The summer window in 1985 saw the Rossoneri bring in a massive signing: 1982 Ballon d'Or winner Paolo Rossi from Juventus. A fifth-place finish in the preview seasons saw Nils Liedholm's side qualify for the UEFA Cup. AC Milan got off to a promising start in domestic football as they worked their way into the upper end of the table early on in the league and made it to the Coppa Italia round of 16 following a second-place finish in the group. The season was most notable for a change at the very top of the Club; Farina and Lo Verde were succeeding by Presidenti until the arrival of one Silvio Berlusconi. 20 February 1986 marked the start of Berlusconi's ownership of AC Milan, and he became Chairman officially on 24 March, saving the Rossoneri from a difficult financial situation. The Milanese businessman began to build his winning managerial team: Adriano Galliani became the Club's CEO and Ariedo Braida its General Manager. On the pitch, however, results took a dip towards the back end of the season in the league as the Rossoneri finished in seventh place. There were plenty of positives, though, including Paolo Maldini's breakthrough. After making his debut the season before, Maldini confirmed his rise, playing 27 times in the league and cementing his spot in the Rossoneri's back line.
After five seasons without participating in a European competition, AC Milan returned to the continental stage via the UEFA Cup. The first round posed a tricky challenge against Auxerre. After a 3-1 defeat in the first leg in France, the Rossoneri responded with a 3-0 victory at San Siro, with a brace from Virdis and a goal from Hateley, securing progression to the next round. In the second round, we faced Lokomotive Leipzig from East Germany. A 2-0 win at San Siro, followed by a 3-1 defeat in Germany, but Virdis' goal saw us through on the away goals rule. AC Milan's journey ended in the round of 16 against Belgian side Waregem. The decisive moment was a 1-2 defeat at San Siro in the second leg, following a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
