The summer of 2009 was eventful in Casa Rossonera, with farewells to pillars of the Club, including the boss, Ancelotti, the captain Maldini, Shevchenko and Kaká. Leonardo came in to replace Ancelotti as Head Coach from his role as Technical Director, whilst the transfer window saw the arrivals of Thiago Silva and Huntelaar as well as returns of Abate and Oddo. It was a slow start in terms of results, but the team turned it around in mid-October, changing the formation against Roma: Ronaldinho, Borriello and Pato in front of a trequartista, Seedorf. This match started an eight-match unbeaten run (seven of those victories), a positive period that brought the Rossoneri up to second place in the league, and the home defeat at the end of 2009 against Palermo was promptly redeemed at the beginning of 2010, with fine victories away at Genoa and Juventus. The second half of the season, marked by David Beckham's return on loan, saw the Rossoneri defeated in the derby, complicating the race for the Scudetto. The team, however, revitalised themselves between February and March: by the beginning of Spring, the Rossoneri found themselves only one point from the top. Setbacks in the following weeks, which coincided with Inter and Roma finding form, left Leonardo's team in third place, sealed on the last day of the season with a fine victory over Juventus at San Siro.
In the evenly-matched and fiercely contested Group C, the Rossoneri kicked off with two away wins, compensating for an unfortunate home defeat to Zurich. Inzaghi's double secured a 2-1 victory at the Vélodrome against Marseille, while on 21 October, AC Milan achieved a historic first by triumphing at the Santiago Bernabéu. Against Pellegrini's Real Madrid, the match ended 3-2, courtesy of goals from Pirlo and a brace from Pato. We progressed from the group in second place with 9 points, setting up a clash with reigning champions Manchester United in the round of 16. In the first leg, despite putting up a fight, Ferguson's side emerged victorious with a 3-2 win. In the return leg, the Red Devils secured a commanding 4-0 victory after a closely contested first half, thereby bringing an end to our European campaign.
