Milan Obsession

There’s a new center back at Milan, and word on the street is that he means business. At the age of 23 years old, Léo Duarte was signed to reinforce a center back lineup that also includes Romagnoli, Musacchio, and Caldara. That gives Milan one of the youngest defenses in Serie A, but also one of the most talented. Duarte wasn’t signed just to sit and watch the others, he was signed because of his reputation for being both tough and talented, to give our defense a little something extra. I suppose you could say that Milan have fortified.

We’ve welcomed new players. We’ve seen the friendlies. And with the season set to kick off in less than two weeks, there are just a few loose ends to tie up. This is the time of the year to assess not only how far we’ve come, but to look ahead at where we are going. Time to talk about those summer dreams.

This was Giampaolo’s first win on the Milan bench, perhaps a quiet win in a historic match. The win itself… well, it would have been incredibly disappointing if we hadn’t won, due to the disparity in player quality and experience. It wasn’t ever in doubt that we would win, but it wasn’t exactly as dominant of a performance as one might expect, either. But we got to see new players, returning players, and actually, pretty much all the players. Giampaolo used both first team keepers and all of his outfield players, so we got to see a truly comprehensive look at where we are preseason.

Milan have never played a match in Kosovo. Granted, Kosovo has only existed as an independent nation since 2008, and it probably wasn’t the safest place for Milan to travel to for a while. So this friendly is historic, and honestly a little exciting to witness. Maybe it won’t be a Champions League final kind of match, but increasing goodwill throughout the world is something that football does best.

In his first interview as a Rossonero, Bennacer said that he would give us two thousand per cent. I don’t care about the math skills, I need someone with football skills. And as if that weren’t enough to convince Milan fans, he also promised that he would die on the pitch for the fans and for the team. That’s all I needed to hear. I already like this guy two thousand per cent.

With another season upon us, Puma have given us three more shirts. I feel like musician Danny Elfman said it best in his Oingo Boingo song, “Grey Matter”: “You’ll swallow anything that they shove down your throat.” This is possibly true of all football kits, as there is an immediate attachment to the club, the colors, and your heroes who will be wearing them, so it doesn’t really matter if the kits are good or bad, fans will buy them. And that is certainly what Puma are counting on here.

The fact that Milan lost… again... is very misleading. Each match in the ICC Tournament, they have shown improvement and a greater sense of the tactics that Giampaolo is trying to instill in the team. In this match, they met a team that is about three weeks ahead of them in terms of preparation, and Milan actually dominated them in times in possession. In fact, it was only on penalties that we lost, and it was the closest thing to a win that Giampaolo has seen so far at Milan. Not winning aside, however, the play is so incredibly refreshing. For Milan fans, it is very promising.

Everyone knows that these summer friendlies mean nothing. However, as pointed out in the Benfica review and the last podcast, there is a bit of pride on the line here. With a reasonable draw or a win in this match, Milan will not be dead last in the tournament. More importantly, though, fans want to see continuing improvement in Milan’s play. This is a great opportunity to make a good showing and feature Giampaolo’s new tactics and ideas. So please don’t bodge it.

Watching all of the fun that Milan supporters had in the United States this past week with the club forced me to record this bonus podcast. We talked about all of the important topics for fans: spirit animals, shoelaces, stadium bids, socks, and of course, Cutrone. This episode was all about how it is to be a fan, learning from two of the best.