AC MILAN'S IMMORTALS ENCHANT TRENTO

If there was ever a perfect place to observe the parade of the Immortals, the Santa Chiara Auditorium would be it. And so it proved to be: the Great AC Milan side, who contributed so much to the history of this sport, were up there on the stage in Trento at the Festival of Sport, organised by the Gazzetta. A joyous moment for the onlooking public, but also a joyous moment for the Rossoneri legends, who were reunited once again after so long apart. And it was not just the reunification of teammates, it was old friends meeting up with each other once more. This time the team were not together on the pitch, but the stage instead. There were hugs behind the scenes, on the stage; there were smiles and memories to share. This parade of champions had those who were at the highest level of football: Giovanni Galli, Davide Pinato, Christian Lantignotti, Stefano Carobbi, Filippo Galli, Roberto Mussi, Billy Costacurta, Angelo Colombo, Daniele Massaro, Ariedo Braida, Adriano Galliani, Captain Franco Baresi, Arrigo Sacchi and two of the three famous Dutchmen, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, all of whom received great ovations.

CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM THE EVENING

Everyone gave their personal thoughts on that magnificent, winning, inimitable time. Captain Franco Baresi, for example, spoke about the group’s desire to win: "Nobody had won anything important before. We wanted to put ourselves to the test and bravely follow the Coach, with the Club’s know-how and professionalism also helping. Sacchi was vital in terms of the way the team was trained." The initial misunderstanding between Marco van Basten and Sacchi was also mentioned: "The Coach benched me for the second game, perhaps because I was talking about tactics. In the Netherlands, this was normal. However, this wasn’t the case in Italy. The Italian newspapers exaggerated things and said that I was attacking Sacchi."

Frank Rijkaard had some lovely things to say about Carlo Ancelotti and Franco Baresi: "I had truly phenomenal figures around me. My mentor was Carletto: he taught me how to understand what was asked of me and what I had to do quickly. When I see him today, my heart fills with joy. Franco didn’t speak a lot, but a smirk, an expression, was enough to get us all back in line. This is why he’ll always be my captain." Meanwhile, Carletto remembered the early impact that Sacchi’s training sessions had on him: "I immediately lost four to five kilogrammes, I still remember how worried my mother was. Everything changed when Arrigo came in, both physically and tactically."

A day full of all things Rossoneri. A day of history and success. AC Milan also took centre stage in the afternoon as a meeting with the press took place, with AC Milan Chief Football Officer Zvonimir Boban also taking part.

The official PUMA match kits for the 2019/20 season are available in the AC Milan Online Store!