TIME MACHINE: GILARDINO IN AC MILAN v UDINESE

In the summer of 2005, the signing of Alberto Gilardino represented a new point of departure for AC Milan. Having just suffered a Champions League final defeat, the Rossoneri wanted to add a new face to a well-oiled machine that had been crowned European champions in 2003 and Italian champions in 2004. The man chosen was the attacker from Biella, who had scored an impressive 51 goals in his previous two seasons at Parma. As far as San Siro was concerned, Gilardino needed a bit of time to settle in: he initially contributed to wins on the road with goals against Treviso, Cagliari and Empoli, but it took him a while to bag his first on home soil.

He finally did so in a match that pitted together two sides who had lost in the Champions League just a few days before. On 6 November 2005, AC Milan and Udinese were looking to bounce back from their respective European defeats to PSV and Werder Bremen. In wet conditions at San Siro, the Rossoneri made a bright start and took a 25th-minute lead through Gilardino, who turned in a tight space and finished off an Inzaghi assist. AC Milan then increased their advantage through strikes from Seedorf (37') and Pirlo (45') to go into the break well in control.

But "Gila" was not done yet. Following his right-footed finish in the opening period, he made it 4-0 with his left foot after 53 minutes, sidefooting home Kaká's low cross. After further goals from Iaquinta and Ricky, the match ended 5-1 to AC Milan, who thus made it eight league wins in a row. That November afternoon saw Gilardino bag his first Rossoneri brace, and he'd also score another memorable goal later on in his AC Milan career on another rainy day at San Siro.

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