AH - Italian Football - Butterflies in Milan
- Thread starter Piave92
- Start date
Ah, so it was Firenze who stole 7up sponsorship from Jordan...bastards almost screwed Eddie over 
95 - Serie A top teams roster & Poll - vote your favourite team!
These are the rosters for 1994-1995 seasons- Ambrosiana in Serie B and expect major changes vs Berlusconi's Era.
I'm opening a poll in which you can pick your favorite team and place a bet on the final Serie A Leaguetable!
I'm opening a poll in which you can pick your favorite team and place a bet on the final Serie A Leaguetable!
Last edited:
Hopefully, Parma manages to get Luis Figo. Other than that, this Serie A is looking like a slobberknocker, holy shit...
Thing is, wonder how Ranieri will fit them all together. Ranieri uses the 4-4-2 usually...no toldo's gonna hurt their chances at a scudetto, though...
The hardest thing here is to have consistent starting elevens and not a EA Sports Fifa team. Gotta think about It. Consider that Baggio in these years started to suffer from injuries
I thought it was mainly because he kept finding coaches that wouldn't let him play his natural game...here, with Batigol and Rui Costa, you'd figure he'd play his natural game or something
95 - Domestic (Serie A & Coppa del Re) - A new era beginning with a double
Promotion & relegation knock-off
As usual, in the early August, the Playoff took place between the fourth-to-last team of Serie A, Piacenza, and the Serie B 4th placed, Cesena:
The 1994-1995 Serie A consisted of a single 18-team national league. The latter three placed teams withstand direct relegation, while the 15th placed is forced to the playout against the 4th Serie B club.
The match returned to Italy after the previous year game in Washington. The venue of Stadio delle Alpi in Turin allowed both Milan and Genoa fans to reach a neutral ground, coloring the stadium with Red & Black and Red & Navy Blue the opposite stands. Many incidents occurred between the Milan and Genoa ultras firms, with several other clashes involving local Torino and Juventus fans. The game ran at a very slow pace, with Genoa luckily getting ahead on a free kick by Marcolin (36th). Milan moved on, taking the game in its hands, and hitting two crossbars with Simone (42nd) and Boban (44th). Genoa couldn’t surpass the half-line, under the furious Milanista pressing. In the second half, the Rossoneri finally got the draw thanks to Gullit (83rd) and missed a penalty with Massaro (86th), putting the game to the extra-time. In the additional time, both teams seemed to be exhausted, and no real dangers were posed to Rossi and Berti. At the penalties, Milan managed to win thanks to the errors of Panucci and Skuhravy.
Starting from this season, the wins now became more and more important, since the prize for the victory was worth three points. This reform would lead to an improvement of the offensive attitude of many teams.
Ambrosiana’s relegation and Berlusconi’s political career couldn’t meet, thus Berlusconi sold most of his shares in Ambrosiana to Massimo Moratti, son of Angelo, former president of Ambrosiana in the Sixties. Nevertheless, Berlusconi managed, in a complete hawkish behavior, to cut expenditure and realize gains on the sale of many household names like Costacurta to Juventus. Moratti’s Ambrosiana had to face the new reality of Serie B with a roster of youngsters, old guards, and journeymen.
Capello’s Milan confirmed its roster, adding back Gullit after the loan spell at Andrea Doria, welcoming Toldo (GK) from a series of successful loans, signing promising Bonomi (CB) from Cremonese, and calling back Stroppa (MF/FW) from Lazio.
Juventus finished its Boniperti era, with the arrival of former captain Bettega in the management and sports director Luciano Moggi (coming from Naples) bringing new breath in Turin. Trapattoni left Juventus, to be substituted with the promising Lippi from Naples. The roster was strongly restructured: the Germans Kohler (CB) and Moeller (CM) left the club, together with the Brazilian Julio Cesar (CB) and the striker Di Canio (FW/SS). Entering the club, the former vice-captain of Ambrosiana, Costacurta (CB) for 9 billion Lire (deeply contested by the fans), the Portuguese Paulo Sousa (MF) for 10 billion, the Frenchman Deschamps (DM) for 2 billion, and Alessandro Orlando (DF) from Milan. An additional assault on Roberto Baggio (CM/SS) couldn’t met Firenze’s demands (a proposed deal worth 25 billion, including the rights on Silenzi). The new era of Lippi’s Juventus started, with a strong focus on offensive play.
Andrea Doria kept most of its squad, substituting Katanec (LB/MF) with M.Serena and fighting to preserve Vialli and Mancini, both aging, but still very much asked by several teams like Torino, Lazio, Capitolina, and Naples.
Lazio confirmed Zoff at its helm as technical director, with the arrival of Zeman from Foggia as head coach. The market brought Rambaudi (MF/FW), Casiraghi (CF), and Chamot (CB), in a young roster in which Nesta and Di Biagio, both former academy players blossomed.
Torino, with president Borsano passes the hand to Ferrero completely, that appoints Antonio Giraudo (a former FIAT manager) as CEO. Giraudo confirms Mondonico on the bench and with Ferrero’s money signs several players like Angloma (DF), Abedi Pelè (CF), Rizzitelli (CF), and Cristallini (MF).
Parma, a growing provincial side, confirms coach Nevio Scala, and reinforces the team with Negri (CF), Scienza (MF), Tovalieri (CF), Crippa (MF), Fernando Couto (CB), and young Fiore (MF).
Naples, in a dire financial situation, managed to put a strengthened team in the sapient hands of Boskov (new head coach): Matrecano (CB), Carbone (SS), Agostini (CF) and Boghossian (MF) were the top signings. Naples’ president Ferlaino refused an offer for captain Ferrara (CB) of over 11 billion from Juventus, before the latter moved on Costacurta.
Scoglio’s Genoa looked to further improve their roster after the victory of Coppa del Re: they kept Panucci even against strong biddings from Lazio and Milan, but without disposals the economic might of chairman Spinelli wasn’t enough to properly prop the team. The most interesting signing of Serie A occurred at Genoa, with Japanese forward Miura joining the roster.
Mazzone’s Roma had one unique strong signing in the season, the Uruguayan striker Fonseca (CF) from Naples, together with several promising players like Colonnese (CB), Moriero (MF), Maini (MF), and Petruzzi (DF).
Chairman Cellino’s Cagliari achieved a surprising signing in this season, bringing the French star Cantona (CF) – with maternal Sardinian roots – in Sardinia. Ranieri’s Firenze added the class of the Portuguese offensive midfielder Rui Costa (CM/SS) to team, to offer a backup to Baggio (with growing concerns on his health and that became injury prone in the past season) and to provide alternatives in terms of game strategy.
The championship
First round
The championship following the US World Cup started on 4 September 1994. The two protagonists at the start of the season were Fiore and Negri’s Parma, a provincial team that had by then become a solid reality of 90s football, and the Capitolina of the South American tandem Fonseca-Balbo: the two teams took the lead on the fifth day, alternating at the top until 30 October, when the victory in the direct clash (1-0) allowed the Emilians to try and escape.
Behind them, in November Lippi's new Juventus gained ground, in constant growth after the initial running-in (including the phantom goal conceded in the reverse in Foggia as well as the impossibility of boasting the possible points of the first derby, postponed to January due to the Tanaro river flood), accompanied by Signori's Lazio and Batistuta-Baggio-Rui Costa’s Firenze.
Just below the top areas, Milan appeared instead in an identity crisis: the outgoing champions, distracted by the Champions League as well as by internal nervousness that, among others, will lead Gullit to an early return to Andrea Doria. Surprising instead was Foggia, who did not seem to suffer the post-Zeman era, stationing themselves, under the new leadership of Catuzzi, close to the UEFA zone.
At the end of the calendar year Juventus emerged powerfully, who found in the twenty-year-old Del Piero a new star, with his explosion of talent in a few weeks at the highest levels, as well as in a Ravanelli regenerated by Lippi's management, two of the pawns on which to bet for the chase to the title, together with the solidity of the midfield duo Sousa-Deschamps. Unluckily for Firenze, well stacked offensively to run for the Scudetto, its captain Roberto Baggio suffered a serious injury that put him out of the pitch for more than five months, leading to a slight decline of the Tuscans.
On 4 December, in one of the watershed matches of the season, Juventus came back against the Viola at the Delle Alpi (from 0-2 to 3-2 in the last 20 minutes) thanks to an invention at the end of the match by Del Piero - a lob on the volley remained in the annals - while seven days later, thanks to the victory in the capital away match against Lazio (3-4) they gained the lone lead, with a match to recover compared to the opponents. In spite of the following week's false step against Genoa (again due to a phantom goal conceded at the end of the match) that immediately cost them the supremacy in favour of the surprising Parma, at the return from the Christmas break the success in the direct clash on 8 January 1995 (1-3) pushed the Turin team towards the symbolic winter title, which they collected two rounds later.
Second round
With the start of the second half of the season, on 29 January, the tournament was ravaged by the events in Genoa where, in the clashes between Genoa and Milan fans, outside the Marassi stadium, the red and blue supporter Vincenzo Spagnolo was stabbed to death: the episode caused the suspension of the match and a week's stop to all national championships, a decision that, however, will not solve the problem of ultras violence in Italian stadiums.
Between February and March, an unprejudiced Juventus, interpreting better than rivals the new rule of three points per victory, with a game always devoted to the attack, was able to accumulate a considerable advantage: Already on 1 April, the victory in the classic against Milan (0-2) seemed to foreshadow the upcoming handover between the holders and the new champions. So, in the following Sundays Lippi's team administered their points of advantage and did not suffer too much from some unexpected defeats, including those in the two Derbies against Torino. Juventus mathematically won the Scudetto on 21 May, two rounds in advance, beating a disheartened Parma 4-0 in the big match in Turin. It was the eighteenth national title, an achievement that had been missing for the Piedmontese since the 1985-86 season.
In the final days, Parma’s performance declined when they understood that they couldn’t keep the pace of Juventus, allowing Milan and Lazio to slip ahead them in the league table. In the deeply contested UEFA access zone, Parma had to control the furious return of Capitolina, Naples, Torino, Andrea Doria, Cagliari, and Firenze. The Emilian team ended outside the UEFA spot, ending the championship sharing the sixth position with Andrea Doria, forcing the two teams to a runoff game.
The race for salvation rewarded the Cremonese and the newly promoted Liberty Bari, however, declined at a distance after a good start, while, despite a first round of depth, a collapse in performance in the final round sanctioned the return to Serie B of Cesena. Reggiana and Brescia remained at the bottom of the standings. Brescia went to meet a totally unsuccessful season, losing the last fifteen consecutive matches of the championship and putting together just 12 points, which combined with various other negative records, affixed to the Lombards the unedifying name of the worst team in the history of Serie A. Foggia, despite a good first leg, had to accept to face the playouts for the following season.
Scudetto Roll of Honor
Coppa del Re
The Coppa del Re continued with the following setup, using a scoreboard based on rankings from 1 to 64. The participants were as follows:
Round of 32
First leg - Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin - attendance: 62,554 - ref. Amendolia (Messina) – Juventus – Milan (1-2)
Milan started strong in Turin against Juventus, scoring at the 7th minute with Simone on a cross by Maldini. Then, Milan controlled the game, with three distinct attempts; at the minute 15th, Donadoni hit the post with a left shot from outside the box, at the minute 23rd, Massaro’s lob finished thwarted by Peruzzi (in an unusual and distinctive save with a last-gasp effort), and at the minute 28th, Simone’s shot was saved on the line by Costacurta. Nevertheless, Milan achieved the double advantage at minute 57th in the second half, with a precise shot by Boban. Juventus seemed to be at the mercy of Milan, with Massaro missing another easy goal at minute 71st, but an incredible dribbling series of Del Piero ended in Filippo Galli fouling him inside the box at minute 85th. The youngster presented himself to kick the penalty, scoring against Sebastiano Rossi the definitive 1-2 for Milan.
Second leg - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan - attendance: 73,279- ref. Collina (Viareggio) – Milan – Juventus (2-4 – after extra time)
In the return leg, Juventus started strong and an offensive push by Torricelli at minute 22nd finished with a foul by Maldini. Del Piero crossed the ball and Ravanelli hit the immediate 0-1 at minute 23rd. Juventus found new strength in the week that separated the two games, and went on to put itself on a 0-2 lead at minute 41st, with Silenzi (in the double pronged attack that Lippi designed for the game) hitting a header on a cross from Fortunato. In the second half, Milan returned angry and willing to close the gap, with several near misses, until Savicevic’s incredible free kick of minute 82nd. The game went to the extra-time. Milan, incredibly, found the energy to put itself on a 2-2 that meant qualification at the minute 101st (Massaro), but Juventus’ willingness to win was simply too much for the Rossoneri. Conte managed to put Juve ahead again with a shot from outside the box at minute 104th, and then a melee in Milan’s box after a corner ended in goal with Costacurta (the hated ex Ambrosiana captain) likely hitting the ball. Juventus completed the National double for the 1994-1995 season.
Coppa del Re Roll of Honor
As usual, in the early August, the Playoff took place between the fourth-to-last team of Serie A, Piacenza, and the Serie B 4th placed, Cesena:
- Cesena – Piacenza (2-1 – Hubner, Hubner (CES) and Inzaghi F. (PIA)
- Piacenza – Cesena (0-0)
- Liberty Bari, Padova, and Brescia promoted to Serie A through Serie B placement;
- Ambrosiana, Udinese, and Atalanta relegated to Serie B through Serie A placement;
- Piacenza relegated to Serie B/ Cesena promoted to Serie A through Playoff.
The 1994-1995 Serie A consisted of a single 18-team national league. The latter three placed teams withstand direct relegation, while the 15th placed is forced to the playout against the 4th Serie B club.
- Milan (National Champion & Incumbent Champion) to 1994-1995 European Cup;
- Genoa (Coppa del Re Champion) to the 1994-1995 European Winners' Cup;
- Juventus, Andrea Doria, Lazio, Torino and Ambrosiana (UEFA Confederation Cup Incumbent Champion) to 1994-1995 UEFA Confederation Cup;
- Milan and Genoa to the Italian Super Cup;
- Milan and Ambrosiana to the European Super Cup;
- Milan to the Intercontinental Cup.
- Milan – (Lotto / OPEL – automotive)
- Juventus – (Kappa / Danone – food)
- Andrea Doria – (Asics / ERG – oil & petrol)
- Lazio – (Umbro / Banco di Roma – banking)
- Torino – (Lotto / Nutella – food)
- Parma – (Umbro / Parmalat – food)
- Naples – (Lotto / Voiello – food)
- Genoa – (Erreà / Costa Crociere – cruising)
- Capitolina – (Asics / Nuova Tirrena – insurance)
- Cagliari – (Erreà / Pecorino Sardo – food)
- Firenze – (Uhlsport / Sammontana – food)
- Reggiana – (Asics / Giglio – food)
- Foggia – (Adidas / Snips Casalinghi – house appliances)
- Cremonese – (Uhlsport / Moncart – paper mill)
- Liberty Bari – (Adidas / Wüber – food)
- Padova – (Lotto / Acqua Vera – mineral water)
- Brescia – (Uhlsport / Credito Agricolo Bresciano – banking)
- Cesena – (Adidas / Tecnocasa – real estate)
The match returned to Italy after the previous year game in Washington. The venue of Stadio delle Alpi in Turin allowed both Milan and Genoa fans to reach a neutral ground, coloring the stadium with Red & Black and Red & Navy Blue the opposite stands. Many incidents occurred between the Milan and Genoa ultras firms, with several other clashes involving local Torino and Juventus fans. The game ran at a very slow pace, with Genoa luckily getting ahead on a free kick by Marcolin (36th). Milan moved on, taking the game in its hands, and hitting two crossbars with Simone (42nd) and Boban (44th). Genoa couldn’t surpass the half-line, under the furious Milanista pressing. In the second half, the Rossoneri finally got the draw thanks to Gullit (83rd) and missed a penalty with Massaro (86th), putting the game to the extra-time. In the additional time, both teams seemed to be exhausted, and no real dangers were posed to Rossi and Berti. At the penalties, Milan managed to win thanks to the errors of Panucci and Skuhravy.
- Asprilla (GEN) – Goal 1-2
- Albertini (MIL) – Goal 2-2
- Signorini (GEN) – Goal 3-2
- Boban (MIL) – Goal 3-3
- Panucci (GEN) – missed 3-3
- Simone (MIL) – Goal 4-3
- Ruotolo (GEN) – Goal 4-4
- Baresi (MIL) – Goal 5-4
- Skuhravy (GEN) – missed 5-4
Starting from this season, the wins now became more and more important, since the prize for the victory was worth three points. This reform would lead to an improvement of the offensive attitude of many teams.
Ambrosiana’s relegation and Berlusconi’s political career couldn’t meet, thus Berlusconi sold most of his shares in Ambrosiana to Massimo Moratti, son of Angelo, former president of Ambrosiana in the Sixties. Nevertheless, Berlusconi managed, in a complete hawkish behavior, to cut expenditure and realize gains on the sale of many household names like Costacurta to Juventus. Moratti’s Ambrosiana had to face the new reality of Serie B with a roster of youngsters, old guards, and journeymen.
Capello’s Milan confirmed its roster, adding back Gullit after the loan spell at Andrea Doria, welcoming Toldo (GK) from a series of successful loans, signing promising Bonomi (CB) from Cremonese, and calling back Stroppa (MF/FW) from Lazio.
Juventus finished its Boniperti era, with the arrival of former captain Bettega in the management and sports director Luciano Moggi (coming from Naples) bringing new breath in Turin. Trapattoni left Juventus, to be substituted with the promising Lippi from Naples. The roster was strongly restructured: the Germans Kohler (CB) and Moeller (CM) left the club, together with the Brazilian Julio Cesar (CB) and the striker Di Canio (FW/SS). Entering the club, the former vice-captain of Ambrosiana, Costacurta (CB) for 9 billion Lire (deeply contested by the fans), the Portuguese Paulo Sousa (MF) for 10 billion, the Frenchman Deschamps (DM) for 2 billion, and Alessandro Orlando (DF) from Milan. An additional assault on Roberto Baggio (CM/SS) couldn’t met Firenze’s demands (a proposed deal worth 25 billion, including the rights on Silenzi). The new era of Lippi’s Juventus started, with a strong focus on offensive play.
Andrea Doria kept most of its squad, substituting Katanec (LB/MF) with M.Serena and fighting to preserve Vialli and Mancini, both aging, but still very much asked by several teams like Torino, Lazio, Capitolina, and Naples.
Lazio confirmed Zoff at its helm as technical director, with the arrival of Zeman from Foggia as head coach. The market brought Rambaudi (MF/FW), Casiraghi (CF), and Chamot (CB), in a young roster in which Nesta and Di Biagio, both former academy players blossomed.
Torino, with president Borsano passes the hand to Ferrero completely, that appoints Antonio Giraudo (a former FIAT manager) as CEO. Giraudo confirms Mondonico on the bench and with Ferrero’s money signs several players like Angloma (DF), Abedi Pelè (CF), Rizzitelli (CF), and Cristallini (MF).
Parma, a growing provincial side, confirms coach Nevio Scala, and reinforces the team with Negri (CF), Scienza (MF), Tovalieri (CF), Crippa (MF), Fernando Couto (CB), and young Fiore (MF).
Naples, in a dire financial situation, managed to put a strengthened team in the sapient hands of Boskov (new head coach): Matrecano (CB), Carbone (SS), Agostini (CF) and Boghossian (MF) were the top signings. Naples’ president Ferlaino refused an offer for captain Ferrara (CB) of over 11 billion from Juventus, before the latter moved on Costacurta.
Scoglio’s Genoa looked to further improve their roster after the victory of Coppa del Re: they kept Panucci even against strong biddings from Lazio and Milan, but without disposals the economic might of chairman Spinelli wasn’t enough to properly prop the team. The most interesting signing of Serie A occurred at Genoa, with Japanese forward Miura joining the roster.
Mazzone’s Roma had one unique strong signing in the season, the Uruguayan striker Fonseca (CF) from Naples, together with several promising players like Colonnese (CB), Moriero (MF), Maini (MF), and Petruzzi (DF).
Chairman Cellino’s Cagliari achieved a surprising signing in this season, bringing the French star Cantona (CF) – with maternal Sardinian roots – in Sardinia. Ranieri’s Firenze added the class of the Portuguese offensive midfielder Rui Costa (CM/SS) to team, to offer a backup to Baggio (with growing concerns on his health and that became injury prone in the past season) and to provide alternatives in terms of game strategy.
The championship
First round
The championship following the US World Cup started on 4 September 1994. The two protagonists at the start of the season were Fiore and Negri’s Parma, a provincial team that had by then become a solid reality of 90s football, and the Capitolina of the South American tandem Fonseca-Balbo: the two teams took the lead on the fifth day, alternating at the top until 30 October, when the victory in the direct clash (1-0) allowed the Emilians to try and escape.
Behind them, in November Lippi's new Juventus gained ground, in constant growth after the initial running-in (including the phantom goal conceded in the reverse in Foggia as well as the impossibility of boasting the possible points of the first derby, postponed to January due to the Tanaro river flood), accompanied by Signori's Lazio and Batistuta-Baggio-Rui Costa’s Firenze.
Just below the top areas, Milan appeared instead in an identity crisis: the outgoing champions, distracted by the Champions League as well as by internal nervousness that, among others, will lead Gullit to an early return to Andrea Doria. Surprising instead was Foggia, who did not seem to suffer the post-Zeman era, stationing themselves, under the new leadership of Catuzzi, close to the UEFA zone.
At the end of the calendar year Juventus emerged powerfully, who found in the twenty-year-old Del Piero a new star, with his explosion of talent in a few weeks at the highest levels, as well as in a Ravanelli regenerated by Lippi's management, two of the pawns on which to bet for the chase to the title, together with the solidity of the midfield duo Sousa-Deschamps. Unluckily for Firenze, well stacked offensively to run for the Scudetto, its captain Roberto Baggio suffered a serious injury that put him out of the pitch for more than five months, leading to a slight decline of the Tuscans.
On 4 December, in one of the watershed matches of the season, Juventus came back against the Viola at the Delle Alpi (from 0-2 to 3-2 in the last 20 minutes) thanks to an invention at the end of the match by Del Piero - a lob on the volley remained in the annals - while seven days later, thanks to the victory in the capital away match against Lazio (3-4) they gained the lone lead, with a match to recover compared to the opponents. In spite of the following week's false step against Genoa (again due to a phantom goal conceded at the end of the match) that immediately cost them the supremacy in favour of the surprising Parma, at the return from the Christmas break the success in the direct clash on 8 January 1995 (1-3) pushed the Turin team towards the symbolic winter title, which they collected two rounds later.
Second round
With the start of the second half of the season, on 29 January, the tournament was ravaged by the events in Genoa where, in the clashes between Genoa and Milan fans, outside the Marassi stadium, the red and blue supporter Vincenzo Spagnolo was stabbed to death: the episode caused the suspension of the match and a week's stop to all national championships, a decision that, however, will not solve the problem of ultras violence in Italian stadiums.
Between February and March, an unprejudiced Juventus, interpreting better than rivals the new rule of three points per victory, with a game always devoted to the attack, was able to accumulate a considerable advantage: Already on 1 April, the victory in the classic against Milan (0-2) seemed to foreshadow the upcoming handover between the holders and the new champions. So, in the following Sundays Lippi's team administered their points of advantage and did not suffer too much from some unexpected defeats, including those in the two Derbies against Torino. Juventus mathematically won the Scudetto on 21 May, two rounds in advance, beating a disheartened Parma 4-0 in the big match in Turin. It was the eighteenth national title, an achievement that had been missing for the Piedmontese since the 1985-86 season.
In the final days, Parma’s performance declined when they understood that they couldn’t keep the pace of Juventus, allowing Milan and Lazio to slip ahead them in the league table. In the deeply contested UEFA access zone, Parma had to control the furious return of Capitolina, Naples, Torino, Andrea Doria, Cagliari, and Firenze. The Emilian team ended outside the UEFA spot, ending the championship sharing the sixth position with Andrea Doria, forcing the two teams to a runoff game.
The race for salvation rewarded the Cremonese and the newly promoted Liberty Bari, however, declined at a distance after a good start, while, despite a first round of depth, a collapse in performance in the final round sanctioned the return to Serie B of Cesena. Reggiana and Brescia remained at the bottom of the standings. Brescia went to meet a totally unsuccessful season, losing the last fifteen consecutive matches of the championship and putting together just 12 points, which combined with various other negative records, affixed to the Lombards the unedifying name of the worst team in the history of Serie A. Foggia, despite a good first leg, had to accept to face the playouts for the following season.
Scudetto Roll of Honor
Coppa del Re
The Coppa del Re continued with the following setup, using a scoreboard based on rankings from 1 to 64. The participants were as follows:
- 18 Serie A teams
- 20 Serie B teams
- 20 Serie C teams
- 6 Serie D teams (4 winners of respective rounds + 2 winners of a playout phase among the second placed in each round)
Round of 32
- Milan overcame Pescara 1-0 away (Savicevic) and won 3-0 at home (Massaro’s brace for and Stroppa for Milan)
- Udinese blocked Ambrosiana on a 2-2 game at home (Delvecchio’s brace for Ambrosiana, Godeas and Pizzi for Udinese) and went on to win in Milan with a 0-2 (Ametrano and Helveg)
- Anconitana defeated Genoa 1-0 at home (Sgrò), while lost the game in Genoa with a 3-0 (Asprilla, Van’t Schip, and Skuhravy)
- Ascoli and Capitolina impacted on a scoreless draw in Marche, with Capitolina prevailing in Rome 1-0 (Balbo)
- Lucchese defeated Parma 1-0 (Di Francesco) at home and tied the away game 1-1 (Negri for Parma, Paci for Lucchese), eliminating Parma
- Firenze won in Cesena 1-0 (Baggio R.) and tied the home game (Batistuta for the Tuscans and Hubner for Cesena)
- Lazio quashed Verona 0-2 in Veneto (Casiraghi and Boksic) and overwhelmed the Venetians at home with a 3-1 win (Di Biagio and Signori’s brace for Lazio and Cammarata for Verona)
- Foggia and Padova tied 1-1 in Veneto (Lalas for Padova, Kolyvanov for Foggia), with the latter winning 0-1 at the Zaccheria stadium in Apulia (Galderisi)
- Doria defeated Cosenza 0-2 in Calabria (Vialli, Mihajlovic) and tied the home game 2-2 (Chiesa’s brace for Doria, Marulla and Ziliani for the Calabrians)
- Cremonese won 2-3 in Bari against Liberty (Protti’s brace for Liberty, Tentoni, Sclosa, and Milanese for Cremonese) and again 2-1 at home (Tentoni’s brace for Cremonese and Amoruso for Liberty Bari)
- Torino defeated Vicenza away with a 3-1 (Vieri, Annoni, Abedi Pelè for Torino and Murgita for Vicenza) and lost the home game 0-1 (Briaschi)
- Reggiana lost to Brescia at home 0-1 (Gallo) and tied the return game 1-1 (Neri for Brescia and Simutenkov for Reggiana), allowing the Lombards the pass to the Round of 16
- Naples lost 2-0 in Andria (Luceri’s brace), but managed to overcome the gap winning 4-1 at home (Di Canio, Buso, Ferrara, and Agostini for the Neapolitans, N.Amoruso for the Apulians)
- Cagliari tied the game in Venice against Venezia 2-2 (Cantona and Zola for Cagliari, Cerbone and Di Già for Venezia) but won 2-0 at home (Sanna and Allegri)
- Piacenza defeated Atalanta 1-0 at home (F. Inzaghi) and tied 2-2 the game in Bergamo (Montero and F. Inzaghi for Piacenza, Ganz’s brace for Atalanta)
- Palermo defeated Juventus 1-0 in Sicily (Maiellaro), but lost 2-0 in Turin (Ravanelli and Del Piero)
- Milan overcame Udinese 4-2 away (Simone’s brace, Massaro, and Savicevic for the Milanese, Pizzi and Bertotto for the Friuli team) and lost 2-1 at home with a team full of reserves (Godeas’ brace and Bonomi for Milan)
- Genoa defeated Capitolina with a double 1-0 (Asprilla in Genoa and Signorini in Rome)
- In the Tuscan derby, Firenze defeated Lucchese 3-0 on aggregate (0-1 in Lucca, Batistuta, 2-0 in Florence, Batistuta and R. Baggio)
- Padova stopped Lazio on a 1-1 at home (Signori for Lazio, Maniero for Padova) and a home win Rome for Lazio by 1-0 (Signori again)
- Andrea Doria defeated Cremonese 0-3 (Vialli’s brace and Jugovic) and won 2-0 in Genoa (Platt and Chiesa)
- Brescia surprisingly defeated Torino and qualified to the Quarterfinals, 1-0 at home (Baronchelli) and 0-2 in Turin (Neri’s brace)
- Cagliari defeated Naples 0-1 away (Cantona) and at home 2-0 (Zola and Bisoli)
- Juventus won in Bergamo 2-4 (Ravanelli, Del Piero, Paulo Sousa, Costacurta for Juventus and Ganz’s brace for Atalanta) and tied 1-1 in Turin (Silenzi for Juventus, Ganz for Atalanta)
- Milan defeated Genoa at Marassi by 0-1 (Massaro) and forced Genoa to a scoreless draw in Milan (Asprilla missed a penalty for Genoa)
- Lazio dispatched Firenze away with a net 0-3 (Signori’s brace and Casiraghi) and lost 0-1 at home (Batistuta)
- Doria defeated Brescia 1-3 away (Vialli, Mihajlovic, and Mancini for Doria, Neri for Brescia) and 2-0 at home (Vialli’s brace)
- Juventus won 0-2 in Cagliari (Ravanelli, Deschamps) and lost 1-2 at home (Cantona for Cagliari, Del Piero and Di Livio for Juventus)
- Milan and Lazio tied in Rome 1-1 (Signori for Lazio, Albertini for Milan) and then the Milanese won a hard-fought game at San Siro (3-2, Massaro and Simone opening for Milan, Boksic and Di Biagio closing the gap for Lazio, and a final goal by Boban to close the qualification in favor of the host team)
- Juventus defeated Doria with a double 1-0, winning the game in Turin with a goal by Fortunato and confirming itself in Genoa 0-1 with a goal by Del Piero.
First leg - Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin - attendance: 62,554 - ref. Amendolia (Messina) – Juventus – Milan (1-2)
Milan started strong in Turin against Juventus, scoring at the 7th minute with Simone on a cross by Maldini. Then, Milan controlled the game, with three distinct attempts; at the minute 15th, Donadoni hit the post with a left shot from outside the box, at the minute 23rd, Massaro’s lob finished thwarted by Peruzzi (in an unusual and distinctive save with a last-gasp effort), and at the minute 28th, Simone’s shot was saved on the line by Costacurta. Nevertheless, Milan achieved the double advantage at minute 57th in the second half, with a precise shot by Boban. Juventus seemed to be at the mercy of Milan, with Massaro missing another easy goal at minute 71st, but an incredible dribbling series of Del Piero ended in Filippo Galli fouling him inside the box at minute 85th. The youngster presented himself to kick the penalty, scoring against Sebastiano Rossi the definitive 1-2 for Milan.
Second leg - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan - attendance: 73,279- ref. Collina (Viareggio) – Milan – Juventus (2-4 – after extra time)
In the return leg, Juventus started strong and an offensive push by Torricelli at minute 22nd finished with a foul by Maldini. Del Piero crossed the ball and Ravanelli hit the immediate 0-1 at minute 23rd. Juventus found new strength in the week that separated the two games, and went on to put itself on a 0-2 lead at minute 41st, with Silenzi (in the double pronged attack that Lippi designed for the game) hitting a header on a cross from Fortunato. In the second half, Milan returned angry and willing to close the gap, with several near misses, until Savicevic’s incredible free kick of minute 82nd. The game went to the extra-time. Milan, incredibly, found the energy to put itself on a 2-2 that meant qualification at the minute 101st (Massaro), but Juventus’ willingness to win was simply too much for the Rossoneri. Conte managed to put Juve ahead again with a shot from outside the box at minute 104th, and then a melee in Milan’s box after a corner ended in goal with Costacurta (the hated ex Ambrosiana captain) likely hitting the ball. Juventus completed the National double for the 1994-1995 season.
Coppa del Re Roll of Honor
Last edited:
95 - International (European Cups) - A winless year
New
European Super Cup - Semifinal – Ambrosiana – Ajax (0-3)
Ambrosiana (UEFA Cup holders) faced Ajax (Cup Winners' Cup winners) in the semi-final of the European Super Cup. The Milanese, still reeling from the exit of Berlusconi and a good part of their most talented players, ended up overwhelmed with a net 3-0 win by Van Gall's young Ajax (Kluivert, Litmanen, and Overmars).
European Super Cup - Final – Milan – Ajax (2-0)
Milan eased to a 2–0 win and, in the process, ended Ajax unbeaten run in Europe. The Milanese’s first goal came minutes before half-time, when Daniele Massaro's defensive-splitting pass found Boban, who scored, despite ex-Milan Rijkaard’s attempts to hold him back by tugging his shirt. The Croatian forward nearly scored a second, but for Van Der Sar’s quick intervention. Up until then, Ajax had briefly threatened; from a long ball in the 19th minute, Ronald De Boer managed to turn Franco Baresi, but scuffed his shot wide. Milan found it easy to contain the opposition, given Desailly and Savićević influenced the tempo of the match. The latter came close to doubling Milan's lead when he broke forward and hit a shot goalwards, only for Van Der Sar to divert the ball round the post. In the second half, Litmanen thought he had equalized for Ajax when he tapped the ball in, but the referee disallowed the goal as there was infringement in the build-up. Milan continued to attack and extended their lead soon after; from Savićević's corner, Massaro jumped higher than his marker Reiziger and headed the ball into the Ajax’s goal.
Intercontinental Cup – Milan - Vélez Sársfield (1-1, 3-5 after penalties)
After an essentially even first half that was devoid of any great emotion, the start of the second half saw one of the decisive episodes of the match take place: after a great save on Daniele Massaro, the Vélez Pompei striker was brought down in the box by Franco Baresi after a clearance by Paraguayan goalkeeper Chilavert: The Argentine side took the lead on a penalty kick, converted by Roberto Trotta.
Seven minutes later, Milan equalised with Massaro, and Milan continued to attack, exposing itself to the quick counterattacks of Asad and with Rossi’s exit on Christian Bassedas preventing the Argentinians' second goal. Four minutes from the end Bonomi’s (who substituted Filippo Galli) expulsion (last man foul on Asad) marked the end of the regular time. In the extra-time, Milan lacked the energies to attack, while Vélez struggled due to the granitic bloc of Milan’s defense. The game stalled and went on to the penalties:
Champions League – Milan
In the Champions League, Milan, the reigning European champions, were drawn in the group with Dutch Ajax, Austrian Casino Salzburg, and Greek AEK Athens. After the defeat in the opener in Amsterdam, the Rossoneri got their first win in the home match against Salzburg. The Rossoneri ended the round in second place behind Louis van Gaal's young Ajax, who defeated Milan twice, on 7 points, ahead of Casino Salzburg and qualified for the quarterfinals.
In the knockout phase, the Rossoneri beat Benfica before and George Weah's Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals, winning 1-0 in Paris with Boban's goal in the last minutes after a counterattack led by Savićević and Massaro, and 2-0 in Milan with a brace from Savićević. Milan thus reached the UEFA Champions League final for the fifth time in seven years. At the Prater in Vienna, on 24 May 1995, Milan showed up without Savićević, who was injured, and again faced the Dutch side Ajax, who won 1-0 in a balanced match resolved by a goal from Patrick Kluivert five minutes from the end. It was the first time in the history of the Champions Cup that two teams met in the final after having already faced each other in the same season in the same competition.
Champions League Roll of Honor
Cup Winners’ Cup – Genoa
Genoa had a great ride in the Cup Winners' Cup, defeating the Norwegians of Bodø/Glimt in a series, followed by the Swiss of Grasshoppers and all the way up to the top-ranked Portuguese of Porto in the quarterfinals. However, the ride of coach Scoglio's boys was interrupted in the semi-final against Arsenal, after two wonderful matches, the Genoans had to stop on penalties.
Cup Winners' Cup Roll of Honor
UEFA Confederation Cup – Juventus, Andrea Doria, Lazio, Torino, and Ambrosiana
Preliminary Round
Only Ambrosiana finished eliminated, despite battling with stronger sides after its downsizing in roster quality due to the Serie B relegation.
Direct Elimination phase
Torino couldn’t overcome Bayer Leverkusen in the Round of 16, while the other clubs passed to the Quarterfinals. Lazio was then eliminated by Borussia Dortmund, while Juventus and Andrea Doria arrived to the Semifinals. German clubs Borussia (against Juve) and Bayer Leverkusen (against Doria) sweeped the Italian clubs, with Dortmund achieving the title.
UEFA Confederation Cup Roll of Honor
Ambrosiana (UEFA Cup holders) faced Ajax (Cup Winners' Cup winners) in the semi-final of the European Super Cup. The Milanese, still reeling from the exit of Berlusconi and a good part of their most talented players, ended up overwhelmed with a net 3-0 win by Van Gall's young Ajax (Kluivert, Litmanen, and Overmars).
European Super Cup - Final – Milan – Ajax (2-0)
Milan eased to a 2–0 win and, in the process, ended Ajax unbeaten run in Europe. The Milanese’s first goal came minutes before half-time, when Daniele Massaro's defensive-splitting pass found Boban, who scored, despite ex-Milan Rijkaard’s attempts to hold him back by tugging his shirt. The Croatian forward nearly scored a second, but for Van Der Sar’s quick intervention. Up until then, Ajax had briefly threatened; from a long ball in the 19th minute, Ronald De Boer managed to turn Franco Baresi, but scuffed his shot wide. Milan found it easy to contain the opposition, given Desailly and Savićević influenced the tempo of the match. The latter came close to doubling Milan's lead when he broke forward and hit a shot goalwards, only for Van Der Sar to divert the ball round the post. In the second half, Litmanen thought he had equalized for Ajax when he tapped the ball in, but the referee disallowed the goal as there was infringement in the build-up. Milan continued to attack and extended their lead soon after; from Savićević's corner, Massaro jumped higher than his marker Reiziger and headed the ball into the Ajax’s goal.
Intercontinental Cup – Milan - Vélez Sársfield (1-1, 3-5 after penalties)
After an essentially even first half that was devoid of any great emotion, the start of the second half saw one of the decisive episodes of the match take place: after a great save on Daniele Massaro, the Vélez Pompei striker was brought down in the box by Franco Baresi after a clearance by Paraguayan goalkeeper Chilavert: The Argentine side took the lead on a penalty kick, converted by Roberto Trotta.
Seven minutes later, Milan equalised with Massaro, and Milan continued to attack, exposing itself to the quick counterattacks of Asad and with Rossi’s exit on Christian Bassedas preventing the Argentinians' second goal. Four minutes from the end Bonomi’s (who substituted Filippo Galli) expulsion (last man foul on Asad) marked the end of the regular time. In the extra-time, Milan lacked the energies to attack, while Vélez struggled due to the granitic bloc of Milan’s defense. The game stalled and went on to the penalties:
- Albertini (MIL) – goal – 2-1
- Pompei (VEL) – goal – 2-2
- Desailly (MIL) – blocked by Chilavert – 2-2
- Trotta (VEL) – goal – 2-3
- Simone (MIL) – hit the post – 2-3
- Basualdo (VEL) – blocked by Rossi – 2-3
- Donadoni (MIL) – goal – 3-3
- Asad (VEL ) – goal – 3-4
- Baresi (MIL) – out – 3-4
- Chilavert (VEL) – goal – 3-5
Champions League – Milan
In the Champions League, Milan, the reigning European champions, were drawn in the group with Dutch Ajax, Austrian Casino Salzburg, and Greek AEK Athens. After the defeat in the opener in Amsterdam, the Rossoneri got their first win in the home match against Salzburg. The Rossoneri ended the round in second place behind Louis van Gaal's young Ajax, who defeated Milan twice, on 7 points, ahead of Casino Salzburg and qualified for the quarterfinals.
In the knockout phase, the Rossoneri beat Benfica before and George Weah's Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals, winning 1-0 in Paris with Boban's goal in the last minutes after a counterattack led by Savićević and Massaro, and 2-0 in Milan with a brace from Savićević. Milan thus reached the UEFA Champions League final for the fifth time in seven years. At the Prater in Vienna, on 24 May 1995, Milan showed up without Savićević, who was injured, and again faced the Dutch side Ajax, who won 1-0 in a balanced match resolved by a goal from Patrick Kluivert five minutes from the end. It was the first time in the history of the Champions Cup that two teams met in the final after having already faced each other in the same season in the same competition.
Champions League Roll of Honor
Cup Winners’ Cup – Genoa
Genoa had a great ride in the Cup Winners' Cup, defeating the Norwegians of Bodø/Glimt in a series, followed by the Swiss of Grasshoppers and all the way up to the top-ranked Portuguese of Porto in the quarterfinals. However, the ride of coach Scoglio's boys was interrupted in the semi-final against Arsenal, after two wonderful matches, the Genoans had to stop on penalties.
Cup Winners' Cup Roll of Honor
UEFA Confederation Cup – Juventus, Andrea Doria, Lazio, Torino, and Ambrosiana
Preliminary Round
Only Ambrosiana finished eliminated, despite battling with stronger sides after its downsizing in roster quality due to the Serie B relegation.
Direct Elimination phase
Torino couldn’t overcome Bayer Leverkusen in the Round of 16, while the other clubs passed to the Quarterfinals. Lazio was then eliminated by Borussia Dortmund, while Juventus and Andrea Doria arrived to the Semifinals. German clubs Borussia (against Juve) and Bayer Leverkusen (against Doria) sweeped the Italian clubs, with Dortmund achieving the title.
UEFA Confederation Cup Roll of Honor
I need to produce a new OT Chapter on the current political situation in Europe
Still lagging on this. My apologies for the lack of infographics but I'm currently struggling at work and in balancing my hobbies (like this) and my girlfriend's remarks on "how much time do you spend on your pet football project"
OT 06 - The evolution of Warsaw Pact & USSR
New
The fall of real Communism, with the advent of Gorbachev and his important reforms of Glasnost and Perestroika, helped to generate a strong change of climate in the Warsaw Pact countries from the late 1980s onwards. Even the Soviet Union itself ended up in a maelstrom of internal tensions and centrifugal pushes from the ethnic republics, with the Baltic and Caucasian republics in the forefront.
In 1990, with the first free elections in the Soviet Union, the PCUS lost elections in several ethnic republics to local reformers and nationalists (Baltic countries, Moldova, Armenia, and Georgia). The Baltic countries declared independence from the USSR, just as the process that would transform the Soviet Union into the new CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) was officially starting. The fragmentation process continued, with the unilateral declaration of independence by the Transcaucasian countries (Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan), followed by the Central Asian republics (Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) in 1991. Several autonomous republics within Russia did the same, with the Chechen example among the most prominent.
After an attempted putsch by communist conservatives and a democratic one that suited, Russian President Yeltsin found himself forced to stop his proposal for the independence of Russia from the new CIS, with the subsequent normalisation by Gorbachev between 1992 and 1993 of the CIS, composed only of the ethnic Slavic republics of the former USSR: Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The CIS would, in the following years ,face several threats to its integrity from the autonomous Caucasian republics, also going into economic crisis and losing a large part of its deterrent capacity towards the West.
The break-up of the USSR was seized upon by the countries in the orbit of the Warsaw Pact to break away, with free elections, won almost everywhere by reformist parties, with some distinctions. However, the shadow of Moscow still remained threatening for the countries in the far east of the pact, such as the Baltics, Poland and Romania. Prussia resumed its autonomy, rejecting, however, the offers of Confederal Germany for reunification, having long since internalised a different identity, thanks in part to continued Soviet investment in the construction of a 'distinct Germanness'.
Czechoslovakia, out of fear of the still powerful CIS, did not split into the two countries of Czechia and Slovakia, but remained a confederation of the two, with the emergence of autonomous republics with a centralised government.
In 1995, the map of Europe thus saw the borders defined in 1945 remain in place, with two Germanies (Confederal Germany and Prussia), one Bavaria and one Austria. In addition, Czechoslovakia remained united, while Moldova, taking advantage of Moscow's difficulties, managed to unite with Romania, but lost Transnistria to the CIS.
For the Eastern European countries, this was the beginning of the long process of moving towards a market economy and attempting to achieve levels of prosperity similar to those in the West. Some of these countries were immediately ready to achieve good levels of prosperity, such as Prussia, the Baltics and Czechoslovakia, while others collapsed deeply into poverty, such as Serbia, Bulgaria or Romania.
The cumbersome presence of the CIS prevented, however, a shift of NATO's borders eastwards during the 1990s-2000s, with NATO itself signing a pact with the CIS in which it pledged not to seek membership among the former Warsaw Pact countries, which were de facto neutralised. European integration towards the East was also slower and more limited, with only Austria, Sweden, Slovenia and Croatia joining in 1996.
In 1990, with the first free elections in the Soviet Union, the PCUS lost elections in several ethnic republics to local reformers and nationalists (Baltic countries, Moldova, Armenia, and Georgia). The Baltic countries declared independence from the USSR, just as the process that would transform the Soviet Union into the new CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) was officially starting. The fragmentation process continued, with the unilateral declaration of independence by the Transcaucasian countries (Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan), followed by the Central Asian republics (Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) in 1991. Several autonomous republics within Russia did the same, with the Chechen example among the most prominent.
After an attempted putsch by communist conservatives and a democratic one that suited, Russian President Yeltsin found himself forced to stop his proposal for the independence of Russia from the new CIS, with the subsequent normalisation by Gorbachev between 1992 and 1993 of the CIS, composed only of the ethnic Slavic republics of the former USSR: Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The CIS would, in the following years ,face several threats to its integrity from the autonomous Caucasian republics, also going into economic crisis and losing a large part of its deterrent capacity towards the West.
The break-up of the USSR was seized upon by the countries in the orbit of the Warsaw Pact to break away, with free elections, won almost everywhere by reformist parties, with some distinctions. However, the shadow of Moscow still remained threatening for the countries in the far east of the pact, such as the Baltics, Poland and Romania. Prussia resumed its autonomy, rejecting, however, the offers of Confederal Germany for reunification, having long since internalised a different identity, thanks in part to continued Soviet investment in the construction of a 'distinct Germanness'.
Czechoslovakia, out of fear of the still powerful CIS, did not split into the two countries of Czechia and Slovakia, but remained a confederation of the two, with the emergence of autonomous republics with a centralised government.
In 1995, the map of Europe thus saw the borders defined in 1945 remain in place, with two Germanies (Confederal Germany and Prussia), one Bavaria and one Austria. In addition, Czechoslovakia remained united, while Moldova, taking advantage of Moscow's difficulties, managed to unite with Romania, but lost Transnistria to the CIS.
For the Eastern European countries, this was the beginning of the long process of moving towards a market economy and attempting to achieve levels of prosperity similar to those in the West. Some of these countries were immediately ready to achieve good levels of prosperity, such as Prussia, the Baltics and Czechoslovakia, while others collapsed deeply into poverty, such as Serbia, Bulgaria or Romania.
The cumbersome presence of the CIS prevented, however, a shift of NATO's borders eastwards during the 1990s-2000s, with NATO itself signing a pact with the CIS in which it pledged not to seek membership among the former Warsaw Pact countries, which were de facto neutralised. European integration towards the East was also slower and more limited, with only Austria, Sweden, Slovenia and Croatia joining in 1996.