1994 UEFA Champions League final
Match programme cover
Event1993–94 UEFA Champions League
AC Milan Barcelona
Italy Spain
4 0
Date18 May 1994 (1994-05-18)
VenueOlympic Stadium, Athens
RefereePhilip Don (England)
Attendance70,000[1]

The 1994 UEFA Champions League final was a football match between Italian club AC Milan and Spanish club Barcelona, played on 18 May 1994 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece.

Barcelona were favourites to win their second European Cup/UEFA Champions League in three years, having just won La Liga for the fourth year in a row. Milan's preparation before the final was in disarray: legendary striker Marco van Basten was still out with a long-term injury, and £13 million young sensation Gianluigi Lentini (then world's most expensive footballer) was also injured; sweeper and captain, Franco Baresi was suspended, as was defender Alessandro Costacurta; and UEFA regulations at the time that limited teams to fielding a maximum of three non-nationals meant that coach Fabio Capello was forced to leave out Florin Răducioiu, Jean-Pierre Papin and Brian Laudrup. On Barcelona's side, the rule saw Johan Cruyff choosing not to pick Michael Laudrup in his squad for the final which caused Capello to state after the game: "Laudrup was the guy I feared but Cruyff left him out, and that was his mistake".[2] Laudrup left Barcelona for their arch-rival, Real Madrid, at the end of the season.

Milan played in their all-white away strip, which historically they use in finals of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, while Barcelona played in their red and blue strip. Milan dominated early and were rewarded when Dejan Savićević ran down the right flank and passed to Daniele Massaro, who tapped the ball into an empty net. Massaro banged in his second just before half-time to make it 2–0 after a solo run by Roberto Donadoni down the left wing.[3]

In the 47th minute, Savićević capitalised on a defensive error by Miguel Ángel Nadal to lob goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta for the third goal. Eight minutes later, after Savićević had hit a post and the Barcelona defence had failed to clear, Milan midfielder Marcel Desailly beat the offside trap to make it 4–0, which ended up being the final score.[4] Desailly became the first player to win the trophy in consecutive years with different clubs after winning with Marseille in 1993.[5]

Teams

In the following table, finals until 1992 were in the European Cup era, since 1993 were in the UEFA Champions League era.

Team Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners)
Italy Milan 6 (1958, 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1993)
Spain Barcelona 3 (1961, 1986, 1992)

Road to the final

Italy Milan Round Spain Barcelona
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Switzerland Aarau 1–0 1–0 (A) 0–0 (H) First round Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 5–4 1–3 (A) 4–1 (H)
Denmark Copenhagen 7–0 6–0 (A) 1–0 (H) Second round Austria Austria Wien 5–1 3–0 (H) 2–1 (A)
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Belgium Anderlecht 0–0 (A) Matchday 1 Turkey Galatasaray 0–0 (A)
Portugal Porto 3–0 (H) Matchday 2 France Monaco 2–0 (H)
Germany Werder Bremen 2–1 (H) Matchday 3 Russia Spartak Moscow 2–2 (A)
Germany Werder Bremen 1–1 (A) Matchday 4 Russia Spartak Moscow 5–1 (H)
Belgium Anderlecht 0–0 (H) Matchday 5 Turkey Galatasaray 3–0 (H)
Portugal Porto 0–0 (A) Matchday 6 France Monaco 1–0 (A)
Group B winner

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Italy Milan 6 8
2 Portugal Porto 6 7
3 Germany Werder Bremen 6 5
4 Belgium Anderlecht 6 4
Source: UEFA
 Final standings Group A winner

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Spain Barcelona 6 10
2 France Monaco 6 7
3 Russia Spartak Moscow 6 5
4 Turkey Galatasaray 6 2
Source: UEFA
Opponent Result Knockout phase Opponent Result
France Monaco 3–0 (H) Semi-finals Portugal Porto 3–0 (H)

Match

Details

Milan Italy4–0Spain Barcelona
 Report
Attendance: 70,000[1]
Referee: Philip Don (England)
Milan[6]
Barcelona[6]
GK1Italy Sebastiano Rossi
RB2Italy Mauro Tassotti (c)Yellow card 35'
LB3Italy Christian PanucciYellow card 88'
CM4Italy Demetrio AlbertiniYellow card 53'
CB5Italy Filippo Galli
CB6Italy Paolo Maldinidownward-facing red arrow 83'
LM7Italy Roberto Donadoni
CM8France Marcel Desailly
RM9Croatia Zvonimir Boban
CF10Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dejan Savićević
CF11Italy Daniele MassaroYellow card 45'
Substitutes:
GK12Italy Mario Ielpo
DF13Italy Stefano Navaupward-facing green arrow 83'
MF14Italy Angelo Carbone
MF15Italy Gianluigi Lentini
FW16Italy Marco Simone
Manager:
Italy Fabio Capello
GK1Spain Andoni Zubizarreta
RB2Spain Albert FerrerYellow card 58'
DM3Spain Pep Guardiola
CB4Netherlands Ronald Koeman
CB5Spain Miguel Ángel NadalYellow card 54'
CM6Spain José Mari Bakero (c)Yellow card 48'
LB7Spain Sergi BarjuánYellow card 55'downward-facing red arrow 71'
RF8Bulgaria Hristo StoichkovYellow card 24'
CM9Spain Guillermo Amor
CF10Brazil Romário
LF11Spain Txiki Begiristaindownward-facing red arrow 51'
Substitutes:
DF12Spain Juan Carlos
GK13Spain Carles Busquets
MF14Spain Eusebio Sacristánupward-facing green arrow 51'
MF15Spain Jon Andoni Goikoetxea
MF16Spain Quique Estebaranzupward-facing green arrow 71'
Manager:
Netherlands Johan Cruyff

Linesmen:
Rob Harris (England)
Roy Pearson (England)
Fourth official:
Martin Bodenham (England)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "2. Finals" (PDF). UEFA Champions League Statistics Handbook 2016/17. Nyon: Union of European Football Associations. 2017. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  2. ↑ ABC(spanish newspaper), 20 May 1994
  3. ↑ Leach, Conrad (31 May 2016). "Golden Goal: Daniele Massaro for Milan v Barcelona (1994)". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Thomas, Russell (13 December 2007). "Milan style - how the Guardian saw the 1994 final". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  5. ↑ Smyth, Rob (13 May 2020). "Milan v Barcelona 1994 Champions League final: as it happened". Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 Wilson, Jonathan (2008). Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics. Orion. p. 318. ISBN 978-1-4091-0204-5.
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