1990: Rijkaard lords it over Olimpia
Sunday 9 December 1990
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Frank Rijkaard (No8) was the star of the 1990 final (©Getty Images)
AC Milan 3-0 Club Olimpia
Inspired by their Dutch triumvirate of Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten, AC Milan defeated Libertadores Cup winners Club Olimpia in thrilling style to become the first club to make a successful defence of the European/South American Cup since city rivals FC Internazionale Milano in 1965.
Rijkaard doubles up
All three Dutchmen had claims for the prestigious Man of the Match award but it was Rijkaard, with headed goals in the 44th and 65th minutes, who claimed the prize. The all-action midfielder, who had also scored Milan's match-winning goal against SL Benfica in the European Champion Clubs' Cup final in Vienna, cemented his team's first-half dominance – interrupted by a bad injury to left-back Paolo Maldini – by powering in an exquisite Gullit cross just before half-time. Midfielder Giovanni Stroppa made it 2-0, tapping in after good work by Van Basten on 61 minutes, before Rijkaard delivered the coup de grâce by spectacularly heading in on the rebound after a Van Basten chip had come back off the bar. More goals might have followed as Europe's finest took complete control in the final quarter, but the outcome had already long been settled.
'Left behind'
Luis Cubilla, the Olimpia coach, suggested that the Paraguayan side had been as good as their opponents until the opening goal but that "Milan left us behind in the second half". Winning coach Arrigo Sacchi added: "Olimpia had our respect and we had to start carefully, but once we got the first goal, the true Milan started to play."
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