Across the Street

LOOKING BACK to the past five years, there is no question that Inter has reached the zenith of their potential, managing to win five scudettos in a row, and passing AC Milan in the podium of the most succesful club in Italy, both below La Vecchia Signora del Calcio.

Milan has been a team that prepares for Europe rather than Italy for the last 25 years, however, as far as this season  goes, we must put all that european pride aside, and focus on the scudetto. “Those who live in the past, don’t enjoy the present and can’t build their future” . It’s time for not only for some players to phase out, but it’s time for the rossoneri as well to understand that we are in a transition time. Teams go through cycles, there is no team that stays at the top forever.

Right now we have some of the most talented young players in our ranks, and I’m not talking about future promises like Merkel, Strasser or Verdi, but rather young players that we can rely on, not always but most of the time and that are considered among the best in their positions. I’m talking about Pato, Abate, Boateng and Silva(I would even throw Robinho in the list in he was more consistent). It’s crucial for them to win the Serie A right now to let them taste a little bit of success and boost up their confidence. These are the players that will carry the torch and fire of Milan this decade, and it’s never too early to light that fire that many rossoneri have held in their hearts before, that will to pour blood, sweat and tears for that shirt that many keep close to their very own essence.

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Inter’s cycle is reaching its end, don’t let their good performance this year fool you. Sure they’ve got one or two players for the future, but most of their squad is close to their expiring date. Although, I’ll give credit where credit is due, because inter have in their squad, some of the fittest aged players. I mean Zanetti has the stamina  of a 20 year old, and his consistency and polivalency leaves nothing to ask for a 37 year old. But players like Cordoba, Samuel, Milito, Chivu, Materazzi and even Cambiasso and Stankovic have dropped a little of their level. The rest of the squad has keeped last year’s level, but some of them are getting to their 30’s (Maicon, Etoo, Thiago Motta, Julio Cesar, and Lucio that is 32 already). However, I’m always nervous when Milan plays Inter, because in the past few years, at the time that the derby arrived, Inter was already in a best position than Milan. Playing against Inter or Juventus is always hard. This match implies many things, not only a race for the scudetto. This derby is the first step to put on track the beginning of the new cycle, to motivate our new crop to take the matter in their own hands. This match can be the confirmation of our hard work throughout the season, or can be the condamnation for our inconsistency lately.

But what is actually expected for the so anxiously waited “match of the year”(for me at least), “Il derby della Madoninna”? We have the opportunity not only of getting sweet revenge of Leo’s betrayal, but also of stopping Inter’s hot streak, both in matches and Serie A tittles.

I can see three possible scenarios :

• Milan playing for the draw that way we don’t loose the advantage we have against Inter ( something tells me this might happen)
• Playing more offensively and winning (best case scenario)
• Playing more offensively and losing (worst case scenario).

Sincerely, I think Allegri should take a huge leap of faith, and go for the win for once. Most of Inter’s best defenders are injured, and if we get a tie, we must keep in mind that our schedule for the last 7 matches are quite more difficult than Inter’ s. There’s also the fact that Inter is still competing in the CL, so I don’t expect them to come at us at full strength in order to prepare for their tie against a very driven Schalke.

There’ is nothing that would make me happier than taking Inter’s tittle hopes right off their hands, after all we need to prove we deserve the tittle of Italian champions. Nothing good comes easy and I say it’s about time we go across the street, and bring back the scudetto home.

By Francisco Vasquez, Rossoneri Blog