The Cup final opposed Milan to Sampdoria. To a point, both finalists were a bit unexpected: neither team was all that great, compared to some others. Sampdoria never reached a final before; Milan played – and won – the Cup final in 1977 for the last time. After that… it was bribing scandal, penalties, second division, the club was just coming back from its terrible years and was not yet great shape. Victory was very important for either team, it was a close call, so it was laughable even to suggest a favourite, Milan had history on his side and that was the most advantage one can thing of. Sampdoria made very important step toward winning the Cup in Milan, where they won 1-0. In the second leg, at home, they prevailed 2-1 and it was fantastic to receive the Cup in front of their excited and delirious fans.
Milan lost – they were ascending, no doubt, but lost minimally their first attempt at winning a trophy after the years of decline. But their time did not come yet, and the squad betrays why: not a bad team, but unfinished. Perhaps their imports made the tiny difference: Ray Wilkins was getting old, Mark Hateley, for all his good playing, was hardly a top-class star. In terms of winning… well, neither of them was a winner in England. No wonder the seeds of the future great Milan were only Maldini and Baresi – even Casiraghi became top Italian goalkeeper and national team choice when playing for another club. Too bad Milan lost, but it was early for them to win.
Sampdoria wan the Cup, instantly becoming a legend: it was first ever trophy for the club. It was also a completion of extraordinary season: given who played in Italy at the moment, both winners of the season were underdogs. First title for Verona, first Cup for Sampdoria, first ever trophy for both clubs, won in that particular time, when ‘reason’ declares that other clubs were natural winners. Hard to believe today, but at the time Sampdoria was still considered relatively small and insignificant club, similar to Verona, not the likes of Juventus, Inter, Milan, even Roma. Even at home Sampdoria was still the second club – even in decline, Genoa was the bigger club, not only the older, but also very successful. Yes, Genoa played big role in very distant past, but Sampdoria was still the new kid in the block, relative newcomer even to first division football. Their ascend was very recent and perhaps many could not take seriously, given traditional insignificance. But the boys won and they were not just some nobodies – even compared to Verona, Sampdoria looked mightier: Graeme Souness, Trevor Francis, Ivano Bordon, Pietro Vierchowod, highly talented future great stars Mancini and Vialli. It was not a squad assembled just for one-two great years – it was a team with looking at the future, long term vision. A victory not so much confirmed Sampdoria’s good built, but mostly a victory spurring the process of building: confirming the road taken was right, giving one more stepping stone, fueling ambition and confidence. Sampdoria needed victory more than Milan, that was clear, and the hungrier team got the Cup. Wonderful! Double wonderful – Verona and Sampdoria getting ahead of Platini’s Juventus, Maradona’s Napoli, Zico’s Udinese, Socrates’ Fiorentina, Baresi’s Milan, Rummenigge’s Inter , Falcao’s Roma. Must be said even one more time: the underdogs won everything in the season of the greatest in the world playing all in Italy.
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