Forza Milan

As the Champions League final returns to the home of English football for a record eighth time, Sheridan Bird looks back at the first at Wembley in 1963, when AC Milan secured entry to the pantheon of great European clubs

History

For the first seven seasons of its existence, the new competition’s distinctive trophy was hauled back to the Iberian Peninsula every springtime without fail. First came Real Madrid’s dominance from 1955/56 to 1959/60, the Spanish side reigning supreme in Paris, Brussels, Stuttgart, Glasgow and even on home turf. Next the Eagles of Benfica swooped in for two years running, taking the spoils back to Portugal from Berne and Amsterdam. But just as it seemed this was a continental party to which only one small corner was invited, step forward AC Milan, emerging from Wembley’s twin towers to herald a new dawn. From the Iberian heat to the famous Milanese fog, and from cavalier football to catenaccio (admittedly a less severe interpretation than what followed), a new order was established that May afternoon.

A serial winner as both player and coach at the very top of the game for half a century, the Italian’s reverence carries weight. It’s wholly fitting that he was right there when Wembley began its long association with the European Cup, back in 1963.

There was perhaps little sense of what was to come as the Rossoneri team coach pulled into the car park in north London as morning gave way to afternoon. Star-studded Benfica, the likes of Eusébio and Mário Coluna augmented by the muscle memory of victories the previous two seasons, were firm favourites. Milan fans feared the worse and they were not alone. Getting to his feet as the bus came to a halt, coach Nereo Rocco delved into his thespian repertoire – he was, after all, just a few miles away from London theatreland. “If any of you are scared, stay on this bus,” he announced, before collapsing dramatically back into his seat. It was more music hall than Guildhall, but the knockabout routine had the desired effect: howls of laughter as the 50-year-old eased the nerves.

The road to Wembley had been a long one for Milan but, for all Rocco’s pre-match theatrics, the final destination was no surprise. The Rossoneri had very nearly toppled Real Madrid in the 1958 final, losing 3-2 in extra time, but it was the arrival of Rocco that provided the launchpad to their 1960s heyday. Born Nereo Roch in Trieste in 1912, he was a useful No10 good enough to earn a single cap for Italy. But it was as a coach that he thrived, enjoying immediate success at Triestina in his late 30s and then Padova.

His approach was indubitably safety-first. Convinced his compatriots didn’t have the strength or fitness to play on the front foot, flamboyant WM style, he became the first man to use a sweeper in Italian football. Desperate to compete with an all-conquering Inter side, Milan took a chance on Rocco in 1961, and that tactical knowledge, combined with his charismatic ways and the stars at his disposal, made the Rossoneri a formidable machine.

Costa Pereira punches clear under pressure from Bruno Mora (above); Milan’s starting line-up (top right); Cesare Maldini lifts the cup alongside coach Nereo Rocco (right)

“There are stadiums which, among footballers, were back then called cathedrals – and Wembley is one of those,” recalls Giovanni Trapattoni. “To play at Wembley meant playing at the best stadium in the world.”

“If anything moves on the pitch, kick it hard. Even better if it’s the ball”

There were certainly hallmarks of the Italian defensivism of the era, led by versatile captain Cesare Maldini and pugnacious man-marker extraordinaire Trapattoni. Yet they also wielded a potent attack. When the Rossoneri won the 1962/63 European Cup, they plundered 33 goals in nine games, often utilising three forwards as well as genial trequartista Gianni Rivera. Union Luxembourg were crushed 14-0 over two legs, and though English champions Ipswich Town did beat Milan 2-1 at Portman Road, they were bested 4-2 on aggregate. Galatasaray, in the quarter-finals, and Dundee, in the semis, both then conceded five apiece at the San Siro.

Rocco had augmented his philosophy with more firepower. Against superior opponents, however, they were less proactive, relying on counterattacks and enlisting everyone bar Rivera to muck in with defensive duties. Brazilian Dino Sani, a creative midfield schemer blessed with perfect passes but not pace, was signed for occasions just like the 1963 final.

Rocco’s strategic acumen was half the story. As his pre-final routine showcased, he was a masterly man-manager and motivator. Rivera, Rocco’s favourite, said: “Other coaches gave orders; Rocco simply spoke. But everyone listened and followed his instructions. He knew how to create a good atmosphere and was always himself. Sometimes a bit strict, sometimes cheerful. Nereo always knew where unexpected danger might come from in matches thanks to his intelligence and intuition. He created the famous ‘internal commission’, which was a group of the most senior players including Trapattoni, Maldini and me, plus a few others. He was a bit of a performer too.” The man known as Paròn, Trieste dialect for ‘Master’, could also serve up a good quote. One of his most celebrated phrases was, “If anything moves on the pitch, kick it hard. Even better if it’s the ball.” He truly never abandoned his defensive roots.

The football may have been conservative, but these were high times to be a Milanese. There was exponential growth in the city as money from the Marshall Plan was used to rebuild Milan, both literally and figuratively. Jobs were created, skyscrapers commissioned and culturally it was very much the swinging 60s – the Beatles and the Rolling Stones both came to town. There was an explosion in the jazz scene, inspiring visits from the likes of Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and John Coltrane. Entrepreneur Elio Fiorucci opened his Carnaby Street-style shop selling the latest fashions to a public with newfound disposable income. Milan was alive.

On the pitch, Milan’s Wembley triumph in 1963 was matched then repeated by Inter in 1964 and 1965. The Nerazzurri reached the final again in 1967, losing to Celtic’s ‘Lisbon Lions’. Milan were victors once more in 1969, when a side led by Rocco, captained by Rivera and including Trapattoni crushed a youthful Ajax team 4-1. On the domestic front, the clubs battled for supremacy. Between 1961/62 and 1967/68, the Scudetto only slipped out of Lombardy twice.

But first to hold sway in Europe were Milan, and it all started on a golden May afternoon at Wembley, with Rocco in the limelight. When he shook hands with Benfica boss Fernando Riera before kick-off, the Eagles chief earnestly told him, “May the best team win.” The Italian famously muttered his reply under his breath: “I hope not.” Perhaps Milan had been too relaxed by the car-park pantomime, because for a while the final threatened to get away from them. Eusébio scored inside 19 minutes and, with mismatches wherever you looked at Wembley, the Portuguese giants were soon threatening more. Maldini, Rocco’s mouthpiece on the pitch, had seen enough: he called an emergency meeting with the Rossoneri brains trust. Peruvian Víctor Benítez, dizzy from chasing Eusébio, dropped back into central defence, with Trapattoni given the unenviable task of shadowing the fearsome No10.

Suddenly, it all seemed to click. The connection between defence and attack had been established and José Altafini and Gianni Rivera were brought into the game. Gino Pivatelli, a striker with impeccable defensive instincts and timing, continued his sacrificial task of tracking Benfica’s brilliant captain and creative source Mário Coluna. Pivatelli’s involvement was a surprise, but his defensive diligence gave him the edge over in-form forward Paolo Barison. Moments after Altafini restored parity with an unerring finish from a counter, Pivatelli made his most telling contribution to the final. With Mário Coluna threatening to get away, the Italian tripped him, halting the move and inadvertently breaking his opponent’s foot. As substitutions were still several years off, Benfica were down to ten men.

Milan pressed home the advantage. Altafini scored his second of the evening, again on the break, leaving Rocco’s charges with just over 20 minutes to hold on; they did so with a measure of ease. That defensive bedrock provided the foundations for a Lombardian love affair with the European Cup that has endured ever since. “All those steps!” Maldini later recalled of the 39 he climbed to the Royal Box to lift the trophy under the sunny north London sky. “It felt like I was never going to get up there.” Finally, Milan’s moment had arrived.

Two-goal José Altafini goes close (top left); José Altafini (left); he great Eusébio on the ball (top)

Costa Pereira punches clear under pressure from Bruno Mora (above); Milan’s starting line-up (top right); Cesare Maldini lifts the cup alongside coach Nereo Rocco (right)

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“If anything moves on the pitch, kick it hard. Even better if it’s the ball”

Two-goal José Altafini goes close (top left); José Altafini (left); he great Eusébio on the ball (top)

Costa Pereira punches clear under pressure from Bruno Mora (above); Milan’s starting line-up (top right); Cesare Maldini lifts the cup alongside coach Nereo Rocco (right)

“If anything moves on the pitch, kick it hard. Even better if it’s the ball”

Two-goal José Altafini goes close (top left); José Altafini (left); he great Eusébio on the ball (top)

History

Magnificent seven

Comebacks, extra-time winners, an all-German match-up, unprecedented hidings – the seven Wembley finals so far have seen it all

WORDS John Atkin

1968: Man United 4-1 Benfica (aet)

Ten years on from the Munich air disaster, Matt Busby’s side became the first English team to lift the European Cup on an emotionally charged evening in front of a crowd of 92,225. “It eased the pain of the guilt,” the manager reflected. For his players, Busby was a large part of the inspiration as they pulled away from Benfica at the start of extra time with goals from Bobby Charlton, George Best and Brian Kidd on his 19th birthday. “On the morning of the game, I can remember thinking we had come too far and had been through too much to fail now,” said Charlton, another Munich survivor.

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1963: AC Milan 2-1 Benfica

Having won in 1961 and 1962, Benfica arrived at Wembley heavy favourites to complete a hat-trick – the early stages did little to dispel that expectation as the Eagles flew out of the blocks. They were soon ahead through the great Eusébio and on the hunt for further goals when Milan’s brains trust had a confab and tweaked their set-up. Benfica’s wings were clipped. José Altafini levelled, Mário Coluna’s broken foot reduced Benfica to ten and Altafini soon struck again. “After being 1-0 down, to win 2-1 makes something explode in you. It’s something you dream of,” said Milan’s Giovanni Trapattoni.

1971: Ajax 2-0 Panathinaikos

The match that confirmed Totaal Voetbal as the zeitgeist. The 1970/71 season brought shock after shock. Holders Feyenoord were waylaid in the first round by Romania’s UTA Arad, while Ferenc Puskás’s Panathinaikos hit back from a 4-1 loss at Crvena zvezda to reach the final on away goals. Ajax were in no mood to become the latest scalp. With Johan Cruyff pulling the strings, Rinus Michels’ men struck inside five minutes – the quickest final goal at Wembley – and they passed their rivals into submission before Arie Haan’s deflected late effort sealed it.

1978: Liverpool 1-0 Club Brugge

It wasn’t a classic, but the majority of the 92,500 crowd nevertheless went home happy as the Reds became the first English club to retain trophy. The injury-hit Belgian side, seeking revenge for their UEFA Cup final defeat by Liverpool two years earlier, held out for over an hour before Kenny Dalglish struck the only goal of the game. “To win my very first European Cup in my very first season at Liverpool was an amazing feeling,” said Graeme Souness, who teed up his fellow Scot. “The fact it took place at Wembley just made it all the more special.”

1992: Sampdoria 0-1 Barcelona (aet)

Twenty-one years after lifting the European Cup at Wembley as a player, Cruyff raised it there as coach. The final was 112 minutes old when Barcelona, appropriately wearing orange, won it through a set piece from another Dutchman, Ronald Koeman – “the free-kick that changed everything”, as it has been billed. In the last final before the advent of the Champions League, the Catalan giants became the second Spanish club to win the tournament and the 19th overall. “That win at Wembley is part of the fabric of the city today,” Koeman said ahead of Barcelona’s next Wembley date…

2011: Barcelona 3-1 Man United

“Nobody’s given us a hiding like that,” Sir Alex Ferguson conceded after watching his side eviscerated in north London. “In my time as manager, it’s the best team I’ve faced.” It is credit to the Red Devils that they hung on for as long as they did, Wayne Rooney cancelling out Pedro’s goal to ensure the sides were level at the break. There was no answer to efforts from David Villa and, first, Lionel Messi – promptly labelled “the best player I have ever seen” by his coach. And that coach? Pep Guardiola, of course, emulating his boss in ’92, Cruyff, by winning at Wembley as player and manager.

2013: Dortmund 1-2 Bayern

There was much talk of a changing of the guard when Barcelona and Real Madrid were dispatched in the semi-finals to set up the first all-German final, but there was something wholly familiar about Bayern overcoming Jürgen Klopp’s Dortmund at Wembley. Arjen Robben’s 89th-minute strike separated the great rivals after İlkay Gündoğan’s spot kick had cancelled out Mario Mandžukić’s opener. “We’ve accomplished something that’s never happened before,” said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes. “We won the title by 25 points and I don’t think any team has played such a consistent season at such a high level.”