A skeleton crew for the derby

If you were hoping for a tactical masterclass in the friendly against Inter, lower your expectations immediately. Ruben Amorim is heading into this matchup without 13 players, a disaster of logistics that feels less like a professional squad rotation and more like a fever dream. When you see a depth chart decimated by international duties and physical maintenance, you start to wonder if the preseason schedule was designed by a masochist.

The sheer volume of absences means the lineup sheet is going to look like a desperate grab from the youth ranks. Milan fans are understandably pulling their hair out. We are talking about nearly half the first-team squad effectively vaporized for what should be a showcase match.

The Camarda show

Amidst the chaos of the missing 13, Amorim has decided to pin his hopes on Francesco Camarda. It is a bold move, or perhaps just the only move available given the barren state of the dressing room. Throwing a kid into the fire against Inter—even in a friendly—is the kind of high-stakes gambling that keeps the San Siro rumor mill churning.

If Camarda puts in a shift, the narrative writes itself. If he struggles, Amorim will face immediate scrutiny for putting the burden of the derby on teenage shoulders. It is sink or swim, and the water is absolutely freezing.

Honoring the past while the present burns

In a bizarre attempt to maintain optics, the club is focusing heavily on honoring Franco Baresi during the Perth trip. The Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the tribute plans are moving full steam ahead, even as the actual match-day squad looks like a patch-job. It is a classic Milan move: polish the silverware while the floorboards are rotting underneath.

Don't get me wrong, Baresi is a legend who deserves every ounce of respect. But using a celebratory gesture to distract from the fact that we have 13 players unavailable is peak football management theater. The reasons for these absences vary from tournaments to fatigue, but the optics remain embarrassing.

The tactical gamble

Amorim has a massive task ahead. He is trying to implement his system with a group of people who are essentially strangers or emergency call-ups. Integrating the youth players isn't just about development anymore; it's about survival. The squad is currently operating at a 35 percent depletion rate compared to a fully healthy roster.

We are watching a coach try to paint a masterpiece with half the colors missing from the palette. If Amorim can manufacture a cohesive performance against a settled Inter side under these constraints, he might actually be a wizard. More likely, we are looking at a disjointed mess that will have the fan forums exploding by full-time.

This isn't how you prepare for a season. You don't build a winning mentality by duct-taping a starting XI together three weeks before the real games start. The board needs to address these scheduling conflicts or accept that the preseason might be a total wash. We are staring at a massive gap between expectations and current reality.