Milan’s third kit and inclusivity

Dearest, here we are again. Perhaps for the last time, I was sent an offer to make this column a regular, weekly appointment: I asked to be paid in blondes, I meant beer, but given my Austrian past, I think I was misunderstood; In any case, we are in negotiations and I look forward to an answer. Having said that my apologies but I just couldn’t help but comment on that Milan’s new “inclusive shirt”.the third (this one, at least): a shirt that’s undeniably nicer than it is smart (cit.), and as a shirt it really sucks.

PUMA and Milan proudly claimed the initiative and “the kit color combination” that “celebrates the culture of inclusivity and diversity”: “The new third kit features an exclusive color scheme Gorgeous sparkling lime green, white, royal sapphire and majestic purple and is beautifully complemented by an elegant monochrome reproduction of the iconic club crest, a nod to AC Milan’s illustrious heritage». Now everything is clear. A mission(s) that AC Milan’s CSR and sustainability manager, Martino Roghi, also demands Wired Italy – which I now thought was bankrupt, but that was Vice instead (better than nothing, anyway):

«We are proud to note that the third kit already expresses the values ​​of the messages that, like Milan, we have wanted to spread for years through positioning on issues such as these (…) The players were excited because they are very important testimonials, committedand by our side in this work. Rafa Leão has always been at the forefront against discrimination, captain Davide Calabria pays close attention to these issues, especially environmental issues. And again Pobega, who wrote a thesis on Milan’s social responsibility».

“Footballers are young committed, modern, attentive and informed on issues that require public debate, and increasingly so It is from them that we receive input of this kind».

Footballers, young people notoriously trained in universities (and not in locker rooms), in political departments (and not on Instagram). Made and ready men, good and just. Above all, make a commitment, never be something you are not! With full awareness of the problems of our small society, of the planet and with an awareness of how we can solve them. So Roghi continues. «Now we don’t want to stop there, we want to do more together with the institutions: However, I have to say that the world of football is improving, mainly thanks to the players. Footballers behaved differently ten years ago, today there are many educated, attentive and informed».

Ahhh, they’re fine now. The company has definitely collapsed in the last ten years, every year we are less able to understand a text, less informed – whatever that means but then you should be misinformed as CB said if it is information – while footballers don’t they have acquired tools and a civic conscience. I really believe that Calabria explains the role low-carbon liquid fuels have to play in the energy transition. O Leao, which traces the stages of the Angolan War of Independence to break free from the cruel Portuguese colonial yoke.

The truth is that in the entertainment society, those responsible for spreading political messages are no longer intellectuals or parliamentarians: they are Sports Stars, Music Stars, Dolls of commercial/political positioning messages dropped from above and that they, Oh how good they are, how educated, how informed and engaged!, are committed to dissemination and may even believe they are making a difference. What else can I add, other than that I sometimes find it difficult to even portray it as a joke?

For example, when I read that Milan claim a shirt that says “much more than just a football shirt” because it “Truly a symbol of inclusion that celebrates the power of diversity“. The power of diversity... then you wonder why the book of a right-handed general, in which I think the title “The world is turned upside down” is the most appropriate (but I’ve never been a lover of the military, allow me, especially when they politicians), in short, they wonder why it’s climbing the charts and becoming the best-selling book on Amazon. It’s always the power of diversity, but here too in reverse.

Anyway, after finding out that Leao and Calabria had become the new Thuram and Sollier, I went to bed last night feeling a little groggy. I had a few glasses of whiskey, which paradoxically robbed me the nausea caused by the resumption of the championship – already? but really? And are you excited to see Frosinone-Naples on August 19th? Lucky for me – and then I fell asleep with the image of the shocking, not even shocking, pink/purple Milan kit.

So I dreamed of Rosi Bindi, just her, and me reacting like Berlusconi in the famous film Joke. This morning I wasn’t sure about anything anymore. I thought it was all a nightmare, even the shirt, instead I checked the Milan channels and found someone who looked like Wolverine and a couple of girls with indigo and fuchsia hair posing with the new shirt included. A kit that, by the way, has registered a boom of sales not seen in years. That brilliant reactionary Nicolás Gómez Dávila was right (read him instead of Carofiglio or Vannacci):

“There ugliness of an object is the prerequisite for its reproduction on an industrial scale.”

And indeed, that he could not see the inclusiveness of an object. What should I tell you anyway, friend *car*. I look forward to hearing from you soon. But now one thing has become clear to me: This column is not for everyone, especially for those who would like to take me to court, or even better, to a re-education center, between rainbows on the walls and Greta Thumberg’s tirades in the 24-hour loop. I think I’ve come to a conclusion: if this is inclusion, it’s definitely better than exclusion. Or at least exclusivity. To the good connoisseur…