What a difference a year makes. It was on December 23, 2016 when Milan won the Supercoppa Italiana versus Juventus in Doha, their young squad celebrating while a bright future awaited. The likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Manuel Locatelli, Alessio Romagnoli and Mattia De Sciglio were looking like an increasingly cohesive unit under Vincenzo Montella, a man who had a strong reputation for great work with young players.
To skip forward exactly one year sees the Rossoneri in dire straits. Last summer saw them taken over by new Chinese owners, the group under increasing scrutiny from newspapers such as the New York Times and the Financial Times over their questionable business credentials. An influx of money brought optimism however, Milan stating their ambition to return to prominence with a spend of around €230 million.
That this money (plus an extra €70 million in interest) is owed to a so-called “vulture fund” was enough to see UEFA reject the club’s FFP proposal this month is indicative of the unusual nature of the business plan, and things aren’t much better on the pitch either. The new acquisitions turned Montella’s vision of youth on its head, and the Coach was fired when results unsurprisingly didn’t go his way. Now things are much worse with Gennaro Gattuso at the helm, the Rossoneri currently 14 points away from their stated aim of Champions League qualification.
“Today I am the Milan coach, but I am the least of our problems,” said Gattuso after their latest defeat to Atalanta, hinting at the aforementioned deep-rooted issues. “It’s not just about fitness levels, but here is also the psychological component. When what we are doing is not enough, we must become a team and to do that we need to make fewer mistakes.”
Big-name players such as Leonardo Bonucci and goalkeeper Donnarumma have been linked with January moves away, and – as if this chaos wasn’t enough – reports in La Stampa have even suggested executives are considering bringing Montella back. All this is hardly ideal preparation for a huge Coppa Italia quarter-final versus cross-city rivals Inter, but in truth their neighbours have problems of their own.
It was all going so well for them until a 0-0 draw with Juventus on December 9th. That result saw the Nerazzurri extend their unbeaten record in the league to 16 matches, but it has been all downhill for them ever since. The following midweek saw third-tier Pordenone take Luciano Spalletti’s side to penalties in the Coppa Italia, and embarrassing back-to-back defeats in the league to Udinese and Sassuolo would soon follow.
Indeed, Spalletti took a strange viewpoint after those defeats, insisting he was not disappointed by the downturn in form. “I am even more convinced than ever that Inter know what they’re doing, because I saw the right performances in both these games,” he said in a post-match interview. “There are moments when we’re not so consistent or lack a bit of intelligence, such as conceding an avoidable goal on the counter-attack. We should’ve done better in that situation and we didn’t make the most of our own scoring opportunities, which is why this defeat happened.”
While Inter are decidedly less chaotic than their neighbours, it is hardly the ideal way to approach an important Derby della Madonnina fixture on December 27. The Christmas Eve edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that it had been 70 years since these previously imperious sides had both lost two back-to-back fixtures, and so it is vitally important for both that they achieve a morale-boosting win that will take them to the semi-final of the cup.
There can only be one winner though, and – given the backdrop that has led up to the fixture – it is sure to be an enthralling tie. It must seem like a lifetime ago for those Milan youngsters present in Doha since they last enjoyed some success in a cup competition.
