AC Milan team the last time they reached the Champions League semi-final
Stefano Pioli’s side booked their place in the final four, becoming the first Milan team to do so since 2006/07.
There are very few teams with a European record as glittering as Italian giants AC Milan. The seven-time winners are the second most successful team in the history of the European Cup, but have been going through a bit of a dry patch in recent seasons.
On Tuesday night they saw off Serie A rivals Napoli to book their place in the semi-finals of Europe’s elite competition for the first time since 2006/07. Milan were coached by Carlo Ancelotti at the time and beat Bayern Munich 4-2 on aggregate on their way to a famous Champions League triumph.
Here’s the team that secured passage against Bayern with an impressive 2-0 win in Munich:
Dida; Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta, Massimo Oddo, Marek Jankulovski; Clarence Seedorf, Massimo Ambrosini, Gennaro Gattuso; Andrea Pirlo, Kaká; Filippo Inzaghi
Milan secured seventh European success in 2007
The team that beat Bayern would go on to play Liverpool in the final in a repeat of the famous 2004/05 final in which Milan threw away a 3-0 lead in the second half. Ancelotti’s side made no such mistake in the second fixture and won 2-1 in Athens, thanks to a brace from Filippo Inzaghi.
That made them just the second team, after Real Madrid, to reach seven wins in the European Cup/Champions League. It is a record that Milan hold close to their heart but one which has not been added to recently.
Here’s the list of AC Milan’s European triumphs…
2006/07: AC Milan 2-1 Liverpool
2002/03 Juventus 0-0 AC Milan (Milan win on pens)
1993/94: AC Milan 4-0 Barcelona
1989/90: AC Milan 1-0 Benfica
1988/89: FCSB 0-4 AC Milan
1968/69: AC Milan 4-1 Ajax
1962/63: AC Milan 2-1 Benfica
After a 16-year wait, will Milan add to their European tally this year? Benfica or city rivals Inter Milan await in the semi-finals.