Not only did we get to see the vapid, soulless crests on the unimaginative new home kits for next season on Saturday, but we also got a preview of what our football might look like next season without a number of key players. And it was not pretty. With Conceição banned for this match, the lineups were intriguing, and I have a feeling we will hear about those choices once Conceição is either confirmed or sacked. But with the bland football on offer for much of the match, the Curva Sud's protest got most of the attention. After gathering en masse at Casa Milan, then marching to the stadium as a formidable force to be reckoned with, they had to use their creativity to create a visual protest, as banners and coreografia are still banned for them. But their protests seemed somewhat fitting as Milan struggled to pull off a 2-0 win against the already relegated 20th place Monza. The entire match seemed like a bad preview for a horror story that was actually your life. Or perhaps more like suffering from a pre-existing condition.
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| A painful season for everyone ends with a mediocre win. |
João Félix made his intentions clear immediately with a promising early chance that Monza shut down. Then came a Milan free kick, and the most surprising player took it: Pavlović. It seems that they had discovered his super power recently in training or something, because it was an excellent free kick that required an equal response from Monza goalkeeeper Pizzignacco. This start gave the illusion that the match would be good, but that was not the case, actually.
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| João Félix started the match off with a spark. |
Then it was Monza's turn to create chances, with Keita Baldé and Birindelli doubling up, but also offside. Then Maignan did make a save, and then it was Keita Baldé again, whose shot was blocked, then Bianco had a shot saved. Then Milan took control again, but our star striker/defender, Pavlović, once again had his shot saved, and Musah clumsily fouled Pizzignacco. However, the referee, Rutella, was literally refereeing his very first Serie A match, and I don't think he knew to call a foul on Musah there. Later, though, it became clear that he really was just inexperienced all the way around.
Musah, playing in his first start since Conceição pulled him off halfway through the first half, demonstrated that he had not learned how to shoot during his time away from the starting lineup by taking a shot that went high into the stands. Not sure if Pulisic, who was playing his 100th match for Milan, was showing solidarity, or was just equivocally poor, but his attempted header also went well over. The entire half was dreadfully poor, Milan playing like that against the 20th place team seemed like a terrible preview for what we could see next season.
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| Pulisic battling in his 100th appearance for Milan. |
Keita Baldé was down getting treatment after unintentional contact with Loftus-Cheek's elbow. Given that Keita Baldé had played for both Lazio and Inter, I was not overly concerned with his well being. Bianco tried a shot from distance that went well over, then João Félix sent a shot wide, and Reijnders also tried a shot from distance that went over the bar. In the 44th minute, Keita Baldé scored a goal, but it was immediately ruled offside due to Kyriakopoulos' position at the beginning of the play. So it was still 0-0 at the halftime.
It's difficult to say if it was who came off at halftime, who came on, or just a proper halftime talk (or perhaps a combination of the three,) but a completely different Milan came out for the second half. And I'm not just talking the substitutions that João Costa, filling in for Conceição, made. Camarda replaced Jović and Chukwueze replaced Musah. Immediately after the second half kicked off, Pizzignacco's goal was under siege.
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| Camarda made an impact and nearly scored his first Serie A goal. |
There were chances from Pulisic and Chukwueze that went just wide. Camarda had a great chance that was saved. João Félix continued to take shots as well. Reijnders had an attempt that went just wide, but he was tackled – hard – by Carboni, who lunged in with both feet in a challenge that was at bare minimum a yellow card challenge, and could have easily been a red card. However, Rutella saw absolutely nothing wrong with that. Not sure what kind of training they give these refs before turning them loose in Serie A, but if Reijnders had been seriously injured, I would hope the club would sue the AIA for not protecting our players. It's getting absurd.
Perhaps the thought of carding players for bad fouls did start Rutella's mind working and he was slow to react, because he finally did award the singular yellow card of the match to Bianco for another bad foul on João Félix just a minute later. Camarda had a header that was just wide, then a few minutes later, he sent a great ball in for Pulisic, whose shot was saved. When I said that Pizzignacco's goal was under siege, Milan took a total of 21 shots, even if only six were considered on target.
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| Gabbia coming up big to break the deadlock. |
Bartesaghi, who had started in lieu of Theo Hernández for reasons still unknown, was replaced by Álex Jiménez in the 61st minute. (Rafa Leão mysteriously also did not feature, another reason Milan struggled for so long to score against the relegated Monza.) Reijnders sent a shot straight to the goalkeeper, then João Félix hit the crossbar, and Camarda had another shot saved. Finally, the deadlock was broken when Gabbia scored with a header in the 64th minute. 1-0 Milan. It was just his second goal of the season, and perhaps that is why Serie A awarded him with their Player of the Match award and fans voted him MVP as well.
Ten minutes later, João Félix finally got his goal, scoring an exquisite direct free kick. 2-0 Milan. I was really happy for him, because his reputation does not consider his background, with poor managers, clubs without patience, and too many moves from club to club for such a young player still developing. I know he will be going back to Chelsea both for transfer cost and wages, but I was really happy that he could leave by scoring his second goal in as many matches, and his third goal in all for Milan.
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| João Félix lets everything go after scoring a beautiful free kick. |
João Félix was replaced by Fofana in the 80th minute, then Pulisic saw yet another shot go just wide. In the 86th minute, Florenzi replaced him, marking his first competitive appearance of the season, having been injured since the preseason tour last summer. Monza attempted to get a consolation goal in the 88th minute, but Maignan made a massive save to keep the clean sheet. That was it for the football, Milan won 2-0, but the atmosphere was strange, because as part of the Curva Sud's protest, they had abandoned the match after 15 minutes. So the players just meandered around the pitch, there was no single concentration of fans for them to greet.
As for the Curva Sud's protest, having invited all Milan fans to join them, it was estimated that at least 3,000 fans gathered at Casa Milan hours before the match, with banners that read, "Singer, Cardinale, Furlani, Scaroni, Ibra, Moncada: All of you go away, free Milan from this agony," and another one that read, "Whether it's the First Team or Milan Futuro, with you in command, it's certain failure." What a far cry from their demonstration at Casa Milan four years ago, honoring Paolo Maldini after he led the club to a return to the Champions League with their "AC Milan is Back" display with flares.
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| Please free Milan from this apathetic, greedy, incompetent management. |
They also distributed pamphlets with statements concluding with, "It was difficult to do worse than this, and yet you did it: you managed to push Milan into a swamp of mediocrity and provincialism, to take away the desire to dream from a fan base that has NO equal in the world..." These words may sound harsh or exaggerated, but keep in mind that Gerald purchased a Scudetto-winning team, and just three years later, we finished eighth and will not play in Europe at all next season. Most fans I have talked to feel very much hopeless and even despondent watching this management burn the team to the ground in such a short period of time.
The fans all marched to San Siro, singing chants for Maldini (a nice change,) and against management, marching behind a banner that read "Liberate il Milan." They also sang chants for Nesta, who was coaching Monza. Unlike their infamous "Game Over" protest in 2015, where they abandoned the match, leaving banners, this time, all banners and coreografia have been banned in the stadium all season for them, so they had to get creative. And honestly, what they did was brilliant. They arranged themselves in the Curva to spell out the words, "Go Home," and just before leaving just 15 minutes into the match, they used their cell phones to light up the message for emphasis. I truly believe that other Ultras will copy this, even though for the Curva Sud, it was born of necessity.
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| An innovative protest born out of necessity. |
While their protest was not shown on my broadcast, the "Go Home" images went viral and were widely covered in the media throughout the world as well. Additionally, although receiving less attention, the fans who walked out continued to protest outside the stadium after leaving. They had two more banners, with one that included, "you should pay damages to all the fans!" I support this idea. There are 500 million Milan fans worldwide, and many of those fans are going to have therapy bills after this season, it would be great if the club could pick up the tab for those sessions.
Instead, over the weekend, Gerald forced his management to sign Igli Tare as our new Sporting Director. While it was nice to learn that his dream was to work for Milan, his only experience thus far has been at Lazio, so it is difficult to know what he is actually capable of. But more importantly, Gerald has not fired any of the clowns who got us into this mess.
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| Even if he is the right man for the job, will they actually let him work? |
Tare will still reportedly answer to Furlani, whose decisions have consistently dragged this team down. Moncada will remain as Technical Director, but also focus more on scouting again, working closely with Tare. And Ibrahimović is still there as well. So they've just basically expanded their "working group," this time at least with one person who is both qualified and experienced in the job he has. But Gerald has not removed the cancer.
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| Has he become too good for Milan? |
Reijnders was named Serie A's Best Midfielder for the 2024-35 season, and he received that award just before the match. While rumors and speculation continue to spread like wildfire about his future, Furlani made some brief and unhelpful statements about the fact that they will not need to "sacrifice" any players, as well as the fan protests. Meanwhile, Florenzi said, "This shirt and these fans don't deserve a Milan like this."
There was also an incident during the match where a fan waved a Maldini shirt at the box where management were sitting. Fans around applauded him, but security was called in to deal with him. So American. This after they also called the police last week due to protest banners left at Casa Milan. Yet, Gerald won't do the American thing and fire his incompetent management. So bizarre.
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| How many of these players will stay, and how many will be sold this summer? |
For reference, most of the other American owners in Serie A show up for matches and are involved in their clubs. The Friedkins at Roma, Kyle Krause at Parma, and Rocco Commisso at Fiorentina to name a few. Venezia's owner, Duncan Niederauer, is the former CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, and he attends matches, wears the jersey, hangs out in the curva and also joins the team and fans for celebrations. Meanwhile, Gerald hasn't been at the San Siro since September. Yet he and these literally inexperienced, incompetent people he put in charge of his club are upset when a fan shows a jersey or puts up a banner at Casa Milan? Clearly they did not teach them how to have accountability (or a spine) at Harvard.
Nesta, obviously there as the opponent, was asked about the protests at Milan. He said, "In ten years here, they have never contested us, and we had a few so-so seasons... it's a shame to see the team like this." For a tacky American who disgustingly declared that he would be Milan's "Berlusconi 2.0" before Silvio Berlusconi had even been dead for two months, Gerald's non-present approach to running Milan has hardly earned him anything close to that comparison. And it's not that he hasn't invested money into the club. He's just invested it so poorly, and continues to entrust his massive investment to imbeciles.
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| João Costa enjoys his Serie A unbeaten streak as he filled in for Conceição on the final matchday. |
Something that not even Berlusconi would do was to infringe on the business of the vendors around San Siro. Yet with the change in ownership of both Milan and Inter, the previous agreement they had for the past 30 years is at risk of being drastically changed. There have been vendors outside the San Siro since 1962, and for many. of them, this is their business. So the vendors, too, were protesting on Saturday. Not a good look for Gerald, who notably has spoken over and over again about "monetizing the fans" and the "experience." of going to the stadium instead of the sport itself. That is evidenced by all the distractions outside the San Siro now like games, face painting, and more.
And that tells you so much about how Gerald views the club and the game. Obviously, like any other owner or investor, he is interested in making money. But all those other American owners are interested in the sport, their team, and their clubs, and they show it. Gerald is only interested in building a business around the matchday. It's what he's done in the U.S., he has always built his businesses as entertainment extensions of the existing sports or events he has leeched from. With the Yankees, he built their television network. With the NFL, he built the "Superbowl Experience."
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| When was the last time these guys were even all at the stadium together? |
And, no surprise, he certainly has created a circus around the club this season, at least in the media, while the football was completely neglected. Which is why Milan finished eighth in Serie A, their worst finish since the 2014-15 season, and are completely out of European competition next season. And why Milan Futuro, who had the most valuable team in all of Serie C at the beginning of the season (out of 60 clubs,) were relegated to Serie D. Because Gerald does not care what happens on the pitch. He wants to create a business around it. And now we are likely to lose a great manager, as well as some of our best players, who have not been renewed and may not want to waste their careers on Gerald's Circus anymore, especially without any Europe next year.
Gerald's absence from Milan for the 125th anniversary match and party, his absence for roughly 52-53 of Milan's 55 matches this season speaks volumes about him as a person and an owner. That he announced the refinancing of his loan with Elliott at a difficult time in the season, right after he had missed the Curva Sud protesting the anniversary match and party, and his management were caught slinking in the back door of said party. His statements are tone deaf and so poorly timed, it is clear he is not even paying attention to what is going on at the club at all. Not that he would know what was happening if he did. Because his ignorance, his indifference, his arrogance are all part of a pre-existing condition.
Milan Primavera Are Knocked Out of Playoffs By Sassuolo Primavera
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| A tough season ends with Milan Primavera out in the Quarterfinals. |
After a spectacular final matchday win that sent Guidi's Primavera into the Scudetto Playoffs, they were immediately knocked out at the Quarterfinal round with a harsh 3-0 loss to Sassuolo Primavera. Earlier in the week, the club announced that Bakoune had successful surgery on his shoulder. And sure, it was always going to be a difficult match anyway, Sassuolo are last year's Primavera Scudetto winners, and finished eight points ahead of Milan in third place. Age was a difference maker as well, with Milan Primavera the team with the youngest squad in the league, and Sassuolo with players born in 2005 (the oldest players allowed in this division) making up nine of their eleven starters.
However, it was perhaps even more difficult than anticipated, as Sassuolo scored in the 19th minute, then again in the 36th and 45th minutes, being up 3-0 at halftime. To their credit, Milan Primavera fought valiantly throughout the second half to keep the scoreline at 3-0, but were unable to even get a consolation goal against the more experienced team. Brief highlights of the match are available. So their season ends with a defeat, but it was a solid season for this team, given injuries and absences due to national team callups as well. They made it to the Coppa Italia Final, and next season will have more players who are older and more experienced.
Congratulations to Noah Okafor & Napoli for their Scudetto win.
Congratulations to Daniel Maldini and Charles De Ketelaere and Atalanta for their UCL qualification & 3rd place finish
Congratulations to Pierre Kalulu and Juventus for their UCL qualification & 4th place finish
Congratulations to Alexis Saelemaekers and Roma for their UEL qualification & 5th place finish
Congratulations to Yacine Adli and Fiorentina for their Conference League qualification & 6th place finish
Congratulations to Davide Calabria and Tommaso Pobega for their Coppa Italia win and their Europa League qualification.
And congratulations to Milan's management, who gave away these eight players with a combined market value of €130.5 million for a total of only €34.5 million in income this year, with all eight of them helping their respective team earn European football while Milan did not qualify at all.
Stay tuned for an all new Milan Obsession Podcast
Reviewed by Elaine
on
11:00 PM
Rating:
