The Tale of Looser: The Other Side From Famous Night in Istanbul

People only talk about the glory, but what the story from the losing team? It’s a tale about AC Milan after the Champions League final in Istanbul.

Milan fanatic fans, Giuseppe watching the Champions League final with his friend and family in his home. At the break, he and his friend buy a drink to celebrate Milan’s success in Champions League. The traffic is bad that day, and he came home late, when match already runs in 68 minutes. He came back and saw the Xabi Alonso goal. After that, no one touches the drink that he bought. He recalled his feeling that night as the strangest feeling in his life.

One Inch From Glory

Hernán Crespo sits in the dressing room at the break and cannot believe that his team already lead with three goals in the Champions League final. He looks down and prays to god, “ Good please make this real, please do not make this only a dream.” The young Crespo is growing watching a player like Baresi Winning the Champions League with AC Milan, and then he got a terrific feeling when he has almost done the same. After the break, he came back to the pitch with the same hungry, energy, and attitude, but his sides got massive discrepancy on the results. It almost 16 years after the Istanbul finals, but Crespo cannot explain what happened in that match. Many years later, he said that he considered quitting football after the disappointing result in 2005 final. It is understandable since he is so near to reach the most significant achievement in his career, but reality slaps him hard. Until he retired in 2012, Hernan Crespo never won the Champions League.

I think this is part of the beauty of football. That match is part of destiny, of things that can’t be explained. Even today I can’t believe it.- Hernán Crespo

It Just Not Milan Day

Until now, when the journalist asked about the famous night in Istanbul, Crespo simply said that “look, when god said not tonight, its not tonight.” He realized that it was not Milan day when Shevchenko failed to convert the one-on-one situation with Jerzy Dudek in the extra time. He claimed that it was hard to believe the player with the caliber of Shevchenko will fail to convert the chance to be a goal. It is understandable why Crespo was devastating that night; the 2005 season is arguably the best performance in his career. He scores many goals both in domestic competition and Champions League. He did all well that season, including two goals in the final, leaving both Liverpool central defender, Jamie Carragher, and Sami Hyppia frustrated. He is too fast, strong, and clinical to be stopped.

The Worse

The Similar story came from Paolo Maldini. He said that he had lost in three European Final, and he also lost in the World Cup Final, but Istanbul is the most painful experience for him. It’s hard for him to accept that Milan lost the final despite winning three goals at half-time. After many years, he watches that final again, and he believes that AC Milan is far more superior to Liverpool. It just likes the story of David defeating Goliath. He cannot believe how players like Dida, Nesta, Stam, Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaka, Shevchenko lost after leading three goals. When Maldini reflect on that final, he saw that AC Milan show their class in forty-five minutes. They tear Liverpool apart. What happens next in the ranges of six minutes is complete madness.

The match runs at a high tempo, but it still cannot find a winner until the normal time is up. When the extra time also cannot separate the two teams, the match must go to the penalty shoot-out. Liverpool’s absolute won penalty shoot-out after two failures from AC Milan’s sides.

Silent

The AC Milan striker, Filippo Inzaghi miss that game due to fitness issues but he still with the squad and experience the horror show in the final. Inzaghi remembered that the dressing was utterly silent for the next few days until the holiday came. The only remarkable thing on that occasion is that AC Milan has a great leader who can help the team grow and become stronger than before despite experience the worse defeat in their life.

Despite became the greatest day in Liverpool history, the Istanbul final had created the worse experience for Milan and its fans.