AC Milan 1989-90: The Greatest Club Side of All Time?

 By Attila

The Iconic 1989 AC Milan Lineup

We non-glory hunting fans occasionally have to take a mistress: a side that can lure you in with all its glamour, glory and skill. Instead of watching the likes of Shefki Kuqi flail around in the penalty area like an upright walrus, you can marvel at some of the world’s greatest players all lining up on the same side. Yes you feel guilty about the dowdy old wife who is struggling away to Fulham, but the glamour of the exotic entices you away for a forbidden tryst.

My mistress, crafted by a managerial genius, was surely the most awesome football team ever.

In the late 1980’s interest in continental football was keener than today. This was largely as a result of the Heysel Stadium disaster leading English clubs to be banned from competitive European tournaments. The continental teams were, to a young chap, infinitely more glamorous and glitzy than their roast beef English cousins.

My attention was piqued by AC Milan in the mid 1980’s. Silvio Berlusconi (a chap who might know a thing or two about mistresses), had just taken over the ailing club and began to pump money into it. He appointed young up-and-coming Arrigo Sacchi as manager and the glory days began.

The side that won the European Cup in 1989 is for me the best side I have ever seen play football. Every single position was filled by a player that was arguably one of the best in the world, and in some cases - undeniably the best in the world. Never before, or since, in my eyes had such a collection of masters been put together:

GK – Galli

RB – Tassotti

LB – Maldini

CB – Costacurta

CB – Baresi

RM – Colombo

LM – Donadoni

CM – Rijkaard

CM – Ancelotti

CF – Gullit

CF – Van Basten

Just look at those names, players like Maldini and Costacurta should be familiar even to younger readers as seasoned veterans who were still competing at the highest level until recently. Some of the others may be more recognisable as managers or pundits. Simply put though each one of those players was outstanding.

Amidst such exceptional talent, one player deserves special mention. In Marco Van Basten the Rossoneri had a player widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers ever to grace the game. In his 280 appearances for Ajax and Milan he scored an amazing 218 goals. It says a lot that I hold him in greater esteem as a footballer than I do Alan Shearer, which is close to blasphemy for a Newcastle United fan.

Unfortunately due to a prohibitive word count I have to curtail it there, which is grossly unfair to General Franco Baresi and his loyal Legion of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Donadoni amongst others. But I do recommend you take a moment to look these players up, for the game will never see finer exponents.

The pinnacle of the season for these titans was the European Cup, they dispatched the more illustrious Real Madrid (a team including Hugo Sanchez and Emilio Butragueño) by 5-0 (6-1 agg) in the semi-finals, in a performance that sent shockwaves throughout football:

Then they hammered Steaua Bucharest in the final 4-0. Bucharest were by no means a poor team, and had world class players such as Hagi in their ranks:

Put simply, they were for me possibly the greatest club side ever seen. Yes there could be arguments for the great Real Madrid sides of the 1950’s but I never saw them play. I did see Milan, and I’ll probably never set eyes on another side to match them, unless of course Kuqi is suddenly possessed by the spirit of Van Basten