Glory again?
After the purchase of Milan by a Chinese group, supporters of the club may renew their expectations
Revised by Gabriel Cariello
The echo that sounded when Ibrahimovic and Kevin Boateng kicked the ball into the net in that 6th of August, 2011, is still alive in the mind of all Milan’s supporters. It was the final of SuperCopa between Milan and Juventus that ended with victory in 2–1 for those wearing red and black.It was also the last moment of glory that the Rossoneros could feel in the last few years. After that, the club began to go through one of the most complicated period of its history. The situation has been terrible for a giant club like Milan, especially in Serie A where, since 2013 until the last season (2016–2017), the best position was reached exactly in the last one when they got a 6th place in the championship.
Because of the last position in Serie A, the supporters of Milan finally have something to celebrate again: they returned at least to Europa League, the second most important international cup in the continent. More than that, milanistas can renew their hopes after Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian Prime Minister and Milan’s former agent, handed the club for a Chinese group called Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux, from Shangai. The deal, according to Daily Mail, was around £627.5million.
Consequently, after the business, Milan brought an amount of new players (a total of 9 until now, spending €188 million, according to TransferMarket) that can help the team in different roles on the pitch. At the beginning, during the pre-season, some names such as Bonucci, central defender that was absolutely important in Juventus in the last few years; André Silva, striker that was in Porto (he is listed as successor to Cristiano Ronaldo in the national team); and Musacchio, that was fundamental to Villareal squad, have attracted a little more attention.
In four matches, since the beginning of July, the team leaded by Vincenzo Montella has won three, in a friendly against FC Lugano (4–0), another friendly against Bayern Munchen (also 4–0) which the performance was so impressive and on the 27th of July, when the club disputed the first playoff game of Europa League against Universitatea Craiova (1–0). Milan only lost the match against Borussia Dortmund (1–3). The first results were able to reinforce the enthusiasm of Milan supporters for the current season.
“It was, and still is, a dreamy summer. The most beautiful thing is that my dreams have been fulfilled, but it doesn’t end here. And if the number of players hired and the amount spent are sensational, the truth is that the club can do something extraordinary,” said coach Vincenzo Montella in an interview to ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’.
Good expectations
Among the fans heard by the report of segue o jogo, everyone thinks that Milan can get at least the 4th place in Serie A and, because of this, return to Uefa Champions League. “The most important thing to me is a real project. I mean, working with a base project, a progressive sequence, we can return to our high level of football,” says Francesco Castiglione, 27, shop assistant who supports the club. According to him, Milan didn’t have a real team in the last few years. “I realised that we had some not good players paying a very few money. Or even for free, in case of some players that could be in the end of their careers,” criticized the supporter.
Other fan, lawyer Matteo Morlacchi, 27, believes that with the recent changes in the administration of the club, it will be possible to see San Siro as crowded as at important moments of glory in a not-so-distant past.
“There are ninety percent of chances that I’ll buy the tickets to go to San Siro in the matches of Europa League this season. And also I might go to some games in Serie A,” tell him who chose the team’s victory at the Uefa Champions League 2002–2003, against Juventus in a penalties decision (3–2), as his favourite squad.
“I really liked that team. There were players such as Nesta, Maldini, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Shevchenko, Rui Costa… They can be a kind of inspiration to our current team,” said Morlacchi.
According to another supporter, consultant Maurizio Poppa, 27, it is necessary to trust in the new project of Milan. He guesses that, among all new players, Bonucci may be a kind of leader in the group. “His experience and performance on the pitch are fantastic. I bet on Rodriguez and Biglia to get great results as well,” said the consultant who might buy the ticket season for the next year.
Are you worried?
On the other hand, despite of the good expectations of Milan’s fans, the feelings of its rivals are obviously different. University student Giacomo Capodacqua, 23, supporter of Juventus, the club which has been unbeatable for six years, says that, although Milan invested lots of money thanks to the Chinese group, this is not enough yet. “I think that this year’s Milan is much more competitive than last years. But I don’t think that it is ready to be a real rival to win Serie A. At least, the championship can be more interesting and exciting for us,” he claims.
Sharing a similar vision, a fan of Napoli, student Claudio de Falco, 17, doesn’t bet in Milan as one of the favourite teams to win ‘The Scudetto’. “Indeed, its new players, despite their strenght, are not good enough to win the trophy. They are in fact all middle level players,” he said. However, Falco added that the return of Milan as an important team in the European scenario would be beneficial to Italian soccer in general. In the end of the interview, he joked: “Anyway, as a Napoli supporter, considering that our ranking situation is pretty good at the moment, I prefer Milan to stay behind us.”
Sequence
Along with the rossoneros, the optimism is completely evident after some disappointing seasons. For its rivals, the expectation is that, while Milan brought new possible stars, the club keeps looking at them from the rearview mirror. Now, they wait for the next chapters of the 2017–2018 season remains… By the way, the next step for Milan is the second game of Europa League against Universitatea Craiova, in San Siro, on the 3rd of August.
“We were certain and you have not disapponted us. Almost 50,000 Red and Black hearts will be beating at San Siro, Thursday 3 August to cheer on the boys in their home seasonal debut. The Rossoneri fans have proved how much they have missed European football supporting AC Milan”, inform Milan in his official website.
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