The last time Bologna came to the San Siro, we managed a 3-1 victory over them, but probably because our boys had their mommas there. Because just five days later, in Rome, they took our Coppa Italia trophy from us (with an assist from the referee and local authorities.) But everything has changed for Milan. Literally, we only have nine of the same players left from the team that played those matches in May. And while our San Siro has become even more eery and silent due to ridiculous and oppressive measures from the club and local authorities, this time, our Curva Sud will have the support of the Bologna fans. They, too, are boycotting this match to demonstrate how important organized fan support is to Italian football. The club cannot keep pushing this stereotyping, marginalizing, and damaging agenda on our most passionate fans. Not in our house.
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| The Curva Sud will be there, but they will sound like this, "The Sound of Silence" |
Vincenzo Italiano's Bologna are at 50% after two matches in Serie A. Before the break, they lost their opening match 1-0 away to Roma, then defeated Como 1-0 at the Dall'Aria. Rather than clearing out 30 players like Milan did, Bologna made a lot of strong moves to improve their squad this summer. In defense (what is that?) they took left back Fatawu Sulemana on loan from Atalanta, dropped €11 million on Czech center back Martin Vitik from Sparta Prague, then signed Norwegian center back Torbjørn Heggem from West Bromwich for a cool €7.5 million. (And yes, Heggem was part of the Norwegian side that destroyed Moldova 11-1 over the break to give them a +21 goal differential over Italy in World Cup qualifying. Taking qualification to the playoffs and Italy, name a better duo.)
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| The Karma has injured Pobega... and four of his teammates. |
Back to Bologna, in the midfield, we know they took our Pobega back on loan with obligation, they also signed Nadir Zortea from Cagliari for another €7.5 million. They signed the experienced Serie A tried and true Ciro Immobile and Federico Bernardeschi, both on free transfers. But for this match, the signing everyone is talking about, and their most expensive signing at €19.5 million, was grabbing Jonathan Rowe from Olympic Marseille at the end of the window. Yes, that is the same Jonathan Rowe whose infamous row with Adrien Rabiot led to their expulsion from the Ligue 1 side. And here we are, their first matches in Serie A, facing off. Will they continue their altercation on the pitch? Hopefully not in our house.
For the match vs. Como before the international break, Italiano lined up: Skorupski; Zortea, Vitik, Heggem, Lykogiannis; Freuler, Moro; Orsolini, Fabbian, Cambiaghi; and Castro. Italiano is already facing a bit of an early season injury crisis, with five players out primarily to muscle injuries. Our own loan-to own Pobega will miss this one, as will Holm, both with minor muscle injuries. Casale and Immobile were both injured in the first match vs. Roma, while Ghanaian Sulemana suffered a ligament injury while on national team duty. However, perhaps Rowe will already be available for Italiano to bolster his already beleaguered squad.
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| Allegri's man is reportedly ready to start, potentially vs. Rowe. |
Certainly Allegri is likely to start Rabiot. Pictures and videos of their reunion following Rabiot's return from national team duty have inspired plenty of memes like "Find someone who looks at you like Allegri looks at Rabiot." Rabiot, combined with Modrić, who turned 40 the day after his second match with Croatia during the break do make an incredibly skilled midfield compared to some of the players who have left. But many have talked about the dangers of having such a stacked midfield with no defense and an already stretched attack.
Allegri is obviously missing Jashari from the midfield, but Leão's muscle injury is more serious than originally thought, and he will not play vs. Bologna and will most likely miss our next match as well. Unfortunately, Pulisic is reportedly exhausted from the travel and playing so much for the U.S. over the break, so may not be available from the start. And while Nkunku has been working very hard to gain fitness, reports are that he's only got about 30 minutes in his legs so far. So Allegri will need his goals to come from his bounteous midfield. Or maybe a player like Saelemaekers, who had three assists in two substitute appearances totalling about 60 minutes of play for Belgium over the break.
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| Milan could really use a hero right now. |
We also know that, just like for the disappointing loss to Cremonese, Allegri will once again be missing the support of the Curva Sud, and rightfully so. The club and local authorities have shamed them and tried to completely ostracize them, increasing sanctions this season, even preventing a number of their so-labelled "undesirables" from renewing their season tickets for protesting the management last year. Again this season, they are not allowed to have banners, flags, or coreografia in the stadium. And certain key members of the Curva Sud were amongst those blacklisted, too.
Everyone has taken note of the lack of organized support in the stadium. The traveling Milan Ultras with their flags and banners in full song were a sharp contrast to the dreary home atmosphere, and may have helped Milan over the line in their brutal win vs. Lecce. However, at the San Siro, with Bologna's Ultras boycotting this match, there will not even be the sounds of opposing supporters during the match, so this should be a particularly quiet match. Bologna fans held up a banner in support of Milan Ultras during their match vs. Como, and posted a great statement that began with "Football is passion, not repression." It ended with "Enjoy your theater," the sentiment people are using to describe the silent atmosphere filled with tourists and neutral fans.
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| "For us, being an Ultra means bringing people together... This is a dangerous precedent for everyone" |
Gratefully, the pressure seems to be working, as reports are the club may be ready to sit down with the Curva Sud to get the coreografia back, even if there have been no reports that the Curva are prepared to sit down with them. However, another report may be related. It was reported that Milan are looking to propose a cap on ticket prices for away fans in Serie A. This would be similar to what UEFA have done in European competitions, as well as something other major European leagues already have in place.
If true, and particularly if they are successful, this may be something they are doing to gain favor with the Curva Sud, who have been asking for this for years now. But dragging the reputation of the entire Curva Sud through the mud, allowing the media to blame the Curva Sud for the crimes of Inter's Curva Nord, and blacklisting some members for protesting (but still allowing them to buy tickets for single matches or season tickets elsewhere) are far more serious sins that the club are going to have to atone for if they want their atmosphere back. The very least these people deserve is an apology and to be treated as equal stakeholders in these discussions.
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| Let's hope our guys can perform in the "theater" that is San Siro without the Curva Sud again. |
The club finally seems to be realizing the sporting and financial impact of their authoritarian approach to Milan's most dedicated fans. With the support of the Curva Sud, perhaps Milan could have stayed in the Champions League past the Group Stage and definitely could have qualified for the Champions League this season. But not only did the club treat them horrifically and claim damages as an injured party in the case against the convicted criminals who came from the Curva Sud, saying their reputation was damaged by eight criminals while they simultaneously slandered thousands of Milan fans based on the actions of just a handful of criminals, they also oppressed all those fans in every way possible. Those are wounds that won't heal anytime soon.
Will Bologna pull another upset on Sunday night (an upset if you are considering wage bills?) Against a Milan team that even Italiano admitted had added some quality but was"not perfect?" Or will we see more of the bad blood between Rabiot and Rowe as they both ironically potentially debut for their new teams? Both teams have lost one match and won one match. And Milan are officially debuting their Brazilian Australian piss-colored third kits, so that is a disadvantage. But hopefully Allegri can pull together the pieces of his team returning from their national teams in order to pull off a result at least. Because after all the douchebaggery of the Coppa Italia Final, I'm just not ready to lose to Bologna again yet. Not in our house.
Reviewed by Elaine
on
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