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AC Milan have stolen a march on their rivals by unveiling their new home kit for next season while there are still a few games of the 2020-21 Serie A campaign. You will not be surprised to find that the Rossoneri's 2021-22 jersey follows tradition by being predominantly red with black stripes. - Serie A on ESPN+: Stream LIVE games and replays (U.S. only) However, in a first for Italian football, it is Milan's women's team who will debut their club's new home colours on the pitch. AC Milan Women will wear the kit against Sassuolo in their penultimate Serie A Femminile fixture on Saturday as they look to secure a place in next season's Women's Champions League. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the rest of the men's team will follow suit by turning out in the new strip the following day when they face Cagliari at the San Siro on May 16.  Milan Women were first established in 2018 and went on to finish third in each of their first two seasons in Serie A. Juventus have already been crowned champions this season but, with two games remaining, Milan are on course to register their best-ever finish by ending the season in second place and with it entering the UWCL for the first time. The club's new shirt was modelled by captain Valentina Giacinti and teammates Veronica Boquete and Refiloe Jane. "I'm really excited to be wearing this kit on the pitch for the first time in our next game," Giancinti said. "I love the design, modern yet traditional, and how it has been influenced by the city of Milan." Those sentiments were echoed by men's team captain Alessio Romagnoli, who added: "The new kit looks really modern, and you can truly see where the inspiration for the stripes comes from. It is a great representation of Milan's new and expanding skyline."  The shirt itself is adorned with the classic Rossoneri horizontal stripes, though rather than the usual uniform width and spacing we've come to expect, the bands have been altered to create an irregular pattern. According to manufacturers Puma, the ripple design is intended to reflect the city of Milan circa 2021, particularly its cultural mix of ancient tradition and innovative creative modernity. It's also reflects the ever-changing nature of the Milanese skyline, where elegant old cathedrals and opera houses now sit in silhouette alongside vast skyscrapers such as the "Vertical Forest" buildings, and the Straight, the Twisted, and the Curved -- a trio of vast, multi-use blocks that will eventually tower over the new business district. That's precisely why the new shirts encourage their wearers to "Move like Milan" -- the motto chosen to accompany the launch. With the club set to be represented in top European competition by both its men's and women's teams next season, Milan are certainly making moves.
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