Ritiro Returns [Newsletter]

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Jan 10, 2025

It may be a tad difficult after such a wild few days, but AC Milan now need to return to reality as the clash against Cagliari beckons. After all, the big goal of Sergio Conceicao is to turn things around in the league and without a win to start things off, the enthusiasm would take a big beating. Therefore, it’s not surprising to see the pre-game ritiro making a return.

For those of you who are unaware of the term, a ritiro means that the players stay at the training ground/same hotel between training sessions, not allowed to go to their respective homes. This is commonly imposed during a poor run of form, more so for big teams, and Milan’s last proper ritiro was under Gennaro Gattuso (of course) in 2018-19, lasting for around five days in an attempt to discipline the players.

There is also a much more common ‘light version’ of the ritiro on the eve of games, with the entire team staying at a hotel/training ground. However, this was scrapped by Stefano Pioli immediately after his appointment in 2019, allowing the players to sleep at home as long as they were present for breakfast. There would always be the team meeting at Melia Hotel, close to San Siro, but they almost always slept at home.

Here is where Conceicao comes in. The Portuguese manager has decided to bring back the pre-match ritiro and this means that the players will sleep at Milanello tonight ahead of the game against Cagliari. It seemed to work well in Saudi Arabia, which was effectively a mini-ritiro, so one can certainly understand why Conceicao wants to continue like this.

In addition to the pre-match ritiro, there will be one training session every day - rather than some days with two - and the players will be weighed ahead of each session. Furthermore, they aren’t allowed to leave Milanello before 2 pm even if there is just a session in the morning. The ‘strict rules’ that were vaguely mentioned when Conceicao first arrived are thus starting to emerge.

Enough about the rules, though, as all eyes will be on the final result tomorrow. Milan have had their fair share of struggles against smaller sides this season and it’s one of the things that Conceicao must turn around. We can all remember how the reverse fixture ended 3-3, following some sloppy defending that the new manager would have been furious about, and a statement must be sent tomorrow.

It sounds a bit silly given that Cagliari are in 17th place with as many points, but these are the type of fixtures that have haunted us for some time now. In short, the win is the most important thing tomorrow as the situation in the standings requires it, but better implementation of the tactics would also be nice. Perhaps the defensive discipline will improve now that Emerson Royal is suspended…

News Bulletin

➤ Milan Futuro were unable to kickstart their year with a win against Athletic Carpi, as they were held to a dull 0-0 draw. Daniele Bonera’s side remain in the bottom three. Andrea Magrassi became the first January signing one week ago, and more are expected.

➤ Speaking of dull draws, Milan Primavera began their 2025 with a 0-0 draw against Lazio on Saturday. However, on Wednesday night they made up for it with a dramatic penalty shootout win over Genoa to reach the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia, where they will face Inter.

➤ The stars of the Supercoppa Italiana final were Theo Hernandez, Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham. Theo is apparently close to renewing, Leao is one of Conceicao’s main missions, Pulisic has hit double digits in goals again and Abraham’s future is being negotiated over.

➤ Transfer news round-up: Noah Okafor is on the verge of a move to RB Leipzig, Marcus Rashford seems to be the number one target for the attack, Sporting CP’s Francisco Trincao is the alternative, a meeting was held with Reda Belahyane’s agent, Arda Güler’s name is being floated again and Samuel Chukwueze interests Aston Villa.

➤ Our features over the past week include a look at why Milan have rolled the dice with a mid-season coaching change, a column on why Zlatan Ibrahimovic is learning on the job at the wrong time and an interview with a Porto journalist about what to expect from Sergio Conceicao.

➤ There is even more on offer in terms of long reads, including a look into the pursuit of Rashford and the three crucial factors that the Milan management must consider, and why the leadership seem ready to fully back Coneiciao already which could change the transfer plans.