Milan Prepare For "Clash of The Titans" In USA

AC Milan will be reuniting as a squad over the next few days, following what manager Masimilliano Allegri calls a "6.5 out of 10" performance at the 2010 Emirates Cup.

The Rossoneri earned two 1-1 draws during their weekend trip to London's Emirates Stadium, with the results coming against hosts and champions Arsenal and French side Olympique Lyon.

Alexandre Pato and Marco Borriello scored the goals for Milan.

Despite worries from outside the San Siro this summer regarding an aging squad and no moves, the former Cagliari boss is very happy with his first squad at Milan. Saying that he is very happy with the weekend performance.

"What I like most was how we played in defence," Allegri said on the club's official website. "Another aspect that left me pleasantly surprised was everyone's attitude."

"Having a young team is an advantage, because they work hard and are full of enthusiasm."

Milan began training later than both Arsenal and Lyon, not starting until July 20th. Some players have trained even less. The three Italian World Cup players from Milan: Andrea Pirlo, Gianluca Zambrotta, and Gennaro Gattuso, as well as Brazilian defender Thiago Silva, reported several days after the rest of their teammates.

Some players are recovering well from injuries, Pirlo (who remained in Italy) included. One player that Allegri praised was defender Daniele Bonera.

Bonera did well, considering he hadn't played for quite a while." "Having a young team is an advantage, because they work hard and are full of enthusiasm."

Milan had success using a combination of young and older, experienced players. The club looked to its Primavera players often over the two days, with players such as Simone Verdi, Giacomo Beretta, Alexander Merkel, Rodney Strasser, and Mitja Novinic were among the players used at the Cup.

Newcomers Sokratis, Mario Yepes, and Marco Amelia all performed well for Milan.

The club will be at the Milanello over the next couple days, where they reunite with the eight players not present at the Cup: Ronaldinho, Filippo Inzaghi, Kakha Kaladze, Thiago Silva, Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini, Marek Jankulovski, and Nnamdi Oduamadi.

After a couple days of training, the club will return to the United States for the third time in just over a year. The Rossoneri will be at the Silverdome in Detroit, the longtime home of the Detroit Lions American football team, for a "Clash of the Titans" against Greek champions Panathanaikos.

The entire club will make the trip.

Milan were in the United States in July of 2009, shortly after training began, for the World Football Challenge with matches against Club America, Chelsea, and Inter Milan. They began that tour with a friendly against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The club was in the States in May of this year of friendlies against D.C. United and the Chicago Fire before heading north to Canada to play the Montreal Impact.

Following the match, Thiago Silva and Pato will not return to Italy with the team. They will head to New Jersey to meet up with the Brazil national team and new manager Mano Menezes for Brazil's first match since the World Cup quarterfinals when they take on the United States on August 10th.

US manager Bob Bradley has yet to release his roster for the match. It is unknown whether Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu will be in the squad.

Following the quick US trip, the club returns for more friendlies in Italy. They will play the annual TIM Cup, two forty five minute matches against Inter Milan and Juventus on August 13th. The Luigi Berlusconi Trophy will be contested against Juventus on August 22nd. The final warm up will be the match against Barcelona at the Nou Camp on August 25th, when the two clubs compete for the 45th Gamper Trophy.

Milan's season begins August 29th against promoted side Lecce.