Famous Italian club AC Milan will be arriving in Malta this evening to start a training camp which will last till 9 January.

During their stay in Malta, Milan will be accommodated at the Radisson Golden Sands Resort at Ghajn Tuffieha. Most of their training sessions will be held behind closed doors at the Ta’ Qali training grounds, but some are also scheduled to be held on the sand at Golden Sands Bay, just below the resort.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti is bringing over all the top players in his squad with the exception of the injured Nesta and Serginho.

The following top players are expected to be included in the Milan squad travelling to Malta:

Goalkeepers: Dida, Zeljko Kalac, Valerio Fiori

Defenders: Cafu, Paolo Maldini, Kakha Kaladze, Alessandro Costacurta, Dario Simic, Marek Jankulovski, Giuseppe Favalli, Daniele Bonera

Midfielders: Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo, Kaka, Joann Gourcuff, Massimo Ambrosini, Cristian Brocchi

Strikers: Ricardo Oliveira, Filippo Inzaghi, Marco Borriello, Alberto Gilardino

The highlight of this visit will be the friendly match against local champions Birkirkara which is to be their last activity on the programme. This is to be played next Tuesday at Ta’ Qali, commencing at 7.30pm.

Next Saturday, the squad, accompanied by a planeload of Maltese football fans, will be travelling to Milan to play against Juventus for the Berlusconi Trophy. That match is to be played at the San Siro Stadium at 5pm.

Soon after the match, the squad will return to Malta to continue with their preparations and for the match against Birkirkara.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti said last week he wanted to prepare his players in a most intensive manner as they could not have a proper pre-season training last summer due to the fact that the club passed through an uncertain time because of the Calciopoli scandal. In fact, their presence in the Serie A and the Champions League this season was kept on hold till the very end.