In October 1972 AC Milan humbled opponents Atalanta 9-3 in a record breaking encounter, which may never be repeated.
Game-week 19 in the 2014/15 Serie A season sees AC Milan welcome Atalanta to the San Siro as the two Lombardy sides contest their first fixture against one another this season.
The corresponding fixture last season saw the Rossoneri run out 3-0 victors, but looking further back than that, this is a match-up that will always be remembered in Italian football. On October 15th, 1972, Milan overcame their Nerazzurri visitors 9-3 (yes, NINE goals to THREE) in a historic encounter. The match has since been referred to as ‘La Grande Abbuffata’ or, The Great Feast.
The match represents a Serie A record for the most goals scored in a game since it became a single league format. A total of twelve goals in a game is a feat that is unlikely to be beaten for quite some time, if ever.
This is a game that continues to leave Italian football experts scratching their heads. It completely contradicts the teachings of Italian football and everything it represents, or at least what it once did. Though it is still the case, this was an age when smaller teams were set up to do one thing – secure a draw.
One account of the match labelled it “an indescribable mess,” a criticism that also has been levelled at the Bergamo club’s tactical setup in the middle, as they allowed Gianni Rivera and Pierino Prati to roam free at any opportunity. The 1969 European footballer of the year took full advantage of this and finished the match with two goals, while Prati bagged a hat-trick.
The below YouTube clip shows the mess that was the Atalanta defence, allowing free headers and freely roaming attacking-midfielders to do as they please. What makes the result more astonishing is that, at times, Atalanta appeared to be lining up with nine players playing as defenders.
The result became so shocking that chants condemning Atalanta as a Serie B club were even muted. The San Siro was, at times, engulfed in a stunned silence.
Milan’s Romeo Benetti stated afterwards they scored so many goals not to make fun of their opponents, rather the opposite.
“We scored whenever the opportunity presented itself, that was the best way to honour our opponent,” he said.
Ironically, Atalanta’s attacking play was praised, after all, they scored three times against Milan. But as Benetti went on to say, “a team that conceded nine goals can have no excuses.”
The impact the loss had on the Atalanta players is hard to fully comprehend. It is perhaps comparable to the nationwide devastation in Brazil after they lost that infamous 1950 World Cup ‘final’ against Uruguay.
The Nerazzurri replaced their goalkeeper, Pietro Pianta after 56 minutes, with the score at 7-2. Evidently traumatised, coach Giulio Corsini described the experienced goalkeeper as “shaking like a leaf. He did not understand what happened. It was impossible to leave it out on the field.”
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL3V9YQ6wMc[/youtube]
As far as this weekend’s clash is concerned, I think we can definitively rule out a twelve goal thriller, as both sides have been struggling for form this season.
