adidas turns Milan Azzurro

Alle prime luci del mattino comparsi in città i poster che celebrano il legame tra gli Azzurri e Milano; nel pomeriggio la performance dall’orchestra in maglia Azzurra. Nella notte, spuntano i volti dei calciatori sulle facciate della città.

Monday, September 11, 2023

With 48 hours until Italy vs Ukraine in qualifying for UEFA EURO Germany 2021, adidas turned Milan Azzurro as part of the build-up to the game, which generated plenty of buzz in the city.

INFO: Tickets ITALY VS UKRAINE

A vast array of initiatives were held throughout the day, the common denominator? The Azzurro of Italy. In the early hours of the morning, posters appeared around the city to celebrate the link between the National Team and the city of Milan. The posters sported an innovative and modern graphic created by OTLN (Outline Studio).

The city hosted Italy’s first-ever international (a 6-2 in over France at the Arena Civica on 15 May 1910) and also gave rise to the first Azzurri shirt (1911). On Tuesday, Milan will host the Azzurri for the 61st time.

The posters, comprised of three different creatives from the OTLN (Outline Studio) team, feature some of the city’s iconic landmarks, tinged in Azzurro: the Duomo, the Torre Velasca and San Siro. The idea is that the posters become cult items for collectors.

OTLN then visited the adidas Brand Centre on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, where the team got personalised Italy shirts, with unique, limited edition patches and numbering.

The surprises continued into the afternoon with a music show for the locals doing their passeggiata around the city centre under the glorious Sunday sunshine. The Gaga Symphony Orchestra went to Piazza San Babila, close to the famous Duomo, wearing Italy shirts and delighted passersby with a rousing performance.

After a series of pop tracks, the orchestra played as their finale the Italian national anthem, which was sung by everyone around.

The voices of the square joined in with the music to create a moving moment, in which Milan was involved once more in adidas’ welcome for the Azzurri.

The city had to wait until night for the final surprise. The Milanese skyline was illuminated with enormous projections of the Italy players’ faces.

From the Navigli to the Colonne di San Francesco and Piazza Gae Aulenti, the faces of captain Ciro Immobile, Federico Dimarco, Gigio Donarumma, Bryan Cristante and Giacomo Raspadori appeared on buildings around the city. Imposing yet reassing at the same time as the city went to sleep.

Alongside the faces of the Italy players were those of other sportspeople, such as Yemen Crippa and Ambra Sabatini, as well as Azzurri fans like Mattia Stagna, Yasmin Barbieri and music producer Drillionaire, who unveiled his personalised shirt in collaboration with OTLN on Friday.