During the 1974–1975 season Milan Associazione Calcio competed in Serie A and Coppa Italia.
Summary
The new coach of Milan for the 1974–75 season is Gustavo Giagnoni. AC Milan is among the most active clubs on the market and sign, among others, goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi (from Cagliari), defenders Aldo Bet and Luciano Zecchini (from Verona and Turin respectively), midfielder Duino Gorin and forward Egidio Calloni (both from Varese). Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, on the other hand, left the team after nine seasons and the Rossoneri squad returned to being made up exclusively of players of Italian nationality (a condition that had not occurred since the 1944–45 season and which would last until 1981–82).
The season began with four group games in the first round of the Coppa Italia, where Milan obtained tow wins (with Perugia and Parma) and two draws (with Brescia and Cesena) closing the group in first place with 6 points and thus qualifying for the second round, which would be played at the end of the season, between May and June.
In the league, after the draw on the first day with Sampdoria and the defeat at Juventus in the second, Milan obtained nine consecutive games without defeats (four wins and five draws) which allowed them to move to the upper areas of the standings. The Rossoneri ended the first half of the season with 18 points, and in the second round they maintained the same performance, thus finishing the championship in fifth place with 36 points, the result of 12 wins, 12 draws and six defeats. The placement guaranteed Milan the qualification for the 1975-76 UEFA Cup.
Towards the end of the season, captain Gianni Rivera came into conflict with the president Albino Buticchi,[2] due to a plan of the latter to exchange the Golden Boy with Torino's Claudio Sala.[3] Rivera, embittered by this declaration, did not show up for training for two days,[4] and was put out of the squad. After confirmation as president of Buticchi by the AC Milan board of directors in May 1975, Rivera announced his decision to leave football. However, he would return to play the following season after acquiring the majority stake of the club from Buticchi, giving the control of the club to Bruno Pardi,[5] who in turn handed over the presidency of the club to Vittorio Duina, the new owner of Milan, in May 1976.
The season ended with the remaining matches of the Coppa Italia, where captaincy of the Rossoneri squad, given the absence of Rivera, was given to Romeo Benetti. Milan, in the group with Bologna, Inter and Juventus, obtained four wins, a draw and a defeat, and qualified for the final on 28 June 1975 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where they faced Fiorentina. Milan, after having recovered the advantage of the Viola twice, were beaten 3–2 by Fiorentina who thus won their fourth Coppa Italia.
Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
