Massimiliano Allegri wants to waste no time in his second spell with AC Milan, and he has set up an intense preseason.
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As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report this morning, Allegri wants his Milan to be ‘immediately at the Max’. There will be no exceptions and no soft starts, because the Rossoneri need to erase a 2024-25 in which they finished in eighth places and missed out on Europe entirely.
It is forbidden to make another mistake. The insurance for the fans is the coach: he chose to return to Milanello because he strongly believes in a two-year project that, in the event of positive results, can also be extended until 2029.
In addition, Max has an incredible desire for redemption after a season as a spectator and the way in which 2023-24 ended with Juventus, namely with the success in the Coppa Italia, but also with the dismissal.
Double sessions and group work
Allegri has brought forward the ‘raduno’ by a few days, which before his arrival was set for around July 9th. Now the players’ meeting for the fitness tests is scheduled for Friday 4th and Saturday 5th.
On Sunday 6th everyone will sleep at Milanello because on the morning of Monday 7th there will be the first training session, followed by the afternoon one. Max will use an average of two sessions per day.
He will take the great heat into account when setting the start time of the work in the training complex, but he does not intend to make too many concessions. The team must get used to suffering, to holding on, to giving their all even during the week.
Not having the European competitions will make the preparation for the league games easier, but Max certainly will not be soft in the Autumn and Winter sessions, while the other big teams will be busy traveling around Europe.
The internationals, who at the end of last season played World Cup or UEFA Nations League qualifiers, will join with a few days delay, but they will all be there when Milan’s charter takes off on the 19th for the tour of Asia and Australia.
Before that, however, almost two ‘full’ weeks of work are planned at Milanello. It is obvious that during this period at least one friendly against a ‘weaker’ opponent will be scheduled because the first test will certainly not be the one in Singapore against Arsenal on the 23rd.
It does not matter too much if the new signings arrive later, including Luka Modric, who will take a bit of vacation after the Club World Cup with Real Madrid. The former Juventus coach will provide the athletic and playing base from day one. Whoever arrives later will catch up.
Advantages and rules
When Milan begin training, Inter and Juventus may still be busy with the Club World Cup in the United States. Then both the Bianconeri and the Nerazzurri will have to unplug to give the players a rest, tired from an endless season.
Clearly neither Chivu nor Igor Tudor have set the date for the resumption of training for 2025-26. In this respect, the Diavolo have a good advantage, at least in terms of freshness in the first two days of the league: this is why distractions are not allowed.
With a director of Igli Tare’s experience, able to ‘protect’ the dressing room but also to keep everyone in line, and with the active Italian coach who has won more Scudetti than anyone else on the bench, what happened in 2024-25 must be reset from day one.
There will be maximum attention paid to schedules, weight, and the rules that each changing room has (and which will be strictly respected). The players have received a work program for the holidays because Allegri and his staff expect them to show up not in ideal physical conditions, but still in good shape. Like all professionals.
The goal that will be set will be to regain qualification for the Champions League. This is the bare minimum and it is no coincidence that Max’s contract did not include a bonus for entry into the main European competition in 2026-27.
This concept will also be made clear and peremptory to the players. Both from the club – with CEO Giorgio Furlani and Tare at the forefront – and above all from Allegri. Milan are in a hurry to restart and return to the top.