The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, 28 May 1969
28th May 1969
The league and European Cup: this was the double front on which AC Milan were fighting, reinforced by the newly-acquired Romano Fogli, a former Italian champion with Bologna who made the world tremble. AC Milan were a great team and had the possibility of winning the 1968/69 championship, but their obsession with the European Cup led to too many draws in the league and Fiorentina were crowned champions, despite the Rossoneri only losing three times.
Just like in 1963, their natural habitat was therefore the European Cup, which they brought home in the end. To do so, they managed to overcome the Swedes from Malmö (1-2 and 4-1) but were given a scare by their opponents, who took the lead in both fixtures. AC Milan then eliminated Scottish side Celtic (0-0 and 1-0) and Bobby Charlton's Manchester United (2-0 and 0-1). The Rossoneri were then clear winners in the final in Madrid, beating an Ajax side containing a young Cruyff 4-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Prati. The Black Spider, Fabio Cudicini, had been the star man in the semi-final at Old Trafford, but in the final it was Rivera, Prati and Sormani's time to shine as they dazzled the Bernabeu crowd.
