GdS: Fonseca happy, fans rage – protests and poor performance mar Milan’s big night

AC Milan’s game against Genoa was supposed to be a celebration of 125 glorious years of history, but the jeers at full-time told the story.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, draw against Genoa marked a definitive division between the current Milan management and the fans, who made their thoughts clear with a protest inside and outside San Siro.

Among the protest chants, one stood out more than others: ‘We are not Americans’. It was a clear message aimed at the current ownership and the way in which RedBird Capital are managing the club.

Outside the stadium, they displayed a banner to confirm all their disappointment, on which was written: ‘We have had enough of your mediocrity’. The supporters made it clear that the club is not a corporate asset, but a historic organisation that deserves love and respect.

It was hoped that with the 125th anniversary celebrations Paulo Fonseca’s team could have a surge of pride and perform well, but instead the players were unable to break down a resolute Genoa defence who failed to get a shot on target of their own.

Milan have slipped to eighth place in the standings, but there are those who think that everything is fine, like Fonseca. The coach was happy with the performance offered by his boys yesterday, believing that only a goal was missing.

“I think we played a good game, we created a lot, the players had the desire to win, they played as a team and all that was missing was the goal,” he said.

“And obviously the quality in the final decisions was missing, the whole time we were in the opponent’s area. I think we had 22 shots, all that was missing was a goal.”