AC Milan

AC Milan’s Champions League quest — viewed as a necessity following their outrageous summer spending — is all but doomed following a scoreless draw with Inter Milan in the 168th Serie A edition of the Derby della Madonnina. Following today’s result, Milan still sit eight points back of Inter in fourth place with only eight matches remaining.

The scene at the San Siro before kickoff was exactly what you’d expect from one of the world’s fiercest derbies. Here’s the tifo from the Milan fans in the Curva Sud.

If last week’s round of Serie A fixtures was dominated by tragedy, then this week’s matches were defined by flashes of beauty peering through the gloom. Across a number of games, there were flashes of brilliance which pierced through the fog for vastly different reasons. Even if, ultimately, the moments meant nothing, the surge of emotion and energy was undeniable.

Let’s begin with the most astounding of all.

We were all wrong. Let’s take a moment to come together, as a community, and admit that we all assumed the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso as AC Milan manager was absurd to the point of hilarity. Our sides were splitting. Our guffaws echoed along the corridors of the internet. We laughed and we laughed and we laughed. 

But we were all wrong. 

You see, it turns out that Gattuso might just be exactly what Milan needed. 

For the first time since the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League Round of 16, Arsenal have been drawn against AC Milan in European competition. But, with the encounter now taking place in the Europa League and the added coinkydink of both sides sitting sixth domestically (both are also eight points back of fourth place), there’ll be a lot of glorious nostalgia mixed with contemporary handwringing before the San Siro first leg on March 8.

This is the end of an era. Ronaldinho, the last remaining active player not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to have won the Ballon d'Or, one of the most joyous and fun footballers of all time, has officially hung up his cleats.

Dinho hasn't actually played competitive football since 2015, but his retirement rules out any chance of a return. Unless, of course, he returns.