AC Milan's head coach Stefano Pioli is preparing with the players he has available right now for the derby which will be on September 16, after the international break. As pointed out in La Gazzetta dello Sport's newspaper in this morning's print edition, there are quite a few players in the French national team camp who represent AC Milan and Inter. From the Nerazzurri side, there are Marcus Thuram and Benjamin Pavard. On the other hand, there are the Rossoneri stars who are Mike Maignan, Theo Hernandez and Olivier Giroud.
The Milan derby has already begun at Clairefontaine, a city about 60 km from Paris, the headquarters of the French national team. The anticipation is high, as confirmed by Aurelien Tchouameni, a midfielder for Real Madrid and France, who said from the French camp, especially about the imminent showdown between Inter's Thuram and AC Milan's Giroud: "I understand that there is a big match coming up. There is already a debate going on among them. We will certainly follow closely how it turns out on the field." The Inter striker throws down the gauntlet: "The banter between us has already started. Who will win? We will win." On the other hand, the Milan number 9 is more cautious: "We are beginning to feel the anticipation. Will I score? Let's see..."
Inter-Milan will also be a showdown between two great friends off the field, namely Pavard and Theo Hernandez. Lucas, the brother of Milan's full-back Theo, said: "In reality, I am the one who encouraged them, especially Theo with Pavard; they are friends. They tease each other a bit, but in moderation, at least when we are all together. I imagine the banter gets more provocative along the corridors leading to their rooms." For now, they can joke around, but in ten days, it will get serious, and only the field will do the talking.
