Several AC Milan players will jet off around the world during the international break to represent their national teams.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, the 13 Milan squad members called up to their national teams during the break will travel over 100,000 kilometres. There are no statistics on international travel during international breaks, but for a modern club, it’s very rare to have six players playing overseas.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
To be more precise, Milan’s roster includes a sextuplet who will play in games on different continents: Mike Maignan, Adrien Rabiot, Alexis Saelemaekers, Koni De Winter, Luka Modric and Christian Pulisic.
The big travellers
The travel issue is highly topical because Napoli-Milan after the break is such a big game. Massimiliano Allegri would love to avoid having tired players or, worse, with physical problems.
In the past it’s happened: during the October break, Saelemaekers, Rabiot, Estupinan, Pulisic and Nkunku all got injured. This time, the World Cup is the real threat: in anticipation of the competition, many friendlies are being organised in the United States in March.
So, Rabiot and Maignan’s France will play in Boston and Washington, Saelemaekers and De Winter’s Belgium in Atlanta and Chicago, and Modric’s Croatia in Orlando. Then, of course, Pulisic’s United States will be at home, in Atlanta.
Almost all of the starters will depart. The exception is Fofana, who hasn’t been called up for the France match, as well as Leao, who is injured and has gone abroad for treatment. Bartesaghi, Tomori – who has returned to the England squad – Pavlovic, and Odogu are also scheduled to travel.
The real good news for Allegri is the return dates. The last to play will be the Belgians plus Pulisic and Modric, on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. This means they can be at Milanello on Friday and will have three days to get back into shape and prepare for Monday’s match in Naples.
Here, a lot will depend on each player’s physical condition. Some players naturally recover quickly, others need more time. Milan fans are hoping that Croatian coach Dalic will spare Modric the second match, but then they look at the schedule and see that the second match is Brazil-Croatia.
