No one has ever gotten younger watching Max Allegri's football. His "corto muso" style of winning ages you. However, the man also has not lost a Derby since 2015, either. And that did not change on Sunday, when Inter were owned with a 1-0 Milan win in the Nerazzurri's home Derby. They tried groin-kicking, hair-pulling, elbowing our players in the face, groping them when they were down, and more... typical Inter antics that went unpunished. The goalposts denied them. And even when given a penalty, their feeble minds could not handle it. With just one goal, Milan put Inter in their place, which was certainly not first place. Even our Curva Sud fans stole focus from Inter, shining a light on the strength of our fans. And that is what we call owning the Derby.
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| Sodalizio Rossonero. |
I will start with our brilliant Curva Sud. For 14 long and painful months, they have been slandered in a "Doppio Curva" investigation. Everyone speaks about both clubs' Ultras and their crimes as if they are the same. They are not. It was the death of an actual member of the 'Ndrangheta family who was also a leader of Inter's Curva Nord at the hands of another Curva Nord Leader that triggered the arrests of the Ultras. It was Inter Ultras who ran the beer stands and parking garages of the San Siro for local mafia leaders, regularly provided illegal access to fans at the stadium, and people at their actual club were involved in giving Ultras free tickets that were then sold for profit for mafia leaders as well. All the way up to the top. The involvement of the mafia went all the way to the top of Inter's organization, and deep organizational flaws at their club were exposed in the Doppia Curva investigation.
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| "We are stronger than those who want us dead" The Curva Sude march to the stadium. |
Whereas with Milan, the investigation determined that Luca Lucci, the leader of the Curva Sud at the time, as well as a few others, had engaged in serious drug trafficking, violence, and through those personal businesses, had deep ties to the mafia. But they were not involved in profiting from the garages and beer stands at San Siro. I'm sure that Milan knew about these "bad actors" within the Curva, because Lucci had been convicted and served multiple prison sentences and stadium bans before. But the difference was that there was never any proof of Curva Sud members extorting anyone at the club for tickets or otherwise, and it was actually proven that Lucci and friends, who are all in jail now, used violence and intimidation to maintain control of the Curva Sud. Let that sink in.
The other members of the Curva Sud were actually also victims of Lucci's intimidation and violent tactics, but they have been portrayed as criminals themselves.
This has been going on for 14 months, and the prosecutors, the media and even Milan have been guilty of the defamation and misrepresentation of the Curva Sud Ultras. And they have been harshly sanctioned with the exact same penalties as Inter's Ultras, who were actually directly involved in serious crimes and had mafia leaders in their Curva leadership. That is, until three days before the Derby, when local authorities suddenly told Milan's Curva Sud that they could not use their "Solidazio Rossonero" banner. The one that had replaced the now banned "Curva Sud" banner, and all parties involved and that had beenapproved just two months ago. The banner that Ultras had spent thousands of Euros from their own pockets to make.
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| Strength shines a light in the darkness of corruption and repression. Spectacular. |
Not only was the timing suspicious, but Inter's Curva Nord received no such sanction. Despite the mafia rot having been proven to go all the way up to the top of Inter's organization, it was, once again, Milan Ultras who were being singled out and punished. So they spoke out, writing a statement entitled "Stronger than those who want us dead." And they decided to leave all of their flags and banners home in protest. And, not unlike their protest against management last season, when they were also not allowed any banners or coreo, they ingeniously formed the giant word "Sodalizio" with their own bodies and the lights from their cell phones.
They showed strength and solidarity in a beautiful spectacle of defiance. They refused to be silenced in the support of their team. And, their lights overwhelmed the lame blue and black placards and the giant sign that Inter used (even though they were also supposed to be banned from using coreo?) to try to color the San Siro black and blue. On our screens, all we saw, and all the cameras focused on, was the giant, glowing "Sodalizio" from Milan's Curva Sud.
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| The Curva Sud's strength and solidarity gave our players courage for the match. |
That truly set the tone for the entire Derby. You could see the strength the players took from their fans, which was a spectacular way to kick off the match. And it started immediately, with Maignan needing a save on a Marcus the Molester Thuram™ header just four minutes in. Meanwhile, Gabbia was down, bleeding shortly after, and replays showed that Lautaro Martínez had elbowed him in the face. But was he penalized? Did VAR intervene? No, of course not. This is the Marotta League, and in the Derby of all matches, Milan were not going to get the calls.
Bartesaghi actually had Milan's first attempt, with a shot wide in the 16th minute. Then Fofana tried a shot in the 25th. I don't need to tell you how that went. In the 27th minute, Acerbi the Racist™ hit the post with his header. In the 34th minute, Lautaro Martínez kicked Pavlović in a tender area from behind. But obviously, not a foul, because it was on a Milan player. Maignan took note, and when Lautaro Martínez took his shot a few minutes later, he was sure to push it away, even if it hit the post. A massive save, Inter were not scoring on his watch.
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| Maignan was massive. |
Milan created a couple of more chances, with Saelemaekers sending it over and Pulisic sending it just wide just before the 45 minute mark. Then Leão was shown a yellow card for a foul on Whiny Bitch Baby Barella™ just before halftime. Because obviously, when a half-grown man cries and complains, it's a card. But when a real man has his hair pulled by Acerbi the Racist™, then threatens to cut Leão's finger off, too, that's just part of the game.
The second half started similarly to the first, with Maignan again denying Marcus the Molester Thuram™. Then it was showtime. Saelemaekers took a shot, and Pulisic was there to slot home the rebound. 1-0 Milan. Hell yeah. Now it was a Derby.
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| A masterpiece. |
Tomori blocked a shot from The Turkish Traitor™, Tomori always steps up big for the Derby. In the 61st minute, The Turkish Traitor™ was shown a yellow card, I don't even know what for, the referee just couldn't resist. In the 68th minute, let the records show, Fofana made a shot on target. Unfortunately, it was straight to Sommer, but it did happen.
Then there was heartbreak, in the 70th minute, as Pavlović stomped on Marcus the Molester Thuram's foot as he was trying to defend. To be fair, if he hadn't personally been molested by the Inter player, he may have subconsciously still been angry for his fellow Balkan, the Montenegrin defender, Savić, who very notably was. Unfortunately, this was an obvious penalty and a yellow card, confirmed by VAR. And when The Turkish Traitor™ stepped up to take it, my heart sank. He had like a 95% penalty record. And he has taken a lot of penalties.
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| His Holiness Pavlović blesses St. Maignan for his immaculate save. |
But Maignan was not letting Inter score. Not on his watch. He did everything to mess with that little man's little mind. And it worked. The Tiny Turkish Traitor™ took his penalty, and Big Mike saved it. The most delicious revenge is when you take matters into your own hands, and Maignan took that so very literally. Which is why he was obviously both Serie A Player of the Match and Milan's MVP. And it was beautiful, too, the way Pavlović kissed him on the head to thank him. The Curva Sud were all you could hear in the stadium, and you would have thought that it was a Milan home Derby at that point. Also, my neighbors probably thought they were at San Siro, too. (Sorry, neighbors.)
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| Do all Inter managers agree to interfere with Milan players on the sideline? And why are they never carded? |
I had low expectations for the refereeing in this match, because it was Sozza, who did such a horrible job refereeing the Supercoppa match in January. But even I did not expect him to let them get away with things like Bastoni giving Loftus-Cheek a non-consensual prostate exam when he was down. Or Chivu, out of his technical area, blocking Rabiot from taking a quick throw-in. Do all Inter managers have interfering on the sideline in Derbies written into their contracts? Like why is it every single time we play this team, they sink to new lows and play even dirtier tricks?
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| Our defense owned the Derby. |
But cheaters never prosper. And, as we saw last season, with Inter losing out on all five of their trophies they claimed they were going to win, losers never prosper, either. Milan are now undefeated in six straight Derbies, setting the record straight after that awful run from 2023-24. Allegri won his 100th match as a Milan manager, and remains undefeated in all Derbies for over ten years now. Marotta's influence to take away the Curva Sud's banner was nullified by showing they are stronger and more unified, and his influence to get the worst ref possible appointed did not work out for him, either. With just one goal and one of the most delicious penalty saves ever, Milano é Rossonera. That's what you call owning the Derby.
Milan Primavera with a Positive 1-1 Draw against League Leaders Fiorentina
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| Milan Primavera celebrate Ossola's goal. |
Renna's Primavera were away to Fiorentina, and proved yet again to show grinta when playing away from home. Their resilience allowed them to achieve the 1-1 result against Fiorentina Primavera, who are top of the Primavera 1 Campionato. And it was Fiorentina who scored first, with a goal from Braschi in just the 14th minute. However, not intimidated, Milan Primavera fought back, and it was not long before they found their equalizer. It was Ossola, who scored from a cross from Plazzotta, and now it was 1-1. Both sides continued to create chances and defend well, but there were no more goals to be had, and they split the points. Brief highlights of the match are available.
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| What happened to Cissé? |
We do need to discuss what happened to Maiga-Hamadoun Cissé's hair, though. Like not to be mean, but these guys are young, and I am all about expressing yourself and trying to stand out. But when it goes terribly wrong, we need people in our Youth Sector who can help them correct their errors. For their own sakes, I don't even care how they look on the pitch. Obviously, the performances are the most important to the fans, but the players are people, too, so I do hope that, jokes about the hair aside, these kids are being well-looked after as people.
Milan Futuro Have "A Bad Day at the Office" Away to Villa Valle
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| What it looks like when the world conspires against you and everything just goes wrong. |
After a very painful loss last week to the bottom of the table team, Milan Futuro managed to have one of those matches where everything goes wrong. Another late goal saw them lose 2-1 to Villa Valle, even if Oddo's boys had been playing on ten men for nearly an hour. While I, for one, have blamed management all along for the mishandling of the Milan Futuro project, finally, real questions are being asked about Jovan Kirovski, whose contract ends this summer. Personally, I think those questions started when Milan hired a real Sporting Director in Igli Tare, but however it happens, I hope they continue to be asked until someone with experience can take over this project and properly support this team. These guys deserve it.
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| Torriani was back in goal and made some important saves. |
Villa Valle were actually tied on points with Futuro coming into this match. But their early goal from a corner in just the sixth minute gave them an immediate mental advantage. Half an hour later, Sala was rightfully sent off with a straight red card for fouling the last defender. Milan Futuro were down to ten men in just the 36th minute. That never goes well for anyone.
Things went from bad to worse when Villa Valle were awarded a penalty when Borsani was perceived to have fouled Bellandi in the 43rd. (The referees in Serie D are more semi- than professional.) But, Karma saw Ravasi miss his penalty. It was still just 1-0 for the home side. And after the half, a reinvigorated Milan Futuro battled despite being a man down, creating a number of chances. It paid off in the 57th minute when Maximilian Ibrahimović scored from a Cappelletti assist. Now it was 1-1 all.
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| When you can't believe you just scored while your team was on 10 men. |
And that would have been great, given the circumstances, if they could have even just held onto that score. But Perrotti put the nail in the coffin in the 84th minute with a goal for Villa Valle. 2-1 for the home team, and another three points dropped for Milan Futuro. A bad day at the office. On a pitch that was even worse. Brief highlights are available, or you can watch the whole tragedy. They fell to 10th place in Group B, albeit with a game in hand. Worse still, they have to play again on Wednesday to make up the 12th round, which was played while many of the Futuro players were away on international duty.