Milan Begin Season Against Lecce; Inter MiIan in Week 12

New Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri and his club will make their debut in the 2010/2011 Italian Serie A campaign against promoted side Lecce on August 29th.

Milan, coming off a disappointing third place finish, is looking for their first Scudetto since the 2003/2004 season. However, Supporters and analysts alike are weary of the club, as only three players were brought into the first team this summer despite reports linking the club with several superstars including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edin Dzeko, Luis Fabiano, Joe Cole, Clint Dempsey, and Keisuke Honda.

Along with adding 2008/2009 Serie A Manager of the Year at Cagliari, Milan has added goalkeeper Marco Amelia and defenders Mario Yepes and Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Five players left the club this summer along with former manager Leonardo. Marco Storari was sold to Juventus. Dida left as his contract was not renewed. Guiseppe Favalli retired. Both David Beckham and Mancini returned to their respective clubs after half season loans.

Milan has a favorable start to their season, playing Lecce in week one. Followed by fellow Serie B promotion Cesena before going on to play Catania, Lazio, and Genoa to finish September.

The Rossoneri's toughest stretch will no doubt be from November 10th to November 28th, when the club takes on Palermo (November 10th), a tough four day turn around for the Derby della Madonnina against Inter Milan (November 14th), Fiorentina (November 21st), and Sampdoria (November 28th). Milan will also be involved in the Champions League Group Stage during this stretch (the six group game matches will be stretched out between September and December).

Allegri will not see his former club, Cagliari, until Week 18 on January 6th, when Milan returns from the winter break with a match at the Sant'Elia.

Milan repeats their trying four match stretch with Palermo, Inter, Fiorentina, and Sampdoria from March 20th to April 17th, but follow that with a favorable five game stretch to close the season against Brescia, Bologna, Roma, Cagliari, and Udinese.

The entire Serie A schedule is listed below:

8/29 vs. Lecce

9/12 @ Cesena

9/19 vs. Catania

9/22 @ Lazio

9/26 vs. Genoa

10/3 @ Parma

10/17 vs. Chievo

10/24 @ Napoli

10/31 vs. Juventus

11/7 @ Bari

11/10 vs. Palermo

11/14 Inter Milan

11/21 vs. Fiorentina

11/28 @ Sampdoria

12/5 vs. Brescia

12/12 @ Bologna

12/19 vs. Roma

1/6/ @ Cagliari

1/9 vs. Udinese

1/16 @ Lecce

1/23 vs. Cesena

1/30 @ Catania

2/2 vs. Lazio

2/6 @ Genoa

2/13 vs. Parma

2/20 @ Chievo

2/27 vs. Napoli

3/6 @ Juventus

3/13 vs. Bari

3/20 @ Palermo

4/3 Inter Milan

4/10 @ Fiorentina

4/17 vs. Sampdoria

4/23 @ Brescia

5/1 vs. Bologna

5/8 @ Roma

5/15 vs. Cagliari

5/22 @ Udinese

Along with their Serie A schedule, Milan is seeded seventh in the Coppa Italia and will join in the Quarterfinals. They are also awaiting the draw for the Group Stage of the 2010/2011 UEFA Champions League. The draw is set for August 26th with Milan being placed in Pot One; meaning they will avoid seven other big clubs including Barcelona, Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and Sevilla (pending Sevilla's advancement through the playoff round against a third round winner). Should Sevilla miss out, French side Lyon would join Pot One. There is a possibility Milan could once again face Real Madrid, whom they defeated and drew against in last year's Group Stage.