After hosting numerous games during the Copa America Centenario, including the semifinal between Colombia and Chile, the city of Chicago is ready for soccer again. This time, the two teams facing off at Soldier Field will be European giants Bayern Munich against another famous European club in AC Milan.
New Era for Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich is undergoing a massive change with the arrival of new manager Carlos Ancelotti. With Pep Guardiola leaving for Manchester City, Bayern Munich went out and got one of the best free agent managers out there. Ancelotti helped lead Real Madrid to a Champions League trophy two years ago but was let go the next season after not winning any trophies. But now he is in Bayern Munich to prove everyone that he can do it at multiple clubs.
The Bavarians have already kicked off their preseason, beating Pep and Manchester City 1-0. The only goal in the match came from Erdal Ozturk, who was making his debut for the club. His shot in the 76th minute took a deflection off Gael Clichy and City keeper Angus Gunn had no chance to stop it. In the first half, Ancelotti played a lot of his first team players including Franck Ribery and David Alaba. Both were lively against Man City, especially the Frenchmen who looked healthier than ever. Look for Ancelotti to feature Ribery again in Chicago.
Milan looking for a revival year
After a dismal 10th place finish two years ago, AC Milan made a slight improvement in the 2015-16 season. Milan finished 8th in the Serie A table, not enough to qualify for any European competition. It is troubling to see a club such as AC Milan not make the Champions or Europa League but that is just where the club is at right now. Not good enough. They will be hoping for a change this year.
Milan has already played one preseason game thus far, a 2-1 win against Ligue 1 club Bordeaux. It was a good start for Milan, but they will learn about their young players against Bayern Munich. Milan has a good host of young players that they will feature while giving their stars, who played in International tournaments this summer, much-needed rest.
This will also be a reunion game for Ancelotti and AC Milan. Ancelotti had a lot of success with Milan, leading to Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia title, and two Champions League titles. He managed Milan for eight years, a time period that seems like an eternity given the current managing situation we see with most European clubs.
Both teams are going into this year with questions but still expect Bayern to play like the team we expect them to be. The real questions surround Milan while they continue their quest to regain their title as one of the best teams in Europe.