Hoops march on in Cup
THE contrast in Europa League opponents could not have been greater for Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk. The Hoops landed a club everyone in football is familiar with, AC Milan, while Dundalk were paired with unknowns from Andorra, Inter Club d’Escaldes.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic squeezing another season out of his 38-year-old legs for a cool €7million, this is a 10/10 glamour tie for Rovers, just like against mighty Juventus in 2010.
In terms of advancing to the third qualifying round and banking another €280,000, however, it was Dundalk who drew the winning ticket as the Pyreneean outfit were the lowest ranked club in the section of the draw reserved for champions.
Dundalk are away on September 17 and while Andorra is on the Irish Government’s green list, it has no airport, and can only be accessed via Spain or France, neither of which are ‘green’ for go for Irish visitors.
At this stage, the most likely venue for the champions under Filippo Giovagnoli will be one of UEFA’s neutral hubs.
As Hungary closes its doors to all foreigners from today, a trip to Greece beckons with four venues suggested for the tie, in either Athens, Larissa, Patras or Zante.
For Rovers and Stephen Bradley, it’s straightforward as they will host the decorated Italian giants behind closed doors in Tallaght Stadium on September 17 for the one-off tie.
With 18 Serie A titles and seven triumphs in the European Cup/ Champions League, AC Milan are recognised as one of the giants of Italian and European football.
They scaled the peaks of Europe in the late 1980s and early ’90s, capturing five league titles between 1988 and ’96, and three European Cups, in 1989, ’90 and ’94 under Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello.
That team was dappled with such household names such as Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta, Van Basten Gullit, Donadoni, Ancelotti, Tassotti and Massaro.
The current ranks of the Rossoneri are not so illustrious, as reflected in a modest sixth-place finish in Serie A under Stefano Pioli last season, although Ibrahimovic needs little introduction.
Approaching 39, the Swede is adamant he can play a big part in leading Milan back among the elite of Italian football after 10 goals in 18 games last season – their new campaign kicks off in Dublin 24.
‘I’m not here to be a mascot. I’m here to bring results and to help the team, the coach and the squad return to where Milan should be.
‘We had a great last six months but we haven’t won anything. This year I’ve got the chance to be here from the start so we’ve got to continue like we were, working hard and sacrificing ourselves to reach our goals,’ said Ibrahimovic.
Denmark defender Simon Kjaer is familiar to Ireland fans from recent World Cup and Nations League battles, Daniel Maldini is son of the legendary full-back Paolo, while captain Allessio Romagnoli is a current Italian international.
In terms of the world’s richest clubs, as ranked by Forbes magazine, Milan have fallen from a high of fifth in 2007, the year they last won the Champions League, and sixth as recently as 2013, to 18th as of June this year.
Valued at $583m, they are immediately below West Ham ($616m) and one above Everton ($476m). Their last Champions League involvement was in 2013-14 and they were ranked a lowly 13th in the second round draw.
AC Milan have only met Irish opponents once before, in 1975, when Giovanni Trapattoni tiptoed through the muddy St Mel’s car park in his fancy shoes for a UEFA Cup tie against Athlone Town. That game finished scoreless but Athlone old-timers still recall Jon Minnock’s 70th minute penalty, which was saved by Enrico Albertosi.
As for Rovers, they were involved in an astonishing penalty drama of their own in last week’s first round win over Ilves Tampere.
Right now, you’d imagine they’d be satisfied with taking their chances in another shootout against the Italian aces.