Is Chemistry Overrated Or Is A.C. Milan’s Downfall Imminent? Constructing A Narrative

A.C. Milan is a polarizing team, already filled with a lot of players that people either love or hate. The names Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Ronaldinho, and Gannaro Gattuso are likely to elicit an emotional reaction, either positive or negative, from those who follow Serie A closely. Over their careers, these players have started fights fights and forced their way out of clubs, as well as being among the best players of the current era at their respective positions. Incredibly, to this point, these players have shown an ability to work together.

At the winter break, Milan sit on top of Serie A. Much of this has been due some brilliant play and what new signings Ibrahimovic, Robinho, and Kevin-Prince Boateng have brought to the team, but a lot more of it has come as a result of the ineptitude of their traditional rivals. Inter Milan have recently fired their manager, Rafael Benitez, after he creatively turned the European champions into a joke. Juventus seem to be on the up and up, but their defense is still wildly inconsistent and Milos Krasic’s injury was a minor setback. Roma have been mediocre at best, but they have saved Claudio Ranieri’s job more than once this season with garbage goals. For various reasons, Fiorentina and Sampdoria have not been the contenders they have been in past seasons.

Of course, the biggest reason for Sampdoria’s struggles is probably Antonio Cassano’s falling out with the people who run the show at the club. This makes it...how many chairmen and/or managers that he’s fallen out with? I don’t even remember at this point. Fabio Capello and Marcelo Lippi both seem to think he’s a bit of a tosser. Additionally, to steal a line from “Archer,” he’s allegedly slept with every harlot from here to Hanoi. He once used a gesture to imply that a referee was the devil after he got sent off. He’s a piece of work, to use a euphemism.

Who better to sign this piece of work but A.C. Milan? If you haven’t heard, Cassano got himself kicked off the Sampdoria first team for refusing to attend an awards ceremony, then getting into a nice little fight with the chairman. This would be the third team who figured out that their relationship with Cassano was completely unworkable (Real Madrid, Sampdoria, Italy), and thus, they told him to GTFO. He has since signed with Milan. A club with Ibrahimovic, Pato, and Robinho occupying forward positions already. Yeah, this will work out well.

On one hand, it’s not like adding one dude into this mix can screw up the chemistry, right? They already had four dudes with egos the size of Texas and the temper of a two year old. Then again, this is possibly the biggest douchebag convention in the history of ever. Also, it’s Antonio Cassano. Screwing up team chemistry is just what he does.

And as good as Cassano is, what are the chances that he actually starts meaningful games when everyone is healthy? Is he playing ahead of Ibrahimovic or Pato? I’m just going to assume that Max Allegri has a little bit more sense than that. And what will happen when Cassano doesn’t start for five straight games? Or he refuses to go to a charity event? Or he shags a teammate’s sister? The possibilities for ways Cassano can pull some crazy torch the town and salt the earth nonsense are endless.

Now, I’m not going to pretend I’m the first guy to say something along these lines, nor will I be the last. Cassano’s affect on A.C. Milan’s chemistry might become a meme as the season goes on in Serie A. As likely as it seems that Milan might have chemistry problem, it’s really lazy to pump out this narrative over and over. I’m hopeful that as Serie A comes back from their winter break, games get played, and we see what Milan looks like with Cassano that this story won’t get pumped out over and over. The footy media seems less reliant on easily repeatable memes than the media who covers American sports...I think. I could just be imagining this. Still, it’s worth mentioning once and it’s certainly worth mentioning again if Cassano actually shags a teammate’s sister, but maybe this won’t happen.

Maybe, just maybe, chemistry is overrated. Maybe what really matters is having good footballers and good tactics. So far this season, Milan has had plenty of both. Does every championship winning side necessarily have to be a group of tight-knit guys who are willing to take bullets for each other? And who’s to say Milan can’t become one of those teams anyway?

Okay, that probably won’t happen.

Still, I’ve got a funny feeling that the Cassano as team killer meme is going to show its ugly head the first time Milan go two or three games without taking all three points when the real issue is the fact that so many of Serie A’s big teams have under-achieved in the first half of the season. Maybe when Juventus or Inter beats Milan, it’s because they’re actually the better team, not because Cassano is a raging jerk.

Or maybe Milan will win the title by 10 points.