As if things were not bad enough at Milan already, just before Christmas, they are heading to Verona in eighth place on the table. Not only does that mean more press conferences where Fonseca defers all accountability and completely blames his players, it also means we have to listen to him... again. While wishful rumors in the press heat up surrounding the stability of his job and who might replace him, he insists that his job is safe, because it's just those pesky players. Verona have clearly looked at our situation and taken pity on us like animals in need of rescue. Because for this match, they developed an initiative for the players to bring out rescue puppies onto the pitch. I know those puppies all need homes, I just someone would come and rescue Milan.
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| Theo could use a rescue right now... from Fonseca. |
Hellas Verona come into this match just above the relegation zone, in 17th place, with just five wins this season. They have never drawn, but have lost 11 matches. Their most recent match was actually a 3-2 win vs. Parma last weekend. Paolo Zanetti, whose job was also rumored to be at risk, reportedly saved his job with that win. He lined up a 3-4-2-1 with Montipò; Dawidowicz, Coppola, Ghilardi; Tchatchoua, Duda, Telahyane, Lazović; Suslov, Harroui; and Sarr. Harroui unfortunately ruptured his ACL in the match vs. Parma, so is done for the season, and Zanetti is also missing Frese and Cruz.
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| No matter how you spell it, it's a tough time to be a manager named Paolo in Serie A. |
While Fonseca spends more time playing good cop–bad cop with himself in the media about his players, the only thing he had improved since taking over was the injuries. But now that ghost has caught up with him, too, as Okafor was injured in training and Morata has tonsilitis and both are new on the injury list this week. There are six other players missing for this match: Florenzi, Pulisic, Jović, Bennacer, Musah, and Loftus-Cheek. But hey, at least he will actually have a proper excuse to blame a poor performance or result on.
I don't know if it is just the media who are trying to help him get sacked now, or if this is a real rumor, but reports are saying that in addition to benching Theo again, Fonseca is thinking of using Verona's former fullback, Terracciano, in the double-pivot with Fofana. Instead of Reijnders. If that is a real report, then he really must be trying to get fired himself. He has also called up players like Camarda and Jiménez again from Milan Futuro, as well as Zeroli, who is returning from injury.
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| Terracciano, really? Have we really gone that far, Fonseca? |
Things are so bad at the club right now that Cardinale did not even show up for the weekend's celebrations, and our cowardly club directors used an alternate entrance for the Club's 125th Anniversary party on Monday just to avoid the fans, who did not spare their wrath on the players. Then, to save face, Ibrahimović visited a children's hospital this week along with some of the first team and women's team players. Perhaps the puppy rescue thing is also meant to be an altruistic endeavor to help take the focus off of the incompetence of this management. Until he can focus on delivering for Milan, I feel like Ibrahimović should maybe lay low, rather than try to personally rebuild his image. Fonseca seems to think that he is some kind of coaching genius, or the only person who actually knows what is going on at the Club. But all of us are just hoping that, like those little puppies, someone else will come to rescue Milan.
This post inspired by the music of Gayla Peevey's' "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"