Oops, they did it again. No, we are not crazy, we didn’t change the subject and we will not discuss pop music and nostalgic American idols here. But yes, we will talk about nostalgia. That nostalgia that affects all of you football fans in your mid-thirties with only two colors in your eyes and in your heart. Yes, we are talking about you (but also about me) not-so-young-anymore Rossoneri fans.
If you were born a Rossonero in the late 80s, you lived the Silvio Berlusconi era, full of European triumphs and huge champions, but also a few tough years in which you didn’t hear the Champions League Anthem (sigh!) and were rather “forced” to play in the secondary field – that UEFA Cup Milan never won and never really wanted to win, being so addicted to the biggest prize, the “big-eared Cup.”
Milan and the UEFA Cup never got along, just like two people who can be attracted to each other, but without too much conviction. The history of the Devils of Milan in the second European cup is full of delusions on the pitch, like when, in 1996, they reached the Quarter-Finals as a favorite to the final win, but got knocked out by Bordeaux and a still-not-so-famous Zinedine Zidane.
But, despite being not so lucky in terms of the competition results, Milan always found inspiration for their calciomercato, looking for the next low-cost crack among the lines of the teams they faced. In 1996, instead of Zidane, Milan went all-in for Christophe Dugarry. He ended up being of the biggest failures ever seen wearing a Rossoneri kit.
In 2001, Milan fell in love with two main characters of the revelation Alavés: Cosmin Contra and Javi Moreno, the best right-back and best forward in that miraculous Spanish team that got defeated 5-4 by Liverpool in the most legendary UEFA Cup Final ever.
Adriano Galliani and Silvio Berlusconi sniffed the low-cost deal and beat the competition to bring the amazing duo to Milanello. Almost 20 years later, we all know how it ended up: Contra is mostly remembered for a fight with Edgar Davids on the field, while Javi Moreno…Well, we don’t want to remember him at all.
That same year, in the 2001-02 season, Milan made their UEFA Cup seasonal debut in Belarus, being hosted by local giants BATE Borisov, which could feature such future top players as Alexander Hleb and Viktor Goncharenko. Despite an aggreate 6-0 win, the Rossoneri got impressed by another player from the Belarusian side.
Vitaly Kutuzov, who already featured 55 goals out of 99 appearances in the local league, never went back to his home country, in exchange for a 7 billion Italian liras check. That was wasted money, considering that Kutuzov gathered only 2 caps for Milan.
The next year, the Rossoneri bought again the MVP of the UEFA Cup, a certain Jon Dahl Tomasson. He, at least, would be crucial in Milan’s Champions League win in the 2002-03 season.
So, there seems to be a love and hate relationship between Milan and the UEFA Cup – which has become the Europa Lague, right when the Rossoneri started to fade down in Europe. Until last Thursday, at least, when Milan faced and beat (not without struggling) Norwegian revelation Bodo/Glimt. Until last Thursday, when the Rossoneri were almost killed by a certain Jean Petter Hauge, the left-wing who reopened the match scoring the 3-2 goal with a powerful out-of-the-box shot in the top-right corner.
It was another love at first sight. Will Hauge come to Milan? Will he be the new Javi Moreno, the new Kutuzov, or the new Tomasson? So, in the end… Oops, will they do it again?