Stop almost over. Four things, but said badly. Actually five.
Harakiri Genoa
We start with the hot news: Gilardino has been sacked. We should limit ourselves to a bitter laugh and goodnight, but we are masochists and therefore let’s analyze this choice with a pinch of logic (spoiler: we won’t find any). The man who brought the Griffin back to Serie A, who created a united and compact group, is eliminated with the delicacy of a mammoth in a crystal shop. “It was necessary,” they say. Let’s say that changing a coach who knows what he’s doing to put in one who has yet to learn to pronounce “pesto alla Genovese” doesn’t seem like genius.
The chosen one is Patrick Vieira, someone who has more experience in arguments with Balotelli than in rebuilding teams in crisis. For example, in Nice his management was memorable… for the arguments with SuperMario. A déjà vu that doesn’t bode well. Let’s face it: entrusting this great former midfielder with a Genoa team that needs character and stability is a bit like entrusting a plane in free fall to a random passenger: maybe he ditches, but maybe not. Meanwhile, the Genoa fans cling to the Ferraris seats as if they were on a crazy carousel. Meh.
Nations League and self-sabotage
Second chapter of this tale of the absurd: the Nations League. It would be nice to know who came up with this brilliant idea, certainly someone with a lot of need for grain and very little practical sense. In an era in which calendars are so compressed that even the most hardened football lover is thinking of taking up darts, it was decided to include a useless tournament, without charm, and with the same appeal as the triangular Birra Moretti (bei times).
Players are in trouble, athletic trainers look like surgeons in a field emergency room, and club teams watch every international break in horror, praying for their youngsters to come back in one piece. But no, “the Nations League is a spectacle”, they say. It’s a shame that the only spectacle is the long list of injuries that every break leaves behind. Clubs pay staggering salaries only to end up with injured players and the entire competition only fuels the frustration of those who are naively hoping for a modicum of common sense. We’ll see you again in March, fortunately and in any case… Long live San Marino, the only national team that really has a reason to rejoice.
Without Vlahovic
Latest news from the war bulletin: Dusan Vlahovic, the 80 million man, got hurt. Nothing serious, he will only miss a couple of matches, but now Thiago Motta finds himself looking at the forwards department which has the appearance of an empty fridge on New Year’s Eve: there are only bottles of water and a pack of expired Tabasco (not never fails).
The good Giuntoli’s market strategy actually seems worthy of a David Lynch film: at the beginning everything seems clear to you, at the end you barely understand anything. Juventus has spent significant sums without really completing the squad, to the point that, apart from Vlahovic, they find themselves without an alternative in attack. Who takes the Serbian’s place? Milik? No, it’s not okay. Nico? It’s broken. And then Motta finds himself having to invent solutions, perhaps praying that Weah will suddenly transform into a world-class striker. The injuries (read Bremer and Cabal) are pure bad luck, but finding yourself without a deputy Vlahovic after over 100 million invested is a grave sin.
Ibra’s role
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, former God of San Siro and now all-round manager, starts philosophizing at the Kings League. Let’s be clear, Ibra talking into a microphone, laughing and making jokes is always fun, but maybe not so much for AC Milan fans. While Zlatan enjoys being the ambassador of a tournament that is a cross between five-a-side football and Games Without Borders, the Rossoneri fans feel a little betrayed. They hoped that their idol, now in a suit and tie, would throw himself body and soul into the club and, instead, they see him involved in projects that, however innovative, have a lot to do with the Devil. Well, a little more Milanism and a little less Kings League wouldn’t hurt.
Absurd Bentancur
Finally, the most grotesque chapter of the week: the disqualification of Rodrigo Bentancur for an episode of “racism”. Yes, in quotes. The Uruguayan midfielder was punished for a silly phrase. The same, in a football devoured by media courts and occasional moralisms, has turned into a mortal sin.
Racism is a serious thing, fighting it with punishments that border on the grotesque is an insult to seriousness. There is a risk of turning everything into a farce, of trivializing a real problem with decisions that have the flavor of theater. We have ended up fighting a huge problem with actions that empty its meaning and this is not only counterproductive, it is sadly ridiculous.
The break is over, hallelujah hallelujah.