© „Imago Sport“
Former "Milan" director Paolo Taveggia shared interesting stories from the past. The Italian worked in the "Serie A" team from 1986-1993, when the team financed by Silvio Berlusconi was a major force both in their homeland and in Europe. One of the most memorable matches took place in the UEFA Cup semi-finals, when in the 1988-1989 season at San Siro stadium, Madrid's "Real" team was defeated 5-0. Apart from winning trophies, what gave me the most satisfaction was the 5-0 victory against the royal club. On the eve of the match, our goalkeeper Giovanni Galli complained to me that in the first match in Madrid, the opponent Sanchez spat in his face every time the player approached to take the ball. So, before the match in Milan, I asked referee Ponnet to pay attention to it, and Sanchez received a yellow card already after the first goal. After the overwhelmingly lost match, the opponent's player Bernd Schuster accused me: "You bought the referees!". And I replied: "If I had done that, we wouldn't have won 5-0. We are not like your directors who have bought referees many times." P. Taveggia also mentioned another match of that season against Belgrade's "Crvena Zvezda" team. Responding to the Serbs because of the thick smoke at their stadium, the return match was postponed to the next day, although the initial plan was different. "The referee blew the whistle to suspend the match and told me to wait for 45 minutes - only then it will be clear if the smoke has dispersed. I went to the dressing room and saw that 4-5 footballers were already taking a shower. They didn't understand that the match was not completely canceled yet. I had to act confused and tell the referee Dieter Pauly that I didn't understand English words and this would be the end of my career. So, the referee opened his room window and assured that the match would be played the next afternoon. The story did not end there - I couldn't fall asleep, so I asked the hotel receptionist what the best night club in Belgrade was. Together with "Milan" press officer Guido Susini, we called a taxi and I was convinced that we would see the referees there too. Funny, but after 30 minutes, a white "Mercedes" arrived, from which D. Pauly, the linesman and several girls, who were not with the "Crvena Zvezda" directors, stepped out. The referee noticed me and gave me a meaningful look: "I know what you're doing here and you know that I noticed you." I didn't say anything. The next day's match ended 1:1 and "Milan" triumphed after an 11-meter penalty shootout," said P. Taveggia.
