As expected, there was something that held far more interest than the match, something that eclipsed even the club's misguided tribute to mothers once again on Mother's Day. I speak, of course, of the fans protesting Furlani. Not just Furlani, but everyone at the Club, from the top of management on down. No one was spared. And when the team on the pitch crumbled once again, thousands of fans even walked out on them as well. Atalanta's 3-2 win over Milan is a very generous scoreline to Milan, who capitulated early and for 80 long, painful minutes. And yet their loss, the risk of not playing Champions League, was not even the worst thing that happened this week. That's what happens when your club is on the brink.
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| To be fair, they asked nicer last year. |
It would seem that perhaps my sanity is on the brink as well. Not only were the fans deservedly protesting Furlani and Friends, but they just had to make the team wear the beyond unlucky yellow kit as well, when we so desperately needed the win. I'm not a feminist, but they keep saying they are honoring the mothers by having the players wear their mothers' names on the backs of their kits. But give the moms some actual credit. Don't just use the surname that could be anyone in the family, just use her first name. It's not that hard. I mean do you call your mother by her surname? That's considered rude in most cultures.
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| Just SAY HER NAME. |
And as if that were not bad enough, we had Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumber on commentary here in the U.S. Literally, the lead analyst for CBS Sports at Paramount+ was raving about Allegri's tactics as if it was the first time he had ever seen them all season, yet it was week 36 and we had been playing like that all year. It's hard for me to believe that this is one of the countries that is hosting the World Cup this summer when this is what passes for a professional commentator here. And no one notices or cares whatever dumb stuff he spews, week after week. Needless to say, my Mother's Day was ruined, and that was before Milan even took the pitch.
I just don't have the heart to talk about the whole match this time. Before Allegri's football takes my soul, I will say that at least this time Milan took 20 shots. And nine of them were even on target. That's more shots on target than we have had in the past six or eight weeks combined, I think. So Carnesecchi, Atalanta's goalkeeper, obviously did well, with eight saves. Including a big save on Nkunku in the 75th where he just tipped it onto the crossbar and out. Rabiot hit the post just four minutes in, but it was Éderson who drew first blood in the seventh minute, 1-0 Atalanta. Zappacosta doubled the score in the 29th minute, and it was 2-0 before the 30 minute mark.
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| Who knew that starting a striker to get shots on goal was such a novelty? |
To be fair, Allegri did actually start a striker this time. After having zero shots on target last week, at least he solved that problem. He had apparently meant to start Pulisic alongside Gimenez, but Pulisic was injured in the final training ahead of the match, so it was Leão instead. Not only did Leão struggle once again hitting the target, he also earned a yellow card, which will see him suspended for Genoa on Sunday. Also suspended will be Estupiñan and Saelemaekers, both of whom, as far as I could tell, earned their cards for dissent. So that was lovely.
The referee was sketchy, it was Zufferli with Di Paolo and the infamous Mariani on Assistant VAR. And yet I'm too worn down to even document their errors (now you know I'm on the brink.) I mean Atalanta were whistled for 17 fouls to Milan's eight, and those are the ones that were called, but whatever. Nkunku replaced Loftus-Cheek at halftime, the latter of whom had taken a knock a few minutes before the half. The ultimate was in the 51st, when Santi Gimenez and Leão both collided, attempting to go for the same ball. That summed up everything right there.
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| The message could not have been more clear. |
And Raspadori scored the third goal right after that clownshow, too. 3-0 for Atalanta. At the San Siro. The already angry fans, who had also whistled their team loudly at the half, chanted "You've pissed us off," and poured out of the stadium in droves, they had seen enough. In the 58th. Allegri made three subs all at once: Fofana, Füllkrug, and Athekame all replaced Rafa Leão, Santi Gimenez, and De Winter.
At least we didn't suffer like Atalanta. Their center back, Scalvini, was injured in the 48th. He was replaced by Kossounou, who was also injured less than 15 minutes later and replaced Ahanor. When Ahanor went down less than 15 minutes after that, Palladino must have wondered what he had done in a previous life to deserve this. Ahanor was able to play after treatment, however, which was lucky for Atalanta, because they were out of center backs.
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| Of course, it was Pavlović who put us on the scoreboard. |
When Milan were three down (again,) and things looked bleak, Allegri's answer was to sub on Estupiñan for Bartesaghi in the 80th minute. If that doesn't tell you how desperate he was, then I don't know what will. The irony was that Füllkrug did score right after that, but it was ruled offside. The panic shooting did pay off, though, when our grinta master of the season, Pavlović, headed in a cross from Ricci in the 88th minute. Now it was only 3-1 for Atalanta. A tiny semblance of dignity.
But it was the social media comedian and Dutch defender de Roon that gave me hope when he clearly fouled Nkunku in the box in the 92nd minute. Nkunku also took the penalty and converted it in the 94th minute. Now it was a 3-2 match, and there were three minutes of stoppage time left. Obviously, there would be controversy, as Bellanova was only given a yellow for a foul on Estupiñan that really should have been a red. But whatever. Milan did not convert, and it stayed Atalanta 3, Milan 2. Now our Champions League qualification is truly on the brink.
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| Nkunku's penalty conversion gave me false hope. Luckily it was only 3 minutes. |
The more interesting part occurred ahead of the match, when fans gathered to protest. The Curva had already released a statement attacking every single person in management. They marched to the stadium with a large banner that said "Furlani Vattene" ("Furlani Get Out".) Once in the stadium, they sang chants against everyone, no one was spared. And ahead of kickoff, since they are still banned from bringing banners into the stadium, they created another now epic display by forming the letters "G F Out" in the Curva Sud. with their bodies and using cell phone lights to emphasize it. But the Curva Sud were not alone, a banner appeared in the second red tier that read "Redo everything from scratch, give us back AC Milan." And it wasn't just at the San Siro. In Toulouse, their fans were protesting RedBird on Sunday as well. Imagine being Gerald's ego right now.
Chants of "We are AC Milan" and more rang throughout the match, and then the chants for Maldini began. That cannot have been comfortable for the tiny little man who had him fired. A whole stadium chanting for the legend he fired? And yet, video released of him reacting to the Curva Sud's protest raised eyebrows because he smirked and smiled. Personally, I think he was dying inside, his face was very red, and he is quite the narcissist. But on the outside, he seemed to be pointing out to Scaroni how beautiful it was, which pissed off fans even more.
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| There are no guarantees in anti-football. |
Fans do not need to be pissed off any more than they already are. Allegri advocates promised that he was a guarantee for Champions League. Those of us for whom Allegri is a traumatic experience also trusted that at least he would get us there. Instead, he has given us the worst points total in a second half of a season in the past eight years. And we may not even make Champions League. After playing in one competition all season, with players like Luka Modrić and Rabiot. He broke Pulisic and Rafa Leão, and team morale is perhaps lower than even last year.
Obviously, fans are not dumb. This owner and management have done everything to set this team up to fail. And now it seems that even they are imploding. After unceremoniously sacking Maldini before breakfast, there is talk now that Tare will leave, and possibly Allegri as well. Tare, who has singlehandedly brought in more cash for player sales in a single transfer window than the past five years combined. Make it make sense. Meanwhile, thus far, the completely incompetent, inexperienced traitorous little gremlin who walked into Gerald Cardinale's office and said, "I have zero experience, hire me," is somehow still here. That is not a serious owner, this is no longer a serious club. And that is enough to put anyone on the brink.
Milan Primavera Lose 4-2 to Parma Primavera After Leading
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| Balentien and teammates with Leão's surfing celebration after scoring for the Primavera. |
Renna's Primavera got off to a great start in their final away match, but the final score was a painful 4-2 defeat by Parma. It was Cheveyo Balentien, recently returned from injury and needing minutes, who put the Primavera up with a goal in the sixth minute, then an assist for a Zaramella goal in the 25th minute. 2-0 Milan Primavera. Parma pulled one back in the 33rd minute, so it was 2-1 Milan Primavera at halftime.
Balentien was subbed off at halftime, and long story short, Parma scored three more unanswered goals in the second half to make it 4-2 Parma Primavera. Three players did make their debut in this match: Leonardo Colombo, Mercogliano, and Baldacchino. Brief highlights of the match are available. Milan Futuro will close out their season at home vs. Torino on Saturday.
Milan Futuro's Season Ends with a Heartbreak 2-1 Loss to Chievo in the Playoffs
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| The 11 warriors who took on Chievo Verona in a true 120 minute battle. |
Milan Futuro had a much better season in Serie D, with Massimo Oddo managing to actually field a team with a functional system and effective tactics, as well as keep the players' heads up all year, none of which Bonera did last season. This despite playing much older, cunning (read: dirty), and clumsy players in a league with referees who did not even pretend to hide their inadequacies and biases. The fourth place finish was much better than the 18th place of last year, and earned them a spot in the playoffs away to Chievo Verona.
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| I had my doubts, but "better than Bonera was such a low bar anyway." Oddo did well. |
This match was intense. 120 minutes, with both teams finishing on nine men, and only a penalty to separate them in the end. Milan Futuro's 2-1 loss to Chievo was a last minute heartbreak, too. It showed right away that Futuro had defeated them twice in the season, even though Chievo Verona featured a number of players who have played in Serie A, including our former Milan player, Paloschi. Sardo hit the underside of the crossbar less than ten minutes in, and it incredibly bounced out, but it was former Juve player Douglas Costa who scored the opening goal for Chievo just before halftime, putting the home side up 1-0 at the half.
Chaka Traorè seemed to luck out in the 49th when a bad foul on Jassey did not result in any cautions, even though Chievo players were petitioning the ref for a red card for him. Those would come later. Undaunted, Sardo found the equalizer in the 54th minute with an assist from Ossola. Now it was 1-1. And the battle was real. Milan Futuro had several chances, but failed to convert, and both sides played as if to the death, until it resulted in a straight red card for Chievo player Turano in stoppage time. Now Verona were on ten men.
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| Ossola hugs Sardo after he scored the equalizer. |
Being a playoff match and needing a result, the exhausted players went into added extra time (A.E.T.) The young Luca Menon, already on a yellow card, was booked again shortly into A.E.T., and Milan Futuro were also on ten men. Perera had a shot saved. Then Chievo had another player sent off in the 111th minute, now they were on nine men. Futuro were so close to penalties, in which they stood a chance of winning with Torriani in goal. However, Branca conceded a last man foul in the 118th minute of A.E.T. and was sent off, leaving Futuro also on nine men, and giving Chievo a single penalty. Constantino converted it, and that was the winning goal for Chievo Verona, sending them through and ending Milan Futuro's season. Highlights of the match are available.
The truly disheartening part is because the rules recently changed, U23 teams are lowest on the priority list of teams to be promoted to Serie C. So even if Futuro had gone to the final and won, they likely would still be stuck in Serie D. And the weird thing is, there does not seem to be any path back to Serie C for them, either. So much for Italy re-commiting to youth after missing three World Cups in a row. I cannot even explain this logic, but I mourn for those players, they deserve so much better. And it seriously limits the appeal of signing new players for Milan Futuro as well. Which limits our player development and our access to quality players to call up for the first team. Also, obviously, don't get me started on how our club failed the players and this project in general.
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| What's next for players like Sala and his teammates? |
We can only hope things will change, but for now, these brave players who played very well all season and should be proud of themselves for a strong season and a great playoff performance. Many of them made their first appearances, scored their first goals, or scored plenty of goals wearing the Milan shirt. I hope that they are willing to stay committed to wearing that shirt for us and continue to make all of us proud, so that one day we might see them in the first team.
Reviewed by Elaine
on
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