Yahoo Sports GdS: Four trips booked before postponement – the background on Milan’s plans
At one point yesterday while the saga related to the Bologna game was unfolding, AC Milan had plans in place for four different trips.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, after the postponement announced by the mayor of Bologna, Matteo Lepore, Milan had to explore various different plans because of the options that were emerging regarding a neutral venue.
The team manager Alberto Marangon and his collaborators were obliged to be proactive, or rather to be ready before the possible announcement by the Lega Serie A regarding a neutral venue. This was so Paulo Fonseca’s team could be put in the ideal conditions to travel and to approach the game with calm.
The first hypothesis had been prepared for weeks, which is of course for the game to go ahead normally. The club book hotels as soon as possible, when the dates and times of games are confirmed, as it is necessary to do with such a large travelling group.
Milan had booked a place to stay in Bologna and above all the train journey: after the morning training at Milanello and lunch, the players were free to return home and were supposed to meet at Casa Milan at 17:00 CEST, to then all go together to Milano Centrale station, where at 18:00 some carriages of a train to Bologna had been booked.
Last night, however, the idea of playing the match at a neutral ground came up and the first option considered was the Sinigaglia in Como. Playing at 18:00 still, the team would have met on Saturday morning at Milanello and then in the afternoon, by bus, they would leave for Como.
More Stories / The Match
GdS: Four trips booked before postponement – the background on Milan’s plans
Repubblica: De Laurentiis’ ‘ally’ Lotito pushed for Bologna-Milan to be postponed
GdS: Why Milan were left angry at Bologna Mayor and Serie A after postponement
The situation is different for options number three and four, namely Verona – a solution that came up last night – and Empoli which gained traction this morning. In this case, two hotels had to be identified (one per city), the club bus had to be prepared, but also the people who usually travel before the team, including the cook and the warehouse workers.
In addition, the train bookings had to be changed (new timetables, new reservations), with an additional difficulty if the match had been played in Empoli because the Milan-Verona route is covered by the Frecciarossa, the Milan-Empoli one is not.
In the latter case, it was necessary to organize the Milan-Florence train and then the transfer to Empoli by bus. Four different trips and then to not play must have caused Marangon some stress.
