Milan have traveled to Austria to face SK Rapid Wien for our first friendly of the summer season. If this seems quick, it is, as Fonseca has only had two weeks to train the players he has available, not including those who played for their national teams since the season ended. But the team are leaving on Thursday for their preseason tour in the U.S., so this will give the new manager an idea of what he has to work with until the other players return. For Milan fans, what would have been an ordinary preseason friendly becomes our first chance to see what Fonseca has been working on with our players, a type of rapid response to the big changes.
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| It's a friendly, but all eyes will be on him. |
This friendly with Austrian giants SK Rapid Wien was actually set up because both teams are celebrating their 125th birthdays this season, as both clubs were formed in 1899. Rapid are comparable to Juventus in Serie A, in that they have won the most titles in the Austrian Bundesliga. Interestingly enough, they are also twinned with Venezia, who are back in Serie A this season. But Milan are their birthday twin, so it is off to Hũtteldorf and the Allianz Stadion to face the Die Grũn-Weißen (the Green-Whites.)
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| New kit, new season, 125th celebration. |
Milan travel with the knowledge that, nearly three weeks into the transfer window, they finally signed a player. That player is 31 year-old Álvaro Morata, formerly of Juventus and Chelsea. He is also the captain of the Spanish national team, and just won Euro 2024 on Sunday, so we actually won't see him until probably after the U.S. tour in August due to his vacation time. Also just announced in between winning in his second tournament of the summer for Italy, Francesco Camarda signed his first professional contract today. After watching all our rivals (if not every other Serie A team) efficiently and effectively reinforce their teams already his summer, and after months of transfer rumors, this announcement was incredibly anticlimactic, and felt almost cynical.
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| Welcome to Milan, Morata. |
While friendlies are never to be taken seriously, Fonseca will be scrutinized very closely in this one, due to the way in which Pioli's tenure ended and the uncertainty of the new tactician's ability to take on a team like Milan and oversee the whole project with the new U23 team, too. There is also a lot of excitement, hoping that the new Paulo Fonseca Era will bring better football and more success to this club than the past two years since RedBird bought the club. For this match, he has called up:
Goalkeepers: Sportiello, Torriani, Longoni
Defenders: Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori, Thia, Gabbia, Florenzi, Terracciano, Álex Jímenez
Midfielders: Adli, Pobega, Loftus-Cheek, Saelemaekers, Bonomi
Forwards: Cuenca, Chukwueze, Chaka-Traorè, Liberali, Daniel Maldini, and Colombo
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| Getting ready for the upcoming season. |
I am sure that, given the history involved, there will be undoubtedly be a little more fanfare for this one than a normal friendly. But it must be said that this is still just a friendly, and we need to remember that not only does Fonseca not have his reinforcements yet, he is still missing eight players, most of them starters. However, it will be nice to see them start out with those who have been working preseason now that he is settled in.
Who knows? Perhaps Fonseca will finally get some decent recognition for the work he has been doing this first couple of weeks. Or maybe Milan will see, in spite of the precious little time he has had with them, that they need to make a lot more good signings. Whether or not this is a rapid response friendly or a PR stunt, either way, Milan should still have the opportunity to see what they can do with the team they have so far. Because Milan fans will definitely be focused on the football.
Our next match is a Friendly
Reviewed by Elaine
on
3:00 AM
Rating:
