While we all like to see the sides that are regarded as the best in the world face off in the latter stages, it is also incredibly exciting to see team that weren’t expected to get very far reach the final of the Champions League.

That is exactly what will happen in the 2022/23 campaign because we are being treated to a semi-final Derby della Madonnina between Inter and AC Milan. The winner will face either Real Madrid or Manchester City and, although they will be the underdogs, they certainly have a huge amount of pedigree in the tournament.

Looking at Milan specifically, they are one of the most decorated clubs in the history of the tournament.

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Winning the European Cup/Champions League seven times is a remarkable achievement for any club but what makes AC Milan’s record so impressive is that they have won it in four different decades, showing a repeated ability to build elite sides rather than having one clearly defined decade of dominance.

The first victory in the early 1960s came against a generational Benfica team, as exemplified by the fact that Eusebio scored their goal in the 2-1 Rossoneri win. Jose Altafini grabbed the two Milan goals for a team that featured names like Giovanni Trappatoni and Cesare Maldini, father of Paolo.

A few years later, Milan got the better of another team featuring one of the greatest footballers of all time: Johan Cruyff. A Pierino Prati hat-trick and an Angelo Sormani goal sealed another European Cup for Nereo Rocco’s side.

20 years passed before Milan were in another Champions League final. Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten grabbed two goals each to beat Steaua Bucharest in Barcelona. Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Franco Baresi, Frank Rijkaard and Carlo Ancelotti all started the game, coached by Arrigo Sacchi. Gheorghe Hagi was a starter for the Romanian side.

They were back the next season to defend their crown, and the starting XI against Benfica only had one change from the team that won the previous year. Alberico Evani was in for Roberto Donadoni to help beat Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Benfica 1-0. Frank Rijkaard grabbed the goal.

The most emphatic final win came in Athens against Barcelona in 1994. The game was wrapped up before the hour mark with goals from Daniele Massaro (2), Dejan Savicevic and Marcel Desailly for Fabio Capello’s side. The Barcelona team featured Pep Guardiola, Ronald Koeman, Hristo Stoichkov and Romario and they were coached by Johan Cruyff.

Heading into the 2000s, Milan got the chance to beat rivals Juventus at Old Trafford but they needed a penalty shoot-out to do it. The likes of Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf and Rui Costa all started with Carlo Ancelotti in charge.

The most recent triumph for the Rossoneri in Europe was back in 2007 and it was a bit of a revenge job. Having been beaten by Liverpool in Istanbul just two years prior, the two sides met again in the 2006/07 Champions League final.

This time, Athens was the location, the same stadium where Milan had won their fourth trophy. Some Milan fans may even have been relieved when their side did not race into a big early lead, as the demons of Istanbul may have started to show their faces.

Instead, Filippo Inzaghi put the Serie A side ahead on the stroke of half time and he then added his second with just eight minutes of the 90 left to play. Dirk Kuyt made things nervy with his 89th-minute goal, but Milan stood firm and won number seven.

Milan’s starting lineup that night was: Dida; Massimo Oddo, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Marek Jankulovski; Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini, Clarence Seedorf; Kaka; Inzaghi.

As for Liverpool, they fielded an eleven of: Pepe Reina; Steve Finnan, Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, John Arne Riise; Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano; Jermaine Pennant, Boudewijn Zenden, Steven Gerrard; Dirk Kuyt.

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