The crossroads of the championship in San Siro rewarded the Rossoneri and had doubts raised to the Felsinei. Here is the guide to approach the Olympic challenge with a trophy that serves both Conceicao and Italiano
The intersection of San Siro has perhaps canceled the hopes of Bologna to return to the Champions League by condemning the Felsinei to an unexpected frozen shower. Raise your hand who, in the middle of the second half and with the Italian team in advantage and in apparent control, would have ever imagined the umpteenth comeback of the Rossoneri possible. Incidentally, with those torn from Bologna there are 22 points conquered by Milan by disadvantaged situation in this unfortunate season: a record that means at the same time as too often the approach to the races is wrong, but also that Conceicao continues to be able to touch the right ropes.
Everything happened less than a hundred hours from the final of the Italian Cup which on Wednesday 14 May will put in front of Milan and Bologna again, this time at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. For a thousand reasons, an appointment that neither contenders can afford to underestimate: on the one hand the need to close a horrible year (Milan), on the other the crossing with history (Bologna). How do the duelists arrive at the final? Who is better and who worse? Has San Siro’s clash changed the balance? Here is a reasoned reading of the challenge that is worth the Italian Cup through five questions and answers:
The result of San Siro between Milan and Bologna changes something in the approach of the two teams?
The response is positive, in the sense that the repercussions of having seen the champions league qualifying chances vanish will not be able to produce effects on Bologna. And, on the contrary, the new comeback will consolidate the positive period of Milan which, including the Italian Cup, has reached four consecutive victories: an almost unpublished data in a season of continuous ups and downs. In particular, some train may have left the feeling of the Felsinei that they have thrown a huge opportunity to give an almost decisive shoulder to the race for the race for fourth place.
A advantage thanks to Orsolini, almost without ever risking and against an opponent who apparently was already thinking about the final, Bologna suicide sportily builting three goals on the counterattack or on single and placement errors. The memory of the night of San Siro will accompany the Italian boys to the locker room of the Olimpico and the risk is that it does it even beyond, conditioning the performance in the final. Bologna knows it must be perfect to be able to win against Milan, but it also knows that the error is part of its DNA.
Can Gimenez remain out of the Milan holder formation?
The striker who arrived in January from Feyenoord lived a long period of fogging after the first, encouraging, rehearsals. For this reason he has lost ownership and does not start in the initial eleven even from March 15 (Milan-UOMO 2-1): they make 8 consecutive benches plus a skipped race for injury. Those who replaced him, in particular Jovic, did not make him regret. On the contrary.
Now, however, the wind has changed and the Mexican has returned to weigh on Milan’s results. In the last three days of the championship, according to the field only 65 minutes, he scored 3 goals and an assist and above all seemed perfectly integrated into the game of Conceicao. So? What do you do now? Are you also part of the reserves at the Olimpico or the hierarchies changed? It is difficult to imagine the first scenario, also because Conceicao has shown that he is a very flexible coach both in the choice of modules and the interpreters: who is better. And at this moment Gimenez is very well both in the head and physically.
Conceicao is playing confirmation on the Milan bench?
Furlani has claimed how, in case of success at the Olimpico, Sergio Conceicao will be Milan’s first technician from Carlo Ancelotti’s time to conquer two trophies in one season. Declaration that made a square angry already tried by the trend of this 2024/2025 and that does not justify the Rossoneri people any reasoning around the confirmation. The club, however, could think of it differently and not necessarily for the results.
Not having reported Milan in the Champions League area is considered a dependent element. Having found a tactical square and, above all, having tightened a new and different relationship with the locker room are instead topics in favor of the Portuguese who for his part is trying to remain as far as possible from the theme of confirmation. A detachment that can be interpreted as an awareness that in June it will be free to look for a new bench, but with the approach of the final the overall situation of Milan in the programming of the next season does not allow to exclude any scenario.
Winning the Italian Cup would Milan save the season?
No. Needless to go around. It would certainly be the best way to archive a disastrous season, but but the danger with which programming, management, tactical and technical errors have been made (therefore at all levels) does not allow redemption even by mating the Italian Cup at the Italian Super Cup conquered in January in Saudi Arabia.
By conquering the Cup, Milan would find Europe through automatic qualification in the Europa League, being able to allow a slightly more ambitious project for the summer also thanks to some revenues that would come anyway. The other side of the medal are the labors of Europe played on Thursday when – the example of Conte’s Napoli demonstrates – to stay out of everything with a revitalized rose can bring enormous advantages to curling the times to return to being competitive for the Scudetto.
Did Bologna finished gasoline?
If the meter of judgment are the results, the suspicion is that the tiredness suddenly came to weigh down Bologna. In the last three of the championship two draws (Udinese and Juventus) and a defeat (Milan). To look at the games, however, the Italian boys have always given the feeling of still having strength in the legs and intensity to practice their football for at least 50-60 minutes.
If anything, it could be a little inexperience and inability to manage pressure. Not a novelty, if it is true that even last year the phenomenal Bologna of Thiago Motta closed with only two wins in the last 8 challenges, those that would have opened the doors for a historic qualification for the Champions League.
