1997–98 A.C. Milan season

A.C. Milan had a second consecutive disastrous season. Fabio Capello returned as coach, following the dismal second half of the 1996–97 league campaign, but failed to turn the corner, and Milan was a shadow of the team he had left the year before. With Capello's reputation seemingly ruined, he was sacked at the end of the season, with Milan finishing a mere 10th in the league.

Milan
1997–98 season
PresidentSilvio Berlusconi
ManagerFabio Capello
StadiumSan Siro
Serie A10th
Coppa ItaliaRunners-up
Top goalscorerLeague:
George Weah (10)
All:
George Weah (13)

First-team squad
Squad at end of season[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 GK Sebastiano Rossi
3 DF Paolo Maldini
4 MF Demetrio Albertini
5 DF Alessandro Costacurta
8 DF Marcel Desailly[2]
9 FW Patrick Kluivert
10 MF Dejan Savićević
12 GK Simone Braglia
13 MF Ibrahim Ba[3]
14 FW George Weah
15 DF André Cruz
16 GK Jens Lehmann
17 DF Christian Ziege
19 MF Giampiero Maini
20 MF Zvonimir Boban
21 DF Giuseppe Cardone
22 DF Daniele Daino
No. Position Player
23 GK Massimo Taibi
24 DF Dario Smoje
25 MF Simone Bonomi
26 DF Alberto Comazzi
27 MF Nicola Corrent
28 FW Massimiliano Grego
29 MF Roberto De Zerbi
30 MF Leonardo
31 FW Mirco Gasparetto
32 MF Roberto Donadoni
33 MF Nicola Padoin
34 FW Massimo Maccarone
35 DF Steinar Nilsen
36 FW Maurizio Ganz
37 DF Samir Beloufa
38 FW Filippo Maniero
39 DF Gianluca Zanetti

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
2 DF Winston Bogarde (to Barcelona)
7 MF Edgar Davids[4] (to Juventus)
No. Position Player
11 FW Andreas Andersson (to Newcastle United)
18 FW Matteo Pelatti (on loan to Como)

Results

Serie A
Main article: 1997–98 Serie A

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
8 Bologna 34 12 12 10 55 46 +9 48[lower-alpha 1] Qualification to Intertoto Cup third round
9 Sampdoria 34 13 9 12 52 55 −3 48 Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round
10 Milan 34 11 11 12 37 43 −6 44
11 Bari 34 10 8 16 30 45 −15 38
12 Piacenza 34 7 16 11 29 38 −9 37
Source: 1997–98 Serie A, RSSSF.com, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw. (Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played).[5]
Notes:
  1. Bologna finished ahead of Sampdoria on head-to-head points: BOL 2–2 SAM; SAM 2–3 BOL.

Matches
1Piacenza1–1Milan
Delli Carri  69' Delli Carri  29' (o.g.)
2Milan1–1Lazio
Ba  37' Signori  90 + 4' (pen.)
3Udinese2–1Milan
Bierhoff  25, 85' Kluivert  4'
4Milan0–1Vicenza
Di Napoli  45'
5Empoli0–1Milan
A. Andersson  88'
6Milan1–2Lecce
Cyprien  76' (o.g.) Govedarica  2'
Casale  49' (pen.)
7Sampdoria0–3Milan
Weah  75, 81'
Ziege  87'
8Milan2–1Brescia
Leonardo  7, 25' Hübner  44'
9Inter2–2Milan
Simeone  13'
Ronaldo  68'		 Weah  29'
André Cruz  80' (pen.)
10Milan1–1Juventus
Ferrara  27' (o.g.) F. Inzaghi  32'
11Milan2–0Bari
Boban  47'
Kluivert  62'
12Atalanta1–2Milan
Sgrò  17' Lucarelli  2' (o.g.)
Kluivert  65'
13Milan0–0Bologna
14Napoli1–2Milan
Bellucci  75' Leonardo  52'
Ganz  71'
15Milan0–0Roma
16Parma3–1Milan
Chiesa  33, 75'
D. Baggio  44'		 Ganz  70'
17Milan0–2Fiorentina
L. Oliveira  3'
Morfeo  52'
18Milan1–0Piacenza
Maniero  90'
19Lazio2–1Milan
Mancini  6'
Bokšić  90 + 3'		 Kluivert  90 + 4'
20Milan0–0Udinese
21Vicenza1–4Milan
Otero  54' Kluivert  3, 74'
Ganz  8'
Maniero  74'
22Milan3–1Empoli
Weah  3'
Ganz  15'
Maniero  82'		 C. Esposito  65'
23Lecce0–0Milan
24Milan1–0Sampdoria
Ziege  38'
25Brescia2–2Milan
Hübner  40' (pen.)
Bizzarri  68'		 Weah  44, 51'
26Milan0–3Inter
Simeone  42, 87'
Ronaldo  77'
27Juventus4–1Milan
Del Piero  12' (pen.), 39'
F. Inzaghi  60, 83'		 Boban  30' (pen.)
28Bari1–0Milan
Masinga  81'
29Milan3–0Atalanta
Weah  10, 53, 87'
30Bologna3–0Milan
R. Baggio  15', 50' (pen.)
Fontolan  83'
31Milan0–0Napoli
32Roma5–0Milan
Candela  16'
Di Biagio  20' (pen.), 28'
Paulo Sérgio  39'
Delvecchio  82'
33Milan1–1Parma
Weah  56' André Cruz  16' (o.g.)
34Fiorentina2–0Milan
Robbiati  50'
Kanchelskis  55'

Coppa Italia
Main article: 1997–98 Coppa Italia

Round of 32
2 September 1997 First legMilan0-0Reggina
24 September 1997 Second legReggina0–2
(0–2 agg.)		Milan
Weah  34'
Boban  90'

Round of 16
16 October 1997 First legMilan3-2Sampdoria
Weah  64'
Maini  74'
Kluivert  92'		 Tovalieri  20'
Boghossian  44'
19 November 1997 Second legSampdoria1-2
(3-5 agg.)		Milan
Mihajlović  29' Leonardo  64'
André Cruz  82' (pen.)

Quarter-finals
8 January 1998 First legMilan5–0InternazionaleMilan
20:45 CET Albertini  29' (pen.)
Ganz  33'
Savićević  44'
Colonnese  46' (o.g.)
Nilsen  60'		 Stadium: San Siro
Referee: Graziano Cesari
21 January 1998 Second legInternazionale1–0
(1–5 agg.)		MilanMilan
20:45 CET Branca  32' Stadium: San Siro
Referee: Roberto Bettin

Semi-finals
18 February 1998 First legMilan0-0Parma
12 March 1998 Second legParma2-2
(2–2 agg.)		Milan
Chiesa  49'
Stanić  87'		 Kluivert  47, 93'

Final
Main article: 1998 Coppa Italia Final
8 April 1998 First legMilan1–0LazioMilan
Weah  90' Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 63,564
Referee: Livio Bazzoli
29 April 1998 Second legLazio3–1
(3–2 agg.)		MilanRome
Gottardi  56'
Jugović 59' (pen.)
Nesta  66'		 Albertini  47' Stadium: Stadio Olimpico
Attendance: 64,189
Referee: Florenzo Treossi

Statistics

Goalscorers
Rank No. Pos Nat Name Serie A Coppa Italia Total
1 14 FW George Weah 10 3 13
2 9 FW Patrick Kluivert 6 3 9
3 36 FW Maurizio Ganz 4 1 5
4 20 MF Zvonimir Boban 2 1 3
30 MF Leonardo 3 0 3
38 FW Filippo Maniero 3 0 3
7 4 MF Demetrio Albertini 0 2 2
15 DF André Cruz 1 1 2
17 DF Christian Ziege 2 0 2
10 11 FW Andreas Andersson 1 0 1
13 MF Ibrahim Ba 1 0 1
19 DF Giampiero Maini 0 1 1
35 DF Steinar Nilsen 0 1 1
10 MF Dejan Savićević 0 1 1
Own goal 4 1 5
Totals 37 15 52

References
  1. http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/italy/1997-1998/seriea/milan.htm
  2. Desailly was born in Accra, Ghana.
  3. Ba was born in Dakar, Senegal
  4. Davids was born in Paramaribo, Suriname.
  5. Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 "Norme organizzative interne della F.I.G.C. - Art. 51.6" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.

Sources
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