To be honest I am mentally and physically exhausted, it never seems to fail that the most difficult times in my "normal" life always find a way to inexplicably link to my life as a Milan tifosi. When it rains it pours, and today was torrential, but at some point tomorrow I will recollect my thoughts and try to make a semblance of order from what we saw at Old Trafford today. It was by no means pretty and very little positive can be taken from the game, but after pouring over the comments, reading, and sometimes rereading, there is one simple observation I want to end with...
At some point closer to the World Cup, I plan to define, or least set a list of parameters down in regards to the idea of "World Class" in the meantime the term will continue to be thrown with no real foundation. I do however want to remind everyone, myself included, that an entire team will never be "World Class" and wishing and hoping for our Milan to be littered with "World Class Players" is unrealistic as wishing that players wouldn't dive. We were not beat on this day by a team of "World Class" superstars, we were beat by desire, sound tactics, and an intensity that lacks in this current iteration of AC Milan. So while it is very easy, in hindsight, may I add, to say our strikers suck, our midfield sucks, our defenders suck, our goalie sucks, and our Coach sucks, it is the lazy way out.
On a day that called for class, swagger and confidence our losing eleven was sent onto the pitch in an unfamiliar formation, with what appeared to be little in the idea of tactics. Sure injuries played a part, having to play Janks, and going into a big match sans Nesta or Pato is tough, and why Leo didn't play the tried and true 4-3-3, the only real successful formation of the campaign is beyond me. We paid for these decisions, and I say we paid very dearly, because as fans, these days are an anxiety riddled nightmare win or lose, and while I often try to hide the fan in me to paint a clear picture for the blog, it may be poorly at times, it is days like today that remind me how hard it is to blindly love this team. So while I may be cynical and overly critical of a player or two, in the end this is it, this is Milan, with all the positives and negatives rolled into one...so take it or leave it...
When the season started there was this sinking feeling that the worst was yet to come; I am not even sure if it is here yet, this season has been quite the trip, but it's not over. We were eliminated from the CL on the same day as Real Madrid, yes the same Real Madrid that took Kaka from us, the same Real that spent more money than humanly possible, only to have the same result. So you can say we suck, it may feel good for a minute or two, but in the end there is a game to play on the weekend and a gap to close in Serie A, and while I hold no expectations of silverware, I simply ask that we do not abandon ship. Let's be realistic and constructive, and maybe some good will come our way, until then we are left with the same thing we started with, OUR CLUB.
Congrats to Manchester United and their fans, I now know how you felt on that rainy day in the San Siro...