Christian Volpati, our Champions Journalist fan reporter, on the players and performances that have made him an AC Milan diehard
First of all, I have been “uncuore rossonero” – a red-and-black heart – for the last 47 years. But my passion was truly born when AC Milan were close to putting together what became one of the strongest teams in football history for the next 20 years.
Already in 1986, they boasted the wonderful defensive line of Mauro Tassotti, Franco Baresi, Filippo Galli and Paolo Maldini, soon to be joined by champions of the calibre of Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Donadoni, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard. Then came the likes of Zvonimir Boban, Andrea Pirlo, George Weah, Andriy Shevchenko, Kaká, Clarence Seedorf... and many, many others.
Over those 20 years, I remember watching fantastic games that I still like to relive every now and then, hunting for them on the web or in my private video collection. It would be easy to mention the finals above all, the ones that ended in victory – and even some that brought defeat. There was the 1989 European Cup decider in Barcelona, where we defeated Steaua București 4-0 with more than 90,000 fans in the stadium. Five years later, the winning scoreline was the same against Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona in Athens, with the great Daniele Massaro as a two-goal protagonist and a brilliant strike by Dejan Savićević.
But the matches I care most about are the ones when I was present cheering in the stands, losing my voice and months of my life. Among those, high up the list are the 5-0 victory against the legendary Real Madrid in 1989, “il trio olandese” (the Dutch trio) of Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard making the difference in a memorable game, and the rollercoaster quarter-final defeat of Ajax in 2003, when a goal by Jon Dahl Tomasson in added time set up a last-four meeting with our cousins Inter.
After a 0-0 draw at home, I remember Sheva’s decisive goal in that tie (one of his many against Inter) like it was yesterday. I was at the stadium with a friend and recall not being able to cheer amid a horde of Inter fans. But when the game ended 1-1, I couldn’t resist and took the risk. It was impossible to control my emotions, emotions which then continued in Manchester because we won the final on penalties against another Italian side, Juventus.
Other memorable games include the play-off against Crvena zvezda that took us through to the group stage in 2006, but the one which stands out as the perfect match – where I saw my team playing like they do in my dreams – is the semi-final second leg against Manchester United later that season. I still remember the rainy evening and the deafening cheers. The goals of Kaká, Seedorf and Alberto Gilardino, securing a 3-0 win, are tattooed in my mind.
It’s hard to describe what I’ve seen over the years in few words. I consider myself lucky to have a red-and-black heart and to have lived through that era of success.... And now I can’t wait to see another defensive line emerge, like the one in 1986, which will start a new victorious Milan. Forza Cuore Rossonero!
