Davy & Chin Talk A.C Milan Weekly
Davy & Chin Talk A.C Milan Weekly
Davy & Chin Discuss Max Allegri's Boring Style, Rabiot, Transfers, and the Future of AC Milan's Season
The sweet taste of victory returns to AC Milan as Allegri's men secure a 2-0 win against Lecce in their second Serie A fixture of the season. After a disappointing opening match defeat, the Rossoneri have bounced back with a performance that, while not spectacular, showcases the pragmatic approach that may define this new era.
We explore the tactical choices shaping Milan's identity under Allegri, especially his controversial midfield selections that favour physicality over creativity. The ongoing reliance on Modric, Fofana, and Loftus-Cheek raises questions about how young talents will find their role in this system. With Rabiot's arrival, the midfield puzzle becomes even more intriguing – will Allegri's preference for strong, defensively reliable players pay off as the season unfolds?
The transfer window has caused significant shifts in the Milan squad, with several surprising outs, including Musah moving to Atalanta. We examine how these changes mirror the realities of a squad without Champions League football and the personal goals of players seeking regular minutes before the World Cup. Defensively, concerns persist despite new signings, with Tomori remaining the team's most reliable option at the back. Looking ahead to Bologna after the international break, we anticipate another tough match that will test Milan's new pragmatism against a team that beat them in last season's Coppa Italia final. Meanwhile, across the city, Inter's unexpected loss to Udinese adds another interesting layer to a Serie A campaign where the usual powerhouses show early vulnerabilities.
Will Allegri's focus on results over style lead Milan back to glory? Subscribe and follow for more insights as the season unfolds.
The Rossoneri Renaissance is complete After 11 years. Once again, milan are the champions of Italy. It's they who wear the crown for the 2021-22 season. Hello everyone, this is Dave and Chin. Talk, milan, and we are back again, chin. What's up, man? How you doing, bro?
Speaker 1:I'm doing good, dave, how are?
Speaker 2:you Good, good, good man. It's good to actually hear about your weekend trips.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was a fun weekend. Got to hang out with a few friends, which kind of was very relaxing. Yes, yes, yes. Overall it was good. I think it all started because Milan won on Friday, so that was good going into the weekend winning the first game of the weekend and then watching everybody else stumble here and there right.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, honestly, I watched that game, actually took my time to watch the game. Oh man, like it refreshes my memory about Allegri man being a boy. You know how Allegri is. But anyway, before we go into it, thank you so much, listeners, it's a pleasure to come back again, you know, to hang out again with Chin and talk about Milan.
Speaker 2:On Friday, milan played Lecce in the second game of the Serie A season and we defeated Lecce by two goals to nil I mean loud, but at the end of the day we had our first victory of the season, and so it's a good vibe, good feeling, good energy. However there's so you know, much that has happened over the weekend in terms of the transfer market, which we'll also get into. But yeah, let's quickly just talk about the game a little bit. You know how it kind of give us a little bit of relief, if I'll say, because, you know, losing the first game of the season wasn't really kind of like fun for most Milan fans. I mean, a lot of people were disappointed, me personally as well, but also, knowing the kind of coach that we have, which is Max Allegri, a pragmatist, someone that is all about the business and everything I knew he was going to come back, you know a bit later anyways, but in all reality the game was boring. Chin, oh my goodness.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was a boring game. It was a really boring game. It's so boring that even watching the highlights is boring.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness Chin, this game was boring man. So we had our first goal disallowed, which was a set piece converted by Gabia Right disallowed, which was a set piece converted by Gabia.
Speaker 2:I'll say that to be honest. But I feel like the foul was kind of soft, to be honest, because again it's like two players tussling against each other. Man, come on, one just fell off like he got hit by a gun or something, and then the referee just reviewed it and disallowed the goal, which I understand anyways, ideally, if you're, if you're, if you want to, if you're battling I mean a player in a box you shouldn't be pushing them or shoving the player off to know the ball. So I think I understand that part. But the thing is, after that goal, milan, they don't have any shot on target until the 38th minute we were literally just passing.
Speaker 1:Are you surprised?
Speaker 2:we were literally just passing them vertically up and down.
Speaker 1:I told you. I told you that my expectation for this season is to watch a boring Milan, like a lot of boring Milan games, and hopefully we win 1-0 or 2-0 which is exactly what this game was and get some points right and then at the end of the season we'll be in top four. No hold on.
Speaker 2:I don't think this season cannot be like this for two players.
Speaker 1:Well, it's going to be like this. You know why? Because the reality is that this is an allegory ball. This is Allegri ball, like you know, what are you expecting? Are you going to play like Tiki? I told you he's not the triangle guy. Here are triangles, here are the shapes. You have to keep up. Who knows, maybe, like the players, will get more confident and evolve into some, you know, start having more individualistic talent show. But even then, there's a way you do Allegri to put you on the bench for overshowing. So think about it. He's playing Ricky on the bench. He's playing Samir Richie on the bench all the time. Like, the guy doesn't like fun, like to him anybody that does too much. Like. Okay, what's Jazharie doing on the bench? He's not played the game, but hold on.
Speaker 2:Jazharie got injured, right. But the thing about Richie is like knowing the kind of person Allegri is, chin, I would say maybe he's trying to put a leash on Richie just to make him understand that, look, I'm not the kind of coach that will tolerate you just being all over the whole place. You just have to like understand that there's some movement yeah, but that's the only exciting player we have in midfield right.
Speaker 1:Instead he plays Ruben Loftus-Chik and Fofana. Loftus-chik is exciting. What do you mean? Sure, it's exciting.
Speaker 2:But you know, let me ask you the first question, chin Were you surprised that he actually paraded the same midfield? Because no one talked about this before?
Speaker 1:I'm really surprised, actually, because I believe that that midfield we had against Criminals. That's exactly why you saw the boring game. That game was no different from the Criminals game. Without midfield, milan cannot create much right. They cannot Like. All we're doing in this game is crossing and nutting, and eventually we did head the ball in through. What's his name? Ruben Loftus-Chek. But I just keep saying this part Like you cannot have that midfield three and expect anything good to come out of the game in terms of entertainment and fun. That's just it for me. So if next game he decides to go with that midfield three, you're going to get the same outcome again, so don't be surprised but why do you think he's is repeating the same, the same set of players in that semifinal?
Speaker 1:because allegri is a stubborn person, right? Uh, he's a stubborn guy and to him, he just thinks that you guys cannot tell him anything. Maybe he has a reason. I don't know what his ultimate reason is, but I feel like we have way, much better players than the three people that he puts in that midfield. In my own opinion, modric is good, technically sound. You know, he's not really my problem per se. My issue is Ruben, loftus-chick and Fofana. So, and then even Moussa gets minutes. You know Moussa comes on a few times. If you leave him, you even put Moussa in that midfield as well, just to make sure.
Speaker 2:I kind of, honestly speaking, I kind of feel like he's parading the same set of players in that midfield because Just wait, Rabiot is coming right.
Speaker 1:So Rabiot is coming. Rabiot now is going to take over the space of what's it called Fofana or something like that. I'm just telling you how it's going to be. He's so rigid, I agree. In fact, with Rabiot coming, Richie might not even see the field at all, but I would like Jazari, those ones? I don't think so, Because I'm telling you this guy. So for him, his idea of Mithu, that's robust, strong power, right?
Speaker 2:That's what I wanted to say. Maybe it's really depending on their physicality, right?
Speaker 1:That's exactly what he's hoping for. And then he thinks that 39-year-old Modric will pull all the strings and get everything. He's thinking Modric is pillow, basically.
Speaker 2:Well, do you think his reasons are justified because of the place he will play in later? Right?
Speaker 1:Because he's just going to sit back. His reasons are not justified. Well, they're going to sit back. So you need creativity, so you need those young players that actually can attempt things. My fear is that he's going to turn all these young players who signed into machines that cannot even have motion.
Speaker 2:But that's our problem, though, when we're playing this low-blocking team. That's what usually happens to us, right? We think we have these technical players who actually make this difference, but again, we become very vulnerable on the counter-attack right. So maybe that's the reason why he felt.
Speaker 1:So how many of your new players, apart from Madrid, have played Milan, have played two games? How many of them have actually played a considerable amount of time?
Speaker 2:It's gradually integrating them into the team.
Speaker 1:Sure, that's how you said that Vasquez was getting ready, and Vasquez got ready until he left Milan. My only thing is that, as a fan base, we were excited with these signings, right? I just feel like we're still doing the same thing. We did last year With the same group. We did last year, you know, with the same group of people that annoyed the hell out of us. And they are still here and the new coach comes and thinks oh yeah, these are the same people I need to take Now. Wait for Rabiu. Rabiu is here now. Rabiu will go and start. He'll okay. So, because allegri is the kind of person that just likes sureness right, he likes a certain thing.
Speaker 2:He doesn't like to gamble. I kind of like what he did in the attack, though, against lechido, because I think he moved. He moved them, alex salamacas, to the left, which makes him an inverted winger, and it kind of helped a little bit, even though the the end product is still still very lucky. You know what I'm saying, but how can?
Speaker 1:you. Okay, how can you play Moussa Luftuschick, salamakas, fofana, Modric Estupinian those are your attacking players. Vehemence when is the creativity? You think about what I just said. How can you put those layers and then expect creativeness? I don't see anything there Like. Well, anyway, if this is our new life, we should just get it. Why am I complaining? We won, and again.
Speaker 2:Allegri might be trying to send a message to like you know that guy is to the management.
Speaker 1:That, what that he doesn't have attacking players?
Speaker 2:This is how I want to play, but you're not giving me the right players. Okay.
Speaker 1:Well, guess who's going is going to come out, so that, oh, moussa is gone, so he will put Rabiot and then Profano will be on the right wing. That's how you do it. This guy, I agree, eh, okay.
Speaker 2:Well, you know. If you ask me, though, I think if he wants to restructure that midfield now because of Rabiot, obviously Rabiot is not going to sit down, sit on the bench, want to play Rabiot, because Rabiot is his fourth son, by the way. But the thing is, I feel like if he plays Modric, then has Rabiot and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, because, you know, honestly, if the way I'm seeing, I don't think Fofana is really good going forward, like he's good, like he has a work. His work rate in the midfield is very good, don't get me wrong but again, like his end product, he find himself in this pocket of spaces that I feel like he should be doing better. Right, but his, his decisions are not just making sense to me.
Speaker 2:That's my problem with fana. We're talking about the physicality and his work rate. In terms of the defensive aspect, I think he's really doing well, but again, this is allegri's style, like I feel like he needs more. He's depending more's, depending more on the midfield, because, from the way he's setting up this team, I don't see anything coming from the flanks, apart from maybe from the left flank, which is the side of Pulisic.
Speaker 1:Now when.
Speaker 2:Rafael comes back?
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's not going to, yeah, go ahead. I was going to say, like we're talking about Rabiot a lot, right, so Rabiot is not the only player that Milan added. We added a few more players.
Speaker 1:But I'm just wondering what would be the ideal formation? Like you asked me this question before, I'm wondering, like if Rafael comes back right. Last time Pulisic came on you know he wasn't starting, he came on, he scored a goal. Like it's kind of incredible that he actually put his best player outside of Rafael, on the bench against against yeah, but Pulisic was kind of injured, so yeah, I understand yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm just saying like again, when Rafael comes back, what does that mean? He's going to move Alessio Salamacas to the right side, put Rafael out there, take out Ruben Lovestich and put put Pulisic there, and then still go with one striker. And then in midfield you just put Rabiot next to Modric. And that would be his dream. That would be like his dream, don't forget that. I wonder, how would the position?
Speaker 2:look, don't forget, all through the preseason right, he wasn't using Rafaela in any of those supporting wings. He was using him as the main striker.
Speaker 2:So it's be ahead of Jimenez. Santi Jimenez and you know, honestly, like the way Santi Jimenez is playing right now, I don't think he has that confidence. You know, he lacks the confidence at the moment. So if Rafael comes back and Allegri puts him up front, then you might have more space for players like Christian Pulisic to play behind Rafael Leal, because, again, they have a good chemistry. And what do you call him? We'd love to see Chikma probably get moved to the right wing. That's how I see it. But my concern right now is are we going to keep playing this boring formation for the entire season?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it don't make sense to me, though, as long as it gives the, as long as it gives result, um, yeah, it will. It will keep being Milan's formation, right, unless something drastic happens. Like I told you, I don't know. You're complaining about something that you and I should already be on the same page about. This is the future Milan, dave. Like this is how our season is going to look like. We should just get used to it. We should just start thinking of okay, now that we're counting, you know, when you make very short investment and you know it's boring investment, nobody's looking at it Because don't forget, this guy is so dead.
Speaker 2:Nkunku is not going to come and sit on the bench, he's going to come and play.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but Nkunku will be playing ahead of Jimenez. Have now right. The ideal setup would be okay, so let's go back. Milan played three, four, two, one, something like that, right? Or three, five two, yeah, three, five, two. However you want to look at it, but it kind of changes based on when yeah.
Speaker 1:So what you can do in that instance is, if you really want to play Rafalea as your nine, because you're so desperate to get him there as your nine, you can start him as your nine and behind him you can have police each and a kunko. That was that's your creativity. Right there, right, yeah, that's enough. You can get goals from that. Those three right, and the three of them can also, like rotate among themselves who goes up and who doesn't, right, force, nice style. And then behind them you cannot have your work rates right Across the midfield. I know he's almost like he has a team with Modric all of a sudden, so he can have Modric, he can have Rabiot, he can have Estupinyan on the other side and then Alexis Salamaka, something like that, right, and then now this depends on the team you're playing, right.
Speaker 2:I don't think that's good. I don't think that's a good issue Like what's your take on Rabiot.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm just telling you like this guy will play Rabiot. You're asking me what's my take on him. Does it matter, rabiot? He's the only one that said he with Marcel and fight somebody. And Alex is like yeah, yes, come back home, prodigio son.
Speaker 2:I think he'll bring you to Milan.
Speaker 1:Do you know how long Milan has tried signing Rabiot?
Speaker 2:I've been trying for the last two seasons so I can't get him Cheat, but what's your take on Rabiot's defensive ability?
Speaker 1:though I think he has enough work rate defensively to make up, right, oh really, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Like he has enough, in my own opinion anyways. He has enough work rate defensively to make up. In fact, he's better than Fofana, in my own opinion too. Just so you know.
Speaker 2:Well, I think I'll say that, based on the fact that I think Fofana is still raw, he still has raw, the guy is 26 years old Fafana can still improve.
Speaker 1:he can still improve, improve to where I think you said this last time and I told you that why do you keep saying that he can't improve?
Speaker 1:I don't understand. Well, because I don't see. I don't see what you see, but anyway, yeah, rabiot, I think Rabiot will do a job there. It's just a matter of like, I think, ideally the way Milan giving the Milan's strength An area of strength, all of a sudden, you know where that is now Midfield. In my own opinion, we have a lot of midfielders, a lot of good midfielders, if the coach can just figure out how to put them in the right spot, right. But the unfortunate thing is that Allegri, in his knowledge, will not. I think he cannot risk it. He cannot risk it. I feel bad for all players that we just signed. They will all leave next year when Allegri frustrates the hell out of them.
Speaker 2:He's already doing it because, if you look at it now, kuni Winta has not played. No, adekame has not played as well, no Even. Jasari only played a few minutes before he got injured, right, so I can still understand this part. You know what I'm saying. And if we look at the previous young guys that we have, like Batasagi has not even smelled the field at all.
Speaker 1:Batasagi. You're talking about people that have the right to play. You're calling him Batasagi, but go ahead.
Speaker 2:And now another one. Very weird, they even brought in another new player again. What's his name? David Oduku, from Water Bremen, before the transfer window closed. Again, he's a young, 19-year-old centre-back which.
Speaker 1:I think he just reminds me of Malik Teo, malik Teo, right.
Speaker 2:I felt the same way too, but again, it's Allegri that we're talking about, man, if he's not confident in putting you on the field, man, you're not going to spin on the pitch. That's just the way it is. That's Allegri for you. You know what I'm saying? And the most important part that I've, the most important area that I feel like Milan needs to go and boost, which is the striking position right, they didn't do anything. Nkoku, to me, is not a typical striker. He's more of a supporting striker. Yeah, exactly, I'll probably use him as a winger. In all honesty, don't put him on the ring. You think so?
Speaker 1:I think he will come from. He will just support your striker right, but if you put him on the wing, sure good for you.
Speaker 2:Well, like he's not the typical Niner that you have.
Speaker 1:like you know when you're talking about like no, no, no, he's not your out-and-out.
Speaker 2:Niner, exactly Now you only have, so, technically, you only have Jimenez as the only Niner that we have going into the season, because I will not consider Rafaelia as a Niner at all, and this style of play, this formation that we're using, doesn't make any sense to me at all as well. So I'm just I'm curious to see how this is going to play out. But my question for you Can I help you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, stop being curious, dave. Stop being curious. I've already told you what the season is going to look like. You're still dying to be curious. The reality is that this is how Milan's season is going to be, so get used to it and let's start thinking of how we're going to, you know, spin it so that it, you know, feels enjoyable to every single one of us watching those games. Right, because what you saw against Lecce to me just typical. Unless maybe Milan plays Inter Milan and they're in motion. The guys just throw and decide that they want to go all out for it, right? Other than that, it's going to be like this, so get used to it.
Speaker 2:Do you think Allegri is the kind of coach that can go to maybe the 4-2-1-3 formation and still succeed?
Speaker 1:Allegri just won a game with the formation. To him, this is perfect 2-0. Low drama, he said, for all the goals they cancelled. Why do you think he's going to end up changing it? The guy does not do those things. That's not why he's there. He's not there for this. I think. He's not there for experimentation at Milan. That's not his job. His job is to put a team out there that will get him a result. It doesn't matter whether or not, but it does not matter to him.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, this is it, but at the end of the day you and I talked about this before Milan the previous year and the two years prior they have, to me, lacked discipline and seriousness. Right so? Winning especially for those that don't follow the club closely, all they care about is that you're winning and then eventually they see you on top of the league or somewhere competitive. Right? The fact that Milan is not in the Champions League is really disturbing and annoying, right so being able to go back to the Champions League, being able to say we are winning, is better than trying to play fanciful football, because we have seen fanciful football that did not yield results. Right so I'd rather we do this now. Get it out of the way. The only thing is, I just feel so bad for the young players that they've signed that we're hoping oh my God, I came to Milan to have fun and play good football, but they won't have that now, right? So that's just my concern.
Speaker 2:So let's really just talk about the transfer. Like I know, the transfer will end today and so many surprise exits that I really can't.
Speaker 1:Why are there surprises? Tell me which one of them is a surprise for you.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we have three players that left, right, jimenez the winger. Yeah, the Spanish one. Yeah, that's a surprise one for me. I wasn't expecting, you know, allegri to let him go, because it sounds like, it looks like more of a typical kind of player that fits into Allegri kind of plan, right, but again I thought maybe him leaving, maybe he would leave Chukweze, which is the only lefty that we have in our team as a winger, right, but again he let him go, he would not have let Chukweu has survived this transformation.
Speaker 1:I can only for him to leave, so to me. I'm not surprised that all these players left, Simply because there's not a lot of room for all these people. You hear a complaint that what's going to happen when Rafael comes back from injury.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Milan doesn't have enough games in the year for these people. You have to remember that. Okay, maybe we have enough games for 24 people on the squad, in fact, that's if people get injured, if people go fit throughout the whole year. What are you going to do when Afelera plays the majority of the games and you only play 10 minutes each? That's not going to be enough, especially a World Cup year, for all these guys. You have to think about it this way you need Moussa for sure. He wanted to play more, because next year he's going to the World Cup right For the US. Like a lot of these guys are hoping that by leaving Milan and getting more minutes, they are able to show positively so they can get called up for the World Cup. Yeah Right, and that's the issue. So, by the way, I just realized that your boy, calabria, is in Panathinaikos.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, somehow, but anyway, he's no longer a Milan player, so I could care less, in all honesty. But yeah, so Moussa left too. What's your thought on Moussa's exit?
Speaker 1:Well, there's no thought, Just because, like to me, I think he, you know, he had a lot of potential, but the problem is that coaches kept trying. They couldn't figure out how to play Moussa and they kept playing him all over the place, right, and that made him like, you know not… you never saw the best of him. Because it's like, if I ask you what was his best position, what would you tell?
Speaker 2:me. But in all honesty, right, I understand what you mean To me. I think Moussa is it. Moussa is better as a central midfielder.
Speaker 1:But how many times did he play there? Even the last game he played for Milan, he was playing on the wing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, remember when.
Speaker 1:Allegri, what's his name? Was it Pioli or was it Fonseca?
Speaker 2:Consesau, the right back Everybody used him as a right back. Everybody. Can you imagine Pioli started?
Speaker 1:Even when Fonseca came, he did the same thing. The truth of the matter is that my only concern for the stuff is the fact that we sent him to Atlanta and somehow I don't feel. I feel like any time a Milan player goes to Atlanta they turn out better than we left them. So that's just my own theory. But, that being said, I'm just happy for him that he gets to go to a team where he might get more minutes to play and more opportunity to play in a fixed role, instead of being this jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none guy that everyone has him as Milan right, and obviously he won't complain because he's getting minutes. He just wants to do his best. But it's not fair to the player.
Speaker 2:So, Chin, do you think the management has done enough to make this team competitive this season, though?
Speaker 1:Yes For the fact that we only have one tournament. We have a lot of good players all of a sudden, except for the defence. The defence was still my concern. Going in. It's still my concern. Attacking-wise. We don't have that out and out like. Apart from Jimenez, we don't have that. But I think with Nkunku Pulisic and Rafael Leal you should be enough. There should be enough goals to go around, right. If each of those guys score at least double digit, that's 30 goals, right. They can all contribute to help you.
Speaker 1:My issue is is Milan sturdy enough at the back, from midfield to the back, to be able to avoid stupid goals? Because that's our problem. And defensively, I don't think we did enough to upgrade right, like I haven't seen Kone Diwinta at Milan, which tells you a lot, because if he was that good you would be benching your Gabias and Tomoriz of this world, but he's not right, so that's a concern. And then there's the new right back that we bought. He hasn't really gotten on the field. And then there's the brand new.
Speaker 1:That's the centre back right, the guy from Wolfsburg. He's 19 years old. If I let you put that guy, then I probably I probably lose my house to bet, because that is not playing. That kid right, so that's it. So again, that kid right, so that's it. So again. We started our conversation earlier this season when I said tomorrow is our best defender. That's a troubling sign, and after the transfer market is up, I still believe he might. If not, he's still your best defender, and that is still a troubling sign. That hasn't changed for me, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So that's the biggest red flag for me.
Speaker 2:If I point out some things. I think one of the main problems that we also had in this team last season again, I think I touched on it last time or last two podcasts or so, a couple of podcasts ago that we lacked that sort of leadership in this team right, the team lacked leadership last season and even though we had a lot of good players, because of the lack of leadership in that team it team he really kind of like showed and affected us at the end of the season. But considering that they've brought in players like modu, which I know is obviously a confirmed leader I wouldn't say rapio is a leader, but maybe he has the experience, because I mean someone, I just fought somebody in the dressing room like two weeks ago that's his own style of leadership now by blowing your mouth.
Speaker 2:So what's your thought? Do you think that this team has enough experience in this team to go for the title? You know honestly.
Speaker 1:Yes, milan does Like, all of a sudden, like to be honest, if our defense looks solid, then I'm okay. Like we do have enough leadership qualities, like you know, sometimes look at Rafael. I know he doesn't exude leadership, but he's not a young kid anymore, chris. I'm pretty sure he's not that young, right? So he should be able to take on. This is his third year at Milan. He should be taking on more leadership role, right, rabiot? If you don't do what he says, he punches you in the face. That's leadership, ibra style. But, in all seriousness, I think they have enough now from a character. I think they have enough now from a character.
Speaker 1:I think sometimes we think of leadership, but it's not that. It's character. The character to say I'm not going to give up today and fight. And that's one thing that Allegri brings to the table, because he usually starts with your leader, right, and he has a leader. That's his personality, he's a fighter and that hopefully transmits to the players and they all become fighters right.
Speaker 1:Become mentally tough people, because that players, and they all become fighters right. Become mentally tough people, because that's the issue Milan normally had in the past is they were weak mentally. So, even though it takes boring football, to get us back to this place of strength where we are able to actually, like you know, dominate, like dominating terms of our mental toughness, and hold on like we're in a in a war and maybe sneak out wins or draws where we don't deserve it. That's a big win for Milan, right? Um? So I think we have enough players of that caliber to uh, to be able to, you know, uh, become momentally tough. I keep saying that my concern is just that, defensively, I don't think we're there, but we have enough, because, if you think about it, when Milan won the league last time, it was not Pierre Calibu and Tomori that were centre-backs.
Speaker 2:Well, I think Tomori if Tomori makes it necessary I just mean this season I think we should be okay. Again, Gabia, I mean I love Gabia. To me, if I'm going to point out one of the most reliable defenders that we have right now, among the three of them, I think Gabi is still the most reliable. You know what I'm saying. But now we're going on an international break and we're back again to face Bologna, the team that beat us in the Coppa Italia final last season. What are you expecting, chin?
Speaker 1:Well, I'm expecting a tough game Bologna over, since Thiago Mota was their coach they actually were, you know, they become like a team that feel like they belong right. They went to the Champions League. You know they won the Coppa Italia against the same Milan team, so I'm not expecting it to be easy. Somehow, I've told you I don't know what it is with San Siro that when Milan, or even Inter Milan, they just lost against Udinh there, there's something weird about the San Siro that the Milan teams are all finding it difficult.
Speaker 2:I think it's the atmosphere, not honesty.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's too big sometimes, the pressure sometimes can just mount on you.
Speaker 2:And don't forget that Inter are still recovering from the psychology, from the trauma of the Champions League final, when they got demolished by PSG right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but then they a coach that is also not as good as the other coach.
Speaker 2:Exactly. That's another thing to talk about. Let's really just talk about the expected result in this Bologna.
Speaker 1:I just think for me it will be a tough game. Right, it will be a tough game and Milan might sneak out a win, just because the other thing, too, we should worry about is players coming back from international break. Usually those top teams that send all their players for national team duties, they come back a little fatigued. Some people have travelled long distances to come back. Usually it's not really like you see a lot of upset after international break. So hopefully for Milan that's not the case. But it's at home, hopefully. I say at home as if it means anything. Well, I hope they win and they continue the momentum that they have. I'm not too sure that they will, though If they win it's going to be very narrow win, like sneak out, like sneak the win in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm predicting like a 1-0 or maybe 2-1.
Speaker 1:No, it's not going to be a 1-0. Milan does not keep clinching it against Bologna it's gonna be like 2-1, 2-1.
Speaker 2:Typical of allegory, typical dave. Let's talk about the, the, the rest of the team, because I'm really, you know, this weekend. Uh, one thing I noticed about some top teams in in in italy this is this weekend and I will specifically say I watched napoli game against um oh my god, that game okay.
Speaker 1:So you know what happened. I'll tell you my story. I watched the game to like 90th minute and I said, okay, let me go take a shower so I can start going to calgary. And then I didn't watch anymore, I didn't care because I thought, oh, zero, zero, only to get to calgary like later in the evening we're talking about the games I was like, oh yeah, napoli, they're like nope, they won.
Speaker 2:Zambuigisa scored with the last-off. I watched it and I'm like man, this is typical. And they didn't play well, they played poorly. Their SG was not even up, exactly yeah. But again they just found a way to win, and again it's not just Napoli. Even the same thing happened to Juventus as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Juventus as well.
Speaker 2:I was horrible game and just, and again, they just figured out a way to win, right, which kind of tells that's what, that's what milan is trying to get to know, right, that's exactly, exactly. And I was like, hmm, if you come, let's come to think about it like the typical milan that I know under coaches like purely or costa sao or fonseca right, they struggle against all these small teams. You know what I'm saying. But now we're actually we're able to get results against teams like Lecce and all those other low-blocking teams. Right, again, just finding the way to figure it out and win those games. I think it's really going to help us. At the end of the season we'll see how that goes.
Speaker 2:But watching Napoli and watching Juventus another thing to focus on. I told you initially when we made that prediction for the first podcast, which is Roma I think the Roma is going to come out challenging for the title this season, because again it's Gasperini you cannot write him off as well, you know. But again these teams are just figuring out, finding a way to win these games and stuff like that. To me, I feel like this season is going to be a very, very challenging season for all the so-called you know big, all the so-called you know big teams in Serie A. What's your thought, though? What do you think?
Speaker 1:No no, I think it's.
Speaker 1:I think there's a little bit more you know like parity than in this Serie A, than most leagues actually right, like, because all the big teams are not really that big really Like, they're just big in terms of names, in terms of players.
Speaker 1:You can see, like, you know how, you know the amount of players that get moved around in the league among the big teams and among between the big teams and the small teams. Does that make sense? So anybody that is good in Juventus, next minute you might see them playing for one other Serie A team, milan loans all their second-level players to all the other teams in Italy, all the Juve players, or whatever. So the point Milan loans all their second 11 players to all the other teams in Italy same guys, right, and all the Juve players, or whatever. So the point I'm trying to make is all these Italian, you know, tier two teams actually are very competitive because of the support from the other teams that are the top teams. Now the unfortunate thing is the top teams then lose their key players to the top leagues, other leagues in the world, like the english premier league, right so it just makes it more par on par now.
Speaker 1:That being said, a lot of teams have new coaches, so they are all trying to figure things out, except for napoli, who have like a couple of players injured and a few new players, so they are still trying to figure things out. It's the beginning of the season, uh, so hopefully what happens is, after the first international break, people go and they come back and then they get this whole prolonged period where they can get their right frame of mind and then hopefully teams will start showing their true colours, right. But the reality is it's not going to be an easy season. It's going to be one of those seasons where, like I told you, where, like I told you, no repeat champion and it's going to be a surprise and I'm hoping Milan is a surprise team to win the league this season.
Speaker 2:I'm hoping as well. I'm hoping as well. Let's do the last two minutes. Talk about Inter.
Speaker 1:How excited are you? I'm so happy. I'm so happy Because I watched that game and I was just so happy because the game started Inter-Milan in their typical way, right, and then they pressed there in their typical way, right and then they pressed. There was a period of like 10 minutes where they were just pressing.
Speaker 2:And then what's his name's called right, the left, back, and then it was offside.
Speaker 1:It was offside.
Speaker 2:It was offside. Yeah, it was actually.
Speaker 1:Turan was offside yeah, yes, it made me so happy. I was like, okay, and then those guys scored Interist squad rather and then they equalise with the penalty, and then that goal, the goal, the awardee. At the end of the day, I was just so pleased that Inter Milan, with Christian Kivu already there's talks about him being in trouble and so on and so forth. This is just the beginning. This is just the beginning. So hopefully for them they continue to be like this and then they can fire the coach.
Speaker 2:There's no other coach out there for them. Yeah well, I think it's going to be difficult for them to actually find a replacement at this stage of the season.
Speaker 1:Maybe they can get Fonseca.
Speaker 2:No, Fonseca will not come to Inter. He's enjoying his stay.
Speaker 1:Didn't they ban him for nine months or something like that? No, please.
Speaker 2:They did not ban him for nine months.
Speaker 1:I was just up. Inter Milan lost, so right now you know it's good. My only disappointment was that Napoli did not draw that game, but there's still time for them to draw points. Overall, milan won, inter lost, the top teams struggled. So we will give ourselves a couple of weeks go for international break and then come back. Hopefully, milan comes back winning against Bologna and we can just keep riding the momentum that we have already this season.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Chin, thank you so much for your time. It's been a pleasure talking to you about Milan. Thank you so much, listeners. Thank you so much for the download. Thank you for the support that we're getting from you all. It means a lot. Please keep streaming, keep downloading on our platform. Thank you so much. We'll return after the international break and talk about the Bologna Milan game. Thank you, chin. You have a wonderful week thank you, dave thank you myself and enjoy the long weekend.
Speaker 1:Thank you, bye, bye, ciao.
