Everything you need to know as a Milan eye trophy

AC Milan begin their Supercoppa Italiana journey on Friday against Juventus, so let’s go over the key information behind the tournament.

It’s been a difficult couple of seasons for Milan and with this season following the same trend, Sergio Conceicao will aim to bring some silverware back to Italy in the Supercoppa.

In a four-team competition, the Rossoneri will face Juventus before playing the winner of Inter-Atalanta in the final should they get past Thiago Motta’s side in the semi-finals.

So let’s get into some of the key details of the tournament and what’s at stake for the Rossoneri.

The schedule

First of all, we need to look at when the Rossoneri are scheduled to play in the competition. Conceicao’s page traveled to Saudi Arabia yesterday ahead of Friday’s clash (January 3) against the Bianconeri – which takes place at 20:00 CET (22:00 local time).

Should they be successful in that game, they will face the winner of Inter-Atalanta (which will be played on Thursday, meaning the Rossoneri will know their potential opponents before they play) on Monday, January 6 at 20:00 CET (22:00 local time).

Milan will then return to Italy to prepare for the match against Cagliari on 11 January.

The big prize

At present there is a drought of silverware for the Rossoneri, which has not been helped by Inter’s recent successes. The last sight of a trophy came in 2022, when the side lifted the Scudetto, so there is a dream to win something at this opportunity.

Looking specifically at this competition, it’s been eight years since Milan last lifted the Supercoppa – doing so in 2016. Giacomo Bonaventura’s 38th-minute equalizer wasn’t enough to spur more goals in normal time, but the Rossoneri prevailed penalty despite Gianluca Lapadula missing the first kick.

If Conceicao’s side are successful in Saudi Arabia, it would be the eighth time the Diavolo have won the competition and their fourth since the turn of the millennium.

A big purse

To qualify for the tournament, the Rossoneri have automatically pocketed €1.6 million, which is a start, but their eyes will already be on a bigger prize.

€16 million has been allocated to the teams for the tournament, so there is a boost available to the teams and reaching the final is the minimum for the Diavolo, considering they will get €5 million just for a loss.

Should they win against Inter or Atalanta, that figure will rise to €8m, meaning the prize for winning the competition will be almost €10m, a figure that could be significant in the case of renewals, or even for January expenses.