It’s the last matchday of the season. This is always bittersweet even in down or disappointing years because I always prefer to have a Milan match to watch on the weekend (and midweek in Europe you underachieving bastards!). But these last few seasons have been EXTREMELY disappointing for many reasons, many I’ve shared previously in posts or in comment sections. But I’ll dive more into this below…
MATCHDAY:
LAST FIVE
MILAN: WDLLW
CAGLIARI: LWDLW
FORMATIONS
MILAN (3-5-2) *Predicted*: Maignan (C); Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlović; Athekame, Fofana, Jashari, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Giménez, Nkunku
CAGLIARI (3-5-2) *Predicted*: Caprile; Zappa, Mina, Doessna; Palestra, Adopo, Gaetano, Deiola, Obert; Kiliçsoy, Esposito
TIME/LOCATION
TIME: 2:45pm EST/7:45pm GMT
PLACE: San Siro, Milan
WHERE TO WATCH:
Paramount+ and FuboTV here in the US of Aye (Spanish broadcast on Fox Deportes in the US); FuboTV and TLN for Canada; TNT in the UK (maybe?); ESPN for Mexico; DAZN for Germany, Austria, Switzerland; a website called GXR for our friends in India; and illegal streams that support dictators and oligarchs everywhere.
*Let us know if this needs updating or if you have additional broadcasters to add*
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
The most disappointing thing about this all is it’s a last couple of years that didn’t have to be. Self-inflicted wounds are the hardest for me to stomach. This ill-conceived notion that Milan could just spend more, toss out anyone who challenged management, and somehow find success was laughable from the start.
I was thinking about the reasons so many of you wanted to move on from Pioli, that somehow he couldn’t surpass the success he had achieved, and that the only way Milan could take it to that next level was to move on from him. Arsenal just proved that having a vision and plan and executing on that plan CAN and usually produces results if you have a wide-enough lens. Yes, they have resources Milan doesn’t have but they’ve been more strategic with their spending. Doesn’t mean every move was a home run but every move was deliberate, it filled a need in a defined system. Milan had that at one point and was doing more with less than any other team in Europe. Did I mention a legend was leading the way?
The other thing that made me laugh this week was it dawned on me that Pioli’s 4th place finish, the one many people pin as the reason Milan had to move on from him, the season Juventus got dinged for cheating and were docked 10 points, they finished with 70 points…the exact same number Milan has right now heading into the final game. Did I mention Milan had a semifinal run in Champions League that occupied their attention during that 4th place finish?
Sure, maybe Milan finish with 71 or 73 points but Allegri has a better overall squad and has had basically one competition to worry about all season. For those of you who want to say, but it’s his first season and he needs his guys. Well, he was appointed at the start of the summer and was present and able to make his case for all of this season’s transfers. Besides, that only really holds the first few months of the season. Moreover, the team has gotten and been healthier during the second half of the season and things have only gotten worse.
So, this all brings us to the Cagliari game. The final game of the season. This could be Allegri’s final game but more importantly in my mind is, it could be Rafael Leão’s last game for Milan as well if whispers are to be believed. I think moving on from him would be a mistake and would be more of the same from this management. We’d sell him, not get an adequate replacement, and then we’re all worse off for it.
Time will tell with Leão’s potential departure and more will become clear after this game, but there are also rumblings of a massive shakeup ranging from Allegri not sticking around to Furlani and others in leadership being shown the door. While I’m firmly in a, #RedbirdOut phase and would welcome this change with open arms, what I really want isn’t an option (Maldini coming back) and said open arms might close just as quickly when you remember who’s in charge of fixing everything. The grass isn’t greener where we’re standing, and I’m almost certain it’s even worse on the other side of a massive shakeup.
Banter era 2.0 is coming?…or is it already here?…
PREDICTION TIME:
This is less prediction and more of what do I really want here. A win and we get Champions League football next season but Allegri likely stays and more of all that…wonderfulness. Dropping points and missing out on Champions League likely brings a massive shakeup and overhaul, which could be good but probably won’t be.
Pick your poison? Feels like it.
Forza Milan
gillis