After a summer transfer campaign geared towards success both domestically and continentally, Milan’s quest for an eighth Champions League gong starts on Wednesday, when they host an Auxerre side very much at the opposite end of the economic spectrum at this level.
The Rossoneri have spent lavishly over the summer, capturing the signatures of Zlatan Ibrahimovic (albeit on loan) and Robinho amongst others, yet simply opening the chequebook is little guarantee of success. Coach Massimiliano Allegri discovered this at the weekend, when Cesena proved too good for the Diavoli, running out 2-0 winners at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi.
“It is difficult to find positives tonight,” the coach declared after the fixture to Sky Sport Italia. “To win and fight for titles you cannot play with the attitude we displayed out there. We must learn to fight for every ball and be prepared to sacrifice more.”
Luca Antonini has already indicated the dangers of showing a similarly lackadaisical attitude in midweek. “Auxerre are a cheeky team who run a lot, but we must focus on doing well against the French side,” he declared to Milan Channel. “We need to make a good impression in front of the people who will follow and support us.”
Incredibly, Milan haven’t won a home European fixture in nearly two years, a run that captures six matches in total. Against Auxerre, however, the Serie A club do have experience of victory at the San Siro, though that comes 25 years ago, when the Rossoneri turned around a 3-1 first leg deficit by claiming a 3-0 home victory.
Dream Group
Having battled through heroically in the play-off stages against a Zenit St. Petersburg side previously on an outrageously long unbeaten streak, one could forgive Auxerre’s players if they were a little disappointed at being placed in a group from which they have virtually no chance of progression. But the men from Burgundy instead simply chose to grin when pulled out alongside Milan, Real Madrid and Ajax – three of the continent’s most storied club sides.
“This is the group of death and we are the underdogs, no doubt about it,” prolific Polish international striker Ireneusz Jelen exclaimed to the media. “Then again, I always dreamed about playing against teams like Real Madrid, AC Milan and Ajax.
“Getting into the group stage means realising my biggest footballing ambition. This is sport and anything can happen, but to be realistic we will be battling for third place.”
Auxerre only sneaked into the top three in Ligue 1 in the very last seconds of last term, with Cedric Hengbart scoring a dramatic late winner against Sochaux to push AJA back into Europe’s elite level, from which they’ve been absent since 2002.
Already the Champions League has proven to be something of a distraction from the domestic game. The Burgundy club have yet to record their first win of the season in France’s top flight, lingering towards the foot of the table with four draws to their credit after five games. Benoit Pedretti seemed to have done enough to give them a first success of the term against Caen on Saturday night, but the Stade Abbe-Deschamps club were pegged back at the last moment.
Even such a late blow will not be able to take the winds from their sails ahead of this mouth-watering opportunity.
TEAM NEWS
Milan
Thiago Silva suffered a muscular strain on Saturday against Cesena and is unlikely to feature in this encounter. Daniele Bonera is therefore expected to start alongside Alessandro Nesta after Sokratis Papastathopoulos’ lamentable weekend performance.
Clarence Seedorf is expected to be available to coach Allegri but Mathieu Flamini is still missing.
Robinho didn’t start at the weekend, coming off the bench to replace Ronaldinho, and it would seem unlikely ‘the Big Four’ would all start this encounter.
Probable Starting XI: Abbiati; Zambrotta, Bonera, Nesta, Antonini; Ambrosini, Pirlo, Seedorf; Pato, Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho
Auxerre
Roy Contout is suspended after picking up a couple of yellow cards in the play-off encounter against Zenit St. Petersburg, but he is by no means an automatic pick for Jean Fernandez.
Alexandre Licata, meanwhile, was recently told he may be forced to retire if the ankle injury that has been plaguing him for over a year cannot be operated upon.
Ireneusz Jelen, Stephane Grichting and Valter Birsa were all benched at the weekend after playing two international matches in the previous week. All three will be recalled.
Probable Starting XI: Soirn; Hengbart, Coulibaly, Mignot, Grichting; Pedretti, Ndinga; Oliech, Le Tallec, Birsa; Jelen
Prediction
In Le Championnat, Auxerre tend to prove obstinate opponents for many of their foes. Milan, despite still settling in with a new squad, are at a superior level to anything AJA face on a weekly basis. Given AJA’s lamentable domestic form, they should be expected to succumb at the San Siro, though inspired by the atmosphere and the opposition, Jean Fernandez’s men will hope to produce a worthy account of themselves. The Rossoneri will win this fixture; it’s just a case of how many by.
Milan 2-0 AJ Auxerre
