The approach to the derby tonight between AC Milan and Inter has been ‘surreal’, a report claims, with very contrasting moods between the two clubs.
Calciomercato.com report how excitement among Inter fans has reached fever pitch because they would win the Scudetto with a victory tonight, whereas for Milan a season that started with great expectations and which will end in complete anonymity.
One figure in particular, that of Stefano Pioli, is the only one metaphorically called to carry the cross as he is preparing to experience his last derby with the Rossoneri wrapped in an atmosphere never so dark and full of tension.
Even if no one has yet officially pronounced the farewell of Pioli, the management have come to the conclusion that the epilogue of the journey undertaken together in October 2019 will not continue into next season.
Nonetheless, the coach of the 2021-22 Scudeto win and last season’s Champions League semi-final – achieved after 16 years of waiting – perhaps did not imagine living his last weeks with the Rossoneri, and specifically the hours that precede the match against Inter, as a man abandoned to his fate.
Pioli has been in football for too long not to know how certain mechanisms work: as long as the results arrive it is easier to let any type of criticism slide, but when things start to turn it can become a very lonely place.
The lack of presence of the AC Milan management at Milanello in the last few days and even yesterday – 24 hours before a derby where the main mission is to fight for pride – is a melancholy portrait of the climate that surrounds the club.
Pioli was first betrayed by his players in the two matches against Roma which could have given a different meaning to the end of this season and is now called to face the public pillory of San Siro, knowing there is very little to gain but even more to lose.
The coach was asked about his future in the press conference yesterday and he was asked about his future. It was the last presser he will do before a derby that the entire Milan world are awaiting with frustration and resignation.
Tonight’s derby will be a strange one, where on the one hand we will see the arrival point of an era in full swing and on the other we will come to a sad conclusion. With unknowns, if possible even more worrying, about what comes next.