Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan has been arguably one of the most dominating and innovative teams in the history of the Beautiful Game. When the Rossoneri were in one of their days, not even the legendary Real Madrid could match their power.
The Merengues learned this the hard way in the spring of 1989, when they were literally humiliated by Milan in a European Cup (the forbear of the Champions League) Semi Final. Arrigo Sacchi and his boys won 6-1 on aggregate as they annihilated Real Madrid 5-0 in the second leg at the San Siro.
The fate put the two sides against each other again a few months later, in a Round of 16 match-up of the following edition of the European Cup. On October 18, 1989, Real Madrid traveled back to the San Siro seeking revenge.
However, the outcome didn’t change. Milan made short work of the Spanish side with goals from Dutchmen Frank Rijkaard and Marco Van Basten. It all happened within the first 14 minutes. The Milan degli Olandesi (“Milan of the Dutchmen”) was just too strong.
Two weeks later at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid managed to at least bounce back and give the Rossoneri a run for their money. They won 1-0 with a goal from their star striker Emilio Butragueno but that was not enough to qualify.
Milan would go on to win the European Cup – their second in a row – beating Benfica in the Final with a lone goal from Rijkaard.
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