The Sergio Conceição era begins on Friday with a Supercoppa Semifinal matchup between the Italian team with the most league titles and the Italian team with the most European titles. So it is only fitting that this should be a family affair, with Sergio's new team facing Juventus, which is Francisco's team, one of his sons. It also would not be an Italian Supercoppa without some kind of unsavory issue, so stir in a little sportswashing by having the tournament in Saudi Arabia again, with the winner of this match reported to receive up to €8 million. And there you have it, it's the perfect Italian football family affair.
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| Our Milan family, Kalulu, and Sergio Conceição's real life family, Francisco. |
This week started out terrible or amazing, depending on if your name is Fonseca or if your name is everyone else. After being benched and gaslighted for weeks, or even months if you go back to the Lazio match when he was first benched, Theo Hernández was reportedly the first to show up for training on Monday, and had the biggest smile I've seen him have in a very long time. That smile was eclipsed, however, by the glowing happiness of the entire team (even our Grinch management) when they met up with Pioli in Riyadh. Nothing was more telling of what they have been through since June than their genuinely happy faces and body language when greeting their former manager, the man who was like family to them.
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| Get yourself a manager that makes everyone smile like this. |
There will be some more family they will meet on Friday, like Kalulu, who I am sure they will also greet warmly. Then there will be former Milan midfielder and lifelong Juventino and traitor, Locatelli, now a captain at that club, who will be like the drunk uncle that most of them will just ignore. Morata will be facing his former club. Pulisic and Musah will likely greet their U.S. national teammates Tim Weah and Weston McKennie like family, and then of course, there will be the actual father and son duo of Sergio and Francisco Conceição. Don't get me wrong, though, if blood is thicker than water, our players will definitely want to water the pitch with their blood. Because it's Juve.
Thiago Motta's Juventus come to Riyadh on the back of yet another draw, this time a 2-2 draw with hated rivals Fiorentina. This was their staggering 11th draw of the season, including the absolute snoozefest that was Milan's scoreless draw with Juve in November. Yet Juventus, while actually sixth on te table, are also the only Serie A team to have not lost a single league match this season. For the Fiorentina match, Motta lined up a 4-2-3-1 with: Di Gregorio; Savona, Gatti, our very own Kalulu, McKennie; Francisco Conceição, Koopmeiners, Mbangula; and Vlahović. He is missing Bremer, Cabal, and Milik to injury, while Cambiaso, Weah and Rouhi have all recovered, even if they will likely not start. Interestingly, he mentioned that Francisco Conceição could possibly start on the bench for this one, (Maybe it is so he can heckle his father?)
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| Ready to lead the troops, even when he is sick. |
Conceição has only had a handful of training sessions with his players, even if he had them do double trainings on Thursday. So he must choose his formation and starting lineup after just a very short period of time. He is also missing a number of players. Obviously, Florenzi, Jović, Okafor, and now Chukwueze are all out injured. But while it looks like Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Terracciano, and Musah have recovered and have been training with the group, Leão is still not fit and will not play in this match.
Also traveling with the team are seven Milan Futuro players: Jiménez, Camarda, Chaka Traorè, Zeroli, Bartesaghi, Silvano Vos, and goalkeeper Raveyre. There has been much discussion in the media that Conceição could give Tomori a start, giving Gabbia a rest. Whether that is to audition Tomori for Juventus, as the media has also linked our center back with a move in January, or to give him a chance to prove himself and stay at Milan remains to be seen.
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| Nice to see Theo smile again. |
The biggest controversy in the media ahead of the match is actually the appointment of the referee, Andrea Colombo. He has overseen three Milan matches thus far, with all three ending in defeat, and with three red cards as well. Additionally, he was also apparently involved in an unsavory incident with Milan youth players in 2018 where he actually insulted a number of Milan players and received a two month suspension for it. Given Milan's history with Juventus and referees, this should be fun.
It is also of note that the rules have changed regarding cards and suspensions for Supercoppa matches. Basically, any players who are at risk of suspension in Serie A, if cautioned in a Supercoppa semifinal or final, will serve their suspension in the following Serie A match. For Milan, this could impact Morata, Fofana, and Emerson Royal, who are all one match away from suspension in the league.
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| Ready for battle. |
There is a trophy on the line, but after Inter defeated Atalanta 2-0 on Thursday, we would have to get past those whiny, slithering Cugini of ours to win it. I am not sure my blood pressure is up for facing both zebras and snakes all in one weekend. Sure we won our last Supercoppa eight years ago vs. Juventus, just when we least expected it. But that was a one match tournament then, and a bit of a Christmas miracle. The last time we played Juve in Saudi Arabia for the Supercoppa, it did not go as well.
This time, we have a brand new manager, albeit sick with a fever. A new manager can work either for or against us. But with the added family connections, it definitely does make this match more intriguing. Sergio Conceição is not letting that stand in his way, though, as he emphasized that Francisco is his son at home, but a competitor on the pitch, and he wants to beat him on Friday. I am not sure if that is some form of family dysfunction or a healthy sporting rivalry, but this will definitely be a family affair.
This post inspired by the music of Sister Sledge's ' "We Are Family"
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Reviewed by Elaine
on
6:00 AM
Rating:
