I wake up with a strange uneasy feeling, that feeling you have when the last thing before you wake up is a bad dream that is almost forgotten in the haze of morning. But I can’t remember why I feel like this, almost hungover and with a sinking feeling in my gut. Inter won, Palacio scored a brace. Things are good. Right?
And then it hits me. Diego Milito covering his face, tears streaming down and features twisted in agony. It wasn’t a bad dream, it was much worse. Il Principe twisting his knee yesterday evening looked horrid, but I was still hopeful trying to think about how Deki had suffered a similar twist and was playing ten days later. But as I saw the replays of Milito going down all I could do was look down at my own scarred knees and think, it looks like when I tore my ACL:s. And without even noticing I was wiping tears from the corners of my eyes.
As if the injury and expected six to nine months of rehab were not terrible enough I had suddenly realized one thing. What if that was the last time we saw il Principe on the pitch? Would the last memory of Milito be that sad heart wrenching moment in the grass? I refuse to believe that. I hope that the symbol of the Triplete, Diego Milito will once again wear the most beautiful jersey in the world. That I will once again stand in the San Siro stands bellowing out il numero ventidue Diego Alberto MILITO!
For many of us the game vs Cluj came in second hand after the injury, so it is easy to forget one thing. We saw the birth of a rising star in the Inter jersey. Mateo Kovacic was subbed in the 87th minute to a standing ovation from the difficult san Siro crowd. A very deserved one at that, because who could believe that this kid who played so mature is only 18? I guess the most hated man in the Inter family Branca once again did something good ey? Or should we ascribe this signing to Ausilio just to be able to keep hating?
The second positive note of the evening was of course Rodrigo Palacio scoring again, he will be crucial in the coming months considering Milito’s absence. Palacio and Antonio Cassano will not be getting much rest the remainder of the season, so hopefully Tommaso Rocchi will show he was not a botched signing.
Today is tough no doubt about it, but considering the hardships of this season things still look good. Third place is still very much within our grasp, and that was the main objective all along.
And to my friends who cannot understand why I get teary eyed when a football player injures himself, I just tell them they don’t understand. It might be sentimental crap to some, but the nerazzurri were my first love. This is a passion that unlike others has not faded with the years, but grown stronger and Milito is synonymous with the 22nd of May 2010. So no this is not just football, it is much more than that cari amici nerazzurri. Amala!
Babilona Khosravi