Lazio 3, Milan 1: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Although Mazzoleni did everything in his power to keep Lazio off the board and give the advantage to Milan, waiving off not just one but probably two penalty claims that were valid for Lazio, he had no idea that he was up against a Milan team that could shoot themselves in the leg multiple times within a single match. Or the punctuation mark that Philippe Mexes would make in the seven minutes of stoppage time to leave Milan on ten men and also leave the Milan fans to wear the Cone of Shame. His behavior, of course, only slightly more shameful than the behavior of the Milan fans themselves, who whistled and chanted against their own team when they were down. And I don’t know what is more shameful – doing the opposite of supporting your team or pretending that you had no idea this team was going to play so badly with the squad they had available. Will this be the game that everyone wakes up and smells the coffee?

When our fans are shameful, we all wear the cone of shame

The game had everything… a potential brawl less than two minutes in, fouls by the dozens, a Menez cleat to Marchetti’s head, seven yellow cards, a broken ankle (Djordevic,) and injuries galore. Everything that is, except De Jong. We knew a few days ago this was going to be a mess, hence the return of the Drinking Game. Milan started off well enough with Menez’ early goal, but we were slowly deflated by an on-point Lazio. The biggest talking point, of course, was Mexes’ psychotic episode. After Mauri not getting the penalty for Mexes’ shirt tug in the first half, the two of them had been mixing it up all game. Mexes, also ex-Roma, did not like Mauri’s challenge right after stoppage time, so he lost it. Having to be restrained by Muntari (the irony is not lost on me there,) play resumed, but then he walked over to Mauri and put one hand up to his neck as if to choke him, and that was the red card. However he was not done. He went over and attacked Mauri again, was wrestled off by Montolivo and more, then came back for more, I think almost everyone on the team tried to pull him off before he finally left the pitch. Vergogna.

But as shameful and horrible as it was, I think I am more disgusted by Milan fans. According to one “enlightened” individual on Twitter, fans have a right to whistle and chant against their team when they’re down. Because they spend their hard-earned money to go to the stadium each week. Who does that sound like? Juve fans. Entitled, horrible, eat-their-own-young-even-when-they’re-winning Juve fans. Except they claim to support Milan. Apparently, those fans get to whistle our team, deflating them more than conceding a goal and ruining the team for the rest of us, because they are some kind of elitist snobs. I suppose they also burn the restaurant down when they don’t like their dinner? Where is the faith Inzaghi asked of them? Where is the patience we were told we would need for this past two and a half years? Where is their fandom, their basic human decency to actually support the team they claim to support?

A poor performance from Milan, but a great performance from Lazio

Why are these results shocking people? Like a train wreck you somehow didn’t see coming in an open field? Wake up and smell the coffee. In 2012, we sold Thiago Silva and replaced him with Acerbi. We will not be defending well any time soon. We have had three coaches in just over a year. Changing again will not only cost the club more money, but will likely produce the exact same results. Because when  you change 4-5 complete starting lineups in the squad within two and a half years, you can expect neither results nor consistency. This is not rocket science, people. The problems on the pitch are merely a result of much, much bigger problems. You are attacking the wrong people. Wake up and smell the coffee.

If you think it’s okay to kick your team when it’s down just because you spent your hard-earned money for the privilege of seeing them play, then you are supporting the wrong team, my friend. Those scumbags wear black and white. This is Milan. We are fans. Fans support their team, especially in times of crisis. So you’re angry? News flash: WE ALL ARE. WE ALL WANT CHANGE. It’s just that some of us try to keep it classy. Some of us realize that hurting your team when they are struggling doesn’t change the problems at all at the club, it makes things worse. That our voices are better raised when they are not against those who are fighting on the pitch for us. Some of us realize that this squad was never built to win, and so we neither expect it nor act like entitled little brats when the wins don’t miraculously come, striking out like a pack of wild animals, hurting the very thing they claim to love. Vergogna.

Mexes channeling the Milan fans, apparently

I was disgusted by Mexes’ breakdown, but it’s not his first time. He is always a risk, and will serve a lengthy ban for it, too. But I want to vomit when I think of all of the fans who jeer their own team when they are down. All of the fans on social media who act like they just woke up from a seven year nap and had no idea that Milan sucked this much and are Chris Crocker level hysterical all over everyone else's TL. It’s not news, people. This stuff has been going on for a long time, and especially for the last two and a half years. What is news is that, like we talked about on the last podcast, Milan fans have apparently lost all class. Berlusconi can sell the club, Galliani can die of his Obsessive Transfer Disorder™, and Inzaghi can be sacked. The players can be sold to Serie B teams and we can buy the best players in the world. All of those things can change, but the horrible behavior of Milan fans at the game and online can never be taken back. Even this Milan deserves better than that. People who can make the connection from horrible transfer choices to low quality squad to poor results without making things worse. Wake up and smell the coffee. And then please do something about that class.

This post inspired by the music of Rammstein

Our next match is

Coppa Italia Quarterfinals

Milan vs. Lazio

Tuesday, January 27 • 21:00 CET (3pm EST)