The Friendly Trofeo Naranja

Tomorrow’s friendly has a few intriguing twists to it. First of all, the bat in their crest inspires such ridiculous posts as this one from last year’s friendly. Second of all, there’s a trophy, the Trofeo Naranja, to be exact, only the trophy is not orange. But most intriguing will be the reception our own Adil Rami gets/gives from his former team after the meltdown which ultimately sent him our way.

Former Valencia captain Juan Mata holds the Trofeo Naranja, which ironically is not orange at all.

This Trofeo Naranja match will be the 17th time Valencia has hosted the tournament since 1959. It has varied in format, ranging from a competition between 2-4 teams, and Valencia have won the trophy seven times, including the last three. The last time the trophy was contended was vs. Porto in 2012, when Valencia won on penalties (the match goes straight to penalties if not decided by the end of 90 minutes.) But it’s a trophy. Something Milan are decidedly deficient in of late. 

Valencia will be tough to beat. Despite the fact that they also finished 8th last season in their league, they have a new owner, Peter Lim, who is going to be wanting success right away. They also have a new coach as of this summer, Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo. Let’s hope he does not invoke any kind of divine intervention with a name like that. (He actually goes by just “Nuno.”)

"So you're telling me I put these on my hands, and stand over there in front of that net?"

Milan… well I think at this point, any game Agazzi doesn’t play in does curb some of the drinking for Milan fans. The only goal conceded in Thursday’s friendly with Lega Pro side Pro Piacenza was on his watch. I mean the game was played behind closed doors, I don’t know how the goal happened, but doing the math, and it being scored while Agazzi was in goal, one can see how easy it is to come to that conclusion. But if you’re looking for Diego Lopez to play, he may not feature tomorrow, as he and Armero only trained with the team for the first time today.

As for Milan’s latest bad boy to fall in love with the team and behave (so far,) his Valencia tantrum just under a year ago saw him frozen out of the team and ultimately sent to us on loan. While it took a while to actually sign him permanently because of the sale of Valencia to Mr. Lim, he has been awesome for Milan, barring a few hijinks. He definitely has a penchant for pranks, but also seems to know where to draw the line (so far.) But how will he react to his former team? And more importantly, how will they react to him?

Is our Shrek reformed? How will he be welcomed by Valencia?

I don’t really have any expectations for this match, but winning would be cool. I mean it’s always good to win, especially when there’s a trophy involved. Even a non-orange Orange Trophy. Well I guess I do have one expectation… no injuries. So far, Inzaghi has been “lucky” enough to avoid the injury plague that followed Allegri around. Only time will tell if it’s his strict fitness and diet regime or just luck. But with a little luck, I guess tomorrow night we could still have no injuries. And hopefully a calm and well-behaved center back called Rami. And maybe even a trophy. It’s all good.

This post inspired by the music of Agent Orange

Valencia vs. Milan

Sunday, August 17 • 21:00 CEST (3pm EDT)

This game will be shown on BeIN Sport in the U.S.