Milan Obsession

Milan are back at the San Siro again tomorrow to welcome Alessandria, The Little Team that Could, for the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals. Milan also have an away goal, leading 1-0 on aggregate to start off with. Certainly nothing is guaranteed, but given the facts going in to the match, it would almost be criminal if Milan don’t take advantage of the things stacked in their favor. A berth in the final is ours for the taking.

People say that a coach is measured by results. But this season, Mihajlovic has been measured by his bench. For the first half of the season, any time he had to go to his bench for any reason, whatever the starters were doing was nullified by the bench players. For the second half of the season, it has gradually gotten better. But today’s match showed that our bench may not be weighing us down as much anymore. With two bench players starting ahead of two typical key starters, we held off a tough Torino attack and got the win, even if it wasn’t pretty. No bull.

He’ll be looking for the kill tonight

When we faced Torino in October, it was more of a tranquilizing of the bulls, a 1-1 draw that probably neither side was thrilled with. But Milan were very weak mentally at that point, coming off of a pummeling at the hands of Napoli, whereas Torino had been more consistent up until that point. Now the tables are turned a bit, with talks of Ventura being sacked amidst inconsistent performances, and talks of Mihajlovic getting sacked despite more convincing performances every match we play. So perhaps this time it will be more like a bullfight should be, with Torino chasing the red of Milan’s home kits, and Milan controlling and eventually slaying the bull.

Napoli got a little surprise today, as this was not the Milan they met back in October. No, this Milan had something new… what is it called? Oh yeah, a spine. And a whole lotta grinta. And while a win would have obviously been ideal, Milan fans worldwide are celebrating this draw as if it was a win. Because for us, it was. In terms of performance, holding out for 90 minutes, coming back to equalize after going down a goal, and defenders who did that thing… what is it called? Oh yeah, defend. Even wearing those hideous third kits. This was not at all like the Milan who was lucky to escape the pummeling at the San Siro from this same Napoli team with a 4-0 scoreline. No, today Napoli learned that you don’t mess with Milan… at least not anymore.

We would like you to be a part of this match, too, Mister.

There are proverbial clouds over Vesuvius right now. Whether they are the collective angst of a fan base whose club lost two matches in a row and also their precarious perch at the top of the table, or if they are a tell tale sign that Vesuvius herself is also angry, I don’t know. But if it’s the Partenopei ready to erupt or the old volcano nearby, it doesn’t bode well for Milan’s trip there on Monday. Actually, after being annihilated 4-0 at the San Siro in October, I think I’d like to take my chances with the volcano. But either way, on Monday we face the threat of Vesuvius.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of this blog, and what an incredibly wild ride it has been. That first year, we won the Scudetto, and all was well at Milan, so I made everyone some Curva Sud cupcakes to celebrate the one year mark. Despite just missing the Scudetto the second year, and all of the drastic changes that came the summer of 2012, the Milan Obsession podcast was born to celebrate two years of blogging. While the pain grew watching Milan every week and Drinking Games were a necessity, not just for fun, the third anniversary of the blog was again marked with a podcast and other milestones. Last year, the milestone was marked by Four Years in Hell. So for the fifth anniversary of being a slave to Milan and this masochistic hobby, I decided to make a gift for you. You’re Welcome.

When this podcast began three years ago as a personal challenge, I never dreamed that I would still be spending an ungodly number of hours editing these things in 2016. However, it has been so much fun to have different fans as guests discussing Milan, I can’t imagine life with sleep anymore. I have also lost the ability to count the podcasts, but my computer says this is podcast number 70. Still, it has been a great way to interact with fans in addition to the blog and Twitter. So for that, along with the signs of improvement with the team and a couple of other milestones coming up later this week, it seems like it’s time to celebrate.

A win is a win, and three points feels great, don’t get me wrong. Two great goals and a solid performance for 90 minutes brought me plenty of happiness at such an early hour. But in one bumbling fall, a former Milan player also brought the heartache. The committing of an error, the conceding of a goal, the loss of another clean sheet. A performance that was nearly unblemished was now soured in the worst possible way, and a team that could hold their heads high for 90 minutes now hung them in shame. Despite the victory and the three points, the game for me was a story of happiness and heartache.

Happy Valentine’s Day to Preziosi and Galliani... ...please stop screwing our clubs over.

What could be better than playing a lunchtime match on Valentine’s Day? Playing against Galliani’s greatest love affair, Genoa. Galliani loves Genoa so much, he shops there like it’s the grocery store. He loves Genoa so much, he hands them all of Milan’s money as if he were being held up every mercato. Galliani loves Genoa so much, he spends quality time with Preziosi, the club’s president. Galliani loves Genoa so much, he entrusted only them with the loans of Cerci and Suso. So this Valentine’s day, do spend your day with Milan and Genoa. Because love is in the air.

It seems like an odd time to ask this question, as there are so many signs indicating that Milan is finally starting to resuscitate. But as a Milan fan, where do you draw the line? We have suffered so much this past three and a half years since the exit of the Senatori and the sale of Ibra and Silva. And we have already lost many fans along the way. But what is your limit? Where do you draw the line?

This past mercato was as puzzling as any mercato since Galliani’s diabolical ascension to his autocratic reign of terror. Whereas he used to have a system of scouts and a Director of Sport who was actually involved in the transfer process, he has slowly but surely removed as many people from the decision making process as possible, leaving himself with almost absolute power. Which is why he also gets absolute blame from the fans. And while the Matri transfer may have been the gold standard for transfer fails to us fans, today I present to you a new gold standard in Galliani’s long list of epic fails: The El Shaarawy Catastrophe.

If you were at a carnival in the 19th century, you might play a game hoping to win a prize. If you failed to win the prize, you would be told “Close, but no cigar,” as cigars were widely used as prizes at that time. That is what I might say to Milan today, “Close, but no cigar,” having drawn to 14th place Udinese. Which actually is probably just as well, since cigars have been proven to be very unhealthy. But also unhealthy would be any dip in form for this team, as the fans have already gone all Juventus on them, and don’t need an excuse to scatter like cockroaches. But was the game all bad? I am not so sure. Despite not getting a third consecutive win, there are things to be learned from this game.

More entertaining than that other big game’s halftime show

Milan host Udinese on Sunday afternoon, a team who are better known for their scouting and mercato feats than being Scudetto contenders. Despite currently holding the 14th place on the table, the spot most recently held by our midweek foes, Palermo, they are still fighting for every point they can get. Milan fans, of course, just want the win. Not for the typical greedy fan reasons, but rather because each win brings us closer to that coveted consistency that will be like a salve to our many wounds in recent years. So it’s not just the American football game being played eight hours later that matters. You know, the one where companies drop more in advertising for a 30 second spot than Berlusconi spent all last year? Yeah, well this one may not have all of the money and pseudo-alternative bands and multiple appetizer and beverage viewing parties, but for Milan fans, this really is the other big game.

How do you follow up an epic Derby win? Perhaps by flying to Sicily and dispatching with the home team as if it was just an island getaway. And while Milan maybe didn’t make it quite as easy as a vacation in paradise, they got the win and didn’t really leave it up for question. And they did it in the hideous third kits, too, which is even more commendable. So another midweek match and another three points to bring us within 2 points of Roma. After the past few years, it’s like a dream.

Playing Palermo can be tricky, especially in their house. I don’t know if it’s because of the island or because of his royal craziness, Zamparini, but I feel like we can never count three points before the final whistle. This time, we’re coming off of that epic Derby win on Sunday, too, so the guys are really going to have to be focused. But if we can play even half that well and stay focused for 90 minutes, I feel like we could leave blushing. Pretty in pink.

Nothing could follow the most deliciously epic Derby win on Sunday, but I had to try. I stopped my laughter and screaming and wiped away my tears of joy and set out to talk about all things Milan with a massive smile on my face. The Derby win was a moment of healing and a reprieve from all that fans have endured in the past few years, as well as a gigantic slap in the face to our most hated rivals, something fans could only dream of before today. But after the celebrations are over, there are other games to be played, and so much to look forward to.