Milan Obsession

After a brief and very reluctant hiatus, the Milan Obsession Podcast is back… maybe. At least on an “as Elaine can find time to record” basis. So with seven weeks to catch up on, we tried to summarize the Milan team that is also back… maybe. With surprise wins, new players, an injury list that would make Allegri blush, and some experimental tactics, there was plenty to talk about during this international break. Served up with plenty of skepticism and a dash of that scarce thing called hope, now we’ll have to wait and see which comeback is more successful… Milan’s or the podcast’s.

Bringing back the podcast in style, Pete Acquaviva of the legendary DAI DAI DAI joined me. Pete is a longtime Milan fan who gives amazing analysis on his blog, contributes to other blogs and shows, and is also a great follow on Twitter. This time we chatted about:

• News of the Week: Maldini recognized, Gandini begs, Galliani out of touch, and Inter suck

• Season to Date: Where we are after the first 6 games

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

• Injury Roundup: Who’s out and who’s coming back

• International Duty: Which Milan players are representing their countries

• Tactics: We discuss the 4-2-3-1 vs. the 4-3-3 and Inzaghi’s tactics so far

• Coming Up: Milan’s upcoming matches

Grazie mille again to Pete for sacrificing his time and his NFL games for this podcast. Check out his blog pdacquaviva.com for fantastic writing and analysis, and follow him on Twitter @pdacquaviva to keep up with other news and opinions (his Mesbah profile pic demonstrates his discerning taste.)

A week that saw us lose our most talented player and then win the Trofeo TIM left Milan fans in a bit of shock and awe. With a mere seven days left in the mercato we are now at the mercy of Galliani and his ability to shake down other clubs for their players on loans and free transfers. But with another epic fail from management, the livers of Milan fans worldwide are suffering as if the season was well underway. And yet there is still a strange kind of anticipation as the season kicks off next week which makes our stomachs alternate between the nervous butterflies of the possibilities and the nausea of having been reamed once again by management. One thing is for sure, Balotelli has left Milanello, along with a lot of hopes and dreams.

I was joined this week by the guys from my favorite weekly Serie A review show, Red Card Weekly. Both Steve and Vinny are passionate Milan fans who love calcio and both took the time to share their opinions and humor about Milan with us in this episode. We discussed:

• News of the Week: Ice Bucket Challenge, FIGC rule change

• Match Reviews: Trofeo Naranja:Valencia 2, Milan 1, and Trofeo TIM tournament 2014: Milan are Champions! 

• Match Preview: Serie A Week 1: Milan vs. Lazio Sun. Aug. 31st 

• Mercato News: Updates and rumors 

• Season Preview & Predictions: The schedule, Milan and Serie A

• Douchebaggery Alert System™: Where Milan are this week 

• Special Message from Elaine

Thanks again to both Steve and Vinny of Red Card Weekly for their insights and humor and especially their time. The season is starting back up, and so will their shows, so be sure to subscribe to their YouTube Channel today so you don’t miss a single awesome episode. Please also follow them on Twitter @RedCardWeekly for a more frequent fix of their take on Serie A.

And don’t forget to join what is undoubtedly going to be the best league in Fantasy Serie A, league Name: Red Card Weekly, league code: d9shQfaWZcIo

It has been a tough couple of years as a Milan fan, most recently trying to stomach the friendly performances here in the USA. But suddenly, we are feeling like we are in a fantasy with two big exits and a couple of even bigger new signings. Still shell shocked and not sure what to trust or who to believe, our discussion is candid, but shows some hope and optimism again with these new “fantasy” signings as well as the exit of Robinho and Constant. Even if Milan’s mercato ends here, there is a glimmer of hope that the club is doing something, even if we aren’t sure it is necessarily the right thing for the future.

This time I welcomed back my original Milan Obsession co-founder, Jovan, who is also the creator of four fantasy football games: Fantasy Serie A, Fantasy Bundesliga, Fantasy Liga, and the all new Fantasy Premier League. We discussed:

• News of the Week: Season ticket fail, referees under attack, and FIGC election

• Match Reviews and Previews: ICC Friendly: Liverpool 2, Milan and Chivas Guadalajara 0, Milan 3. Previews: Valencia vs. Milan Sun. Aug 17th, and Trofeo TIM tournament Sat. Aug. 23rd

• Mercato News: Updates and rumors 

• Season Predictions: Milan and Serie A

• Douchebaggery Alert System™: Where Milan are this week

Thanks once again to Jovan, my Milan Obsession co-founder and original co-blogger. Check out his Fantasy Football games today, they are a great way to distract you through the upcoming season. Serie A: fantasyseriea.com, Bundesliga: fantasybundes.com, La Liga: fantasy-liga.com, and the all new Premier League game: fantasy-premier.com

After reasonable success in their friendlies against Lega Pro sides, Milan put in two very poor performances against real teams in the ICC Tournament friendlies thus far. The mercato shows no promise, and to make things worse, the Serie A schedule was released and we face a very difficult start. So if you still have any hopes for this season, your worst fears seem to be being realized. We tried to find the small positives in what is shaping up to be another very painful season for Milan fans.

For this podcast, I was joined once again by the original Milan Obsession member, Francesco. We discussed: 

• News of the Week: Away kit release, small victories, Balotelli’s PSA, Juventus Allegrified

• Match Reviews and Previews: ICC Friendlies: Milan 0, Olympiacos 3; Milan 1, Manchester City 5. Coming up: Liverpool vs. Milan on Sat. Aug. 2nd, and Chivas Guadalajara vs. Milan on Wed. Aug. 6th 

• Mercato News: Updates and rumors 

• Where is the Youth? Will we see a lot of youth get time this year?

• Douchebaggery Alert System™: Where Milan are this week 

Thanks once again to Francesco, who showed exceptional patience and flexibility trying to record this podcast. Follow him on Twitter @FrancescoPetra8 and look for his omnipresent and fun comments on the blog.

It’s that time of year. The squad returned to Milanello and were also presented at Casa Milan amongst a day of festivities and over 2,000 fans. The Curva Sud started the season off right with an open letter to the club, too. The mercato is now in full swing, with a number of Milan players already out on loan or sold, and a few new faces, too. So much change, but most heartening for fans were the words of Mister Inzaghi, who talked about the importance of “finding the right Milan DNA.” And that is exactly what I think fans want the club to achieve this summer in training, in the mercato, and especially as a team. 

Returning again is the newly relocated podcast favorite Derek, now representing Milan in Colorado. We discussed:

• News of the Week: Squad presentation, Curva Sud letter, Balotelli in the doghouse again

• World Cup Update: final update from Brazil 

• Mercato News: Who’s out, who’s in, and rumors 

• New Boss: Mister Inzaghi

• Douchebaggery Alert System™: Where Milan are this week

Thanks once again to Derek for sharing his passion for Milan and his views with us. Please follow him on Twitter @Deekmonn or check out the comments section of the blog, you’ll undoubtedly see him sharing his opinions there.

There is a massive sporting event being held in Brazil right now, the biggest sporting event in the world. But starting on Tuesday, the real spectacle begins: The mercato. The transfer market makes teams and breaks hearts, but the sharing of rumors is more of a bloodsport amongst fans. Still we decided to brave the waters with some good old fashioned mercato speculation. We also discussed the future of Italian football and oh, yeah, the World Cup.

Returning once again from England for your listening pleasure is David of Twitter and acmilanfinance.com fame. We discussed:

• News of the Week: New Italy coach rumors, Seedorf’s suit, Barbara draws the line

• World Cup Update: How Milan players played and who’s still in Brazil

• The Future of Italian Football: Prandelli’s claims, youth development 

• Mercato News: Co-ownership updates, Milan’s mercato to date, rumors

• Douchebaggery Alert System™: Where Milan are this week

Thanks so much to David for a fantastic discussion and especially for staying up so late! Please follow the best scout in the world on Twitter @DavidLSwan and check out acmilanfinance.com, a fantastic resource for all of your financial questions about Milan. 

The World Cup is the greatest event in the world, it’s certainly how I fell in love with football. It also only comes every few years. So even with the official appointment of one Filippo Inzaghi as new Milan manager finally arriving, we are a bit obsessed with the Milan players and their teams in Brazil right now. Still, we focus on Milan, too, and don’t forget to update you on the Douchebaggery Alert System™. But seriously, Forza Azzurri!

Today’s guest is the fantastic Steve of Red Card Weekly fame, the weekly passionate Serie A fan review show on YouTube. We talked about:

• News of the Week: Engaging Balotelli, Seedorf mistreated

• Coaching Changes: Inzaghi official, other changes

• Mercato News: New signings & co-ownership deals 

• World Cup Update: The 8 Milan players in Brazil right now, their national teams and their matchups, plus review of the England-Italy match

• Milan Identity Crisis: Milan make their issues visual with 3 different logos on our kits next season 

• Douchebaggery Alert System™: Where Milan are this week 

Thanks so much to Steve of Red Card Weekly. Follow he & Vinny on Twitter @RedCardWeekly and definitely subscribe to their YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/RedCardWeekly

With the level of douchebaggery at Milan already so high at Milan, I called in the big guns to help sort everything out. So we, the Milan Obsession Fantastic Four, talk about the coaching situation and then sort through the roster to give management some ideas as to who to sell and who to keep this summer. Last but not least, we introduce the Milan Obsession Douchebagery Alert System™ to help you know what levels of douchebaggery are going on at any given time. You’re welcome. 

The Fantasic Four includes the President of the Curva Sud America, Francesco; The Comeback Kid, Derek; the awesome Miami Vice, Derwuin, and yours truly. We examined the following douchebaggery:

• News of the Week: Montolivo hitched, No more co-ownerships, Conte’s Premature Exclamation

• Seedorf Out?

• Inzaghi In?

 • Mercato Forecast: Review of all Milan players & discussing contracts, salaries, and whether or not they should stay at the club this summer

• Douchebaggery Alert System™: Where Milan are this week

Thanks to my superhero Milan fans, the Milan Obsession Fantstic Four. Follow Francesco on Twitter @FrancescoPetra8; follow Derek @DeekMonn and follow Derwuin @D_Mendez3

One of the first things that Seedorf did when he was hired was to have the team pick out a song to come out onto the pitch to at the San Siro. Together, they picked “Can’t Hold Us” By Macklemore featuring Ray Dalton, and the rest of their season embodied the spirit of this song. So while we looked back on the performances of this painful season and also look forward to the great unknown that is this summer’s mercato, I thought we as fans could take inspiration from the team and look to the future like the ceiling can’t hold us.

Bringing the DAI DAI DAI, I had two guests this time. Representing the DAI DAI DAI blog were both writers, Pete and Dave. We looked back on this season:

• News of the Week: Atalanta fans, Galliani’s complaining, Berlusconi alienates fans… again, Rocco Maiorino promoted to SD, and Casa Milan unveiled. 

• Reviews: Serie A week 37 at Atalanta, Serie A week 38 vs. Sassuolo

• Player Season Ratings: ratings of each player based on their performances this season on a scale of 1-10

• Seedorf’s Report Card: Rating Seedorf so far and discussing whether or not he should stay

Thanks again both Pete and Dave for helping with our player season ratings for this season! Follow Pete @PDAcquaviva and Dave @DaveLambComedy on Twitter and check out the DAI DAI DAI blog at pdacquaviva.com. And if you’re in the Boston area, go see Dave’s standup at Dick Doherty’s this weekend!

In case you hadn’t heard, Milan won the Derby on Sunday for the first time in nearly three years. On that high this podcast was recorded, albeit with a healthy fear of playing in the Europa League. We also look to next season, specifically Seedorf’s future as well as the fate of a beloved player and Milanista.

My returning guest this time was Jovan, co-founder of Milan Obsession and the genius mastermind of Fantasy Serie A, Fantasy Bundesliga, and Fantasy Liga. We discussed:

• News of the Week: Savicevic makes sense, Scandalous Seedorf, New third kits

• Reviews: Serie A week 35 at Roma, Serie A week 36 the Derby della Madonnina victory vs. Inter

• Upcoming Matches Preview: Serie A week 37 at Atalanta, Serie A week 38 vs. Sassuolo

• Predictions: Europa League Qualification, Milan’s finish, and Seedorf’s fate

• Player Spotlight: Keisuke Honda 

Thanks again to Jovan for gracing us with his presence and his infinite wisdom. Check out his epic games Fantasy Serie A, Fantasy Bundesliga, and Fantasy Liga and be sure to sign up this summer to compete next season.