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So it's all down to the current squad...

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Lazio seem desperate to land Kaladze, again bidding for the Georgian. Once again, I tell them to go introduce themselves to a brick wall. I will not let KK go anywhere, no matter how much he wants to leave, or how much I'm offered for him. His morale is "very low" - and he's lost his (almost guaranteed) first team place because of mood related crapness. Serves him right.

Milan 3-1 Parma. A quiet first half brings on a false sense of boredom, soon shattered, when Zuma nets 2 goals in 2 minutes, both from Brocchi's deep crosses. The first he heads home, in the 47th. The 49th minute strike was a tap in. Just after the hour, Amoroso got up well to head in an Almeyda chip, making things very tense. In the last minute, substitue Jose Mari finally manages to get a shot on target, from 20 yards no less. Ambrosini fed him the ball. Abbiati was an outstanding MOM, and the result left me confident. Only 2 more "hard" games in the league, against Inter and Roma.

Lazio try for Kaladze again, this time waving 7.5M under our noses. I again tell them where to go. The way I see it is that they have sabotaged a good player of mine, and if I let him go, they'll have won. I'm stopping the game at the end of the season anyway, but I will not let Lazio have the satisfaction of getting their man. I will keep him, and let both Lazio and Roma suffer whilst they bid ever larger sums of money for the guy.

Jose Mari gets a wrist injury, which sees him drop to just light training for a few days.

Chelsea 1-1 Milan. Both teams end with 10 players, after both Wise and Maldini are dismissed for 2 bookable offences. Wise scored from a DFK in the first quarter of an hour, and it was only a 75th minute penalty (given for a foul on Laursen) which saw us level. Once again, credit must go to the Ukrainian hitman.

Roma bid 9M for Ambrosini, and I just tell them no. He'll be needed now that KK has the blues, so I don't want him to have his mind elsewhere. Plus I know he loves the club, and I could turn down any offers for him without him getting upset. Which is nice. We need more players with that kind of attitude. Pirlo and Serginho resume full training, Pirlo heading straight onto the bench, and Serginho to the stands for the mother of all showdowns, the Milan Derby.

The game starts cautiously - no-one wants to make the first mistake in front of the San Siro crowd. Zuma gets the ball on the right wing, and swings in a deep cross, which Javi Moreno gets up to meet. GOL! Magnifico! Abbiati spends the rest of the game saving Ronaldo's and Vieri's shots, playing superbly. That nothing went past him was a testimony to both his skill and that of the defence. In the 3rd minute of second half stoppage time, Abbiati's long ball falls to Rui Costa, who devoid of marking, and blessed with space, took a shot. 20 yards out, 19,18,17,16... GOL! 2-0, game over. The result sees us still 5 points in Roma's wake, but now 1 clear of Inter.

Strangely, the board, who praised my performance to Perugia, had nothing to say about beating their archrivals 2-0, and helping to consolidate our league position. Odd, I'd say... Back in full training was Pippo, now sporting a rebuilt cheek, looking like a Romanian prostitute. He said he was pleased with the improvement.

CL again, this time Fiorentina would be visiting. As I said before, Chiesa never scores tap-ins...

Milan 1-1 Fiorentina. Roque Junior headed home a 76th minute Zuma cross to equalise the game, following Chiesa's wonderstrike at the end of the first half. Past three Milan players, before blasting the ball in from the edge of the area. Skills Andy Cole can only dream about. Inzaghi showed his class in the 87th minute when a pk was awarded against the Viola. Up steps the Italian wonderboy...

So anyways, 1-1 was the final score. I make a note to remove Inzaghi from PK responsibility, and knock him down to 35th in the kick taking pecking order. It's not the first time he's let us down from the spot.

Serginho and Coco are a bit miffed by the rather sudden emergance of Christian Brocchi at the club. They conspire to injure him. Luckily, the best they could manage was a bruised shin, and he would recover before the next match, thanks to international team actions disrupting the league schedule. After months of waiting, someone comes in for Dida. Arsenal, Leverkusen, Celta, Mallorca, and Rangers all offer the 2M I want for him. I accept all offers. He decides to join Mallorca, and will do so in June. Contra resumes full training, but will have to fight to deprive Zuma of his spot on the right.

Next up Vicenza, and then Roma...

[ 22 October 2001: Message edited by: Ventola ]

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Swansea 'til I die...

Vicenza 1-2 Milan. Zuma set up Shevchenko to score in the 35th minute, and we dominated the game from that point on. In the 53rd minute, Maldini gets sent off for a reckless "tackle" (score 9.0, 9.0, 8.5) and a few minutes later, Redondo was adjudged to have jumped unfairly with Luiso in the area. No red card from the trigger happy ref, but he gave the pk. Crovari converted it. I realised that we needed to push, so threw on a couple of attack minded players. I was cursing our luck in the 91st minute, practicing some Korean - "kaso omma chosina tomoko wa!" - and the like, to assault the ref with (I didn't fancy the fine or touchline ban if there was a chance he could understand me...). Just as I had it perfected, I looked up just in time to see Roque Junior clear with a long ball, and then in a state of slo-mo, continued watching as Pirlo gathered the ball, and shot from the edge of the area. The silent slo-mo ended when the assembled Milan coaching staff knocked me to the ground in a giant pile of overexuberance. Seconds later, the final whistle blew.

Brocchi and Giunti were back in training, just in time for the qf 1st leg. We were on the road for the first leg, so knew that we needed to grab an away goal, to make the second leg safer.

Francesco Coco started ahead of Brocchi, for no reason other than I had forgot to bring Brocchi back into the squad. Just as well then, that he finished a great move with a fine goal in the 16th minute. Zuma sent a 55 yard pass up for Javi Moreno, who nodded it square first time for Coco to shoot home. Nice. 5 minutes later, Javi M sent Zuma free, and he took his chance with great aplomb. 2-0 after 21 minutes, in Parma. Not bad at all, I thought. Some homesick over-rated Turk (Hakan Sukur) pulled one back for Parma in the 53rd, but Abbiati made sure that we didn't get embarassed with a string of fine saves. Laursen picked up his third yellow and would miss the second leg. With a slender 2-1 lead, we would need to make the most of our home advantage.

Aliyu was once again injured - I'm starting to think his insurance company might be scamming us... Lazio offer 4.8M for Albertini, who is hardly getting a game. I tell them that I couldn't possibly sell him to them. Roma offer 5.75, but I reject with no reason given as to why. Lazio in again for Kaladze, this time at 5M. As usual I reject the bid, but I see KK is no longer unhappy. Welcome back to the real world, (and the squad) Kakha.

Milan 2-0 Bologna. Rui Costa is a deserving MOM for his goal and assist in what was a closer game than the scoreline shows. Sheva put away the first in the 23rd, Rui Costa getting his a precise 5 minutes later. We seem to like scoring in 5 minute patches. Kaladze sees some action, on as a sub. Soon after he's off, red carded after starting a fight with Signori. Idiot. I fine him for violent behaviour, and he starts moaning again. He'll have plenty of time to whinge, as playing for the reserves means I won't have to put up with his attitude again this season. Bye bye Kakha.

Roma are back with a noticeably larger briefcase of cash for Albertini. I tell them 8.5 and they have a deal. Sadly, jumbo briefcases were out of stock, and they decided to give him a miss. Oh well. Giunti must be in on the scam with Aliyu, as he picks up yet another injury, a shoulder problem putting him out for 3 weeks.

Now for the showdown, which would surely decide the league.

Milan 2-2 Roma. Bugger. We'll be concentrating on the CL then. Still unbeaten, but not much chance of the Scudetto now. Roma twice came from behind, both times through Montella. We took the lead just a minute before half time, when Shevchenko sent a 20 yard volley past Antonioli, from Redondo's pass. Montella 52. Ambrosini found Zuma unmarked in the area in the 65th, to put us back ahead. Montella 81.

Inter sneak back into 2nd place in the league, and with 5 games left, coming from 5 points behind to pass Roma is asking a bit much. For me at least. So, it is with even greater resolve that I approach the Champions League, after our weekend game at Brescia - and the chance for some revenge...

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Revenge is sweet. Or so they say. I wouldn't know, as the Brescia super goalie bug hit again, saving 15 or so good shots. Brescia 1-1 Milan. Ambrosini got things going with a 28th minute header from a Rui Costa ck, but despite bombarding the Brescia goal, they wouldn't let any more in. E. Filippini (younger/older of the twins, who knows? Who cares? I now wish them both great ill) levelled in the last minute of the second half. I only realised afterwards that Brescia were at the time managerless. Oh the humanity .

Albertini reluctantly agrees to join Roma, after their board find a bigger (not carry-on) case. 8.5M, to come at the start of June. Aliyu rejoins training, whilst Brocchi hurts his foot (maybe Coco again) putting him out for a couple of weeks.

CL, QF, 2nd Leg. Milan 1-0 Parma. Yay - we're in the semis. Inzaghi put away Redondo's through ball to get the only goal of the game. Another good team performance all round.

Maldini will miss the semi first leg having picked up three yellow cards. We go into Friday's draw with Bayern Munchen, Barcelona, and Valencia. Spain were guaranteed a team in the final as the first two names out were the primera liga ones. We will be facing Bayern, first in Italy, then in Bavaria. *Mental note - don't concede an away goal, or two or three ad infinitum*

Gattuso retakes his place on the bench after recovering from his bruised rib, as Ambrosini is in fine form of late. I send a memo to the San Siro groundskeepers - "Nail everything down, we've got Napoli at home next."

Milan 4-2 Napoli. Shevchenko did his best Inzaghi impression, missing a 12th minute pk after Bandieri commited a professional foul in the area. He walked, and the replacement keeper saved Sheva's uncharacteristically weak shot. Still, I can't complain. He hit a hat-trick after that, to seal a comfortable win. He took a 44th minute DFK, finished Rui Costa's 72nd minute through ball, and then capped a 90th minute solo run with his third goal. Redondo also netted a DFK, from 30 yards in the 49th. Bordi struck back twice for Napoli, but the phrase "too little, too late" springs to mind.

Juve go down to lowly Lecce 1-0, resulting in Carlo Ancelotti signing on at the dole office. Coco picks up a mysterious knee injury (signed "Brocchi" ) which will see him out for 2 weeks. Which means Serginho will get a game. Oh well, the bottom of the barrel needed a good scrape. We're on the road next, away to Verona.

Verona 0-5 Milan. Rui Costa (18) from an Ambrosini through ball; Redondo (44) from an Ambrosini through ball; Inzaghi (70) from Rui Costa's pass, (76) from Abbiati's GK, and (83) from Ambrosini. Nice. Once again though, too little too late. Impossible to catch Roma, and we are still a point behind Inter. Why couldn't we have 3-0 here, and 3-1 at Brescia? "Consistency" is the keyword, but "lack of" also rears it's ugly face.

Brescia and Atalanta are relegated, Piacenza are promoted. Just a few games and the season is over - but we have a date with destiny (in the form of Bayern) to get through first...

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KUTCLALW! (Champs League, At Least)

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I'm not too proud to say I was cacking myself. Elber's 33rd minute DFK (against the run of play) was starting to look like the winner. But then, as they say, it turned out nice again. With two minutes remaining on the clock, Roque Junior sent a ball forward for Rui Costa, who struck it from the edge of the area. Kahn was busy arguing with Linke about who was the uglier, the Bayern keeper or Pippo (with remade cheekbone). He had no chance of getting to the shot. Final score 1-1, but they had an away goal. Still, we would go into the second leg knowing exactly what was needed of us.

Giunti and Brocchi resumed full training, and Brocchi came straight in for Serginho ahead of our penultimate Serie A game, at home to Verona. Maldini's first half direct free kick (25 yards) was enough to secure three points, and edge us ahead of Inter into second in the league. Roma secured the title, despite losing. Ambrosini collected his sixth yellow card, and wouldn't be making the trip to Lecce the following week.

Germany is a strange country. At times beautiful, at times ugly. We were in the ugly part - Munich/Munchen. Hmmm, concrete. The Olympic Stadium was the scene of our clash with Bayern. We needed to win, or face a wasted season. All we'd won was the supercup, and a lot of fans with our stunning displays of the beautiful game (or something...) I had promised the board the big cup to stick in their trophy cabinet, and had informed Terim that I would win it to spite him. So we HAD to win.

Fernando Redondo. Manuel Rui Costa. Two names which will live forever in Milan folklore. 32 minutes gone, Redondo sneaks a through ball ahead of Rui Costa. He puts it away. We now have an away goal to our credit. At half time we are content, taking a two goal lead into the break. Just before the whistle, Redondo had slipped the ball to Rui Costa, who did a "Maradona's-second-goal-against-England-in-THAT-match" run past virtually all the Bayern defenders and Kahn before rolling the ball into an empty net.

Just before the hour, Effenberg pulled one back with a free kick. Rui Costa wasn't finished yet. Oh no. Five minutes after Abbiati pulled the ball out of his net, Kahn was doing the same. This time Gattuso was the provider, but the run was almost as spellbinding as that leading to his second goal. The shot was even better though, as this time it had to beat Kahn. The final score was a fantastic 1-3 in my favour, 4-2 on agg.

Barca took care of Valencia in the other semi, meaning I wouldn't have to face Adrian Ilie, who had scored maybe 5 times in the league, but 20 or so times in Europe . Sadly though, Massimo Ambrosini increased his collection of yellow cards, and would miss the final.

Aliyu was out again, for one month with a groin problem. As if I cared anymore. The final league fixture of the season came the day before my birthday, and I demanded a good result. We were just one point clear of Inter, a rather precarious place to be. I had Hidetoshi Nakata to thank for securing our second place. His second half equalizer for Parma gave Inter just one point, meaning our draw would be enough. Of course, I didn't know about it at the time, as we were trailing - and it wouldn't have been enough. Vugrinec scored twice for Lecce, first to level the game after Brocchi opened his Milan account. Then he put Lecce ahead, only for Rui Costa to equalize from a free kick in the second half. Biliotti gave Lecce a deserved lead with time fast running out. Then, in the 94th minute, Rui Costa had one of those moments, when a player realises that something needs to be done. Van Basten had them, Maradona had them, Pele had them. Now Rui Costa too. He picked up the loose ball, did his third magical run in 2 games, and scored his fifth goal in two games, just as the ref was raising the whistle to his lips. In the 72nd minute, Laursen limped off injured. It turned out to be a broken toe, putting him out of the CL final.

Not only did we beat Inter to second, but we also set a new Serie A record of 21 league games unbeaten. The final standings were Roma on 80, Milan 74, Inter 73, Parma 67 and Juve 61.

Perugia were relegated, whilst Samp and Torino secured Serie A places for the next season, along with Piacenza. The final spot was still up for grabs.

Coco was back, a few days before the final, but barring a freak injury to Brocchi (actually not as unlikely as you might think) he wouldn't make the team.

Deco's 13th minute strike was enough to give Porto the UEFA Cup, Leverkusen being the sad finalists.

Pro Sesto of Serie C2 were unlucky to lose the Serie C Cup against C1 Como, 2-1 on agg.

The day before the final, and disaster strikes. Shevchenko twists his knee, and will be out of action for two weeks, meaning the Ukrainian sharpshooter would have to wait till 2001 to play in his first CL final...

We all have butterflies in our stomachs as we board the flight to Paris for our date with destiny, at the Stade de France - the climax of the season.

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AC Milan once again reached the final of Europe's premier club football competition, the Champions League. Their opponents in the final, Spanish giants Barcelona, had a score to settle, having lost 4-0 to Milan the last time they faced each other in the final of the prestigious tournament, in 1994. That was the Milan team era of lore, the last time Milan were truly great. But now, the Milan faithful has new names to etch onto their hearts.

Milan are once again Champions of Europe, beating Barcelona 1-0 in an admittedly dull match, which lacked the sense of occasion present in 1994. The Stade de France was packed with fans, who left the game on a high, despite the stifled play on the pitch.

Fillipo Inzaghi was fouled by Seedorf in the area, and the referee had no option but to give the spot kick. Despite the protestations of Milan's South African manager, Inzaghi took the 13th minute kick himself. Speaking after the match, the manager explained his actions.

"Actually, I still haven't seen the goal. When I saw Pippo stepping forward to take the kick, I had what we could call the fright of my life. We had a clear cut chance, and he was the last person I'd have wanted to be there. He's a great player, but penalties aren't exactly his forte, I'm sure you'll agree. I was sat on the bench with my head between my knees, praying for a miracle. I hear we were granted one. I guess I ought to thank Saint Denis, hadn't I?!"

Inzaghi's strike and Abbiati's fine keeping (Abbiati took home the man of the match award) was an unbeatable combination. Rivaldo hardly touched the ball, which also helped Milan's cause.

Milan are now unbeaten in 30 games in all competitions, an extraordinary run by any standards.

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Once again, in case you missed it... FC Barcelona 0-1 AC Milan

We are the champions of Europe, I have kept my word, and finally, I am getting some good offers of daughters to marry (see much much earlier in the story).

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I have restored the Gloria to Lombardia, and although I didn't get the scudetto, I'm delighted to have won my first Champions League Final.

That's all folks, as in a few minutes, the entire CM 99-00 folder will be gone from my computer, to be replaced by the as yet barely played CM 01-02. Thanks for all your comments, suggestions, encouragement and support. I couldn't have done it without you.

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