CHAPTER Filippo Inzaghi was one of AC Milan's emotional leaders as it recovered from the 2006 Italian soccer scandal CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE In the summer of 2006 AC Milan's fans were looking forward to a historic season The club had finished second in Serie A Italy's top league It also had beaten out its biggest rival Internazionale also known as Inter Milan or simply Inter Now it needed to take the next step and win a trophy or two But then everything changed A scandal rocked the Italian soccer world Defending Serie A champion Juventus and other teams were accused of trying to influence which referees would officiate their games Milan was one of the clubs accused of cheating It was given a 15 point penalty in the standings
And it wouldn’t be allowed to play in the Union of European Football Associations UEFA Champions League Milan challenged the punishment The Italian Football Federation agreed to reduce the penalty to eight points And Milan was let back into the Champions League But it had to start in an earlier round And the points penalty still made it harder to qualify for the Champions League the next season Sticking Together But the players were determined to succeed They gathered for training early Some of them had just finished playing in the World Cup Five Milan players were on the Italian team that had won it all including defender Alessandro Nesta midfielders Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo and forwards Filippo Inzaghi and Alberto Gilardino On Milan they joined other stars including defender and captain Paolo Maldini midfielder Clarence Seedorf and forward Kaká They were united as a team to overcome the challenges FAST FACT Despite the eight-point penalty Milan ended up finishing fourth in Serie A in 2006 07 That was good enough to qualify for the Champions League again the next year 6
Paolo Maldini’s veteran leadership was crucial in Milan’s big season The league schedule was difficult Milan at one point lost three home games in a row That hadn’t happened in 40 years In the Champions League Milan narrowly beat Red Star Belgrade to qualify for the group stage There it played the three other teams in its group twice Milan was undefeated 7
