By pouring so much energy into insults, Susy Campanale warns Inter and Milan fans are handing Romelu Lukaku and Gianluigi Donnarumma more power, ignoring the fact they are better off now.
“Vanity is as ill at ease under indifference as tenderness is under a love which it cannot return.” George Eliot.
Inter fans are preparing to hand out 50,000 whistles to the crowd at San Siro, to ensure a deafening screech every time Romelu Lukaku touches the ball on his first return to the arena in the Roma jersey. Having already ruined Italy’s match against Ukraine at the Stadio Meazza by jeering the goalkeeper who was representing them at the time, Milan ultras decided to spend an hour before kick-off in Paris hurling abuse at Gianluigi Donnarumma. It was a mere taster of what he will experience in the return fixture on November 7.
All this expanse of effort, so much energy that could otherwise be spent cheering on their own team, is going to be wasted on ugly insults. No doubt the ultras will also prepare huge, sweeping gestures of bitterness in their choreography in the stands before kick-off of both fixtures. Days of hard work all to flip the bird at someone in a flamboyant fashion.
These are both big games for the teams who are hosting. Inter are top of the Serie A table and Scudetto favourites, Milan desperately need a win against PSG to have any hope of staying in the Champions League. Yet nobody is going to be talking about these situations because all the focus is being sucked into the black hole of bile generated by fans who simply will not get over a snub.
With Inter, at least it is the first time Lukaku is facing them as an opponent, only months after the turnaround that he keeps assuring will be explained at some magical point. Milan supporters have absolutely no right to continue being this obsessed with Donnarumma’s decision to leave and it is just unhealthy at this stage.
Fine, he left as a free agent and robbed Milan of millions in a potential transfer fee, but that really is the extent of it. Given the opportunity, forgetting everything about the past, would they really prefer to have Donnarumma in goal now rather than Mike Maignan? They had an upgrade, the Italian’s development was stunted by playing for Paris Saint-Germain and being subjected to far harsher criticism than he had previously faced, so why keep harping on about it?
Donnarumma is not the first player to be tempted away by money, he will not be the last, and at the time he genuinely believed it was a better shot at winning the Champions League. Which it still very well may be, considering the performances of the Rossoneri so far this season.
The same really goes for Inter, are they worse off now without Lukaku and having brought in Marcus Thuram for free? Jose Mourinho was right when he said Lukaku is far more important for Roma than he ever was for the Nerazzurri. Let us not forget, he was benched for the Champions League Final against Manchester City because Edin Dzeko was a more effective front man.
The circumstances around Lukaku’s exit are still shrouded in all sorts of mysteries, including the involvement of Juventus, and I find it hard to believe that was purely about money. It certainly wasn’t about prestige if he ended up at Roma. I would’ve been more insulted by his decision to quit for Chelsea in the first place, yet he was welcomed back then with open arms.
If Inter and Milan fans really want to hurt Lukaku and Donnarumma, they ought to show nothing but total and utter indifference. Focus on cheering on your own players, the ones you would much rather have than the undearly departed. By making so much of an effort to insult those who left, you are only giving them more power, confirming how much they still live in your minds rent free. Let it go. You will feel much better and the rest of us won’t be deafened by those damn whistles.
Twitter: @SusyCampanale