1997–98 AC Milan season

AC 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
President	Silvio Berlusconi
Manager	Fabio Capello
Stadium	San Siro
Serie A	10th
Coppa Italia	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: George Weah (10) All: George Weah (13)
Highest home attendance	81,267 vs Juventus (30 November 1997)
Lowest home attendance	4,553 vs A.C. Reggiana (2 September 1997)
Average home league attendance	54,432[1]
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

It was the club's first season since 1976–77 not to feature captain Franco Baresi, who retired at the end of the previous campaign.

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[2]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ITA Sebastiano Rossi 3 DF  ITA Paolo Maldini 4 MF  ITA Demetrio Albertini 5 DF  ITA Alessandro Costacurta 8 DF  FRA Marcel Desailly[3] 9 FW  NED Patrick Kluivert 10 MF  YUG Dejan Savićević 12 GK  ITA Simone Braglia 13 MF  FRA Ibrahim Ba[4] 14 FW  LBR George Weah 15 DF  BRA André Cruz 17 DF  GER Christian Ziege 19 MF  ITA Giampiero Maini 20 MF  CRO Zvonimir Boban 21 DF  ITA Giuseppe Cardone 22 DF  ITA Daniele Daino

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 GK  ITA Massimo Taibi 24 DF  CRO Dario Smoje 25 MF  ITA Simone Bonomi 26 DF  ITA Alberto Comazzi 27 MF  ITA Nicola Corrent 28 FW  ITA Massimiliano Grego 29 MF  ITA Roberto De Zerbi 30 MF  BRA Leonardo 31 FW  ITA Mirco Gasparetto 32 MF  ITA Roberto Donadoni 33 MF  ITA Nicola Padoin 34 FW  ITA Massimo Maccarone 35 DF  NOR Steinar Nilsen 36 FW  ITA Maurizio Ganz 37 DF  FRA Samir Beloufa 38 FW  ITA Filippo Maniero 39 DF  ITA Gianluca Zanetti

Transfers

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
FW	Patrick Kluivert	Ajax Amsterdam	-
MF	Ibrahim Ba	Bordeaux	-
MF	André Cruz	Internazionale
DF	Christian Ziege	Bayern München	-
MF	Giampiero Maini	Vicenza Calcio	-
DF	Giuseppe Cardone	Bologna F.C.	-
GK	Massimo Taibi	Piacenza Calcio	-
MF	Leonardo	Paris SG
DF	Winston Bogarde	Ajax Amsterdam	-
DF	Steinar Nilsen	Tromsø IL	-
DF	Dario Smoje	HNK Rijeka	-
MF	Francesco Moriero	A.S. Roma	-
GK	Simone Braglia	Lucchesse 1905	-
MF	Francesco Cozza	Cagliari F.C.	loan ended
FW	Luca Saudati	A.C. Prato	-
FW	Andreas Andersson	IFK Goteborg	-

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
DF	Franco Baresi		retired
DF	Mauro Tassotti		retired
FW	Roberto Baggio	Bologna F.C.	€1.80 million
FW	Marco Simone	Paris SG
GK	Angelo Pagotto	Empoli F.C.	-
DF	Pietro Vierchowod	Piacenza Calcio
DF	Michael Reiziger	FC Barcelona	-
FW	Christophe Dugarry	FC Barcelona	-
MF	Stefano Eranio	Derby County
MF	Francesco Moriero	Internazionale	-
DF	Francesco Coco	Vicenza Calcio	loan
MF	Massimo Ambrosini	Vicenza Calcio	loan
MF	Francesco Cozza	U.S. Lecce	loan
GK	Gabriele Aldegani	A.C. Prato	loan
FW	Luca Saudati	Lecco	loan

Autumn

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
MF	Roberto Donadoni	NY Metrostars	-

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
MF	Jesper Blomqvist	Parma F.C.

Winter

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
FW	Maurizio Ganz	Inter	-
FW	Filippo Maniero	Parma F.C.	-
DF	Samir Beloufa	AS Cannes	-

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
MF	Edgar Davids	Juventus
FW	Andreas Andersson	Newcastle United
DF	Winston Bogarde	FC Barcelona
FW	Matteo Pelatti	Como

Results

Serie A

Main article: 1997–98 Serie A

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
8	Bologna	34	12	12	10	55	46	+9	48[a]	Qualification to Intertoto Cup third round[5]
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).^[6]
Notes:

1. Bologna finished ahead of Sampdoria on head-to-head points: BOL 2–2 SAM; SAM 2–3 BOL.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
34	11	11	12	37	43	−6	44	6	7	4	16	13	+3	5	4	8	21	30	−9

Source: Competitive matches

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	D	D	L	L	W	L	W	W	D	D	W	W	D	W	D	L	L	W	L	D	W	W	D	W	D	L	L	L	W	L	D	L	D	L
Position	9	12	13	14	13	13	11	8	9	9	7	6	7	5	6	8	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	10	10	10	10

Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed;   = Leader, 1998–99 UEFA Champions League Group stage;   = 1998–99 UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying round;   = 1998–99 UEFA Cup First round;   = Qualification to Intertoto Cup;   = 1998–99 Serie B

Matches

Piacenza v Milan

31 August 1997 1	Piacenza	1–1	Milan	Piacenza
15:00 CEST	Delli Carri 69'	Report	Delli Carri 29' (o.g.)	Stadium: Leonardo Garilli Attendance: 25 340 Referee: Cesari

Milan v Lazio

13 September 1997 2	Milan	1–1	Lazio	Milan
16:00 CEST	Ba 37'	Report	Signori 90 + 4' (pen.)	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 67 151 Referee: Ceccarini

Udinese v Milan

21 September 1997 3	Udinese	2–1	Milan	Udine
20:30 CEST	Bierhoff 25, 85'	Report	Kluivert 4'	Stadium: Friuli Attendance: 26 231 Referee: Braschi

Milan v Vicenza

28 September 1997 4	Milan	0–1	Vicenza	Milan
15:00 CEST		Report	Di Napoli 45'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 53 603 Referee: Pierluigi Collina

Empoli v Milan

5 October 1997 5	Empoli	0–1	Milan	Empoli
15:00 CEST		Report	A. Andersson 88'	Stadium: Carlo Castellani Attendance: 15 700 Referee: Borriello

Milan v Lecce

19 October 1997 6	Milan	1–2	Lecce	Milan
15:00 CEST	Cyprien 76' (o.g.)	Report	Govedarica 2' Casale 49' (pen.)	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 50 628 Referee: De Santis

Sampdoria v Milan

2 November 1997 7	Sampdoria	0–3	Milan	Genova
15:00 CET		Report	Weah 75, 81' Ziege 87'	Stadium: Luigi Ferraris Attendance: 37 000 Referee: Trentalange

Milan v Brescia

9 November 1997 8	Milan	2–1	Brescia	Milan
15:00 CET	Leonardo 7' Leonardo 25'	Report	Hübner 44'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 49 747 Referee: Farina

Inter v Milan

22 November 1997 9	Inter	2–2	Milan	Milan
20:30 CET	Simeone 13' Ronaldo 68'	Report	Weah 29' André Cruz 80' (pen.)	Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza Attendance: 80 905 Referee: Pierluigi Collina

Milan v Juventus

30 November 1997 10	Milan	1–1	Juventus	Milan
20:30 CET	Ferrara 27' (o.g.)	Report	F. Inzaghi 32'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 81 267 Referee: Pierluigi Collina

Milan v Bari

7 December 1997 11	Milan	2–0	Bari	Milan
15:00 CET	Boban 47' Kluivert 62'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 47 570 Referee: Bettin

Atalanta v Milan

14 December 1997 12	Atalanta	1–2	Milan	Atalanta
15:00 CET	Sgrò 17'	Report	Lucarelli 2' (o.g.) Kluivert 65'	Stadium: Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Attendance: 20 925 Referee: Boggi

Milan v Bologna

21 December 1997 13	Milan	0–0	Bologna	Milan
20:30 CET		Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 47 889 Referee: Rodomonti

Napoli v Milan

4 January 1998 14	Napoli	1–2	Milan	Napoli
15:00 CET	Bellucci 75'	Report	Leonardo 52' Ganz 71'	Stadium: San Paolo Attendance: 69 577 Referee: Farina

Milan v Roma

11 January 1998 15	Milan	0–0	Roma	Milan
15:00 CET		Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 52 256 Referee: Treossi

Parma v Milan

18 January 1998 16	Parma	3–1	Milan	Parma
20:30 CET	Chiesa 33, 75' D. Baggio 44'	Report	Ganz 70'	Stadium: Il Tardini Attendance: 23 935 Referee: Ceccarinni

Milan v Fiorentina

25 January 1998 17	Milan	0–2	Fiorentina	Milan
15:00 CET		Report	L. Oliveira 3' Morfeo 52'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 53 315 Referee: Borriello

Milan v Piacenza

1 February 1998 18	Milan	1–0	Piacenza	Milan
15:00 CET	Maniero 90'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 46 795 Referee: Tombolini

Lazio v Milan

8 February 1998 19	Lazio	2–1	Milan	Roma
15:00 CET	Mancini 6' Bokšić 90 + 3'	Report	Kluivert 90 + 4'	Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Attendance: 52 215 Referee: Bazzoli

Milan v Udinese

11 February 1998 20	Milan	0–0	Udinese	Milan
15:00 CET		Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 46 784 Referee: Pierluigi Collina

Vicenza v Milan

15 February 1998 21	Vicenza	1–4	Milan	Vicenza
CET	Otero 54'	Report	Kluivert 3, 74' Ganz 8' Maniero 74'	Stadium: Romeo Menti Attendance: 16 273 Referee: Pairetto

Milan v Empoli

22 February 1998 22	Milan	3–1	Empoli	Milan
15:00 CET	Weah 3' Ganz 15' Maniero 82'	Report	C. Esposito 65'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 47 067 Referee: Boggi

Lecce v Milan

1 March 1998 23	Lecce	0–0	Milan	Lecce
15:00 CET		Report		Stadium: Via del Mare Attendance: 27 717 Referee: Bettin

Milan v Sampdoria

8 March 1998 24	Milan	1–0	Sampdoria	Milan
15:00 CET	Ziege 38'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 56 062 Referee: Borriello

Brescia v Milan

15 March 1998 25	Brescia	2–2	Milan	Brescia
15:00 CET	Hübner 40' (pen.) Bizzarri 68'	Report	Weah 44, 51'	Stadium: Mario Rigamonti Attendance: 22 435 Referee: Trentalange

Milan v Inter

22 March 1998 26	Milan	0–3	Inter	Milan
20:30 CET		Report	Simeone 42, 87' Ronaldo 77'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 80 327 Referee: Bazzoli

Juventus v Milan

28 March 1998 27	Juventus	4–1	Milan	Torino
20:30 CET	Del Piero 12' (pen.), 39' F. Inzaghi 60, 83'	Report	Boban 30' (pen.)	Stadium: Delle Alpi Attendance: 55 631 Referee: Braschi

Bari v Milan

5 April 1998 28	Bari	1–0	Milan	Bari
20:30 CEST	Masinga 81'	Report		Stadium: San Nicola Attendance: 32 377 Referee: Rodomonti

Milan v Atalanta

11 April 1998 29	Milan	3–0	Atalanta	Milan
15:00 CEST	Weah 10, 53, 87'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 48 572 Referee: Pellegrino

Bologna v Milan

19 April 1998 30	Bologna	3–0	Milan	Bologna
CEST	R. Baggio 15', 50' (pen.) Fontolan 83'	Report		Stadium: Renato Dall'Ara Attendance: 35 983 Referee: Rossi

Milan v Napoli

26 April 1998 31	Milan	0–0	Napoli	Milan
15:00 CEST		Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 47 495 Referee: Pin

Roma v Milan

3 May 1998 32	Roma	5–0	Milan	Roma
15:00 CEST	Candela 16' Di Biagio 20' (pen.), 28' Paulo Sérgio 39' Delvecchio 82'	Report		Stadium: Olimpico Attendance: 64 125 Referee: Farina

Milan v Parma

10 May 1998 33	Milan	1–1	Parma	Milan
15:00 CEST	Weah 56'	Report	André Cruz 16' (o.g.)	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 47 484 Referee: Messina

Fiorentina v Milan

16 May 1998 34	Fiorentina	2–0	Milan	Firenze
15:00 CEST	Robbiati 50' Kanchelskis 55'	Report		Stadium: Artemio Franchi Attendance: 35 239 Referee: De Santis

Coppa Italia

Main article: 1997–98 Coppa Italia

Round of 32

Milan v Reggina

2 September 1997 1	Milan	0-0	Reggina	Milan
		Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 4 553 Referee: De Santis

Reggina v Milan

24 September 1997 2	Reggina	0–2 (0–2 agg.)	Milan	Reggio Emilia
		Report	Weah 34' Boban 90'	Stadium: Giglio Attendance: 10 416 Referee: Bettin

Eightfinals

Milan v Sampdoria

16 October 1997 1	Milan	3-2	Sampdoria	Milan
	Weah 64' Maini 74' Kluivert 92'	Report	Tovalieri 20' Boghossian 44'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 6 589 Referee: Treossi

Sampdoria v Milan

19 November 1997 2	Sampdoria	1-2 (3-5 agg.)	Milan	Genova
	Mihajlović 29'	Report	Leonardo 64' André Cruz 82' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadio Luigi Ferraris Attendance: 28 000 Referee: Braschi

Quarter-finals

Milan v Internazionale

8 January 1998 1	Milan	5–0	Internazionale	Milan
20:45 CET	Albertini 29' (pen.) Ganz 33' Savićević 44' Colonnese 46' (o.g.) Nilsen 60'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 36 805 Referee: Graziano Cesari

Internazionale v Milan

21 January 1998 2	Internazionale	1–0 (1–5 agg.)	Milan	Milan
20:45 CET	Branca 32'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 9 137 Referee: Roberto Bettin

Semi-finals

Milan v Parma

18 February 1998 First leg	Milan	0-0	Parma	Milan
		Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 17 488 Referee: Braschi

Parma v Milan

12 March 1998 2	Parma	2-2 (2–2 agg.)	Milan	Parma
	Chiesa 49' Stanić 87'		Kluivert 47' Kluivert 93'	Stadium: Il Tardini Attendance: 29 000 Referee: Pairetto

Final

Main article: 1998 Coppa Italia Final

Milan v Lazio

8 April 1998 1	Milan	1–0	Lazio	Milan
	Weah 90'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 63,564 Referee: Livio Bazzoli

Lazio v Milan

29 April 1998 2	Lazio	3–1 (3–2 agg.)	Milan	Roma
	Gottardi 56' Jugović 59' (pen.) Nesta 66'	Report	Albertini 47'	Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Attendance: 64,189 Referee: Florenzo Treossi

Statistics

Players statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Serie A		Coppa Italia
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ITA	Rossi	27	-34	17	-25	10	-9
21	DF	ITA	Cardone	25	0	16+3	0	6	0
5	DF	ITA	Costacurta	37	0	29	0	8	0
8	DF	FRA	Desailly	41	0	33	0	8	0
3	DF	ITA	Maldini	37	0	30	0	7	0
13	MF	FRA	Ibrahim Ba	40	1	30+1	1	9	0
20	MF	CRO	Boban	29	3	19+4	2	6	1
4	MF	ITA	Albertini	37	2	28	0	9	2
30	MF	BRA	Leonardo	32	4	20+7	3	5	1
9	FW	NED	Kluivert	33	9	26+1	6	6	3
14	FW	LBR	Weah	32	13	23+1	10	8	3
23	GK	ITA	Taibi	17	-18	17	-18
17	DF	GER	Ziege	27	2	18+4	2	5	0
36	FW	ITA	Ganz	25	5	14+5	4	6	1
22	DF	ITA	Daino	18	0	11+3	0	4	0
15	DF	BRA	André Cruz	14	2	11	1	3	1
19	MF	ITA	Maini	31	1	8+17	0	6	1
32	MF	ITA	Donadoni	19	0	8+7	0	4	0
10	MF	YUG	Savicevic	15	1	6+2	0	7	1
24	DF	CRO	Smoje	9	0	4+2	0	3	0
38	FW	ITA	Maniero	16	3	3+10	3	3	0
11	FW	SWE	Andersson	18	3	3+10	3	5	0
35	DF	NOR	Nilsen	7	1	2+3	0	2	1
7	MF	NED	Davids	7	0	0+4	0	3	0
2	DF	NED	Bogarde	4	0	0+3	0	1	0
37	DF	FRA	Beloufa	4	0	0+3	0	1	0
26	DF	ITA	Comazzi	2	0	0+1	0	1	0
16	MF	SWE	Blomqvist	2	0	0+1	0	1	0
12	GK	ITA	Braglia	0	0	0	0
25	MF	ITA	Bonomi	0	0	0	0
27	MF	ITA	Corrent	0	0	0	0
34	FW	ITA	Maccarone	0	0	0	0
33	MF	ITA	Padoin	0	0	0	0
28	FW	ITA	Grego
29	MF	ITA	Zerbi
31	FW	ITA	Gasparetto
39	DF	ITA	Zanetti

• Source: http://calcio-seriea.net/presenze/1997/1137/