Milan v Sampdoria: So Close

Picture this: You’re an 18-year-old American, signed from the New York Red Bulls just six weeks ago to join Sampdoria’s youth team. Almost immediately, you’re training with the first team, a regular on the bench for Serie A games, and even seeing your first senior action with a brief appearance in a Coppa Italia game. And then, finally, it’s here: Your Serie A debut. And in the San Siro, no less! You put on your shirt, tuck in your shin guards, and head over to the fourth official to tell him what’s what. He puts your number into his board, raises it over his head and … whistle. That’s game.

This cruel, unimaginable emotional roller-coaster actually happened today: It befell poor Gabriel Ferrari. Though I was near tears when the whistle blew, he seemed to take the disappointment fairly well, walking onto the field to shake some hands rather than screaming “WHHHYYY?” at the heavens and tearing off his shirt. Clearly he’s a stronger man than I.

Oh, the game. Right. For a match featuring two red cards, it was an oddly low-key, bloodless encounter. Dida was called upon to make a couple great saves early, but after that, though there was a lot of good possession, neither team was really very threatening. Sampdoria defended in great numbers and very well, and Milan just didn’t seem interested into reaching for another gear. While Milan — both teams, really — looked very solid, there wasn’t any flair or desire to the proceedings. Ronaldo was hardly there, Kaka was unimpressive, and both teams lacked spark. (Captain) Ambrosini’s goal was a good one but it’s hard to argue it was deserved — a 0-0 draw would have been a more accurate representation of the game.

Category: AC Milan, Results, Serie A

Tags: AC Milan, Ambrosini, Gabriel Ferrari, Results, Sampdoria, Serie A

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