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.
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| 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.”)
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| "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?
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| 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.