Losing not an option ahead of latest Milan derby with trophies sparse
With one trophy combined in the last 10 YEARS the pressure is on AC Milan and Inter Milan ahead of Coppa Italia derby tonight… Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku carry the weight of expectation (unless Mario Mandzukic can end Milan’s No 9 curse!)
- AC Milan take on Inter Milan in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia on Tuesday
- The two sides have won just one trophy combined since the 2010-11 season
- Pressure is mounting on Inter boss Antonio Conte to win given the investment
- AC Milan sit top of Serie A and a cup win would prove a psychological boost
For two clubs with such rich history, trophy cabinets at the San Siro have become something of an afterthought in the last decade. Dust has gathered for some time now – and there hasn’t been much need to clear it off.
AC Milan point to the 2016 Italian Super Cup, beating Juventus in a penalty shootout, as the only trophy won by a Milanese side in the last 10 years. It’s a meagre return for two sides that were once the envy of the rest of Europe.
And so the pressure is on. The wait has been too long, too barren for the liking of supporters. AC Milan have serial winners in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Mandzukic while Antonio Conte is running out of time to repay Inter’s £250million spending spree.
Romelu Lukaku (left) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (right) are the star attractions for the Milan derby
Antonio Conte is running out of chances to deliver a trophy for Inter’s £250m investment
Heading into Tuesday night’s Coppa Italia quarter-final, the rewards feel greater than just a spot in the top four. A win brings with it bragging rights but even more than that, victory provides a psychological boost in pursuit of a domestic double.
In a way these sides are strikingly different.
Conte has frequently turned to seasoned veterans such as Ashley Young and Arturo Vidal in the transfer market while Stefano Pioli has shown a willingness to place faith in youth, electing to pursue deals for young stars like Sandro Tonali.
There will be inevitable rotation on Tuesday, not least because it is a cup competition but that also because the two teams go into the latest Derby della Madonnina on the back of really poor league results.
Tuesday’s Coppa Italia quarter-final was front page news across Italy’s sport newspapers
Inter stumbled to a stalemate at Udinese, missing the chance to go top, on a night where Conte lost his cool and was sent off, while Milan were shellacked at the San Siro by Atalanta.
It is far from ideal preparation, Conte now £18,000 lighter in his pocket for his latest outburst and Pioli handing fresh hope to title rivals with a rare heavy defeat.
The game is the biggest of the week in Italy and was described as the ‘Derby of the Giants’ in Tuesday’s papers.
It will take giants with little to separate the sides. Alexis Sanchez is likely to come in, as is Ivan Perisic, and defeat could spell the end for a number of players at Inter, not just ramping up pressure on Conte.
The ex-Chelsea boss consistently looks on the edge of a meltdown and having been frustrated in the transfer market, defeat in the derby will only etch the scowl back across his face. He’s lost to Milan already this season – he cannot afford a repeat.
Stefano Pioli (right) has shown a willingness to trust young players but they need to deliver
For Pioli, young players give him a ready-made excuse but finding himself top of the league in January and in the last eight of the Coppa Italia, to finish the season without a trophy would, unquestionably, be viewed as a disappointment, an opportunity missed at the very least.
And so pressure is on. Milan have the best of the recent rivalry but how much does that really count for? Here are two sides that can go from dominant superclubs to mid-table fodder from week-to-week.
These sides have already had a good luck at each other, felt what it is like to play out a derby behind closed doors, when they met earlier in the season.
Milan ran out 2-1 winners that day, Ibrahimovic’s brace making Romelu Lukaku’s strike nothing more than a consolation.
There were suggestions Milan’s success hinged solely on Ibrahimovic when he announced he was returning to the club last January. That is now not the case and Conte needed no reminder in the build-up to Tuesday night.
‘We found ourselves down two goals in the last derby and so we must be more clinical and determined, it will be very important, Milan are not only Ibra,’ Conte told RAI.
Arturo Vidal could be swapped out by Conte as defeat would devastate Inter’s campaign
He’s right, they aren’t. They now have Mandzukic in position, the Croat boldly taking on the decision to scoff at the supposed curse as he adopted Milan’s No 9 shirt.
Dusting it off with a 3-0 loss at home to Atalanta for his debut wasn’t quite the kind of statement he had in mind. It sure did nothing to quieten the doubters over a shirt that has been plagued by misfortune.
Alexandre Pato, Alessandro Matri, Mattia Destro, Luiz Adriano, Gianluca Lapadula, Andre Silva, Gonzalo Higuain and Krzysztof Piatek all failed miserably. Arriving mid-season, Mandzukic simply cannot go the same way if this young Milan side are to go and win a famous double.
Milan fans of a certain age will recall Ballon d’Or winners George Weah and Marco van Basten both wearing the No 9 while Pippo Inzaghi thrived with the number on his back before retiring in 2012.
Whether he starts remains in doubt after missing training on Monday but there would be no greater way to ignite his Milan career than banishing the ghosts of the No 9 when it really matters most.
Mario Mandzukic (left) made the decision to ignore the supposed curse of Milan’s No 9 shirt
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