By Dewa Nugraha
Anger and disappointed becomes the common feeling shared by most AC Milan die hard fans the last couple of weeks after the departure of their two most influential players, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to Paris Saint Germain. But it is time for all Milanisti to simply move on and cut all the doom and gloom attitude. The losses of those two key figures is hard to swallow but Milan are far from dead.
It's a certainty that Milan's work for the new season won't be easy as aside from losing their two stars, the Rossoneri also part ways with several senior players, who have been an integral part of the club's last decade. Although the veterans departure was much more anticipated by the fans, still without their calming figure in the dressing room, many adaptation would very much needed considering there will be many new faces around.
In somewhat of a surprise, the Rossoneri's 'Ultras' still maintain their trust over the management plan this summer but some part of Milanisti can't help to vent their disappointment, protesting the management with banners, messages and even placing tombstone in front of the team's headquarter. Acknowledging there's plenty disappointment surrounding their tifosi, the board decided to reimburse tickets for those who felt betrayed with Milan transfer move in selling Ibrahimovic and Silva.
This action undoubtedly caused major decreased in the club's recent seasonal ticket selling which reportedly only reached 9,000 mark, quite far from previous seasons regular numbers around 25,000 – 30,000 mark. Milan's slow movement in the market also triggered this slow ticket sales as impatient devotees are expecting an immediate quality replacement for those leaving the club and not really been satisfied with several new arrivals, except for Italian international, Riccardo Montolivo, who has won many hearts with his Euro 2012 performance.
Under pressure after a disappointing start on their pre-season friendlies at Trofeo TIM, Milan players proved their doubters that they can still play quality football without Ibrahimovic and Silva. Picking up victories against the likes of Schalke and Chelsea, the Rossoneri were showing lots of determination which might be Massimiliano Allegri's team main strength in facing their opponents in the new season.
Although friendlies results can't be taken as main indicator of a side's strength, noting that changes can still happen since the transfer market is wide open, Milan's performance in the matches against Schalke and Chelsea showed exciting potential. Testing out a new 4-3-3 formation, coach Allegri looked set to introduce new playing style which incorporates a much more fluid attacking movement up front and more discipline pressing work.
Still having the likes of Robinho, Stephan El Shaarawy, Alexandre Pato, Antonio Cassano and Kevin Prince Boateng, Milan fans shouldn't felt much discouraged at all since there surely be other reinforcement which arrived without jeopardizing the club's finance. The Rossoneri may lose several stars in the summer, but the truth that's just the way it is, players come and go, only the club and its' spirit that remain to entertain the fans every season.
In all, it looks to be an interesting season for Milan as their new project might be more exciting compared to other sides who are currently being raved by Italian media. Should Allegri gets the necessary reinforcement he needs and his new system worked out well, maybe the San Siro will be filled as the season goes with fans starting to accept the situation.
