18 October 2023
Special, exciting, dramatic, rich in football history, distinguished by clashes at the highest level that have characterised key moments in Serie A and beyond. The matches between Milan and Juventus are never a bore, and choosing just one to represent the healthy rivalry that exists between these two sides is a seemingly impossible task.
Sunday, 22 October 2023 will see the 177th league encounter played out between these two giants of Italian football, and the 89th at San Siro, a venue in which the Bianconeri have not won since January 2021’s 3-1 success. To reverse this trend in light of this weekend’s encounter, we re-call a special Milan-Juve match-up played on 8 May 2005.
TWO BATTLESHIPS AT WAR
We’re at the San Siro, with just four matchdays left until the end of the championship. The background is the perfect summary of Italian football: full stands and an atmosphere of lively tension that hovers over the green surface. It’s almost like the Italian football version of an All-Star Game: on one side the reigning Italian champions and Champions League finalists AC Milan, on the other the Juventus of Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet and Fabio Capello. There is nothing to separate the two sides in the standings: the Bianconeri find themselves deadlocked with Carlo Ancelotti's team at the top of the table with 76 points apiece.
THAT bicycle kick
It’s an intense start to the game, an all-out back and forth, with Kakà immediately posing a threat, but the Juve defense orchestrated by Fabio Cannavaro and Lilian Thuram doesn't give him an inch. Andriy Shevchenko tries his luck as Milan continue to press, but are contained in every attack. In the 29th minute, a deep ball looking for Del Piero's run is played out, Alex attempts the cross but is blocked by Gennaro Gattuso as the Rossoneri backline regroups in the center of the area. In the space of a fleeting thought, however, genius materialises. The Juventus captain doesn't let the ball bounce back on the turf as he hits an overhead kick which caresses the sky, it’s trajectory leaving everyone surprised, not least Jaap Stam and Paolo Maldini who don't expect it, but Trezeguet does. The French striker leaps between the giants of the Milan defense, heading home past Dida to carve in stone an iconic goal that all Juventus fans still remember, 18 years later, even with their eyes closed. A magical moment, that crowns a stellar match.
HOLDING OUT
The Rossoneri don't give up, however. In the second half Filippo Inzaghi is introduced, the former Juve frontman a constant threat to any backline. And of course it’s Pippo himself who comes closest to an equaliser as he is fed in by Shevchenko, but Gianluigi Buffon comes out quickly to deny his former teammate, with Gianluca Zambrotta's quick reaction time clearing away the danger. The second half is intense and nervous, with the result remaining in the balance until late into injury time, where in the last Rossoneri corner, Inzaghi again comes close, but once again Buffon is equal to the task, denying the hosts any points as the match ends 1-0 in favour of the visitors, a huge result in helping Juventus claim the league title later that month. Milan would later collapse in the Champions League final in Istanbul against Liverpool, but the match of 8 May 2005 at the "Meazza" will remain an indelible cult in the eternal competition between Milan and Juventus.
