Milan Obsession

A Derby win, or even a great performance, would have been such a gift to the fans who have suffered so much this season. But it was not to be. Instead, we got more of the same timid and inconsistent play we’ve seen all season. So disappointing. But if I’ve learned one thing this season, it’s to grasp onto any tiny amount of good, because there’s not going to be a lot more of it any time soon. With back to back wins, and a decent draw going into the derby, it was a letdown on so many levels.

Somehow having the emotional strength to record right after the Derby was our President of the Curva Sud America, Francesco, also known as p3trarch on the blog. Born in Milano and a lifelong Milanista, he truly knows what the Derby means. You can follow him on Twitter @FrancescoPetra8. Our post-Derby conversation included:

• News of the Week: the Berlucopter returns, van Ginkel unveiled, Primavera win a trophy in Dubai, guess who’s back?

• Season to Date: our results from Serie A

• The Derby: commiserating the draw

• To Sell or Not to Sell: what is known and what is not

• Coming Up: Upcoming matches and what to look for

Thanks once again to Francesco, especially for recording under extreme emotional distress post-Derby. Please follow him on Twitter @FrancescoPetra8 and check out his comments on the blog.

Usually it seems like there isn’t as much going on during international breaks for Milan fans. But despite having fewer players called up than we have in a long time, there is actually a lot to talk about. And it’s not just Milan’s performances or even the players who were called up by their national teams. The Curva Sud are still demanding answers and there are changes being made in Serie A, too. And yet it still kind of feels like instead of a just an International break, things everywhere in Italy are just simply broken.

I was lucky enough to be joined once again by David, a rare Milan fan in England who actually has Milan season tickets and catches as many games as he can. You can follow him on Twitter @DavidLSwan (the L is for Legend) and also check out his site, acmilanfinance.com which is a fantastic reference for the business side of Milan all translated for you into English. For this episode, we chatted about:

• News of the Week: Menexes, Cesare Maldini speaks, 7th place, epic Twitter announce

• Season to Date: our results from Serie A

• Curva Sud Boycott: talking with a Curva Sud season ticket holder

• International Break: #ConteOut

• FIGC Rule Changes: financial changes for stability

• Coming Up: Upcoming matches and what to look for

My sincerest thanks again to David for blessing us with his presence. You can follow him on Twitter @DavidLSwan and definitely check out his amazing resource of a site at acmilanfinance.com Cheers!

Since nothing is really happening on the pitch, there isn’t a lot of football to talk about. Especially without midweek games in Europe. And there isn’t much to talk about off the pitch, either. Milan is barely treading water, and as fans, it can be hard to find anything worth talking about that hasn’t already been said. But that didn’t stop us from trying. So anyway…

Joining me once again from sunny South Florida was our very own Derwuin. You can follow him on Twitter @D_Mendez3 for his take on football and more. Also follow @ToePokePOD for updates on his podcast on Serie A that he and his Juventus frenemy will be starting up again soon. This time around, we talked about:

• News of the Week: Destro, Maldini, Europa League, #SaveParmaTakeInterInstead, Berlusconi, Cerci, @Milanello

• Season to Date: our results from Serie A

• Injury Crisis: can we fix it?

• How do you solve a problem like Menez?: how he really stacks up

• Help Inzaghi: a little advice on formations, starters, subs, and more

• Coming Up: Upcoming matches and what to look for

My thanks again to Derwuin for joining me on such short notice. Follow him on Twitter @D_Mendez3 and also follow @ToePokePOD for news on their upcoming Serie A podcasts.

After waking up at an ungodly hour to watch the Empoli game, my spirits were nearly at an all time low having watched such a terrible performance. The weight of years of douchebaggery just came crashing down on me with the injuries, suspensions and poor play from that match just the punctuation mark. The only plausible comparison I could conjure for where Milan is headed was a train wreck. But I’m not jumping off of this train anytime soon. It may hurt, and we may see the inevitable doom, but it’s still my Milan and I’m going to see it through.

My fellow sleep deprived Milanista this time was Pete. You will remember him from other great podcasts as well as his DAI DAI DAI blog. Or you may know him from his wise and witty comments on Twitter. Despite both being tired and despondent about Milan, we had some excellent and enlightening conversation:

• News of the Week: Galliani douchebaggery, Berlusconi xenophobia, Mastour’s surgery, Paletta’s hair

• Season to Date: results from Serie A

• Squad Analysis: how bad is it?

• The Berlusconi Conundrum: Will he sell? What’s in it for him? And more…

• Coming Up: Upcoming matches and what to look for

• Happy Birthday: milestones of the Milan Obsession blog, podcast, and more

My thanks again to Pete for excellent conversation despite his sleep deprived state. Check out his fantastic blog at pdacquaviva.com and definitely follow him on Twitter, too.

Three points and a pre-Galliani Day™ shopping spree have Milan fans feeling some optimism again. But should we be optimistic? If hindsight is 20/20, then definitely not. But if you look carefully, there are some strands of hope we can perhaps cling to. But then again, we face Juventus this week, so if that doesn’t beat the optimism out of you then you may want to see a medical professional about that.

Keeping him up late after the Parma game with a cold, I had the privilege of chatting with my Milan Obsession co-founder, Jovan. Of course he moved on to create the best fantasy football sites for the four major leagues, including fantasyseriea.com. We explored the current state of Milan, including:

• News of the Week: Mexes meltdown, injuries, Honda at the Asian Cup, Ariedo Braida, the outline for the new stadium plans, and the Curva Sud speak.

• Season to Date: results from the league and the Coppa Italia

• Mercato Update: the latest news on Milan transfers ahead of Galliani Day™

• Inzaghi’s Report Card: how he has done so far, what to expect and whether or not he should stay

• Coming Up: Upcoming matches and what to look for

My thanks again to Jovan for his especially while being under the weather. Please check out his amazing fantasy football games like the Serie A one at fantasyseriea.com

Milan are in crisis mode again, or at least that’s what I’ve read. But between unrealistic expectations, poor results, a poor squad, and fans behaving badly, perhaps the trouble is not exactly what some think it is. But then again, if everyone thinks it, then Milan really are in trouble. Perspective is a very powerful thing. But perhaps the lack thereof is actually the trouble with Milan after all.

This time I chatted with Milano native and second generation Milanista Francesco, the original Milan Obsessed fan and President of the Curva Sud America (according to me, anyway.) When he’s not posting comments on the blog, he sometimes tweets @FrancescoPetra8, so do follow him. For this crisis Milan podcast, we talked about:

• News of the Week: Goal line technology, Taarabt still talking, injury woes

• Season to Date: results from the league and the Coppa Italia

• Mercato Update: the latest news on Milan transfers

• Milan Fan Rants: Anger, expectations, and class

• Coming Up: Upcoming matches and what to look for

Many thanks again to Francesco for his time and willingness to share his views. Please follow him @FrancescoPetra8 on Twitter to make sure he’s still alive in that God forsaken country.

Milan have managed a treble this season… well if friendly trophies count for a treble, anyway. Which has got Milan fans everywhere dreaming big… maybe a little too big. After seeing our players drive Audis on a racetrack, sit in a Fly Emirates flight simulator, win awards that no one has heard of before and otherwise life the good life in Dubai and then beat Real Madrid in a friendly, it’s easy to get carried away. But it’s also important to remember where the club has been recently and consider what could be happening in the upcoming mercato. Things seem to be looking up, but Milan fans know all too well that things are not always what they seem to be at Milan anymore. That’s life.

I was joined once again by Vinny, whom you may remember from that awesome YouTube sensation Red Card Weekly. He reportedly talks about Milan around the clock, even in his sleep, but you can catch his occasional tweets by following @RedCardWeekly. For this holiday podcast, we talked about:

• News of the Week: Globe Soccer Awards, Zeman fired again

• Adventures in Dubai: Real Madrid friendly and trophy count

• Squad Turnover: based on The Transition, how many players have come in and out of the club since Summer of 2012

• Mercato Forecast: Update and predictions

• Coming Up: Upcoming matches and what to look for

Many thanks again to Vinny for the great Milan conversation. You definitely need to follow the seriously underfollowed @RedCardWeekly on Twitter for his occasional but brilliant wit and wisdom.

Milan surprised at the beginning of the season, and again in the last two fixtures, with a win vs. Napoli and a draw with second place Roma. So we go into the holidays in seventh place, but only two points behind third place. These results have people dreaming of more than just sugarplums, but will Santa deliver the goods this Christmas for Milan fans? And if so, what exactly is it that he is supposed to deliver? What part of this season is fantasy and what part of it is reality? With pleas to Santa and coming off of a surprise result, Milanisti everywhere have plenty to talk about this Christmas break.

My guest this time was Dave, the Milanista, comedian, teacher, new father, and former Bodega clerk of the fabulous @DaveLambComedy Twitter account. In his spare time, he writes the amazing game previews on pdacquaviva.com. For this holiday podcast, we talked about:

• News of the Week: Goal line technology, territorial discrimination, budget deficit, Happy 115th Milan

• Season to Date: Update on the season

• Marketing vs. Football: also known as Barbara vs. Galliani

• Dear Santa: The most depressing fan wish list ever

• Coming Up: What’s up next

Thanks again to Dave for taking time out of his busy holiday schedule to chat. He is definitely underfollowed on Twitter, so help us change that by following him @DaveLambComedy. Also read his match previews on pdacquaviva.com for a fantastic read every time.

Since the last podcast, Milan produced a draw, a win, and then a loss, and have two big games looming before the end of the calendar year. We are still in search of consistency, and waiting for this team to make the San Siro a fortress again. The fans seem to be coming back, but will the team be able to soldier up and make other teams fear Milan at home? We discuss where the team is at now and some promising news for the future.

Joining me this time to chat was the world traveler Derwuin. Having just come back from a trip to Milano for the Derby, we had lots to talk about. Follow him on Twitter @D_Mendez3 and be sure to check out his pics from his trip in his timeline, in this post or in this comment section. This time we chatted about:

• News of the Week: Shirt sponsor extended, new stadium news, the quest for goal line technology

• Season to Date: Update on the season

• Derby della Madnonnina: A first person report from the San Siro

• In Search of Defense: We discuss the defensive problems and individual players that leave us scratching our heads after each match

• Coming Up: What’s up next

Thanks again to Derwuin for the podcast and for sharing his Milan adventures. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @D_Mendez3. Be sure to check out his pics from his trip in his timeline, in this post or in this comment section.

Despite early encouraging results, more recently the squad have shown that getting the Milan back that we know and love is not going to happen overnight. We fans have been tested already this season with a roller coaster first part of the season including wins, draws, losses, goals scored and conceded, and all of the hype that goes along with those things. Many of our players also want to play for their national teams, but how many of them will? We try to answer that and discuss the newer players and the season so far for you in this episode of Milan Impossible

My guest this time is the legendary David Swan, one of the rare and endangered English fans of Milan, Serie A, and the Italian National Team. You can follow him on Twitter @DavidLSwan and also check out his fantastic acmilanfinance.com site for the most accurate information about Milan’s finances in English, all in one place. For this podcast, we discussed:

• News of the Week: When Amelia attacks, Milan lead at something, Berlusconi’s dream

• Season to Date: Update on the season

• New Player Focus: We rate and/or discuss all ten new players

• International Duty: Which Milan players are likely to represent their countries, which players should or should not represent

• Coming Up: What’s up next after the break

Thanks again to David for staying up late after the Sampdoria match to bless all of you with his wisdom. You can get more wisdom directly from the source by following him on Twitter @DavidLSwan. Also, for any questions about player salaries, transfer fees, or other Milan finances, be sure to bookmark acmilanfinance.com, his brilliant site covering Milan finances in English.