MILAN – Stefano Pioli you see…Conceicao everywhere. And who knows if the one written above the number 10 will have played a role in Stefano Pioli’s choice, as it seems, to send Rafa Leao initially on the bench tonight against Cagliari. Yes, because, jokes aside, the Portuguese striker, as well as all his teammates, will wear a shirt with his mother’s name or surname on the back, for the club’s initiative on the occasion of Mother’s Day.
Leao on the bench
And Rafa’s mother, whose surname is exactly that Conceicaoas one of the main candidates for the succession of Pegs (perhaps it would have been better to put Teresa, the first name, but now the omelette is done since the image was made public by Milan himself). Having said that, clearly if Leao does not start in the starting eleven it will not be due to this twist of fate, but simply due to a technical choice mainly due to a not very brilliant physical (and mental?) condition. However, a strong decision on the part of the Rossoneri coach who seems intent on excluding three other senators, i.e. captain Calabria (fresh from two rounds of disqualification), Tomori (negative protagonist of the 3-3 against Genoa last week) e Theo Hernandez (appeared far from fit).
The drastic choice
After six games without a win – the last one dates back to 6 April, 3-0 at San Siro against Leccethen three draws and three defeats -, Pegs it therefore seems oriented towards opting for a drastic choice, a clear change of formation with many big players out. Clearly the two that make the most noise are the two aces of the left wing, Theo Hernandez And Leao, two players who, during the matchday, represented the strong point of Pioli’s Milan, but who have been absent too often this year, amidst mixed performances and unfriendly attitudes. Last Sunday Leao was replaced by the coach with the score 2-1 for Genoa in the 22nd minute of the second half and the fans, silent due to his choice to protest with the club, booed him as he left the pitch. It is true that Leao himself was “embraced” on Wednesday by the affection of several supporters who went to Casa Milan to take a photo with him, but it is clear that the reaction of a San Siro with 70 thousand people is different in impact compared to to the “Rafa force” of 200 people at the headquarters.
Strike by the Rossoneri fans
And the stadium will be in strike mode again tonight. The Curva Sud and the Italian Milan Club Association will continue their silent protest to “stimulate” the club to demonstrate its ambitions in deeds and not just in words. However, it will be interesting to understand how Leao will be welcomed during the warm-up, when reading the formations and, if Pioli deems it useful, when he enters the pitch. Until now Leao he had been excluded from the starting lineup only due to turnover in view of subsequent commitments or because he was returning from an injury. Obviously he’s not at the top, but having to Milan aiming for victory to close the negative moment and secure second place, trying to do it without his best player initially kept on the bench due to technical choice, can only make one reflect, even rereading a passage from yesterday’s conference Pegs: «I will try to choose those players who I believe have the energy and the best condition to try to put on the field a fair match, of quality and concentration to try to win the match».
