MILAN: AC Milan’s joy at qualifying for the Champions League could be tempered by a desperate need for points in Italy’s Serie A, and the formidable challenge of on-form visitors Juventus tomorrow.
Seven-time winners Milan beat Serie A champions Juventus into the last 16 of Europe’s premier club competition with victory over Anderlecht on Wednesday.
But the Rossoneri’s feat in Brussels will do little to hide the fact their domestic form, compared to the Turin giants, leaves a lot to be desired.
After 13 games, Milan sit in the bottom half of the table with a 17-point deficit on Juventus (32), who have a four-point lead on Inter Milan with Napoli and Fiorentina a point further adrift in third and fourth.
Indeed, if not for the goalscoring talents of forward Stephan El Shaarawy, who has a league-leading tally of 10 goals — half of Milan’s total — the red and black would be in even worse shape.
“Is El Shaarawy the Milan team? He’s the one making the difference for them so, yes, I’d say he is,” Juventus forward Sebastian Giovinco told juventus.com.
Juve, on the other hand, could not be more comfortable.
Since suffering their first defeat in 50 games nearly three weeks ago, they have accounted for Pescara (6-1), dominated Lazio in a scoreless draw and left Chelsea’s Champions League hopes hanging by a thread after a 3-0 rout on Wednesday.
In the corresponding fixture with Milan last year Juventus prevailed 2-1 at the San Siro, with Milan holding the Old Lady to a 1-1 draw in Turin in February.
Milan defender Mattia De Sciglio said: “Sunday’s match against Juventus will be tough, especially with what happened last year. They’re one of the best teams in Italy.” Since their 3-1 reverse at home against Inter Milan, Juventus have been virtually unbeatable.
But what is billed as one of the biggest derbies in Italian football will be hard to predict. In their 77 previous Serie A matches at the San Siro Milan have won 26 times with Juve winning 18 and 33 matches ending in draws.
Coach Antonio Conte, whose lengthy touchline ban ends next month, is taking nothing for granted.
A Juventus win tomorrow meanwhile, would extend their lead over Inter to seven points ahead of the Nerazzurri’s trip to Parma on Monday, when Cagliari host Napoli.
Parma, who sit in ninth, will be hoping for at least a share of the points although Inter have at least two reasons to think otherwise.
Inter are still fuming after being held to a 2-2 draw at home to Cagliari last week when they they were denied a valid penalty claim late in the match. Inter also suffered a 1-0 Europa League defeat Thursday to Rubin Kazan.
Coach Andrea Stramaccioni will sit out a one-match suspension, handed down after he insulted the referee following the Cagliari game while striker Antonio Cassano begins the first of his two-game ban, handed down for the same reason.
Fixtures (all GMT)
Saturday: Palermo v Catania (1845)
Sunday: Chievo v Siena, Pescara v Roma, Sampdoria v Bologna, Torino v Fiorentina, Atalanta v Genoa (all 1300), AC Milan v Juventus (1845)
Monday: Cagliari v Napoli, Parma v Inter Milan.
Tuesday: Lazio v Udinese
Juventus out to bring Milan back down to earth
Juventus out to bring Milan back down to earth
San Siro prepares for last dance with Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony
- Friday’s ceremony will likely be the last major international sporting event hosted at a stadium which is so beloved it is nicknamed ‘Football’s La Scala’ after Milan’s historic opera house
- The iconic old ground is on course to be replaced by a shiny new arena after a century of hosting Inter Milan and AC Milan matches
MILAN: One of the world’s most famous stadiums is set for a last hurrah on the international stage with the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics at the San Siro on Friday.
Long considered one of the temples of football, the San Siro will introduce the Milan-Cortina Games to the world with a ceremony featuring an athletes’ parade held in all four “clusters” of a sprawling Olympics being held across a vast area of northern Italy.
But the iconic old ground is on course to be replaced by a shiny new arena after a century of hosting Inter Milan and AC Milan matches.
In September the local government of Italy’s economic capital approved a 197-million-euro ($229.5 million) sale of just over 28 hectares (70 acres) of public land, on which the San Siro sits, to the two clubs.
Inter and AC Milan will abandon the iconic ground once their new stadium is built, the idea being that it be finished in time to host matches at the 2032 European Championship to be jointly held in Italy and Turkiye.
The two Milan clubs — European football royalty now both owned by American investment funds — — are planning the construction of a modern 71,500-capacity stadium to the immediate west of the current San Siro, on an area currently occupied by matchday car parking and a local park.
Once the new ground is constructed, San Siro will be almost entirely demolished to make way for new parkland, office space and entertainment facilities.
The current stadium no longer meets European football governing body UEFA’s requirements to host major events and was denied the 2027 Champions League final.
That means Friday’s ceremony will likely be the last major international sporting event hosted at a stadium which is so beloved it is nicknamed “Football’s La Scala” after Milan’s historic opera house.
Milanese icon
The San Siro was inaugurated with a derby match between Inter and AC Milan on September 19, 1926 and over the years it has hosted World Cup and European Championship matches, as well as dozens of fixtures for the Italian national team.
Initially owned by AC Milan before being bought by the city in the 1930s, with Inter making it their home in 1947, the San Siro has been renovated several times, with the last major works being carried out ahead of the 1990 World Cup.
That restyling, which added a third tier to the stadium, gave the San Siro the futuristic look — with spiralling external columns and a striking red roof — that still catches the eye over three decades later.
The San Siro also doubles up as one of Italy’s premier concert venues, where some of the world’s biggest pop music stars have strutted their stuff since reggae icon Bob Marley became the first in 1980.
From the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, right up to contemporary superstars Beyonce and Taylor Swift, the stadium attracts massive crowds for summertime performances from international hit machines and local favorites like Grammy-winning rock band Maneskin.
The new stadium should it be built as scheduled by the end of 2030, but with a final project a long way from being approved by the city, nothing is certain, especially with local elections coming next year.
Politicians on the local and national stage have repeatedly expressed anger at the idea of knocking down a symbol of Milan and in 2023 succeeded in torpedoing a previous attempt by the clubs to build a new stadium on the same site.
