Silvio laps up Rossoneri’s revenge
Back home, the packed cathedral square exploded with noise when Inzaghi’s second goal went in, but the real partying was postponed until last night’s parade through the streets and squares — Foro Buonaparte, piazza Cavour, piazza Repubblica. and finally back to the cathedral — with further celebrations planned for today.
It was “the Triumph of Athens”, said La Gazzetta Dello Sport. A “personal triumph” for Milan’s president, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has lost no time in drawing political conclusions from “beating the reds”.
For all the talk of triumph, however, the match itself was “ill-tempered and ugly” commented the Gazzetta, very fragmented at the start when “Milan displayed an incomprehensible, reverential respect, that was probably down to fear”.
Playing high up the pitch, Liverpool covered the spaces well, preventing Milan keeping possession. “As a spectacle, it was poor,” said the Gazzetta. “The game locked into an excessively-tactical approach, comfortably controlled by Liverpool who were definitely more inspired than Milan. But football is made up of moments: and all it needed was a free-kick from Pirlo and a deflection into the net from Inzaghi’s arm — accidental, but as ever in the right place at the right time — to create a different scenario.”
Like their English colleagues, Italian journalists were impressed by Jermaine Pennant and mystified why Boudewijn Zenden stayed on the pitch so long. The omission of Peter Crouch from the starting line-up, and his late appearance as a substitute, also surprised many who anticipated Milan’s unsteadiness in the air would be severely tested.
“Justice was done” said La Repubblica, recalling the trauma of Istanbul “when Gerrard’s goals and Dudek’s ‘spaghetti legs’ plunged all the red and black part of Milan into dismal silence.”
Football and politics are inextricably linked in Italy, and Turin-based paper La Stampa writes how Milan’s win is already being used by Berlusconi to boost his image and launch a new challenge to the Italian government. Having missed out on Italy’s World Cup triumph after losing the general election, Berlusconi was quick to announce his club had demonstrated the same virtues as his political party, Forza Italia.
“Football is a metaphor for life,” declared Berlusconi. “Those who work well will always be rewarded.”
According to reports from Milan, before the team took the field, Berlusconi told Inzaghi “You, Pippo, will score two goals for me!” True or not, it can’t do any harm to his party’s prospects in Sunday’s local elections.
The 33-year-old Inzaghi was also singled out by French paper Le Figaro, which called him “the hunter of the night”. Also in France, sports paper L’Equipe said “Milan are immortal” while Le Figaro calls the victory “Revenge the Italian Way”. L’Equipe also talk about the “hard skin” of Italian football as it refers to Milan’s triumph in the same season the club was docked points for match-fixing.
In Spain, Marca focused on Milan cutting into Real Madrid’s lead in European Cups. “Milan 7 Real 9” says a headline, then: “Italians gain revenge against Liverpool and get closer to Real Madrid’s tally.”
Spain’s El Pais says “Milan enriches its history”. Liverpool had Javier Mascherano of Argentina and Milan Kaka of Brazil, so the South America press was watching events closely.
Argentina’s sports paper Ole says, “Another King of Cups — there wasn’t a happy ending for Mascherano” while Jornal do Brasil shows a large photo of Kaka holding the Champions League trophy with the headline “A New King”.
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