Demetrio Albertini and Adriano Galliani reveal how Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff accidentally inspired Milan to a 4-0 Champions League victory in 1994.
The Rossoneri were the underdogs going into that Final in Athens, especially as they were missing both first choice centre-backs, Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta.
“The joy we felt was immense,” former midfielder Albertini told the official Milan Instagram Live channel.
Demetrio Albertini and Adriano Galliani reveal how Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff accidentally inspired Milan to a 4-0 Champions League victory in 1994.
The Rossoneri were the underdogs going into that Final in Athens, especially as they were missing both first choice centre-backs, Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta.
“The joy we felt was immense,” former midfielder Albertini told the official Milan Instagram Live channel.
“We won the match the moment, for the first time, we were considered underdogs because the two centre-backs were missing. On the morning of the game, we saw the newspapers had Cruyff posing for a picture with the trophy. That fired us up so much that we knew we’d never lose that match.
“I have another memory of the Final, which is when we were about to walk out of the tunnel, I looked around and all the Barcelona players were really short. We said to each other that at the very least we’d make them suffer physically.
“We were so fired up and had prepared it in every tiny detail.”
Fabio Capello steered Milan to a crushing 4-0 victory, with Daniele Massaro’s brace, Dejan Savicevic and Marcel Desailly goals.
They humiliated a Barcelona team that included Pep Guardiola, Ronald Koeman, Hristo Stoichkov, Romario and Txiki Begiristain.
“Barcelona weren’t exactly struggling for talent with Romario and Stoichkov upfront, but they were totally annulled by our makeshift defence,” added former CEO Galliani.
“It was a wild march to the trophy against a Barcelona side who, like us, had already won their domestic title, but showed bad taste by posing with the Cup before the Final, knowing we were missing Costacurta and Baresi.”