A day in the life of covering Milan: Coppa Italia final [Bonus Article]
Join Isak as he looks back at his journey to the Italian capital for work duties, in a so-called ‘a day in the life of’ format.
For the Coppa Italia final between AC Milan and Bologna, I travelled to Rome to experience the action in person. However, unlike Oliver who attended the game as a fan, I secured my ticket in the press box. Join me as I look back at my journey to the Italian capital, in a so-called ‘a day in the life of’ format.
Press accreditation and planning
It might not sound like the most interesting thing, but the whole accreditation process definitely deserves a mention for how bizarre it can be at times. Normally, when Milan play games at San Siro or away in European competitions, it's the club that handles all media accreditation requests. Since we are on good terms with Milan (so far!), we are more or less guaranteed a spot for every game.
For the Coppa Italia final, however, it was Lega Serie A that handled all of the accreditation requests. Oli and I both wanted to go but decided that it would be best for me to go in the press box, and him in the stands, since I have a press card that is issued by authorities in Sweden (increased legitimacy in the eyes of Lega Serie A). Not because it's from Sweden, but because Oli doesn't have a press card.
In any case, the deadline for the accreditation requests closed on May 7th (yes, just a week before the game). It might be good enough for domestic journalists but in order to grow globally, this is something Lega Serie A should look at changing. I ended up getting a response on the afternoon of May 8th (yes, less than a week before the game), and even though I was glad it got accepted, you can imagine the logistical nightmare of planning the trip.
With all of the stuff going on in Rome, from the death of the Pope to the Italian Open (tennis) and the Coppa Italia final, hotel prices were already very high from the start. And they were selling out fast as well, at least those within decent range of the stadium (like 30-40 min walk). The good thing here is that you can just book a hotel with free cancellation, but finding the right option under time pressure is no easy thing. And I don't know Rome, really.
At the same time, I needed to start looking at flights even before my accreditation was accepted. I obviously couldn't book those in advance so the prices ended up being rather high, though not outrageous as I came in around €380 for return flights with layovers. It's a shame that there was no direct flight with RyanAir (my usual go-to) that suited my plan, as I then probably could have got direct return flights for around €100-150.
If you're American and reading this, I know that €380 is still pretty cheap, but we have become used to so much lower prices in Europe in the last ten years or so. The premium element as far as choosing a more reputable airline is pretty much non-existent in my opinion too. Anyway, enough about the flights, I'm sure you might be wondering how we handle these costs at SempreMilan.
