Champions League saw them qualify for the Round of 16 for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Plus plenty of adventure,  all of the drama from our rivals, and enough injuries to shame a zombie apocalypse. So here it is, AC Milan's 2022, wrapped.

Milan's 2022 is wrapped, but 2023 could be a surprise package

Caro Babbo Natale (Dear Santa)

This year, Milan fans have tried to be very good. Yes, we did sing chants against Inter during our Scudetto parade celebrations, but have you seen their referee record last season? Not a single red card at all. It is almost as if all of the elves hid all of their red cards or something. Plus, it was Inter. They are pretty easy to mock. But truly, that was very unclassy and not typical Milan behavior. And we paid our fines and have tried to make up for it the rest of the time. So please, Babbo Natale, if you could just be so kind as to grant us some Christmas wishes...

Babbo Natale has already brought back Mr. Champions League, but we need more...

The Point of Liverpool-Milan in Dubai

Milan were missing 15 players for this match, even more than for our friendly on Tuesday against Arsenal, and it showed. The final result in regulation was Liverpool 4, Milan 1. However, there was a tiny bit of Birthday redemption when Mirante became a penalty-saving machine and earned us a bonus point in the penalty shootout, which ended 4-3 for Milan. This Dubai Super Cup may have been a tournament, I'm assuming someone will get a trophy, but that was not the really the point for these teams.  It seemed like, for both sides, the point of this match was to give a lot of bench and younger players a good look and some minutes ahead of the second half of the season.

Mirante saved two penalties (and almost another) to give Milan the birthday gift of a bonus point

Happy 123rd Birthday, AC Milan!

Milan are celebrating their 123rd birthday today with a friendly against an old rival. They are also celebrating a new shirt deal with Emirates that should bring €90-€105 million to the club over the next three years. Not a bad way to mark an important date. Yet they haven't forgotten what it means to be Milan. Happy 123rd, AC Milan!

Not a bad birthday way to kick off the Birthday weekend

What We Learned From Arsenal vs. Milan in Dubai

The first thing I learned from this one is that waking up early to watch your team play a friendly is not always rewarded. In fact, sometimes you are punished. As the dressing room pictures were released and I saw those hideous split pea soup puke kits, I knew it would be ugly. But I did not heed the nauseatingly green warning signs and just go back to bed. That is on me. Then I had to have a paid subscription just to watch the match on Milan's YouTube channel. Worse still, they put a picture-in-picture of their ridiculous Twitch streamer, Lollo, and he was talking over the excellent English speaking commentator (loudly) throughout the match in Italian. Literally, I got a headache from it, it was so bad. Oh yeah, and Milan lost both the match to Arsenal 2-1 as well as the bizarre mandated penalty shootout 4-3. But mostly, I learned that our business side are like desperate street pimps in Dubai, ruining everyone's experience with their horrible marketing decisions.

How could they be expected to win anything wearing those abominations of football kits?

What It Means to Be Milan

Milan played their first friendly after a short vacation Thursday. While they finally won 3-2 against Serie D side Lumezzane, it took them a while to remember what it means to be Milan. Meanwhile, off the pitch in the past week or so, we have seen the character of Milan in sharp contrast to other clubs. While Juventus, for example, are imploding in a self-made scandal, Pioli went to a retirement home to share some Christmas cheer, was also awarded for his sportsmanship, while Gabbia and Pobega visited children with cancer, and Maldini and Massara were serving meals to the less fortunate. They all showed by example what it means to be Milan.

Maldini and Massara serving the less fortunate epitomizes what it means to be Milan

A New Chapter Begins with Giorgio Furlani, Milan's New CEO

Milan announced three weeks ago that Giorgio Furlani would be taking the helm of the club after the departure of CEO Ivan Gazidis. However, that change did not actually occur until this week. Now that the Gazidis chapter is officially closed, Milan are moving forward with the lifelong Milan fan to guide the club. The former Elliott man and Milan board member since 2018 will take the reins and write the next chapter in Milan's rebirth.

Furlani was already central at EXPO 2020 in Dubai, along with Gazidis and Stylsvig

Back to Training: Adapting to the Change in Schedule

Most of the players returned to Milanello on Friday to train in the cold. Many had been in warmer climates, vacationing during their break. Now they will train in the cold, play a friendly on Thursday, and then fly to Dubai on Sunday for a warm weather training camp. There, they will play a couple of friendlies, then probably another short break for Christmas. Then back to training in the cold, and another friendly ahead of the return of part two of this wacky season. Whoever thought that having a World Cup in the winter was a good idea was seriously delusional. And probably corrupt, too. (Looking at you, FIFA.) Obviously, the players are professionals, and they will make the best of it as they are adapting to the change in schedule.

How they adapt to this bizarre schedule could impact the second half our season