Fans are preparing for a type of Coppa Italia preview match on Friday, facing Bologna in the league ahead of our Final with them in Rome on Wednesday. But the Club are trying to squeeze every last bit of commercialism (with a bit of sentiment) out of Mother's Day on Sunday. Last year, players wore the surnames of their Grandfathers on the backs of their shirts for Mother's Day (in most cultures, the mother's maiden name is her father's surname.) While they are adding some nice initiatives, they are also obviously adding some merch sales and incentives to get more moms to the stadium. So a match that should be about wrapping up our season in the best possible way is still about the club's marketing, who are promoting a message of "Thanks, Mom... kinda."
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| Well-intentioned (I think,) but kinda poorly thought out. |
The nice things about the Mother's Day initiative is that the Club will feature photos and videos in the stadium and across digital platforms including legends, current players from all teams, as well as fans with their mothers. This includes a very personal and touching video with Conceição about his own mother, who passed away when he was just 18 years old. These are lovely ways to honor mothers individually and collectively.
As a charitable endeavor, to help young single mothers in Milano, Fondazione Milan is raising funds for a project they have which supports approximately 70 mothers, and some of their children will also be mascots for the match. Of course the "fundraising" is done through a percentage of sales of items from their new Women's Collection, which was designed more for women who are not actually Milan fans, but rather rich wives and girlfriends of fans. Incredibly sexist and insulting to actual female fans. (The club touts it as the "first-ever" women's collection, but Adidas used to regularly have a full line of women's clothing, much of which was marketed for normal female fans.)
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| Happy Grandfather's Day, Mom! |
Other funds for Fondazione Milan's initiative will be raised through percentages of the sales of match worn jerseys (so much for honoring their mothers, they can't even give them to their moms, they have to sell them,) as well as the ticket proceeds from Mondo Museum entrance fees this weekend. They are also dedicating the VIP lounge to mothers with their children, encouraging more mothers to come to the stadium. Sure, the charity initiative is nice, but really, they are commercializing Mother's Day in the very same way the founder of Mother's Day opposed.
Vincenzo Italiano's Bologna are in the five-way challenge for the fourth Champions League spot in Serie A. They come into this match having posted back-to-back draws. Their most recent draw was a 1-1 draw with Juventus on Sunday. for that match, he lined up a 4-2-3-1 with Skorupski; De Silvestri, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Ferguson, Freuler; Orsolini, Odgaard, Cambiaghi; and Dallinga. For this match, Italiano will be missing, Holm, Ndoye, Odgaard, and Pedrola to injury. Rumors that he may rotate players ahead of next week's match are unconfirmed. However it is notable that this will be ouf former captain Calabria's first trip back to San Siro to face us since leaving in January, and our own Pobega is also amongst the 23 players called up by Italiano.
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| Calabria definitely had the last laugh in February, but who will be smiling on Friday? |
After an incredible run with so few injuries, suddenly, Conceição will have five players out for this match. One, of course, is Leão, who is suspended for this match. (He probably just didn't want to confuse people with the name "Conceição" on the back of his shirt again.) Fofana is recovering after being injured on Monday in our win over Genoa, while Sottil and Bondo are dealing with some minor issues as well. Emerson Royal, having just returned from a lengthy injury, is still not match fit, and should not play in this match, either. Camarda and Jiménez will definitely be in the squad, as they will not be allowed to play in Milan Futuro's Playout matches, having not played enough matches in Serie C this season. Although Milan's entire squad list may be unrecognizable to some this time, due to them wearing their mothers' maiden surnames/maternal grandfathers' names for this one.
Milan's much anticipated game-in-hand vs. Bologna at the end of February ended with a 2-1 win for them, which was a moral win for Calabria after the way the Club treated him, but also basically the end of Milan fans' dreams for European football next season. Bologna, meanwhile are locked in this insane race for a second consecutive year of qualifying for the Champions League. It is a bit ironic that their fate may well be tied to this match, while Milan's last chance at any European competition is tied to Wednesday's match. Yet both clubs desperately need the three points on Friday.
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| Conceição's tribute to mothers was so genuine and touching. |
I can only hope that the Milan players will make their mothers proud again. Maybe not quite the 5-1 thrashing of Cagliari that we were treated to last year, but a smile at the end of the match would be ideal. Someday, maybe my club will listen to women when they plan events honoring women (or designing merch)... that was hilarious, obviously that will never happen. Or maybe someday, they might at least realize that Mother's surnames are usually just the Grandfather's names, and they could maybe, I don't know... just use the players' mothers' first names to honor them? Just like asking for an easy, convincing win from this team right now, that is definitely too much to ask of this management. Instead, they will undoubtedly stick to their arrogant-but well-intentioned messaging of "Thanks, mom. Kinda..."
This post inspired by the music of The Smiths' "You Just Haven't Earned it Yet, Baby"
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Campionato Primavera 1 Week 37
Reviewed by Elaine
on
8:30 AM
Rating:
