Milan-Torino Preview: Bullfight


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.

This old bull may be fighting one of his last fights for Torino

Our last meeting with Torino was Ventura’s 1,000th match as a coach. The question now is will this be his last? Torino sit in 11th place with 8 wins, 8 draws, and 10 losses. But they are falling with mediocre and even terrible performances coming more frequently. Their current form is D-D-L-W-D, with that win coming against lower table Palermo. Now they have to come to the San Siro and fight a galvanized and growing Milan squad. It doesn’t look good for them. Or for Ventura.

For their goalless draw vs. Carpi last week, Ventura lined up Padelli; Maksimovic, Moretti, Glik; Benassi, Baselli, Vives, Silva, Peres; Belotti, and Immobile. However he will be missing some important pieces, too. Benassi will sit this one out due to card accumulation, while Avelar, Gazzi, Acqua, and Bovo are all out injured. So that is not helping Ventura’s cause.

Sorry, Amauri, your Milan abuse is over. Have fun in Brazil or the MLS.

But the biggest loss that they are still reeling from is the termination of Amauri’s contract, as the big Brazilian has his eyes set on playing mostly awfully in either Brazil or the MLS. How does a team replace Amauri? They don’t. Under any circumstances. But Milan should be grateful, as he was one of those players who always managed to score against us, no matter which jersey he wore. Even if he struggled to score at all otherwise. So it is great news for us. But Torino have the Hotelgate™ ex-Milan star Maxi Lopez who could score against us, as well as their assassinator captain, Glik who might physically hurt every one of our players… maybe even the ones on the bench. I certainly wouldn’t put it past him.

Milan have some missing pieces, too. With the ever-absent Mexes, Ely, and Lopez out with injuries, Adriano’s fitness is in question, as is Romagnoli’s, despite training with the team yesterday after a bout with the flu. But the most devastating loss for Torino is our captain, the one and only Montolivo. He is suspended for card accumulation, and let’s just tack on bad hair, poor leadership, losing the ball all of the time, etc. Let’s just tack that stuff on there because then fans will have some vindication as they watch Bertolacci or Mauri or whomever Mihajlovic deems worthy to take his place actually keep the ball when it is passed to them and not give it to Torino. We will rejoice that the armband will likely be given to Abate, a Milan youth product and a player who has actually been her longer than Montolivo. Sorry Torino, your source for balls passed to you from a Milan player in or near our goal is going to be sitting this match out. You’re going to have to actually win the ball of your own accord.

Who wins in a bullfight? ChewBacca or the bull? My money is on Chewie.

I actually hate bullfighting, it’s so cruel and inhumane and gory (pun intended.) But I am so ready for this bullfight. I’ll be wearing my red and black jersey and be ready to slay any bull that runs near me. I’ve got three and a half years of heartbreak and pain and a whole lot of testosterone pent up inside of me waiting to get out, and Torino picked the wrong time to face my team. So sorry, Ventura, sorry my sweet Maxi Lopez. I’m ready for a bullfight, and you guys are the bulls, we are the matadors. I don’t see this one ending scoreless, but I promise we’ll try to make it quick and as painless as possible for you.


This post was inspired by the music of Sonic Youth’s “Bull in the Heather”


Milan vs. Torino
Saturday, February 27 • 20:45 CET (2:45pm EST)
This match will be shown LIVE on RAI and BeIN Sports in the U.S.

Milan-Torino Preview: Bullfight Milan-Torino Preview: Bullfight Reviewed by Elaine on 11:00 PM Rating: 5
Powered by Blogger.