Ajax USA Presents... 'The AC Milan Files'

*** Updated: August 2003 ***

After having played each other in the quarter finals of the Champions League in April 2003, Ajax and AC Milan are set to meet again in September of the same year, in the first round of the 2003-2004 Champions League.

As the draw for the quarter finals took place on 02 April 2003 AC Milan was not the opponent of Ajax's preference. Coaches, players and fans had rather seen the name of FC Barcelona or Manchester United come out of the bowl. Ajax outplayed AC Milan, but failed to score in the Amsterdam ArenA on Tuesday 08 April (0-0), after which an unlucky and bitter elimination followed two weeks later, in stoppage time of the game in San Siro on Wednesday 23 April (3-2).

Ajax's 2003-2004 Champions League campaign will start where the previous edition ended. It is also Ajax's third (!) Champions League visit to Milan's San Siro stadium in a years' time: apart from last season's quarter final fixture at AC Milan in April, Ajax also played city rivals Internazionale in the first round group stage on 25 September 2002. Then, too, Ajax did not get the result it deserved and stumbled by 1-0.

1. AC MILAN - HISTORY & HONORS: Alfred Edwards, Rivera, Berlusconi and the 'Olandesi'
2. AJAX REACTIONS (about the April 2003 quarter final games): The thoughts of Van der Meyde, Chivu, O'Brien and Koeman
3. AC MILAN - THE STADIUM: This time it's not the Giuseppe Meazza. It's the San Siro...
4. AJAX vs AC MILAN: The finals of 'golden boys' Prati and Kluivert
5. AC MILAN - THE CURRENT ROSTER: Rivaldo, Rui Costa, Seedorf and always Maldini

AC MILAN - HISTORY & HONORS

AC Milan was not always named AC Milan. The club was founded on 18 December 1899 as the 'Milan Cricket & Football Club', by a group of English soldiers and sailors. These English origins explain why today's club name still contains the English city name: Milan, whereas the city is named Milano in Italian. Founder Alfred Edwards became the very first chairman of the club that would soon be nicknamed the Rossoneri ('Red-and-Blacks').The club became the most popular football club of the city and is regarded as the people's club of Milan, where city rivals Internazionale - nicknamed the Nerazzurri ('Black-and-Blues') - is known as the club of the middle and upper classes.

The original Milan Cricket & Football Club changed its name into FC Milan in 1905, but this fully English name was forbidden by Benito Mussolini's fascist regime in 1938. On instigation of the Mussolini administration the new name became AC Milano, including the Italian city name. At the end of World War II, as Mussolini's reign came to an end in 1945, the new and definitive club name became Associazione Calcio Milan, abbreviated as AC Milan. Until the end of World War II Internazionale was the city's dominant football force, so that Milan's scudetto (Italian league championship) of 1951 was the first one for the Rossoneri since 1907. Swedish striker Gunnar Nordahl was a kay player for AC Milan in those days, becoming the Serie A topscorer for no less than five times.

The club's first era of glory started in the early 1960s, a period in which the initial offensive style of play was dropped. Legendary coach Nereo Rocco introduced the ultra-defensive catenaccio system. It brought European glory to San Siro stadium for the first time: AC Milan won the European Champions Cup in 1963, the Cup Winners Cup in 1968, a second Champions Cup in 1969 and a second Cup Winners Cup in 1973. In the Champions Cup final of 1969 a talented, but young and still naive Ajax side was the opponent.

The most disastrous era in AC Milan's club history were most definitely the first five years of the 1980s. The 'dark ages' started in 1980, as the club got involved in the so-called 'Totonero scandal' and was found guilty of attempted bribery of several Lazio Roma players. As a punishment the once famous Rossoneri were banned to the Serie B. They returned on the highest level after one year, but then got relegated again by finishing 14th.

For the second time in its history, however, AC Milan was saved by a wealthy rich uncle. After a famous publisher by the name of Andrea Rizzoli had come to rescue in 1954, the saviour in 1986 was named Silvio Berlusconi, a media tycoon and owner of several comemercial TV stations (and later a contentiously right-wing politician and prime minister of Italy). Three of Berlusconi's signings ushered in a second 'Golden Era' for the club: coach Arrigo Sacchi, plus Dutch strikers Ruud Gullit (PSV) and Marco van Basten (Ajax). Former Ajacied Frank Rijkaard joined them one year later. Milan's three Olandesi (Dutchmen) scored the entire Milan production in two consecutive European Champions Cup finals: Gullit and Van Basten scored two each in the 1989 final against Steaua Bucharest (4-0). The 1990 final against Benfica was decided by a single Rijkaard goal. In both years, AC Milan also won the World Cup for club teams, the semi-official game between the champion of Europe and its South-American counterpart.

A few poor years followed, but AC Milan recovered quickly, winning its fifth European Champions Cup, re-structured to become the Champions League, in 1994. And: after having eliminated Ajax in the quarter finals AC Milan moved on to add an impressive sixth European Champions Cup to its cabinet in 2003, by beating in the final the only team the AC Milan fans hate even more than Inter: Juventus. The 1989, 1990 and 1994 victories were 'upgraded' by also winning the European Super Cup, the traditional game of the Champions Cup winner versus the Cup Winners Cup winner.

AC Milan's list of honors is even more impressive than Ajax's. On a domestic level, AC Milan won 16 Italian scudetti. The Coppa Italia was won five times, the Italian Super Cup once. The club's European record is downright staggering: six Champions Cups, two Cup Winners Cup, three European Super Cups and three World Cups. AC Milan's international honors top those of Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Ajax and Juventus - and is only topped by Real Madrid's.

Source: #27 of the Ajax chronicle 'Ajax - De Complete Werken', about AC Milan

AJAX REACTIONS ON THE APRIL 2003 QUARTER FINAL DRAW

"So, Italians again", said Ajax's right winger, Andy van der Meyde after the draw. "They're hard to play against. I would have preferred Barcelona. They have to deal with a few injuries these days, and they're not in great form. But well, we're going to the San Siro again. (...) Our chances? What can you say? No-one expected us to make it to the quarter finals anyway. I hope we win at home, so we can lean back a little bit in Milan. It's going to be tough. Milan is a very skilled team."

The comments of Nigel de Jong were similar to Van der Meyde's: "Of course, it's fantastic to receive such a great side over here and to go and play over there. But I kind of hoped for Barcelona, that's such a beautiful club. That stadium, man, it holds 100,000 people, it really gives you the chills. (...) No-one gave a penny for us reaching the quarter finals, so we have a chance against Milan, too. They have great players: Rivaldo, Rui Costa, to name but a few. You watch those guys on TV. As an 18 year-old you can only dream of playing against them."

Ajax captain Cristian Chivu: "I would have preferred Barcelona, or Manchester. Those teams play a more open game. It's always tough to play against Italians. I think Milan was the strongest out of the three possible opponents. They have experienced players, a good defense. I think this is a good draw for them. But the pressure is on them, not on us. That's why I think chances are fifty-fifty. I know almost all of their players. I know how they play."

The only Ajacied who did not seem to strongly prefer Barcelona or Man United, was John O'Brien: "Nice. Milan. Big city. And the club has many international stars. Besides, we have experience with Italian opponents, although Barcelona and Manchester would have been slightly more attractive (...) AC Milan has a strong team. They played particularly well in the early stages of the Champions League. We have two games to play. I think both sides will be cautious and sly, until someone scores the first goal. If we can win at home, I hope it'll be a little easier for us over there."

Finaly, the opinion of the coach, Ronald Koeman: "I would have preferred to play against PSV, but AC Milan is fantastic, too. We have two weeks to watch them play. During that period they play against Juventus, which will be an interesting game. We will follow them from now on. (...) While we are building a new team, with young players, they rely on experience. They signed Rivaldo and Rui Costa, for example. After a few poor years they are on their way back. Out of the possible quarter final opponents, I think Milan is the trickiest one. Against the other two, Barcelona and Manchester, it's easier to play."

"People in The Netherlands tend to have a different opinion, but Ajax still has a great reputation in Italy and Spain. The impact of Ajax is quite big in Europe. And I think we showed that we won't be beaten just like that. When Valencia played here, they no longer attempted to win in the second half, because they feared us. We didn't lose a single game in the second round and you can also make it through the quarter finals without a win. If we draw 0-0 at home and 1-1 away, we advance. If I would have to make a bet, I wouldn't put all of my money on Ajax, but we definitely have a chance."

As a player of FC Barcelona Koeman once had a very unpleasant experience against AC Milan, losing the 1994 Champions League final by the devastating score of 4-0. "Yeah, that's right", said Koeman. "But back then, they had an unbreakable defense."

Source: Ajax.nl

AC MILAN - THE STADIUM

Milan's impressive Giuseppe Meazza Stadium is known as the only thing AC Milan and Internazionale are willing to share.

The ground is usually dominated by red and black the one week, and by blue and black the. other. AC Milan, the people's club, usually attracts considerably larger crowds than Inter, the stylish club of the Milan elite.

The respective cores of fanatical supporters of Milan and Inter each have their own end. The away support gets the end opposite the hardcore tifosi of the home team.

The stadium was officially opened on 19 September 1926 and named after Giuseppe Meazza, a player from the 1930s who did what little others did: playing for both Inter and AC Milan. Meazza, however, is generally regarded as an Interista. Inter fans, therefore, proudly call their home ground Giuseppe Meazza, whereas the Milanisti prefer the unofficial name of the ground: San Siro.

The stadium was expanded in 1937, 1955 and 1989. During the latter renovation, the stadium was turned into a seats-only facility. Also, a third ring was added to the concrete colossus, lifting its capacity to 75,510. The 1989 renovation also saw an addition to Giuseppe Meazza Stadium that had disastrous effects in the first years: a glass roof over the stands, which turned out to keep too much of the sunlight away from the grass, which out of protest refused to grown, turned brown - and died. It sounds familiar to anyone who visited the Amsterdam ArenA in the first five seasons after its opening...

Source: #27 of the Ajax chronicle 'Ajax - De Complete Werken', about AC Milan

AC MILAN vs AJAX, THE HISTORY

There is no other club against which Ajax played so many European finals as against AC Milan. The clubs played each other eleven times and it no less than spectacular that those eleven games include two European Champions Cup finals (1969 and 1995), two European Super Cup finals (1974) and four more Champions League confrontations (1994 and April 2003). Ajax vs AC Milan, in other words, is a game of champions. A confrontation between two of the world's very greatest.

The first time the two sides clashed was in the European Champion Cup final of 28 May 1969, played in Real Madrid's Bernabeu Stadium. Coach Rinus Michels was building a team that would later become the 'Golden Ajax' of the early 1970s. Future superstars such as Johan Cruijff and Piet Keizer were already playing for the Amsterdammers, but were too young and naive to bring the experienced Italians and their merciless catenaccio system into trouble. The backbone of Ajax consisted of 'the generation before...', with players such as Bennie Muller, Henk Groot and Theo van Duivenbode. AC Milan had players such as Gianni Rivera, who would end up playing for the Rossenera for 25 years, and striker Prati. The latter scored a spectacular three goals, while Sormani netted once. A penalty converted by Velibor Vasovic was everything Ajax had to offer. 4-1. This European final came slightly too early.

Ajax's revenge followed almost five years later, in January of 1974. Times had changed by then. Ajax was the world's best football team, having won three European Champions Cups in a row. In the two-legged final of the European Super Cup (against the winner of the 1973 Cup Winners Cup) the Amsterdammers bumped into... AC Milan. Rivera was still playing for the Rossonera, who won the first leg (San Siro, Milan, 09 January 1974) by a single Chiarugi goal. It was not enough. Not remotely. Two weeks later, in Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium, almost every remaining member of the Golden Ajax got to score a goal: Jan Mulder, Piet Keizer, Johan Neeskens, Johnny Rep, Gerrie Mühren and Arie Haan made it 6-0 to Ajax and another European trophy could be added to Ajax club cabinet.

Ajax and AC Milan first clashed again twenty years later. Milan had won the Champions League of 1994. In the first round of the following edition, the Rossoneri bumped into Ajax in the first round. It turned out to be a confrontation between the most recent and the next winner of the competition. Ajax's first win of 2-0 in Amsterdam's rainy Olympic Stadium (14 September 1994; goals by Ronald de Boer and Jari Litmanen) was regarded as a surprise. By the time the two sides met again at Nereo Rocco Stadium in Triëst (23 November 1994; AC Milan had to play one home game there as a UEFA penalty), Ajax was no longer the underdog. Jari Litmanen made it 1-0 in the second minute, after which captain Franco Baresi sealed the fate of his team by scoring an own goal. At the end of the game, the Milan crowd rewarded their hero, Frank Rijkaard, with an emotional and unforgettable ovation.

The teams did not know that they would meet again that season. Both AC Milan and Ajax advanced to the knock-out stages and made it to the final at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria. In a rather gray final, Ajax did not show the quality football with which it had conquered Europe that year. After 86 minutes of cautious football, the winner was pushed against the nets by 18 year-old Patrick Kluivert: 1-0.

The memories of the last two confrontations, the ones of April 2003, are probably fresher to most Ajax fans than they would like to admit. AC Milan leaned back in the Amsterdam ArenA on 08 April. Ajax had a fine game, but did not score: 0-0. In Milan, two weeks later, Inzaghi and Shevchenko gave AC Milan the lead twice (1-0 and 2-1), but saw Ajax equalize on both occasions: Jari Litmanen and Steven Pienaar were the scorers. A well-deserved 2-2 result would have seen Ajax through to the semi-finals, but a Cristian Chivu sip-up, a rather lucky lob by Inzaghi and a final push by former Feyenoord striker Jon-Dahl Tomasson brought Ajax's Champions League dream to a dramatic, bitter end, three minutes into stoppage time.

Besides all of these great confrontation in official UEFA competitieon, Ajax and AC Milan also played three friendlies against each other over the years. The first one, on 01 September 1979, was during the Santiago Bernabeu tournament in Madrid Spain, and could be regarded as the tenth anniversary replay of the 1969 final. Bonsink scored for Ajax, Chiodi equalized from a penalty, after which Ajax won the penalty shoot-out by 8-7.

The second Ajax vs AC Milan friendly was probably the most prestigious one: the official opening game of Ajax's new home ground, the Amsterdam ArenA, on 14 August 1996. Many from the 'Class of 1995' had left. While Ajax presented newcomers such as John Veldman and Tijjani Babangida to its home crowd, Michael Reiziger and Edgar Davids were wearing the colours of the Rossoneri - and spoiled Ajax's house warming party. Goals by Dejan Savicevic, Marco Simone and Demetrio Albertini made it 0-3 to AC Milan, making clear that the second 'Golden Age' of the red and white from Amsterdam was over.

The most recent confrontation between Ajax and AC Milan was played on 26 July 2001, during the pre-season Amsterdam Tournament in the ArenA. Ajax fans and players alike were trying to forget some of the most dismal seasons in club history and were hopeful for the 2001-2002 season. Once again, however, AC Milan refused to cooperate. Ajax was chanceless against the ultra-defensive, but lethally counter-acttacking Italians. Rui Costa scored the only goal of the game: 0-1.

Source: #27 of the Ajax chronicle 'Ajax - De Complete Werken', about AC Milan

AC MILAN - THE CURRENT ROSTER

After a few relatively poor seasons, in some of which AC Milan failed to qualify for any UEFA competition, the Rossoneri are back on the level where they belong. The current AC Milan roster has an already legendary captain: 35 year-old defender Paolo Maldini, the last remaining pupil from the great Arrigo Sacchi's class. The son of Italy international Cesare Maldini made his début in 1985 and never left 'his' AC Milan. A career as long as that of Gianni Rivera is almost unthinkable in modern football, but Maldini will come close: his contract was recently extended until 2005. Maldini, by the way, is not the oldest Milan player in the current roster. Fellow 'Sacchi veteran' Andoni Costacurta (37) has been around even longer.

AC Milan's first squad for the 2003-2004 season consists of 26 players and underwent very few changes after the winning of the 2003 Champions League. Pure luxury for manager and head-coach Carlo Ancelotti, who does not work with a set starting line-up: 'as many games, as many line-ups' seems to be the motto. There is at least one top-notch Italian available for each line of the team, such as defender Alessandro Nesta, Massimo Ambrosini and Ivan Gennaro Gattuso in midfield and the lethally effective Filipo Inzaghi upfront.

The large part of AC Milan's squad, however, comes from elsewhere. Brazilian superstar Roque Junior is a regular in defense, while Dutchman Clarence Seedorf is today's connection between Ajax and AC Milan in midfield.

The real power of AC Milan however lies in the forward line, where Inzaghi is usually playing alongside Brazilian superstar Rivaldo, or the man who proved that not all Russian footballers fail when outside of their homeland: Andrei Shevchenko. Inzaghi, Rivaldo and Shevchenko... no wonder that former Feyenoord man Jon-Dahl Tomasson does not get much playing time. Behind Milan's strikers is of the team's greatest: Portugese number ten, Rui Costa.

Ancelotti's AC Milan team can play catenaccio style. They can play with one striker, with two or - when ti's necessary - with three. As an opponent of AC Milan you never know what to expect.(MP)

Source: AC Milan.com

Related links

• Discussion: Champions League games 2003-2004
• News Report 2003-2004: Ajax face AC Milan, Celta de Vigo and Club Bruges
• AC Milan: Official website (English)
• Ajax.nl (April 2003): Ajax matched to AC Milan (English)