Brief chronicle of the silent but deafening collapse of the Rossoneri team.
The action of the 2-2 draw for Genoa, just one minute into the second half, is the perfect representation of the AC Milan collapse occurred in the last year and a half: a collapse that takes place in indifference, in sound of silence. A banal clearance from Martinez finds Martin all alone on the left: the Genoa winger, slyly, quietly, conducts the ball, at first with little conviction, until he realizes that no AC Milan player seems intent on disturbing his run, no one perceives it as a real danger; Martin, then, takes advantage of it and gives rhythm to his ride, cutting through the center of the pitch, similar to an expanse of desert – as often happens in Milan matches – for more than forty metres.
No disturbances. No opposition. Some players, thrown forward in a disorderly manner, without ever caring what might happen once they lose the ball, run backwards, while the defensive line retreats indefinitely: in the middle, the void. Martin’s action will then favor Ekuban’s goal. For the umpteenth time, the forty-first in this Serie A (a forty-second will arrive at the end of the match), Milan concedes a goal without even realizing it: he doesn’t worry, he doesn’t worry because he doesn’t even feel the danger; he is an apathetic creature who has lost contact with reality, and lets himself go to the inertia of events, in a deafening silence.
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The same deafening silence is the backdrop to the match, which is played in a surreal, almost grotesque atmosphere, due to the harsh protest organized by the Curva Sud, tired of the indifference with which the AC Milan world, from the players to the very silent management, are experiencing a moment of very high tension: “Milan is not satisfied” is the main slogan expressed by the AC Milan fans, who demand more investments, more ambition, but above all more clarity. In the remaining eighty minutes – except for a chorus dedicated to a bereaved member of the Curva – the Curva remains silent and faces the match with the same indifference with which the players seem to play it. Then, at the eightieth minute, the curve leaves the stands: the second blue ring remains empty, decorated with a single banner: “The noise of silence”.
If blue is the color of sadness, it’s impressive to think like Stefano Pioli, who until two years ago, when he looked up, filled his heart with a Rossoneri joy, today making the same gesture encounters the depressing blue of the empty seats: joy, ephemeral, has given way to sadness. Not even a single applause can be heard when the players enter the pitch: the same team that two years ago had a symbiotic relationship with its stadium, today unleashes the indifference of its public, who feel tired, disconsolate, betrayed. Between silence, a seaside match and defensive horrors, the match has the grotesque flavor of a Yorgos Lanthimos film: in the stands you look into each other’s eyes with your fellow supporters, almost embarrassed, and ask yourself how we got this far alone two years after the last Scudetto triumph.
The silence is interrupted only on the occasion of the three goals and a short scene whose sadness is in full harmony with the day: Rafa Leão leaves the pitch amidst boos, following yet another match in which he failed to be as mature as he should; he would be the last to deserve them, the boos, but the fans also reproach their symbol for an attitude that too often reveals indifference towards the seriousness of the situation. Milan has reached rock bottom because, just like in Martin’s undisturbed action, for two years it has decided to let itself go, without ever tackling the problems that gradually arose, indeed, hiding them under a carpet that became so swollen with dust that it exploded. Nobody tried to correct the situation when there was still time to make the crash less abrupt, and the result is a team today without a leader, who needs to be re-educated on a tactical, athletic (injury prevention) and mental level.
The silence, however, is not only that of the Curva or of the players who suffer blows without reacting; theThe most deafening silence is that of the managers, who even at the end of this surreal Milan-Genoa did not present themselves at the microphones, and did not deem it necessary in any way to clarify the club’s position with respect to the fans’ requests. For months it has been said that Ibra would be the true representative of RedBird in Milan, the man in charge of the most important decisions: perhaps the time has come to talk. Let’s be clear, Milan does not have the duty to satisfy every request of the fans, who – at least in theory – should not be as competent as the managers, but they still have the duty to make their plans clear, without too many political turns of phrase.
The evocative and enigmatic banner of the AC Milan fans
Much, as was said a few months ago on Sportellate, will pass by the choice of the coach, which at the moment seems shrouded in the cloud of chaos, with a jumble of names with polar opposite characteristics that day after day seem to overtake each other in the preferences of the AC Milan leaders. The choice is capital importance, because in today’s football, the technical project of a team largely depends on the coach who represents it. Milan is experiencing a moment of high tension, between the frustration of the fans, the indifference of the players and the silence of a management that lacks authority in managing such a delicate moment.
Il Milan has to find many things again, from a team game that enhances the characteristics of its players, to a defensive phase that avoids conceding 2/3 goals per game, up to an athletic preparation that avoids the usual massacre of injuries. To do this, ambitious and clear choices will be needed, otherwise the silence will become increasingly noisy and the empty, red, blue, orange and green seats will act as a backdrop.
2024-05-06 11:00:00
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