Milan have begun their pre-season training today, here are the three things spotted at Milanello.
Stefano Pioli’s men returned to work in the morning, barely a month after securing their 19th Scudetto. Not all the players showed up at the club’s training ground as those on international duty at the end of 2021-22 are still enjoying extra days of holiday.
New faces
New signing Yacine Adli was among the new faces at Milanello along with Tommaso Pobega, who has returned from his loan at Torino. Adli signed with Milan in a €10m deal a year ago but remained on loan at Bordeaux for 2021-22.
Olivier Giroud and Divock Origi will join their teammates tomorrow, but the ex-Liverpool striker will train separately from the group for at least 10 days, being still recovering from a muscle injury.
Youns El Hilali, 19, was among the youngsters joining the senior squad and scored the first goal of the season in a training match.
Here’s the list of players training at Milanello today:
Goalkeepers: Jungdal, Tătărușanu; Mirante;
Defenders: Coubis, Bartesaghi, Gabbia, Incorvaia, Michelis, Nsiala, Stanga, Kjær, Caldara;
Midfielders: Pobega, Brescianini, Adli, Eletu, Bakayoko, Gala;
Strikers: Castillejo, Brahim Díaz, El Hilali, D. Maldini, Rebić, Roback, C. Traoré.
Fans’ welcome
Thousands of fans welcomed the Rossoneri at Milanello on their first training day.
The Serie A champions were given a stunning reception from their ultras, who used flares and banners to welcome their heroes.
A picture of a Milan fan wearing a Radu shirt has become viral. The Inter goalkeeper made a decisive mistake against Bologna last season, allowing the Rossoneri to remain on top of the table and eventually win the title at the expense of their city rivals.
Maldini’s speech to fans
Last but not least, both Paolo Maldini and Stefano Pioli spoke to the media. The coach held a press conference after the training session, while Maldini released an interview with the club’s official TV.
The legendary defender warned his players that they should forget about title celebrations, remembering the team’s unity that helped them win the title last season.
Maldini, Pioli, and the team met a group of fans after the training session. “The guys achieved something extraordinary, but we’ve already left it behind,” Maldini said.
“We are all focused on the targets for this season: try to win the second star and be competitive.”
Are Caldara and Gabbia so terrible as footballers, that we need to spend 15m or whatever on a CB?
If we’re concerned about the former remaining fit just keep both of them. That’s 5 CBs.
Maldini, of all people, should know that the secret to good defences is familiarity. I have a theory that Staam cost us the league title and Champions League because he broke up the Nesta and Maldini partnership and caused us to rotate our defence – something that should be avoided at all costs. The secret to Pique, Ramos, Bonucci and Chiellini is that they played lots of games and weren’t rotated.
MH – Romagnoli is going, Kjaer may not be at full strength for months, Kalulu has been good but I fear his inexperience at CB at high level will hurt us in the champions league. A bit of extra competition in defense is always a good thing. If we keep the 5 sub rule this season the rotation will definitely give us an edge in UCL.
Why are Bakayoko and Castillejo still around? Please no more!!! Send them out.
@ Chris2 If we sign a CB it means we have to play them which will mean we either we drop Kalulu (for no reason other than “he lacks experience at CB in Champions League” (how does he get experience?)) or rotate (thus doing the one thing you shouldn’t do with CBs). Before we signed Staam, we had Martin Laursen as cover, and were better off because it meant we didn’t need to rotate Nesta and Maldini. Juve used to have Cáceres covering BBC which meant that those three could play more. This idea that we need super sized squads is nonsense. Rotation kills consistency, It’s just this modern obsession with the transfer market where directors feel they need 2 perfectly formed options for each position. It’s the same logic where youth team players have to outperform signings even though the former are free. Everything in modern football is viewed through the lens of the transfer market. To football’s detriment.