Zlatan Ibrahimovic might be seen lifting a trophy for AC Milan on Monday, although he remains retired. Instead, his 19-year-old son, Maximilian, has received a call-up from Milan for the Italian Supercoppa.
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Maximilian is among six players from Milan’s reserve team who have traveled to Saudi Arabia with the first team due to a growing list of injuries affecting the squad.
During his time at Milan, Zlatan scored 93 goals in 163 matches across two terms, clinching two Serie A titles along with the Italian Supercoppa.
Maximilian may have the opportunity to debut in one of Milan’s two upcoming matches in Saudi Arabia.
“They have great skills,” Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri stated on Wednesday. “I wanted to acknowledge their effort in training.”
AC Milan, who were runners-up in the Coppa Italia, will face Serie A champions Napoli on Thursday. The Coppa Italia winners, Bologna, will take on Serie A runners-up Inter Milan the next day, with the final scheduled for Monday.
Only Inter secured a win over the weekend, defeating Genoa to ascend to the top of Serie A, while both Milan and Napoli dropped points.
Milan endured a 2-2 draw with Sassuolo, one of three promoted teams they’ve struggled against this season, including a surprising defeat to Cremonese on the first matchday and a draw with Pisa.
“While we should feel frustrated, we must not be demoralized,” Allegri remarked.
Despite these setbacks, Milan finished the round in second place, just one point behind Inter, and one ahead of Napoli, who suffered a loss to Udinese. Bologna, meanwhile, fell to Juventus at home.
Despite their difficulties with promoted teams, Milan has had success against the other top contenders this season, including victories over Napoli.
“Tomorrow will be a different match; it’s a knockout stage where our goal is to reach the final,” Allegri noted. “Napoli is an excellent team, and they’ll be eager to bounce back after their loss to Udinese.”
“In challenging times, [Napoli coach] Antonio Conte consistently manages to bring out the best in his players.”
Last season, Milan clinched the Italian Supercoppa for the eighth time, triumphing over Inter in the final and snapping their three-year winning streak.
Napoli has won the Italian Supercoppa twice, in 1990 and 2014, while Bologna, having recently lifted the Coppa Italia after a 51-year wait, is yet to claim the Supercoppa.
This report includes information from The Associated Press.