Pippo Inzaghi put all his effort into the game in Athens and was awarded with a brace to take him to 58 goals in all European competitions and just two behind Sheva

The night in Istanbul was consigned well and truly to the history books as Milan proved they had the will and determination to gain revenge on Liverpool. There would be no Greek tragedy in Athens for the Rossoneri who although not spectacular, had energy in reserve to see off the English side. This time around there were five World Cup winners, a wonderful Ricky Kakà and a captain in Paolo Maldini who led by example as he equalled the eight final appearances held by Real Madrid's Gento.
 
It was, however, Pippo Inzaghi who made the difference as he grabbed a brace to see off the Reds in the Olympic stadium. SuperPippo has always had an eye for goal and the first arrived on 42 minutes when he managed to redirect Andrea Pirlo's free-kick into the back of the net.

It was just the lift Milan needed going into the break and they came back out for the second half all fired up knowing that victory was within their grasp. The English side pushed forward in search of the equaliser but with 10 minutes remaining Kakà threaded a precise ball through for Pippo to get beyond the defence and slide a shot under the advancing goalkeeper. The minutes ticked down slowly and the tension was raised even higher when Dirk Kuyt gave Liverpool a lifeline on 88 minutes but unlike Istanbul, Milan would not be denied this time.

Milan have overcome all the hurdles set in their way to claim the biggest prize in European club football

 

What an incredible journey it has been and tonight it ended just exactly where it should have. It ended with Milan lifting the Champions League title for the seventh time in Rossoneri history and the fifth under the guidance of Silvio Berlusconi.
Triumph once again in a competition that leaves little room for error and where the best side always gets their due. Liverpool can be proud of what they did, but this Milan side are simply extraordinary as they have come from what seemed like a season destined for bad fortune all the way to the most coveted spot in Europe.
No one will ever forget that first cup that was lifted back in 1963 in Wembley, but tonight was also unforgettable as the red and black colours danced with joy in Athens because it just wasn’t a given as read... it was a dream come true.

Last summer’s heavy summer heat and the Champions League preliminary round seem so very far way. The letters that were flying back and forth from all the different football governing bodies, the players that had to return early for a rushed preparation. The summer left its mark. This victory proves that Milan are a side that know how to react under pressure, with a fine touch of character, courage and sweat. It underlines how a side like Milan can do anything and overcome any obstacle when they put their minds to it as a group. They have overcome and conquered once again as a team in the hands of an extraordinary man and that man is Carlo Ancelotti. From the training retreat in Malta, Ancelotti promised to take Milan to the Champions League final and he is a man of his word backed by the strength of this club and men like President Silvio Berlusconi and chief executive Adriano Galliani. Men that never stopped believing in the dream called Milan.

Then, of course, there are the players. Last but not least. Our heroes. Our boys on the field who played and fought until the end as a united front. They have demonstrated once again that they are at the pinnacle of professional football, that they have the character and strength to lift what seemed like an almost unimaginable achievement. They have been repaid in full for everything they have done and all they have given, they have been repaid with the most important title in Europe.
Athens is a night that no one will ever forget because it is a story of struggle that ends in victory. What an amazing sight it was to see Paolo Maldini lift the trophy just as his father did back in 1963. It was music in motion to see the Rossoneri with the force of pure football passion at their backs, pushing them across the pitch to seal their position as the best in Europe.

First-half goals from Clarence Seedorf and Filippo Inzaghi helped Milan ease to a 2-0 win at Bayern Munich to qualify for the Champions League semi-finals

Two perfectly executed first-half goals saw Milan through in a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich at the Allainz Arena to book a place in the Champions League semi-finals against Manchester United on a 4-2 aggregate scoreline.

Milan were under some early pressure from the German side and Massimo Oddo had to sweep a shot off the line with Nelson Dida beaten. The game was just 27 minutes old when the impressive Ricky Kakà played a pass to the edge of the area which Clarence Seedorf collected before ghosting past the defence to fire a low shot into the corner of the net past the diving goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.

The Rossoneri continued to be a threat when Kakà moved to the flank and Seedorf took up a more central position. It was the Dutch star who created the second on 32 minutes, with a neat flick on Rino Gattuso's pass to release Filippo Inzaghi for a cool finish.

Milan were in control for much of the second half although Dida had to make a number of diving saves from Mark Van Bommel and as time ran out the Brazilian goalkeeper blocked a close-range effort from Daniel van Buyten. At the other end, only Kahn's outstretched foot stopped Kakà from scoring a wonderful solo effort.

The club was founded in 1899 under the name of Milan Cricket and Football club, and the first official headquarters was the Fiaschetteria Toscana of Via Breschet. The first President was Mr. Edwards, who was partnered by Alfred Kipling who chose the official club colours. On the 4th of April 1900 the first official match was played, a 3-0 defeat against the Torinese. The following year the first Scudetto was won, followed by two others in 1906 and 1907, years in which the Cricket part was removed from the name of the team. In the 1940s the team took the definite name of AC Milan, but it was in the 1950s that the team returned to winning ways thanks to the purchases of players such as Liedhol, Gren and Nordhal. In the following decade two more affirmations arrived, which brought other important signatures like those of Schiaffino, Altafini, Rivera and leader Nereo Rocco. Also at international level great successes arrived, such as on the 22nd of May 1963, when Milan won the Champions Cup in London. These were also the years of Rivera, who became the undisputable leader and flag of the team. The results of the 1970s were less brilliant, but the worst moment in the rossoneri’s history arrived in 1980, when the club was involved in the ‘totonero’ scandal and relegated to Serie B. President Colombo was banned for life, leaving his position to Morazzoni, who immediately took the team back to Serie A. The return was not a happy one, and a 14th place finish relegated the rossoneri once again. The club fell in the hands of another owner, Farina, who took Milan back to Serie A and helped them to stay in the top positions of the league, but the definite change arrived in 1986, when the club was bought by Silvio Berlusconi, who in the next twenty years built one of the most successful teams in the history of football. There was the Sacchi cycle, the arrival of Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten, the domestic and international victories, and then the arrival of Capello who continued from where his predecessor had left off, taking Milan to the top of the world. Zaccheroni, who won the tricolore in his first season, and then Ancelotti, able to win the Champions League and a Scudetto in two years, gave continuity to the team.