Ten years on, Football Italia looks back at the night Filippo Inzaghi laid the Istanbul ghosts to rest.
Words: Barney Lloyd-Wood
To some the lesser of two epic encounters, to others the vengeance that was needed. Perhaps no game could avenge Istanbul, one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history, but on May 23rd a decade ago, 350 miles south of the Turkish city, Milan claimed victory over Liverpool.
Ten years on, Football Italia looks back at the night Filippo Inzaghi laid the Istanbul ghosts to rest.
Words: Barney Lloyd-Wood
To some the lesser of two epic encounters, to others the vengeance that was needed. Perhaps no game could avenge Istanbul, one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history, but on May 23rd a decade ago, 350 miles south of the Turkish city, Milan claimed victory over Liverpool.
For Rossoneri faithful, the game lives in bittersweet nostalgia, whether Istanbul could truly be avenged or not, this marks the age of Carlo Ancelotti, of Kaka, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and so many other great names in one of European football’s greatest sides, something they are long away from nowadays.
Invariably, there is little chance of a favourable run to the final in Europe’s elite competition, with both sides making their way to the Greek capital the hard way. Milan had initially been docked 30 points at the start of the season for their guilty verdict in the Calciopoli scandal that rocked the peninsula and it’s teams. With even their place in the groups called into question, they defied the odds, finishing a favourable group (which actually took them to Athens to face AEK that season) before beating Celtic, Bayern Munich and Manchester United. The latter of the three knockout games was where arguably Brazilian midfielder Kaka staked his claim the most as the greatest number 10 in the world at the time – though of course he wore the number 22.
As for Liverpool, they got the trickiest out the way first, knocking out Barcelona in the round of 16 with a win in the Nou Camp, before Rafa Benitez’ men dispatched PSV Eindhoven and Chelsea, games between those two becoming a feature in the Mourino-Benitez showdowns that were a regular feature at the time.
In front of 63,000 in Athens (a number with some debate, with large numbers of fans entering without valid tickets) two European powerhouses with a boastful history of success on the continent met again.
Liverpool arguably had the weaker of the sides, perhaps one that would never replicate this fixture in 2005, while Milan boasted largely one of their most impressive rosters. On the night, it was the great poacher Filippo Inzaghi who popped up twice in the right place at the right time, as he so often did in his playing career.
In the first half, a free kicked from Pirlo initially looked to have completely fooled Pepe Reina, but on a closer look it deflected in off Inzaghi. How much he knew about it remains to be seen, although his wild celebrations were convincing. Then near the end a pass from Kaka through the eye of a needle found Inzaghi again, who rounded Reina and trickled his shot in. Dirk Kuyt’s shot from close range gave the Reds hope for the final few minutes, but the drama in Turkey was never replicated. Milan gained Istanbul vengeance in almost finale-style.
Their seventh European Cup has been followed up with just the one Serie A title since as Juve and Inter have dominated the peninsula, while the success of the Spanish and German sides in Europe has largely left the Milanese behind. Yet this night did a little to let the greats of the last Milan era bow out with some form of payback.