Five Magical San Siro Nights… Featuring The Toon Army and Jack White

A Champions League night under the lights at San Siro is spectacular. The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza is, much like Old Trafford, Anfield, Camp Nou and Santiago Bernabeu, one of the game’s grandest cathedrals.

As the European season kicks into gear, we look at some of San Siro’s highlights.

Marco van Basten soars one last time

In 1992 the European Cup was reborn as the Champions League. Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi was among the first to highlight how out of touch the old format, a straight knockout all the way to the final, was by the late 1980s.

As many leaders envisioned football as a television spectacle, the push came to introduce more games in Europe, and thus the Champions League was created. It is somewhat fitting that the rechristened competition’s first big moment came from a Milan player. 

In November 1992, the Rossoneri faced Swedish outfit IFK Goteborg at San Siro. The apple of Berlusconi’s eye, Marco van Basten, promptly put on a glorious display.

In the first game of the new group-stage format following two knockout rounds, the elegant Dutchman smashed in four goals in a comprehensive victory for Fabio Capello’s team.

Each of the four showcased just what the three-time Ballon d’Or winner could do, but it was his third of the night that encapsulated the brilliance of Van Basten, a bicycle kick from a Stefano Eranio cross.

Van Basten wasn’t to know it, but his days as a professional footballer were numbered. A month later, he was sidelined with an ankle injury and would just about make it back in time for the final, with Milan taking on Marseille in Munich.

After years of gruelling punishment from overzealous defenders, Van Basten’s ankles could withstand no more. Milan lost the final and it was to be Van Basten’s last game of professional football, at the age of 28.

The match against Goteborg was, with the sadness of hindsight, the last time the world ever got to see the Swan of Utrecht spread his wings. 

Man United finally slay a giant

English clubs had struggled to reassert themselves in European football in the years following the removal of the Heysel ban.

Leeds had lost to Rangers in 1992; Manchester United had lost to Galatasaray a year later; Blackburn had finished bottom of a hardly taxing group in 1995 and United had been knocked out by Borussia Dortmund and Monaco in 1997 and 1998 respectively.

When United travelled to face Inter in March 1999 at the quarter-final stage, there were nerves despite having a two-goal lead from the first leg. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men had been handed chastening away experiences against Juventus in the two prior seasons, and the aura of Serie A sides at the time meant overcoming psychological battles before a ball was even kicked.

Moreover, this was an Inter side that contained Javier Zanetti, Diego Simeone, Roberto Baggio and, most important of all, Ronaldo. Despite the lead, Ferguson and United had ghosts to banish.

Ferguson had played his usual mind games leading into the tie, including one of his all-time classic lines: “When an Italian tells me it’s pasta on the plate, I check under the sauce to make sure,” he said. “They are the inventors of the smokescreen.”

In the end, Ronaldo and Baggio, neither fully fit, flickered without ever truly springing to life. Nicola Ventola gave Inter the lead and hope of turning it around before Paul Scholes equalised to kill off any lingering faith. “They were all outstanding. They’ve deserved the result,” beamed Ferguson post-game. “There have been times in the past when we haven’t got the luck.”

United had finally knocked out a true giant in Europe, and it laid the foundation for going on to win the trophy two months later in Barcelona.

Toon Army take over and a song is born

Newcastle’s Champions League campaign in 2002-03 produced some memorable games. In the first group stage they were involved in titanic tussles with Juventus, and somehow qualified for the second group stage despite losing their opening three matches.

The second stage placed the Toon Army in a fearsome group with Inter, Barcelona and the previous year’s finalists, Bayer Leverkusen. In the November fixture, Inter demolished Bobby Robson’s men 4-1 at St James’ Park.

By the time the second game rolled around in March 2003, Newcastle were in a much better position, having beaten Leverkusen twice. A win at San Siro would put them in a great place to qualify and reach the quarter-final.

Estimates vary, but about 12,000 Newcastle fans made the trip to Milan and produced a tremendous racket inside the cavernous arena.

The Newcastle Evening Chronicle said about the travelling supporters: “A sea of black and white turned the San Siro into St James’ for a night… At half-time they were the stars of the two giant TV screens. The Italians – wrapped in overcoats, scarves and gloves despite the muggy conditions – were fascinated by the dozens of bare-chested fans in Newcastle’s end.”

Taking over the lower tier behind the goal, it was here that they started singing ‘Have You Ever Seen a Mackem in Milan?’ And to be fair, the song had a good run until the recent Europa League draw.

The game finished 2-2, with Alan Shearer claiming a brace, before a final-day loss to Barca and an Inter win in Germany signalled the end of their adventure. But that night in San Siro really was something special.

Seven Nation Army invades a stadium

Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes wasn’t intended to be a football song, but it is now part and parcel of the beautiful game.

Yet, what many don’t know, is that it started inside San Siro. The song was released in February 2003, the first track from the band’s fourth studio album. It charted high in several countries, including reaching number three in Italy.

And it’s here where the story picks up. Fast forward eight months to the autumn of 2003, and Belgian side Club Brugge are facing Champions League holders AC Milan at San Siro.

Brugge fans heard the song at some point in the hours before their game with the Rossoneri. The Belgians, unbelievably, then stunned the home side by securing a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Andres Mendoza. 

Jubilant after beating the champions, the Brugge faithful continued to sing the song post-game and took it home with them. From there, it made its way back to Italy in early 2006 when they were drawn against Roma in the UEFA Cup. 

The Giallorossi won 2-1 in Belgium, but it wasn’t just a lead they were bringing back to Italy, but Seven Nation Army also. “I had never heard the song before we stepped on the field in Bruges,” Roma captain Francesco Totti told a Dutch newspaper years later. 

“Since then, I can’t get the ‘Po po po po po poo pooo’ out of my head. It sounded fantastic and the crowd was immediately totally into it. I quickly went out and bought one of the band’s albums.”

Italy then adopted the song in the summer of 2006 as they secured their fourth World Cup, and, in the aftermath, the song started to seep into the football consciousness.

Now it’s an integral part of the fan experience, heard in grounds across the world. Twenty-three years after its release, it’s by far and away The White Stripes’ most recognisable song. “As a songwriter it is one of the things I am most proud of being a part of,” said singer Jack White on the enduring success.

Yet it all started on a random European night in Milan.

The night San Siro turned red

A 2005 quarter-final pitted Inter and AC Milan together in the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.

The Rossoneri had edged the 2003 semi on away goals, yes, scored in their own stadium. Two years later and the first leg had gone the way of the Rossoneri again, with Jaap Stam and Andriy Shevchenko scoring in a 2-0 win.

The second leg is where it really kicked off. Shevchenko, who took great delight in punishing Inter throughout his seven years in Italy, scored a spectacular goal from the edge of the area to make it 3-0 on aggregate. When an Esteban Cambiasso goal was ruled out by referee Markus Merk, Nerazzurri fans could hide their frustration no more.

Flares rained down from the Curva Nord, hitting Milan goalkeeper Dida on the shoulder. The game was suspended and amid the chaos, the famous picture of Inter’s Marco Materazzi with Milan’s elegant midfielder Manuel Rui Costa as the night sky turned bright red, was taken by photographer Stefano Rellandini.

“That image reminds me that football is not just fighting between supporters. It’s not just money. It’s not just business,” Rellandini said in 2023 Guardian interview. “I know that players from different teams are friends, they eat together at restaurants and spend free time together. When I look at that picture, I’m reminded that football is the most beautiful game in the world.”

It is one of the most iconic images in the history of the sport. “I started to take some pictures because the players were there against this backdrop of the smoke and flares,” Rellandini said. “I thought it was the best moment to illustrate what was going on during the break in play. As I was doing this, Materazzi put his elbow on Rui Costa for a few seconds, which said to me, ‘Time to take a rest, this is crazy’, so I made sure I took a picture of that image.”

Milan were handed a 3-0 win by UEFA, meaning a 5-0 aggregate loss for their city neighbours. Moreover, Inter were forced to play several games behind closed doors.