After a season of rebirth came the season of success. The revolutionary coach Arrigo Sacchi had been brought in from Parma. The summer window had been a fruitful one, too, with the arrivals of Italians Carlo Ancelotti and Angelo Colombo and Dutchmen Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten. The team to beat that year was reigning champions Napoli with Maradona. Two dates: 3 January 1988 and especially 1 May 1989. The former was at San Siro as the Rossoneri thrashed Napoli 4-1, and the latter was away in Naples (3-2 to AC Milan, Virdis with a brace and a goal from van Basten) in a sort of Scudetto final. 45 points from 30 matchdays were enough - despite two draws after the game at the San Paolo - to secure the title, the Rossoneri's eleventh in their history and first in eight years. A dream comeback. From the leadership of captain Franco Baresi to the power of Ballon d'Or winner Ruud Gullit: these were the driving forces of the title win, which reignited the passion of AC Milan's supporters.
After a season without European football, as a consequence of losing to Sampdoria at the end of the 1986/87 Serie A in a tie-breaker, we returned to play in the UEFA Cup. The draw was certainly not favourable after being drawn out to face Spanish side Sporting Gijón in a two-legged first round tie. The first leg, away from home, ended in a 1-0 defeat going into the second leg at home, played in Lecce, and the Rossoneri managed to make amends: a penalty brace from Virdis and a goal from Gullit earned our place in the next round. The second round saw Spanish opposition again in Espanyol. This time, the first leg was at home - again in Lecce - with the Catalans winning 2-0. Following a 0-0 draw in the return leg, our European campaign ended.
