Not a weak week

As written in the last post, this coming week promised to hold a large amount of excitement for Milan and Berlusconi. While more details emerged about the prostitution scandal surrounding Berlusconi, no real revelations have emerged besides more name calling from the Berlusconi family and his detractors. A an interview with Nicole Minetti, reputed to be Sivlio's pimp/part time lover/assistant/fill in the blank, was made public where she denied every charge brought against Berlusconi and made herself to look as innocent as a lamb. Pretending to see, hear, or speak no evil is a pretty trite strategy, and it ending up casting a negative light on Berlusconi.

The real action took place on wednesday at the San Siro, with visitors Tottenham stealing a late goal in the 80th minute. This rare away win in the Champions League will definitely be a disappointment, but also possibly a blessing in disguise at it will allow Milan to focus on the domestic league. Of course, the real controversy began after the game ended, as Milan midfielder/iron worker Gennaro Gattuso headbutted and hit Tottenham assistant coach Joe Jordan in the neck. While Gattuso has apologized profusely and will accept whatever ban is placed on him, it was an indefensible act. Accosting another player or coach for that matter during of after the game is completely classless and has no part in the game. It should be mentioned that Jordan is not free of blame though, as he was on the field in plain view yelling at Gattuso, reputedly calling him a Fu***** Italian Ba****d. Using this language as a coach is pitiful, and as the old expression goes two wrongs certainly don't make a right.

The only bright spot was a 2-1 win over Chievo Verona today, keeping Milan 5 points clear in the Serie A. If Milan can keep up their domestic league success for the next 2 weeks until the next Champions League match, they may have enough momentum to steal an away win and move on. As more details emerge from Berlusconi's case, they will be reported as such, but for right now its still in the preliminary stages. As always stay tuned and Forza Milan!

Nothing like a win....

AC Milan's 4-0 victory over Parma today provided temporary relief to Milan fans. The scandal surrounding Silvio Berlusconi and his treatment of women reached new heights as protests from Milan to London to Tokyo called for his resignation. The revelations that have to come to light about his alleged harem of sexual partners have caused an incredible amount of backlash towards Berlusconi. In the past he has weathered some serious scandals, most recently being accused of bribery of members of parliament in order to defeat a motion that would displace him as PM. Incidentally, the lower house of parliament just passed a measure that bars the police from searching his personal property in relation to the investigation. With all this taking place in the political arena, it is hard to imagine that Berlusconi is fulfilling his duties as team owner of AC Milan. However, it is plausible to believe that he may be using the team as a temporary escape or relief from his political troubles. Only time will tell whether or not Berlusconi will retain his position, but what is sure is that he will still own AC Milan at the end of the day.

On the sporting side, AC is about to enter into a very difficult stretch of games in the coming weeks. Tottenham visits the San Siro in the middle of the week to begin the knockout stages of the Champions league, in what promises to be at true test of both sides. The next three games take place in the Serie A with games against Chievo, Napoli, and Juventus, teams that have all given Milan trouble earlier this season. After the Italian gauntlet is passed, the last leg of the Tottenham game takes place. The old sports adage of taking it one game it a time and never looking ahead could not apply more over these next few games.

Back to a more recent events, the win over Parma today provided a bright outlook over the next few games. Newly acquired forward Antonio Cassano scored his 100th Serie A goal in his career, and his first for Milan. Veteran defender and Milan stalwart Alessandro Nesta returned from injury and looked sharp for his first game back, and partnered well with Thiago Silva in the middle to hold Parma scoreless. The Brazilian energy ball that is Robinho came on after halftime to score 2 goals to seal the game, and provided the crowd with reason to sing. Youngster Alexander Merkel started in midfield and proved he deserves more playing time as he demonstrated poise and creativity. Ibrahimovic also turned in a smart and efficient performance at the center forward position, and although he didn't score he was able to influence the attacking play, create scoring chances, and proving that even when he doesn't score he is still the most important player for Milan.

Hopefully some of Milan's excellent form will carry over to Wednesday when Tottenham visits. Over the course of the next week Berlusconi's fate may become a little more clear, or may just become more complicated. In the past Berlusconi has been able to dodge many bullets that looked certain to be fatal. As the scandal plays out it will be interesting to see if any of the off field drama carries over to the playing field, or it is somehow able to remain insulated.

Until then, Forza Milan!

Rossoneri: In media res

For full disclosure, beginning this blog in the middle of the season is both difficult and undesirable. Not only has half of the season gone by, but so much has taken place on and off the pitch that it seems impossible to recap it all without droning on into obscurity. Here's my condensed and imperfect recap:

-Milan sings Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho during the summer transfer period, upgrading Milan's attack to world class

-New manager Allegri takes charge, installs a 4-3-1-2

-Poor start to the season mounts serious pressure on Allegri

-Speculation surrounding Ronaldhino's status increases in the Italian media

-Multiple scandals about team owner and Italian PM Berlusconi break

-Milan begins to pick up steam and climb the table

-Ibra scores the only goal in the Milan derby against Inter, his former team

-Champions league play begins, with Milan eventually qualifying for the next round

-4-4 draw against Udinese marks the most exciting game of the season

-Antonio Cassano arrives via the January transfer window, and Ronaldhino returns to Brazil

The next post will deal with current events going on at Milan, with no more summarizing.

Forza Milan!