Fabio Capello says two incidents involving Johan Cruyff convinced him that Milan had to beat Barcelona in the 1994 Champions League final, a match the Italian side won 4-0 in Athens.
Milan were facing a Barcelona team widely regarded as strong favourites. Cruyff’s side included Romario, Hristo Stoichkov, Ronald Koeman and Pep Guardiola, while the Catalan club had built a reputation around their influential coach and possession-based football.
Instead, Milan produced one of the most emphatic final victories in the competition’s history. Daniele Massaro scored twice, before Dejan Savicevic added an iconic lob and Marcel Desailly completed the rout.
Capello, speaking at the Festival dello Sport, recalled how his previous experience of Cruyff had shaped his determination before the match.
“I played in a European Cup Final for Juventus and we lost against Ajax,” Capello said.
“No complaints there, they were stronger than us, but after the match I saw Cruyff carry the trophy to the team bus and he just flung it in there, as if to say we’ve won three, it’s not that big a deal.
“I didn’t like that, and I was even more unhappy when I saw just before the Milan-Barcelona Final in Athens he lay down on the pitch with the ball behind his head, almost as if he was snubbing us as his opponents.
“I went into the dressing room and told the lads. We won 4-0 and it was the perfect performance.”
The result was even more impressive because Milan were without two of their most important defenders. Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta were both suspended for the final.
Milan also had to leave out Jean-Pierre Papin, Florin Raducioiu and Brian Laudrup because of restrictions on the number of foreign players permitted in the team.
The victory formed part of Milan’s record in Europe’s premier club competition. The Rossoneri have won the Champions League seven times, with only Real Madrid having lifted the trophy more often.