TIME MACHINE: WEAH IN AC MILAN v ATALANTA

"Taking home the match ball". That's what happens in football when a player scores a hat-trick in football. Not something many achieve, rare and memorable. In the second half of the 1990s, George Weah scored for the Rossoneri 58 times in 147 appearances. 46 of these were in Serie A. This considerable number also included 10 instances of scoring more than once and was an important contribution to two Scudetto wins. Once, King George took home the match ball. In AC Milan v Atalanta, and here is the story.

11 April 1998. It was a season of transition for AC Milan, lacking in satisfaction after a summer of returns with Capello back in the dugout and Donadoni back on the pitch, and of goodbyes with Franco Baresi and Mauro Tassotti's retirements. The biggest achievement came in the Coppa Italia when the Rossoneri pushed through to the final, having eliminated Inter in the quarter-finals. The league saw the squad navigating the middle of the table with mixed results. On Matchday 29, Atalanta came to San Siro with both teams in need of points for their respective aims: the hosts' race for Europe, and the visitors' survival fight. It only took 10 minutes to see how the afternoon would go for George Weah.

Coming off the back of the 1-0 goal in the Coppa Italia first leg, and already coming close to opening the scoring, the Liberian forward got his head on a cross from Maldini on the left to surgically score. Weah was simply unstoppable, almost making it 2-0 with a powerful shot from outside the box and then sealing the deal with an unstoppable half-volley that gave Fontana no chance at the start of the second half. The King George show peaked in the 87th minute: playing off Ibou Ba down the right to unleash a low daisy-cutter and bag a third. San Siro standing ovation for him at the end of the 90.

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