The absence of the Curva Sud certainly made the raduno at Milanello a little less noisy and colourful, but it was still a day with a lot of smiles.
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Without those who have been at the World Cup, the 26 players called up by Ruben Amorim met for breakfast in the morning, underwent physical tests, had lunch together and in the late afternoon, held their first training session in front of the fans.
The Rossoneri’s preseason also began with the entire management team in attendance, especially Gerry Cardinale, who once again confirmed his desire to be close to the team and Amorim.
Ruben’s raduno
Corriere della Sera (via MilanNews) recall this morning that the owner arrived by helicopter, and thoughts immediately turned to Silvio Berlusconi. However, Cardinale had no intention of imitating the former Milan president, but rather wanted to get to Milanello as quickly as possible.
Cardinale spoke at length with the Portuguese coach and then had lunch with the team, sitting next to Matteo Gabbia. He then spent time with the younger players like Francesco Camarda and Christian Comotto, as well as the latest signing Mario Gila.
Speaking of new signings, this afternoon saw a surprise visit from Gonçalo Ramos, who was welcomed by Cardinale and Amorim at the front entrance to the training complex. The striker is still on vacation after the World Cup but is in the city to look for apartments, and paid the team a visit.
Cardinale then left the training ground around 17:00 CEST, shortly before the start of training in front of the fans, who revealed the first signs of the Milan of the future: intensity, at least five players up front, and a 3-4-2-1 formation.
The first goal of the ‘new season’ (a practice match, 11v11) was scored by Andrej Kostic, the 19-year-old Montenegrin striker who arrived from Partizan Belgrade and was one of the surprises from day one.