“This year will not go like last time. This year we will make a flying start”. A little over two months have passed since this peremptory statement by Massimiliano Allegri, the most hated coach in AC Milan's history since Gustavo Giagnoni, guilty of having thrown Gianni Rivera on the bench (stuff from 40 years ago). But it got even worse. After 11 rounds Milan have two points less than last year, they are 19 points behind leaders Roma, 16 from the Champions League zone while the relegation zone is much closer: 3 points. It will be said: but in the end there is little difference. But there are some small differences.
1) Last year's disastrous start had convinced Berlusconi to kill Allegri, and the subsequent comeback hadn't helped to change his mind. But in the end the Knight had had to back down. He hadn't prepared credible alternatives (Seedorf didn't even have a coaching licence), but above all he had measured himself against the very tough opposition of Galliani, who had gathered around his protégé. For this reason, Allegri is no longer in the dock today, destined sooner or later (and hopefully soon) to leave the Rossoneri bench. There is Galliani, the undisputed plenipotentiary of via Turati since at least 1994, or since Berlusconi left the presidency of Milan for that of Palazzo Chigi.
2) Another déjà vu concerns Barbara Berlusconi, the restless BB of the dynasty who had already fired at the Galliani management in the past. She was then dismissed as an incompetent and spoiled kid. Today the trick is more difficult. Barbara chose perfect timing. The angry supporters of San Siro, Galliani forced to leave the grandstand under the shouts and insults of the Rossoneri VIPs. And then the arguments put forward seem more effective than in the past.
3) What is Galliani, the vice president, accusing of? Of things that are there for all to see. Leonardo coach left no great regrets at Milanello. Leonardo observer of the South American market, on the other hand, yes, since it was he who brought the various Kakà, Pato and Thiago Silva over the years. It does not appear that he was ever replaced. The shopping campaign has taken on grotesque tones. After two years of courting Galliani, Juventus signed Tevez for 9 million euros. And this can happen in times of austerity. What cannot happen is that Milan buys a striker like Matri from Juve himself shortly after, and for a higher figure (11 million), who is Tevez's pale stand-in. Furthermore, it is difficult to forget that two months ago, faced with the perplexities of insiders and fans, Galliani reassured: “We have the strongest central duo in the championship. There is no need for reinforcements in defense”. Eleven games and 19 goals later it becomes clear who was right.
4) Milan has a cumbersome history, made up of many successes and champions with great personalities. Some of them left due to age limits, others were accompanied with Allegri's approval. In at least one case it was a sensational mistake: think of Pirlo, the best Italian midfielder of the last twenty years, sold for zero euros to Juve who have not stopped winning ever since. They only have one thing in common: resentment towards Allegri. Who, having the charisma and personality of a sommelier, did not tolerate rivals in the locker room. Now at Milanello we have everything, crests, earrings, tattoos, except for people who know how to take the team by the hand on the pitch, except perhaps Kakà. And this situation does not change, whatever the outcome of tonight's match against Barcelona.
5) Lastly, rumors of stellar liquidations are circulating today in the event of Galliani's resignation. The very fact that we are talking about it gives an idea of the dimension of the crisis and the obstinacy in Allegri's defense has only widened it. In fact, in reality, Galliani does not risk his job. Berlusconi today also carries out the spending review on green beans, but apart from folklore he has never broken with his inner circle, that of the Confalonieri, the Doris, the Dell'Utri and, of course, Galliani. But this time, unlike a year ago, the comparison with Barbara comes out bruised. For two good reasons. The first is that the Knight has an extraordinary ability to leave all of his problems (judicial, political, corporate, family) open without ever really closing them, and this is the reason why he finds himself in the situation he is in: that he has very little desire to open a front with his daughter, to whom among other things he did not offer seats comparable to those of Mondadori and Mediaset, but the poorest Milan of the Berlusconi cycle. The second is that Barbara, right now, speaks the same language as the fans.
