When AC Milan defeated Benfica again in 1990 to win the European Championship, no one expected that 27 years later, another club would save the trophy. Even so, it's clear that this is one of the greatest aspects of the game.
Milan have world-class defenders Franco Baresi and Paulo Maldini. They had three famous Dutchmen led by the domineering Marco van Basten. And it was all orchestrated by Arigo Saki, a former shoe salesman who helped change the game.
"We play in a completely different style," said striker Graziano Manari.
"Before Arigosaki, Italian football was about excellent defence and counter-attack. This is Italian football. With Arigo, we started to press their half. It's all an innovation. He taught us how to play as a team. He was a great man, a great innovator.
"It was only then that I realised that not every coach was like him because he was my first."
Manali is not the most famous name in that Milan squad, although he remains a popular figure, with supporters remembering his two goals against Juventus. Because of the style of play he embodied, he became a symbol of Sacchi football in his own way.
"Sacchi didn't know much about these young players, so he asked Franco Baresi and other senior players to tell him about some of the young players. They asked him to take me because they would never catch up with me during training. He called me when he was 18.
"Sometimes I'm selected instead of other striker players, just because I'm very good at pressing. I'm fast and I have good timing, so it's not difficult for me. ”
Manali could shut down — "even before Sacchi, I'll follow the ball and chase it" — but determined to build a more sporty game under the authoritarian new manager, he understands the nuances of oppression that goes too far for his opponents.
"What makes Saki so good is that he showed us how to do it at the right time and in the right way. If you run on your own, then you are the piggy in the middle. If you're running with other people, then it's very difficult for the team. Oppose the passage of the first line of defense.
"It's innovation, organized pressure.
"At the time, no one did that. I don't remember playing with anyone who was organized like us. Maybe if I think about the Ajax in the 1970s [John] Cruyff and [John] Neskens, they were very organized, but they were organized with football.
'Because of possession, I've never seen a team do like Sacchi's team.
In 1988, Sacchi won the First Division with Milan, which began their glory days
That gave them an edge and was enough to give Sacchi the league title in 1988 when they were relegated after their last victory nearly a decade ago. By squeezing high and refusing space to the famous Serie A no. 10 player, he was able to turn Milan into a machine.
It was an inspiring appointment by Milan president Silvio Berlusconi, who impressed them with their two wins at San Siro last season. Even so, he was known in the press as Mr. Nesuno, mr. nobody. The players agreed.
This is a guy who has not only never been at the top level, but has also never played there. Sacchi's famous line about jockeys not having to be horses is now succinct. At the time, his lack of experience was a problem in convincing these stars to trust him.
"In the beginning it was difficult because although the players were used to staring at the area, we played very slowly and without any pressure.
"It's difficult when he comes back from Parma and tells the big players they have to do it the other way. He's playing videos of other players who aren't as good as them. Everyone just looked at him. It can be hard for an innovator. There is no such thing as a good feeling. ”
The fourth quarter entered the winter break and Milan did not lose again. The mood has changed.
"When they started to realize that they were winning the game by playing with his system and following his instructions, they started to enjoy themselves and have fun.
"That's when they realized how good this man's idea was."
Sacchi won the Serie A title only once, and the competition in that era was fierce. But his definition was that he conquered Europe, not once, but twice. The first successful culmination reached its first successful culmination in a 4-0 win over Bucharest in the 1989 Euro 2089 final, a victory that has never been so wide.
Perhaps the most famous victory along the way was Real Madrid's 5-0 win in front of San Siro's 73,000 fans in the second leg of the semi-finals, with five different scorers. It is a symbolic shift of power. The old king made way for the new king.
However, without the events in Belgrade in November 1988, these landmark moments would not have happened. Milan probably wouldn't have played in the following season, let alone won't have been, if fog hadn't come to their rescue that night.
Belgrade's first match had to be abandoned, with Red Star beating 10-man AC Milan 1-0
Sacchi's side was forced to abandon the proceedings in the second half of the match, falling behind by one goal against Krivena Zvizda , better known as the Red Star. The next day a replay of more than 90 minutes was scheduled, and the score was reset.
Milan won the penalty shootout. All that's left is history.
Red Star captain Dragan Stojkovic has said that the great Milan team was "born in the fog of Belgrade", while claiming that Milan's director Adriano Galliani still joked with him that the weather conditions they had that night were thanks to what happened afterwards.
"It was the toughest team we've ever played," Manali said. "I'm not saying to take anything from Real Madrid, but it's the most difficult for us.
"We won the European Championship in Belgrade."
While Manali admitted that "it was very controversial", few questioned the fact that the night's match could not go ahead.
"I was on the bench in the first game, but because of the fog, we couldn't see anything happening on the pitch," he recalled.
The conditions were so bad that Saki had to be told that Dejan Savičević had given Red Star the lead. They missed the goal. When he turned to the striker in the dressing room, he found that Petro Paul Verdis had been sent off and found that he was already dressed.
"It's an impossible game, we just hear the fans and they scream and score goals, it's 1-0 for them. This is too surreal. The referee then suspended the match. We didn't know that the next day we were going to play. We don't know anything. ”
Sacchi didn't even realize that Red Star had scored and his team had dropped to 10
If Milan's super athleticism is the advantage of restarting so quickly after the game, coupled with the energy consumed by the Red Star, then other factors are not in their favor.
Verdis' red card and Ancelotti's yellow card mean both will be banned in the second game.
"We don't know the rules," Manali admitted. "Now, if they're banned, they'll play the next day, but that's not the case."
In a country on the verge of a breakup, there are also cases of a daunting day of departure.
"There's a kind of civil war going on," he added. "We never left the hotel. We warmed up there on the morning of the race. ”
Nearly 100,000 fans crowded into the Maracanã Stadium in the first match, but the second game was even more raucous and the doors were open. The official figures are low, but few believe them. Luther Gullit calmed his nerves by telling his teammates that they had come to see Milan.
Alessandro Costacuta replaces Ancelotti. Due to Verdis' suspension, Gullit was only fit to play as a substitute and the young Manali was forced to play. Yugoslav television knew so little about him that his name was misspelled on the team's pictures.
"Saki told us that night. It's a bit scary. I'm only 19 years old. We have to play here in front of all these people? It was like a war for them. But I didn't care too much at the time. My attitude was that I was quick and they couldn't catch me. I just want to play.
"I remember it was cold during the warm-up. Let's go sprint. Costa Kuta excites me. He said, 'Graziano, you're not that fast today.' He did it on purpose.
"After that, I relaxed and everything was fine. Everything but I can score two or three goals. At that time, it was impossible to score. Even if the ball was scored, the referee said no – and it was a meter and a half inside. It was a nightmare. ”
AC Milan won Euro 1989 through the test of Belgrade
Trauma at half-time. Roberto Donadoni clashed with Red Star left-back Goran Vasilievic, causing the Milan midfielder to swallow his tongue. A physical therapist had to break his jaw to clear his airway so he could breathe again.
"Looks like he's dead on the pitch."
There were tears in the dressing room, but there was also determination.
"Big names like Baresi and Van Basten have convinced us that we can do it and we'll be better. Then, everyone believed. When we go on penalties, we are not afraid. Everybody believes. ”
Frank Rijkaard eventually stepped up to score the key penalty in a penalty shootout
Manali was substituted in the final minutes and replaced by another young player, Maximiliano Capellini, in the hope that he would be punished. Plans soon changed.
"Then Frank Rijkaard said to Saki, 'No, don't ruin him, let me take the penalty'. Saki said, 'But you'll never take a penalty'. He said, 'I don't care. If I miss it, I can accept it. Cappelini is 17 feet tall. That's why he was a great man. ”
Rijkaard scored the winning goal. Donadoni recovered.
"Everything was settled," Manali said.
"There are so many good characters. Each of them was helping us, reaching out when we needed it, yelling at us when we needed it. The feeling, it's a real team, it's fantastic, really. I think it's hard to find so many champions together. ”
Legendary AC Milan captain Franco Barresi lifted the European Cup
Milan conceded just one goal in the remaining five games of winning the European Championship – it's a story about their defensive legend. During training, the last four will try to stop up to 10 attackers.
"Baresi is a giant, very fast and very technical. If you want to beat Maldini, you have to overtake him three times because he will always come back. I listed them as two of the best defenders ever. When you train against them, the game is much easier. ”
A knee injury limited Manali's progress. But he is still a child of Milan and has been working in Milan's coaching school for many years.
"I was basically born there with the idea of Milan," he added.
"Of course, I didn't see all the great teams. Later there was Barcelona. But that Milan team is one of the best teams. Despite the lack of games, the fans remember me. I could have done more, but I could have done more. I'm proud to play a small role in this. ”
Former AC Milan striker Graziano Manali is now coaching in China
He is not alone. Manali noted that many of Sacchi's teams have been successful coaches, with Rijkaard and Ancelotti even winning the Champions League.
"I think they got this imprint from him," he said.
But the man himself saw his coaching career fail in his 40s.
Why didn't one of the great innovators of the game maintain it?
"He used to be born for football and watched only videos 24 hours a day. He was one of the first to do scouting and tactical analysis on paper, rather than on a computer as it is now. One of his staff would stand in the stands and count passes. He is a true innovator.
"This kind of full-time, 24-hour football thinking is exhausting him, I think. You can only do this for a very short period of time. But even now the way he analyzes the game is great. Maybe he didn't play "on the pitch," but he's still a genius. He is the encyclopedia of football. ”
In addition, his legacy is assured.
Thanks in part to those strange nights in Belgrade.
"That's it," Manali said.
"That game changed everything for us."