THE ROSSONERE READY TO BEGIN THEIR COPPA ITALIA JOURNEY

The Rossonere will start their Coppa Italia journey against Cesena tomorrow knowing that the competition has a new format this season: they’ll need to progress through a group stage phase before they'll be involved in any knockout ties. AC Milan Women were drawn in Group F with Cesena and Orobica and will begin by playing at the Impianto Sportivo Martorano, where the current second-place team in Serie B (two points behind table-toppers Ravenna) play. It was a match that was meant to take place at the beginning of the month but which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group stage of the 2020/21 Women’s Coppa Italia involves 24 teams divided into eight groups of three, with each side scheduled to play each other once (two fixtures for each team). The respective matches will take place at the home of the lowest-ranked team from last season, meaning the Rossonere will face Cesena and then Orobica, who finished bottom of Serie A last year, away from home. This doesn’t make matters easier for our girls, although it shouldn’t stop them from displaying their superiority in terms of quality, strength and experience. The points at stake have become even more important after Orobica’s 1-0 victory over Cesena took them to the top of the group.

The Rossonere will head into Thursday’s game on the back of a precious 1-0 win against Roma at Vismara, and Coach Ganz could choose to make several changes, giving playing time to those who haven’t featured as much. Julia Simic is one such player: the German midfielder, who was a notable summer signing, has remained on the bench for AC Milan’s most recent matches and is eagerly waiting to make her competitive debut.

In previous editions of the competition, the Rossonere have never managed to lift the trophy, nor have they made it to the final. In 2018/19, they lost their semi-final showdown against Juve over two legs (1-2 in Monza and 1-1 in Vinovo), while the coronavirus put paid to their chances of overturning a 2-1 quarter-final home defeat to Fiorentina in 2019/20. Going all the way in the Coppa Italia is certainly an objective this season.

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