AC Milan: 5 Key Games for the Rossoneri in the 1st Half of 2015-16
The day fans of AC Milan and the 19 other Serie A teams have been waiting for finally arrived on Monday. The fixture lists for the 2015-16 season were finally released, letting every team know who they're going to be playing when.
The schedule can make or break a team. Too many high-leverage games clustered together can be a land mine for a team that has aspirations for a title or a European place.
Sinisa Mihajlovic's men are looking to get back to the top of the table and into the European conversation. To do that they're going to have to get themselves off to a good start. Massimiliano Allegri's incredible comeback in 2012-13—when Milan went from 15th midway through October to third at the end of the season—notwithstanding, a strong start is usually essential for a successful season.
The first 19 rounds will be critical to get into position for the stretch run. Of those games, we'll pick out five key matches that will be Milan's most important. Some are important because they'll be against teams they're hoping to be battling with for the top five spots, others will be important for psychological reasons.
What are the five biggest games Milan will play in the first half of the season? Read on to find out.
Round 1, at Fiorentina
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Milan and Fiorentina are both coming into the season having made heavy changes. Milan is in the midst of a full-scale rebuild, while La Viola are picking up the pieces after Vincenzo Montella contentious departure.
Montella led the team to three consecutive fourth-place finishes, but he began to lose faith in the team's ability to get him the players he needed to take the next step. That led to a massive row with ownership and his dismissal.
Paulo Sousa replaced him. Last year Sousa led Basel to the Swiss Super League title, second place in the Swiss Cup and the round of 16 in the Champions League. He's also won the Hungarian League Cup and a league title in Israel. Now his job is to take a fairly talented side and try to take it where Montella didn't.
Fiorentina is still an unfinished product. Tuttosport has reported (h/t Football Italia) that Mario Gomez—a prized signing two years ago but often injured in his time in Florence—is on his way out, and Milan reject Mattia Destro is ready to replace him. If Destro does make that switch, the revenge aspect will be a fascinating subplot.
For Milan, this will be the first time we get to see the adjustments Mihajlovic has made to the side—and whether new buys such as Andrea Bertolacci and Carlos Bacca will be worth the money spent on them. There will also be a psychological side to this match.
The Rossoneri led in both games against Fiorentina last year only to squander that lead in the second half. At the first match at San Siro, that led to a 1-1 draw, but in Florence in March they let in two goals in the last seven minutes to lose 2-1.
This battle of teams in transition will go a long way towards telling us where both squads will go.
Round 3, at Inter
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The Derby della Madonnina has lost some of its luster in recent weeks, as both Inter and Milan have regressed.
Both teams have retooled and are hoping to regain their places at the top of the standings. They'll have an early opportunity to make a statement in one of the league's marquee fixtures.
The Madonnina is never lacking in intensity. Even this past weekend at the International Champions Cup, tensions ran high and fans saw a straight red late, when Antonio Nocerino went in two-footed on Geoffrey Kondogbia.
Milan's real test here will be keeping those emotions in check. Rossoneri players saw red 13 times last year. That put the team at a fantastic disadvantage in almost half of their matches. They can't afford to lose their heads like that so much this season.
This is the place to test whether they can keep their cool. In the most intense derby this side of the Classico, Milan will try to prove both their skill and their nerve.
Round 9, vs. Sassuolo
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If you were to round up the city of Sassuolo's entire population and bring them to the San Siro, they would fill just over half the stadium.
So why would this match make this list? Because this fixture is fraught with demons for Milan.
Since Sassuolo was promoted to Serie A last year, they've played Milan four times in the league. They've won three of them—often in grueling fashion.
In the first-ever matchup between the two last year, Milan went two goals up in 13 minutes before four goals from a then-19-year-old Domenico Berardi shocked them into a 4-3 defeat. The game cost Max Allegri his job and was the first real confirmation that the team was truly in a bad way.
They avenged that loss, with a 2-1 win on the final day of the '13-14 season, but they were bitten by the bug again this year. First the Neroverdi came from a goal down to beat Filippo Inzaghi's squad at the San Siro. In the return in May, Milan came back from two goals down on the road to tie the game—the walls came tumbling down.
Six minutes after the equalizer, Giacomo Bonaventura, who had already been booked, committed a mindless handball near midfield and received his second booking. Milan instantly lost control of a game they had developed a stranglehold on. Berardi eventually finished a hat-trick 13 minutes before time to complete Sassuolo's 3-2 victory.
This is another case of mental fortitude. If Mihajlovic can transform this group enough to get through their bogey team—especially if it's a convincing win—it will go a long way toward moving back to a mentality where provincial clubs are teams to be swatted away—not fretted over.
Round 11, at Lazio
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Lazio is Serie A's rising team.
Stefano Pioli had a fantastic first season in charge in the capital. He was two goalposts away from stealing the Coppa Italia from Juventus and was this close to taking second place in the Derby della Capitale on the season's penultimate day before Roma overtook them on a late goal.
The second league game between the two—Milan's limp 3-1 defeat—was the nadir of Inzaghi's tenure as manager. The Rossoneri took a lead on four minutes, but in the space of four second-half minutes, they were behind. The game was capped with an ugly incident involving Philippe Mexes, who lost his mind and tried to strangle Stefano Mauri.
By this point in the season, Milan will have had games against bigger clubs such as Inter and Napoli, but this will be the first time they take on a Champions League qualifier. It will be a major test, both for the players and for Mihajlovic, who will be facing down one of the hottest tacticians in the league in Pioli.
Lazio is at the place where Milan wants to be—a Champions League place. This game, played in Stadio Olimpico's always-hostile environment, will be the first time they will be able to see if they have the mettle to get back there.
Round 13, at Juventus
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In wrestling legend Ric Flair's immortal words, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man."
The four-time defending champions are going to be different this year, but that doesn't mean they're going to be worse. Juventus still has plenty of firepower.
Alvaro Morata will have another year under his belt. Claudio Marchisio and Paul Pogba will still anchor the midfield. And the all-important defensive spine—the best unit in Europe—is still in place. Indeed, it may even be better after the addition of defensive phenom Daniele Rugani, who returns after a co-ownership with Empoli was resolved in January.
This will be Mihajlovic's ultimate test. Juve's roster has turned over a lot this summer, and they may still be adding pieces. But even if they don't, they still have far and away the league's best roster in the league, and by the time this game comes around in November, the new pieces will have had time to jell and become a cohesive unit.
Victory in this game is not necessarily a must—particularly in the seething cauldron that is the Juventus Stadium. But if they put in a good showing, it will be a mark of improvement—and a major step towards regaining their old place in the Italian game.
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