Most of the players returned to Milanello on Friday to train in the cold. Many had been in warmer climates, vacationing during their break. Now they will train in the cold, play a friendly on Thursday, and then fly to Dubai on Sunday for a warm weather training camp. There, they will play a couple of friendlies, then probably another short break for Christmas. Then back to training in the cold, and another friendly ahead of the return of part two of this wacky season. Whoever thought that having a World Cup in the winter was a good idea was seriously delusional. And probably corrupt, too. (Looking at you, FIFA.) Obviously, the players are professionals, and they will make the best of it as they are adapting to the change in schedule.
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| How they adapt to this bizarre schedule could impact the second half our season |
Of the seven Milan players who went to Qatar, four remain in the knockout round as of this writing. Kjaer, De Ketelaere, and Dest have all booked their flights home. Today, Giroud, Theo Hernández, and Ballo-Touré;s national teams will all play their Round of 16 matches in win-or-go-home scenarios. Leão's Portugal side will play their match on Tuesday.
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| Giroud no doubt would like to actually break Thierry Henry's record before returning home |
Most of the players were back at Milanello on Friday and have been training together daily. Calabria, Maignan, and Saelemaekers trained separately as they are recovering from injuries.
The team will play their first winter friendly, a training match vs. Serie D side FC Lumezzane on Thursday. The match will be December 8th at 14:30 CET (8:30am EST in the U.S.) MilanTV is broadcasting this one, and it will likely also be available on the Milan App.
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| Pioli dreams of the warm weather in Dubai |
For their warm weather training camp, they will participate in the Dubai Super Cup. Milan will play the following friendlies on their goodwill tour of Dubai, as they meet and greet their fans in the UAE:
Arsenal vs. Milan • Tuesday, December 13th at 15:00 CET (9am EST in the U.S.)
Liverpool vs. Milan • Friday, December 16th at 16:30 CET (10:30am EST in the U.S.)
Milan are scheduled to return from Dubai on December 20th.
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| Flexible, adaptable, but can they handle the schedule and climate changes? |
Milan's final friendly of this year is scheduled to take place back in the colder climate, in the Netherlands:
PSV Eindhoven vs. Milan • Friday, December 30 at 18:15 CET (12:15pm EST in the U.S.)
Serie A returns on Wednesday, January 4th with a lunchtime game away to Salernitana.
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| Leao will be in for a shock when he finally returns to the cold |
While those who played with their national teams will undoubtedly get a little break before returning, the hope is that the players will stay fit during this bizarre and unprecedented winter break. All of the travel and the starting and stopping, as well as the extreme climate changes cannot be healthy for their bodies. But clearly, football is only about money anymore, the players are simply viewed as a commodity. Whether it is healthy or not, they are back in training and adapting to the change in schedule.
This post inspired by the music of The Beach Boys' "I'll Be Home for Christmas"
Reviewed by Elaine
on
12:29 AM
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