THE VITALS:

Team: AC Milan

Brand: Puma

Era: 2022-23 (Used for the 2022-23 Serie A season)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This article comes to you in excellent condition looking as good as new with the crest retaining all of its tact while the Puma embroidery and sponsor decal are also flawless!

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Small

Pit to Pit Measurement: 19.5 inches

Shirt Length: 27.5 inches

Made by Puma in their ‘Dry-Cell’ series of shirts which they released in 2022; the dimensions of this shirt lend themselves to a relaxed size small fit and would also fit a size medium.

DESCRIPTION: 

Puma’s interesting series of alternate shirts for AC Milan latest iteration took the form of a khaki, grey and black outfit – a combination hitherto never used before the Italian side. The fatigue colours would be supplemented by yellow accents in the form of the sponsors across the chest and sleeve, while the Puma embroidery and club crest would also be stylised to match the colour scheme of the shirt in what also a first for the club. This shirt debuted in the 2-0 win over Bolonga on 27^th August and would also be used in the 4-1 victory over Monza on 22^nd October 2022 and later in the 2-0 win over Lazio! This would be the last season that Zlatan Ibrahimovic featured for the club as he announced his tearful retirement from the sport, as well as Sandro Tonali who was sold to Newcastle United in the summer of 2023 and Brahim Diaz also ended a fine three year loan spell with the club as Real Madrid recalled him ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

THE SEASON:

The 2021-22 season ended in rapturous scenes on 22^nd May as AC Milan were crowned champions of Italy for the first time since the 2010-11 season! A 16 match unbeaten run spanning from 23^rd January saw them win 11 of those games – including a 6 match winning run to wrap up the Scudetto.

Although the 2022-23 season would see the return of a pre-Covid-19 pre-season schedule it did bring with it a new series of challenges as the European leagues would begin preparations early with the unprecedented winter World Cup taking place in Qatar between November to December 2022.

Milan would make Alessandro Florenzi’s transfer from Roma permanent, while Belgian duo: Divock Origi and Charles De Ketelaere were also drafted in, and there was also the loan signing of Sergino Dest from Barcelona. There would be emotional departures for former captain – Alessio Romagnoli who moved on to Lazio, while signings of the ill-fated transfer sprees between 2017-18: Samu Castillejo and Franck Kessie both moved to Spain.

Stefano Pioli’s side began their title defence on 13^th August at home to Udinese and they picked up from where they left off from the previous season by winning 4-2, and would start the season in great fettle as they won four and drew twice – including a thrilling 3-2 victory over Internazionale in the ‘Derby Della Madonnina’ on 3^rd September. Up next was a clash that had title implications with both Milan and Napoli putting their 14 point starts to the season at stake and at San Siro; Milan’s 21 match unbeaten run in Serie A would end when they were felled 2-1 at home. The defeat proved to be a mere aberration, as they would win their next 4, however, poor form in their final games before the World Cup saw Milan end the 2022 portion of the campaign in 2^nd place – albeit, 8 points behind a runaway Napoli side.

After a 2-1 win away against Salernitana on 4^th January 2023 to resume the festivities in the league; Mialn would embark on a run of 5 games without a win – there longest period without a win in the league since the 2017-18 season. Another 3 match winning run would come next, before another 3 games without a win; in what was tone of a very inconsistent 2023 portion of the season. While Milan would go unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 games; 4 of those matches would end in draws. An incredible 4-0 win over Napoli on 2^nd April, along with impressive wins over Lazio and Juventus would help Milan to a 4^th place finish – their third top 4 finish in a row.

The domestic cup competitions would be something to forget for AC Milan as they exited the Coppa Italia in the Round of 16 against Torino on 11^th January and were beaten 3-0 by Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana on 18^th January.

The story of AC Milan’s season was no doubt in the UEFA Champions League! They would take their place in Group E alongside Dinamo Zagreb, Red Bull Salzburg and a first meeting against Chelsea since 1999! With just 1 win in their opening 4 games; qualifying from the Group Stage seemed unlikely, however, a pair of 4-0 wins over both Dinamo Zagreb and Red Bull Salzburg saw Milan seal a 2^nd place berth.

In another long-time in the making rematch with a club from England; AC Milan would meet Tottenham Hotspur in what was their first meeting since Tottenham eliminated them in the Last 16 of the 2010-11 competition. AC Milan would eliminate a Tottenham side who were managed by Antonio Conte by a tight 1-0 aggregate scoreline to set up an all Italian quarter final against the swashbuckling Napoli!

10 days after thwarting them 4-0 on 2^nd April; Milan would win the 1^st Leg of their quarter final 1-0 at San Siro, and would take their place in a first semi-final since 2007 when they secured 1-1 draw at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on 18^th April. Their semi-final opponents would be none other than Internazionale and would again be left frustrated by their city rivals; losing 3-0 on aggregate across the two legs

The notable players that season were:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Olivier Giroud, Charles De Ketelaere, Junior Messias, Divock Origi, Rafael Leao, Ante Rebic, Alexis Saelemaekers, Tiemoue Bakayako, Brahim Diaz, Sandro Tonali, Yacine Adil, Ismael Bennacer, Malick Thiaw, Alessandro Florenzi, Simon Kjaer, Fiyako Tomori, Sergino Dest, Pierre Kalulu, Theo Hernandez, Fode Ballo-Toure, Davide Calabria, Mike Maignan, Ciprian Tatarusanu