Squawka
·15 juillet 2024
Rapid Wien vs AC Milan live stream and team news
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Squawka
·15 juillet 2024
AC Milan begin their pre-season preparations with a friendly against Austrian side Rapid Wien on Saturday at 4:30pm (UK Time).
The Rossoneri are beginning a new era after the departure of Stefano Pioli, who won the 2021/22 Serie A title with the club. He’s been replaced by Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca, who returns to Italy where he previously managed Roma between 2019 and 2021, while he was most recently in charge of French side Lille.
Rapid Wien finished fourth in the Austrian Bundesliga last season, while they also lost the Austrian Cup final to Sturm Graz for the second season running.
Although he’ll always be loved for delivering a Scudetto, there’s no doubt things became a little stale for Piolo toward the end of his reign at AC Milan, with supporters accusing him of lacking imagination and tactical flexibility.
New man Fonseca will have no such problems, often heralded as a coach unafraid to try new tactical approaches. The Portuguese tactician has a point to prove with this his 12th senior management job to date, with his only major honours coming in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk, and the 2016 Taca de Portugal with Braga.
Fonseca himself has promised to, at the very least, entertain Milan supporters.
“I think in life you need to risk and that means having the courage to be different. We coaches have an obligation to people who love football, which is not just to win, but to have a ‘form’ that gets them passionate,” he said.
“We must create a spectacle and to do that we need courage, for those we work with to have courage and experience football with joy. That is my way of thinking. I think it’s fundamental we create a strong sense of identity within the team, which allows us to have quality in our play and ambition to win every game.”
Rapid Wien have made a number of signings this summer, with the most familiar one for English audiences being Hungary international full-back Bendeguz Bolla on a free from Wolves. Forward Fally Mayulu has joined Bristol City, while Austria international defender Leopold Querfeld has moved to Union Berlin.
As for Milan, they’ve signed talented Spanish right-back Alex Jimenez from Real Madrid, while seeing the likes of Charles De Ketelaere, Rade Krunic, Olivier Giroud and Mattia Caldara all leave the club.
Rapid Wien vs AC Milan is being played at Allianz Stadion in Vienna. The match kicks off on Saturday, 20th July, at 4:30pm (UK time) and will be broadcast live in the UK on Premier Sports 2 and Premier Sports Player.