1989: Evani breaks through for Milan
Sunday 17 December 1989
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Milan beat Nacional to win the 1989 European/South American Cup (©Getty Images)
AC Milan 1-0 CDC Atlético Nacional (aet)
Arrigo Sacchi's AC Milan travelled to Tokyo as firm favourites to defeat South American champions CDC Atlético Nacional and win the European/South American Cup for the second time, but the task proved trickier than expected and it took a late free-kick from substitute Alberigo Evani to eventually win the day for the Rossoneri.
Higuita holds firm
Evani's decisive strike came just one minute before the end of extra time. His left-foot rocket took a slight deflection off the wall before flying into the net and finally ending the stout resistance of the Colombian side and their remarkable, flamboyant goalkeeper René Higuita. Well drilled by coach Francisco Maturana, Atlético Nacional made life uncomfortable for opponents who badly missed the incisive forward play of their Dutch superstar Ruud Gullit, ruled out by a knee injury. Gullit's compatriot Marco van Basten gave glimpses of the talent that had earned him the title of World Footballer of the Year but, although the European side offered the greater attacking threat, the Milan strikers were repeatedly denied by Higuita and his defenders.
Second title
Evani, who had also scored the winning goal for Milan in the second leg of the UEFA Super Cup against FC Barcelona ten days earlier, claimed the official Man of the Match award, although equally deserving of the distinction was the hard-working Roberto Donadoni, pinpointed as the game's decisive figure by Maturana, who was characteristically gracious in defeat. "It is hard to lose to such a late goal," he said. "But my team did themselves proud with their performance."
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