Some call it Hellas Verona, the others simply Verona. But to Milan fans, the club from Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi will forever be known as Fatal Verona. During their proud history, the red and blacks from Milan lost out in their title bids at Bentegodi on two separate occasions – in 1973 and 1990. Well, guess where the Serie A leaders are going this week…Nearly 50 years ago, the Rossoneri went to already-relegated Verona on the last day of the season. They needed to win to secure the title regardless of Juventus and Lazio results elsewhere. It later turned out that a point would have been enough. But Verona won 5-3 and burst the bubble for the legendary Gianni Rivera, the man who played for 19 years and won everything with Milan. That day, he only got the blues.(1/2) Milan’s match against Hellas Verona this weekend will bring up nightmares for older Milanisti..”Fatal Verona” was born in 1973, when the Rossoneri had a one point lead at the top of the table but lost 5-3 to Verona at the Bentegodi, allowing Juventus to win the Scudetto pic.twitter.com/OmCnmOWc5F— Matteo Bonetti (@Bonetti) May 3, 2022 Just four days after beating Leeds United to lift the European Cup Winners’ Cup, Milan’s perfect season took a painful blow, one that’s remembered to this day. They were tired and emotionally drained, and it showed. They allowed Verona to race into a 3-0 lead before realising what hit them. The damage was done.The game ended 5-3 for the Gialloblu. Milan players were reeling after the final whistle, still hoping that Lazio and Juve would slip up and let Milan off the hook. But even though Napoli had beaten Lazio, Juventus had done what they usually do – they scored late on to beat Roma and get over the finish line first. It was the day when the Rossoneri started to dislike Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi. Seventeen years later, they began to hate Verona’s stadium with passion.Sunday, 21.45: (4.60) Verona (3.70) Milan (1.85)Milan were an incredible team in 1990. They had the renowned Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard in the days when Italian clubs were allowed only three non-Italian players in their squads. Managed by Arrigo Sacchi, Milan were easily the best team in Europe, as they strolled to back-to-back Champions League wins. But at home, they were tied in a Scudetto race with Napoli, the team being carried by Diego Maradona. In the penultimate match of the season, Milan travelled to Verona to banish the old demons, but they failed miserably. Sacchi’s Milan implode at ‘Fatal Verona’ in 1990 #VeronaMilan #MartinTyler #90sfootball pic.twitter.com/dDtvaAS9Tf— MaraZola.com (@calcioinretro) May 2, 2022 In a match full of tension, Milan had their coach ejected from the game and three players sent off in the second half with the score tied at 1-1. Left with only ten men and no coach on the sideline, they collapsed and allowed Verona to score a late goal and shatter their dreams again. They won their last game of the season, but Napoli wouldn’t slip up, and Maradona’s boys won the title, leaving Milan to rue another disastrous trip to Bentegodi.Three decades have passed since the words “Fatal Verona” entered the minds of Milan fans everywhere. Three decades since the Veronese have been reminding Milan fans of those games from 1973 and 1990 every chance they’d get. Today, Milan top the Serie A table with three matchdays left. And on Sunday, the curse would either be confirmed or banished.🚨🚨 AC Milan are Getting Very Close to Winning Their First League Title in 11 years! 😍🏆❤️They Need 7 Points out of 9 Possible Points from Their 3 Remaining Games to Win The Scudetto :• Verona (✈️)• Atalanta (🏠)• Sassuolo (✈️)Can They Lift The Scudetto? 👀 pic.twitter.com/tCpWtOrM3p— AZR (@AzrOrganization) May 1, 2022 This time, Milan are nowhere near the best team in Europe. They were knocked out of the Champions League by finishing bottom of their group on their long-awaited return to the best club competition in Europe. And although they’ve got some excellent players, it would be a stretch to call them a star-studded team. But despite all that, they are in pole position for the title that they last won in the 2010/11 campaign. Verona have had a strange season. After one of the worst starts to a season in history, they appointed former Juventus midfielder Igor Tudor as their coach in place of Eusebio di Francesco and haven’t looked back since. They are in the top half of the table and can play with no pressure whatsoever on Sunday. That’s enough for Milan fans to count their prayers and hope that the adjective “fatal” won’t be associated with Verona in years to come.
