When it came to choosing a new manager this summer, fans wanted an established, big name manager. If they could not have that, they wanted an up-and-coming young manager such as Thiago Motta, who made a name for himself at Bologna the past two years. Instead, management chose Paulo Fonseca, a manager who constantly complains about the way teams play in Serie A, and also about having to manage the team to compete in this league. Success-wise, Stefano Pioli is comfortably making €12 million per year (three times what Milan paid him, tax free,) in Saudi Arabia, with a team of just a few superstars and mostly unknowns, sitting in third place in the Saudi Pro League. But since it seemed like everyone wanted him gone, Milan could have chosen the lesser of two evils, which looks to be Motta, who has Juventus six full points ahead of Milan on the table in sixth place. Instead, they went with Fonseca, the lesser paid of two evils.
There is evil, and there is less than.
Don't get me wrong, Juventus the club is far more corrupt and evil, it always has been and always will be. But they seem to have chosen the better manager for so many reasons, the most obvious of which is their advantage in both the Champions League and Serie A standings. While questions have been raised about Motta as their manager, Juventus have not lost a single league match this season, and only lost once in the Champions League, on 10 men. Motta was also wise enough to put faith in Milan's Kalulu, something Fonseca apparently did not do, either.
Undefeated in Serie A >>> five losses in 15 matches. Just sayin'.
Juve's most recent match was a 2-0 win over city rivals Torino in the Derby della Mole ahead of the break. For that match, Motta lined up a 4-2-3-1 with: Perin; Savona, Gatti, the Milan-owned Kalulu, Cambiaso; former Milan player and traitor Locatelli, Kephren Thuram; Timothy Weah, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; and Vlahović. (I am completely unprepared to see Kalulu in a Juventus shirt, let alone play against him.) Unfortunately for Motta, he has seven players out injured for this match: Douglas Luiz, Milik, Vlahović, Adžić, Nico Gonzalez, Bremer, and Cabal.
Fonseca has perhaps the shortest injury list of any November in recent memory for Milan, with only Bennacer, Florenzi, and Jović out for this one. Although Pulisic is also in doubt, at least as a starter for this one. Fonseca was able to recover Gabbia this week, who is reportedly expected to start alongside Thiaw at the back. Also recovered from his Pavlović-induced head injury is Morata, who I would also expect to start up front. Fonseca has called up Camarda for this match, and while I am happy if he is developing and potentially getting playing time with the first team, I hope it does not impact Milan Futuro on Sunday, as they have a very tough run of matches and are stuck in the relegation zone of Serie C nearly halfway through the season.
Gabbia will be a welcome return.
While it is great to have so many fewer injuries, the cost is the worst man management we have seen in my memory, as well as being seventh place in the league and 20th place in the Champions League standings for the new League Phase. Unlike Motta, Fonseca has actually lost five of his first 15 matches, including two in the Champions League. In fact, his side have really only given two great performances, one in the Derby, and one vs. Real Madrid.
Which is why he is still here, I suppose. I assume management assume at some point he'll bring more performances like that. But is two out of 15 matches really acceptable for a club like Milan? Or any club, for that matter? I mean the results are bad enough, but the performances... conceding 20 goals in 15 matches, benching Leão and Calabria so much... just so many painfully obvious things (emphasis on the painful.)
Why is Fonseca getting credit for finally allowing Leão to play?
To be honest, I am not looking forward to this match. A big win vs. Juve is always so very delicious, but coming down from that high would be the realization that Fonseca would be assured more time at the club with a win like that. However, I could never root for a draw or a loss, especially not against a team that has given us so much grief over the years. It just feels like, more an more every match, our fate was predetermined by a singular poor decision by this management to hire Fonseca. In this matchup in particular, on the payroll, he may seem like the lesser of two evils, but in results, he is just lesser.
This post inspired by the music of Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy"
Serie A Week 12
Reviewed by Elaine
on
1:30 AM
Rating:
