Destination Calcio feature by Calcio England
Ahead of Como’s clash with Milan this weekend, we look back at the equivalent contest 40 years ago when the Serie A upstarts travelled to San Siro plotting to spring a surprise on their esteemed hosts.
It was January 1985, and northern Italy was in the grip of an Arctic weather front as temperatures plunged as low as minus 20 degrees.
Expectations were modest for the lake-siders. Having recently achieved promotion to Serie A, Como’s commendable home form was being undermined by a recurrent travel sickness. As they approached the halfway point in the season, they had collected just a single point on the road.
A key frustration for coach Ottavio Bianchi had been the absence of his flagship foreign signings. Swedish international striker Dan Corneliusson had joined from Stuttgart, whilst midfielder Hansi Muller arrived from Inter. The latter had been a particular coup for Como; Muller had 42 caps for West Germany and was a regular starter for the Nerazzurri before the arrival of Liam Brady led to his departure.
However, a luckless sequence of injuries for Corneliusson and Muller meant the pair had scarcely played together. Como faced a resurgent Milan team. The Rossoneri were marshalled at the back by World Cup winner Franco Baresi and boasted the midfield steel of Agostino Di Bartolomei and the verve of Ray Wilkins.
This Milan team also featured a quartet of academy graduates: Filippo Galli, Sergio Battistini, Andrea Icardi and Alberico Evani, who were at the beginning of their careers but collectively would go on to make over 1,000 appearances in red and black.
The hosts were further strengthened by the return from injury of new signing, Englishman Mark Hateley. “Attila” had quickly won the hearts of Milanisti with five goals in his first five games at San Siro, including a towering header to seal victory in the Milan derby.
Nearly 50,000 hardy spectators had defied the ominous weather warnings to fill the stands at San Siro. They were greeted by a threadbare tundra that passed for a playing surface. The frost-bitten ground was rock-hard, while efforts to repair the goalmouths had left them with a distinctly sandy hue.
These were miserable conditions for football. From the sound of the referee’s first whistle, a fearless Como team took the game to their more illustrious opponents. The visitors applied pressure during the opening exchanges, gradually tightening their grip. On 25 minutes, Como won a free kick close to the byline. The resultant cross was only partially cleared, falling invitingly to Gianfranco Matteoli on the edge of the box. Como’s captain steadied himself before steering an exquisite volley into the corner of the goal. One-nil to the Lariani.
Slipping behind seemed to spark Milan into life, but their advances were countered by Como’s unyielding rearguard. Giovanni Guerrini succeeded where others had failed by containing the marauding Hateley, whilst Giuliano Giuliani looked assured in the visitors’ goal. At the other end of the field, Como continued to etch out their own opportunities with the intelligent movement of Corneliusson a thorn in Milan’s side.
Just before half-time, with the pitch now dusted with snow, Como’s own youth graduate Luca Fusi curled a ball into the box from the right-hand side. It was met perfectly by the head of Pasquale Bruno, who nodded the ball past Terraneo’s despairing reach. It was a maiden Serie A goal for the uncompromising Bruno, who would later earn cult status during spells with both Turin clubs and in Scotland with Hearts.
The Day Hell Froze Over
With a two-goal cushion, Como took control of the game in the second half. They were winning their personal duels across the pitch, their pressing and pace disrupting Milan’s rhythm. Hansi Muller was imperious in midfield, dictating the pace of the game to Como’s advantage.
However, Muller’s most profound contribution arguably came before kick-off. Anticipating the dismal conditions, he arranged for his boot sponsor, Adidas, to send a shipment of state-of-the-art astroturf trainers, which he had duly distributed amongst his teammates. By contrast, Milan’s stars tottered over the frozen surface, struggling for traction in their traditional studded footwear.
The driving snow intensified, diminishing visibility during the latter stages of the match. As the pitch markings became imperceptible, Como closed out the game to record their first away victory in Serie A for 32 years.
Their backline had been faultless all afternoon, and the presence of Como’s two foreign stars had brought guile and inventiveness to the performance. Como had taught their provincial rivals a lesson.
In the aftermath of the game, La Gazzetta eulogised about the performance of Como’s mercurial playmaker Matteoli, awarding him a score of 8 in their famously stringent rating system. Praising his mazy dribbling, acceleration and creativity, they gushingly christened him the “Maradona of Brianza”.
Milan coach Nils Liedholm wasn’t entirely gracious in his post-match assessment, apportioning blame for the defeat on the conditions.
Meanwhile, his counterpart, Bianchi, gave a cautionary view of the afternoon’s events, “It’s always a pleasure to win at San Siro, but this is only one game and our journey to salvation is long”.
As a jubilant Como departed for the Lake, the snow continued to fall. It wouldn’t relent for a full 72 hours in what would become known as Nevicata del Secolo (Snowfall of the Century). Meanwhile, in more temperate springtime conditions, Como proved that the victory had been no fluke by holding Milan to a creditable draw on home turf, confirming their Serie A survival in the process.
As they prepare to face Milan on Saturday evening, with a slender margin separating them from the relegation zone, Como will be hoping to channel the spirit of that unforgettable 1985 triumph.
13/1/85 – San Siro, Milan
AC Milan 0-2 Como (Matteoli 25’, Bruno 40’)
Milan XI: Terraneo, Baresi, Galli, Battistini, Di Bartolomei, Icardi, Verza, Wilkins, Evani, Virdis. Coach: Liedholm
Como XI: Giuliani, Ottoni, Guerrini, Tempestilli, Albiero, Bruno, Muller, Butti (Gobbo 90’), Corneliusson, Matteoli, Fusi. Coach: Bianchi
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