Revenge is a dish best served up... on the pitch. And that is what I'm afraid of. Not only has Torino never forgiven us for the 7-0 smackdown we gave them five years ago in their house, now their manager is former Milan player, youth team manager, and ex-BFF of one Zlatan Ibrahimović, Ignazio Abate. Both his job and his friendship with the former Milan player and current RedBird Senior Advisor to Milan ended when Zlatan went all crazy diva soccer mom on both Abate and his father, Benjamino, who had worked for many years as a goalkeeping coach at Milan. Fast forward to 2026, and Abate is now at Torino, his first Serie A managing job, which also happens to be the club we play first this season. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to facing Abate.
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| It hurts to see him as the opposition manager, especially after the way Milan treated him. |
After Abate's playing career ended, he began coaching in Milan's Youth Sector. He did very well, took the U16 team to the league final, and was promoted to the manager of the Primavera, probably the best Primavera manager we've had in a long time, actually. First, he took them to Milan and Italy's first ever UEFA Youth League Semifinal. The following season, he followed it up by taking them to Milan and Italy's first ever UEFA Youth League Final. And what was his reward? Nothing. No contract extension, and no promotion to graduate with his players and become the first manager of Milan Futuro. (Where he definitely would have been better than Bonera, by the way.)
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| He helped create the best Primavera team we've seen (and yes, that is a young Torriani back there) |
Why on earth would the club allow him to leave, let alone not give him the Futuro job? Well, after years of both the men and their families being the closest of friends, even business partners, there was a serious falling out when Abate refused to play Zlatan's eldest son in the Primavera, even though he was younger than all the other players. Imagine, a man who has principles and refuses nepotism in order to make players earn their spots? Criminal.
Well, Zlatan, by that point, along with his football-impotent buddy Kirovski, were in charge of Milan Futuro, and oversaw the entire youth sector. So obviously, they were not going to renew or promote the most competent manager if he wouldn't go along with the man who calls himself God. But Zlatan was not content just letting Abate go. He also suddenly transferred his father, the goalkeeping coach, to the women's side, then had him sacked. Imagine being so petty to not only let a friend and talented manager go, but to fire his father? Not a good look, Zlatan.
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| Their relationship was so close for so long... |
The next season, Abate went to Serie C side Ternana, where he also ended up being sacked for... you guessed it... refusing to give in to nepotism – he would not play the president's son. This, despite Ternana being second in the league when he was fired. Last season, he went to Juve Stabia, who finished a respectable seventh place in Serie B, which qualified them for the preliminary promotion playoffs.
They won a spot in the semifinals with a fantastic bicycle kick goal from Kevin Zeroli, his former Milan Primavera captain who was on loan to Juve Stabia for the second half of the season last year. They lost the two-leg semifinal with an aggregate score of 4-3 to Zeroli's prior loan team, Monza, who went on to win the final and be promoted to Serie A. Needless to say, Abate did well, caught the eye of Urbano Cairo, and was hired to manage Torino this season, a club he played for as a player.
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| Zeroli has always played his best for Abate, as have many of his players. |
That brings this drama up to this season. Torino have reinforced this summer with signings like fullback Niccolò Fortini, midfielder Kian Fitz-Jim, center back Eray Cömert, and young goalkeeper Diego Mascardi. They prepared well this summer, playing five friendlies, ranging from a 13-0 rout of an amateur side to victories over clubs like English Championship side Burnley and Serie B side Avellino.
Last week, they knocked Serie B side Carrarese out of the Coppa Italia Round of 64 with a 1-0 victory. For that match, Abate lined up a 3-4-2-1 with Diego Mascardi; Comuzzo, Saúl Coco, Cömert; Marcus Pedersen, Gineitis, Fitz-Jim, Cacciamani; Vlašić, Casadei; and Giovanni Simeone. There are no reported injuries for Abate, however Cömert is suspended for this match due to a suspension from yellow card accumulation that carries over from Vallodolid in La Liga last season.
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| We got a new guy, too, but he's unproven in Italy. |
If you were able to avoid the insanity that was Milan's summer this season, they had just a few changes in management, including new manager Rúben Amorim. Their summer tour took them from Scotland to Australia, to Indonesia, and finally to Poland, with two draws, a loss to Chelsea, and a 4-2 win over Manchester United last week. While he has yet to play an ideal starting 11 during any of the friendlies, we do know his preferred system is a 3-4-2-1.
He will be missing Rafa Leão to injury for this match. There are four players who have been frozen out of the team pending forced transfers: Tomori, Fofana, Santi Gimenez, and Nkunku, so they will also not be available. Ricci, Torino's former captain, may also not play, as he is reported to be close to signing with Como if they are able to sell a player to make room for him.
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| Believe it or not, Amorim has already won some kind of trophy with Milan. |
Maignan, who just returned last week is likely to start, while Rabiot, who returned the same day, is more likely to start from the bench. Pulisic, who just returned from injury on Saturday is also likely to be on the bench. A speculated starting 11 includes Musah and Estupiñan starting next to Modrić. Buckle up.
This could be a bittersweet reunion for players like Camarda, Torriani, and Bartesaghi, three of Abate's Primavera players who were part of his success story. On paper, Milan have a massive advantage. Ramos' transfer fee alone is probably more than the transfer fees of the entire Torino squad, for example. But Milan also still have Terracciano, Musah, and Estupiñan, which brings Torino right back into the game. Amorim could definitely use a win to start his season. But Abate is the kind of manager who would do everything right to help his team win this one on the pitch, for all the reasons. For all these reasons and more, I am not looking forward to facing Abate.
This post inspired by the music of Muse's "Sing for Absolution"
Serie A Week 1
Torino vs. Milan
Sunday, August 23 • 20:45 CEST (2:45pm EDT)
In the U.S., this match can be streamed in Spanish on Telemundo or Peacock,
Milan Primavera vs. Torino Primavera
Monday, August 24 • 19:00 CEST (1:00pm EDT)
This match is not being televised in the U.S.
Milan Futuro vs. ACD Sant'Angelo 1907
Sunday, August 30 • 15:00 CEST (10:00am EDT)
This match is not being televised in the U.S.
Reviewed by Elaine
on
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