The
Guiness International Champions Cup is upon us, which means a series of three
friendlies spread out over two countries and twelve days, after which Milan
could, in theory, be crowned king of meaningless summer friendlies. Which is
about as exciting as writing this post looked to be for me. But then I
remembered we’re playing Valencia. The team with the bat on their logo. Holy summer friendly, Batman!
I realized that this preview could just find meaning after all, even if the
game might not. So without further ado, to the Batcave!
 |
| Nothing to fear, they're just a little batty |
The
bat in Valencia’s logo comes directly from the coat of arms of the city of
Valencia. The bat in that crest seems to have originated with King James the
First of Aragon around the 13th century. Scholars have a couple of theories as
to how it was added to the coat of arms, one being simply that there are a lot
of bats in the area. The other theory was that a bat was rumored to have landed
on the flag of King James I upon entering the city, and he considered it good
luck and had it added. My theory is that it is awesome. Totally wicked.
As
for the football part, I know much, much less. I know that the arch villain, coach
Miroslav Djukic, is going to bring Los
Murciélagos (the bats) to Estadio Mestalla on Saturday night. I’m pretty
sure he’s going to start eleven players. And those players are likely to come
from this list
and perhaps a B team or some youth players, too. Valencia finished 5th in La
Liga last season, and thus should be excellent competition for our Milan squad.
They have the added advantage of playing at home, the only team in the ICC
Tournament to do so (The only MLS team playing in the US is the Galaxy, and
they will play at Dodger Stadium rather than their home field of the Home Depot
Center in Los Angeles.) With that advantage, I expect a tough game. This is definitely no Gotham
City.
 |
| Antonini is not relishing another Spanish clash this week |
As
for Milan, Alfred… er… ummm… Allegri has all of his Superheroes back at
Milanello. Only Balotelli has run a fever of late, Abate is probably still out
injured, Saponara probably won’t be ready until midweek, and Allegri will
likely still not call up Muntari just yet. So probably at least those four
players down. Antonini tweeted the other day that he was fine and available to
the coach after his “I’m Batman!” moment
with Llorente. Also, there is the matter of testing out some new/younger
players as well as the primavera players who have been training with the squad.
Certainly, we have our share of Boy Wonders. With
Boateng and Urby still our most likely candidates for the trequartista
position, I expect our starting lineup to be more Joker,
less Riddler.
Whatever
the result, the awesomeness of this match cannot be overlooked. While the
Commissioner (aka Galliani) looks to reinforce the team, our Superheroes will
take on Los Che in a battle of good
and evil. Or at least a battle for a meaningless friendly title. This match has
all of the makings of a training match. But fire up that Batsignal
and get ready for action. This one is gonna be epic. (or something,
anyway.) To the Batcave!
This post inspired by the music of
the Batman Theme
Our next match is the
International Champions Cup First Round
Valencia vs. Milan
Saturday, July 27 • 20:00 CEST (2pm EDT)
This match will be shown on Fox Soccer Channel in the U.S.
Check here for stream links prior to the match
Note: this post was
written with all of the fervor and intensity of a summer preseason friendly.
However, I did provide numerous links for your entertainment, in red bold font,
within the post. You’re welcome.