State Government adamant AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan will bring plenty of star power for trip to Perth

The State Government is confident Italian football’s ‘big three’ of Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan will be laden with star-power despite the World Cup threatening availability of players for their mid-year trip to Perth. Three of world football’s biggest teams will be joined by fellow Italian outfit Palermo for a three-game pre-season series dubbed ‘Calcio Italiano’, which will take over Optus Stadium from the first week of August. Rivals AC Milan and Inter will meet in the first-ever ‘Derby della Madonnina’ (Milan derby) held outside Italy on August 5, before Serie A’s two most-successful teams in Juventus and Inter clash on August 8. Palermo, the former club of Socceroos great Mark Bresciano and currently placed fourth in Serie B with a strong chance at returning to Italy’s top flight, will then take on Juventus on August 11. The luring of the Italian quartet — in particular Milan, Juventus and Inter — is a coup for local sports fans and The West Australian understands there were competing bids from rival State Governments to lure the global powerhouses to Australia. Milan midfielder Luka Modric is one of the biggest names in the game, having won the sport’s highest individual honour (the Ballan d’Or) in 2018. His teammates, Portuguese star Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic, boast ample talent and accolades to go with their combined 14.7m Instagram followers. Inter are currently in pole position to win a third league title in six years, led by star attackers Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram who both featured in the 2022 World Cup final for Argentina and France respectively. While Juventus no longer have superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on their books, they do boast one of the hottest prospects in the sport in Turkish wunderkind Kenan Yildiz, a 20 year-old attacker whose transfer market value was placed by football data website Transfermarkt at an estimated $1.24b. Transfermarkt places all three teams within the top 21 in the world in terms of estimated squad value, with Inter leading the way at 12th with an estimated worth of more than $1b. Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said they were hoping for a wave of interstate tourists given the profile of the clubs. Between them, the two Milan clubs and Juventus have won a staggering 75 top-flight titles and 12 European Cups. “We can’t sit still. We have to continue to drive and get tourism in WA,” Ms Saffioti said. “We know we live in uncertain economic times, but as has been seen in relation to what’s happening in rugby, in relation to (rugby) league, what’s happening in South Australia with (AFL) Gather Round this weekend, every state is striving to continue to support their local tourism industry. “There may be many people who were wanting to go overseas from over east, who can now plan to come to WA, and that will be our target — those football lovers in other states in particular, through Victoria, to come to WA for what will be a festival of international football.” It will be Inter’s first visit to Australia ever, Juventus’ first trip down under since 2016, but AC Milan’s third journey to Perth since 2024 after previously friendlies against AS Roma and Perth Glory at Optus Stadium and HBF Park respectively. The pre-season series is a completely different kettle of fish to the ambitious plan the State Government launched in conjunction with AC Milan last year, which would have seen the Rossoneri take on Como in Perth in a world-first competitive Italian league match played on foreign soil. The controversial proposal was eventually abandoned after a set of stringent conditions imposed on the perspective game by regional governing body the Asian Football Confederation were considered too much of an obstacle to overcome. However, there is a spanner in the works in the form of the looming World Cup. While the Italian clubs will be obliged to bring their strongest squads possible, players who appear for their countries at the World Cup are guaranteed three weeks off after their final match. However, Tourism Minister Rhys Whitby said he was confident no matter who turned up across the four sides, the caliber of player would be strong enough to put on a show for fans. “I’m very confident we’re going to see some extraordinary games and extraordinary players. These are are world class teams, very proud teams, and they’ll be wanting to make a very good account of themselves, I’ve got no doubt about that,” he said. There are 18 and 17 days respectively between the World Cup’s third and fourth place play-off and final and the first Italian game in Perth, meaning players from countries who reach the semifinals in North America are highly unlikely to make the trip to WA afterwards. For Inter that could mean the absence of stars such as their Argentinian captain Martinez and French winger Thuram. If Croatia make another run to the latter stages of the World Cup, it would deprive Perth of arguably the star attraction across all three teams in the form of Modric, while if world No.5 Portugal enjoy a strong showing at the tournament, it would mean no Leao in Perth. France, victors in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, will likely called up Milan’s first-choice goalkeeper Mike Maignan and midfielder Adrien Rabiot while Juventus have another Frenchman in defender Pierra Kalulu on their books. A final four appearance by The Netherlands would also cost Inter Dutch stars Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij. There could familiar faces for Socceroos fans in attendance when the teams touch down in Perth, given their first two World Cup games in June come against Turkiye (captained by Inter star Hakan Calhanoglu and featuring Juventus’ Yildiz) and USA (led by AC Milan winger Christian Pulisic and Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie). And on the flip-side, Italy’s failure to qualify for a third-successive World Cup means the Italians’ strong contingent of homegrown players will be free to travel to Perth.