1978–79 AC Milan season

Milan Associazione Calcio
1978–79 season
Owner	Felice Colombo
President	Felice Colombo
Manager	Nils Liedholm
Stadium	San Siro
Serie A	1st; 10th title ; (in European Cup)
Coppa Italia	First round
UEFA Cup	Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Bigon (12); All: Bigon (17)
Average home league attendance	48,358
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1977–78 1979–80 →

During the 1978–1979 season, Milan Associazione Calcio competed in Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup.

Summary

The summer of 1978 saw the signings of Walter De Vecchi, Walter Novellino and Stefano Chiodi, while Giuseppe Sabadini, Maurizio Turone and Egidio Calloni left Milan after a long spell at the club. The 1978-79 season started with the elimination in the first round of the Coppa Italia, where Milan closed group 4 in second place with five points, thanks to two victories against Lecce and Foggia in the first two days, the defeat against SPAL in the third and the draw in the fourth and final match with Catanzaro, who qualified for the quarter-finals with a 2-point lead over the Rossoneri.

In the league, Milan achieved four wins and a draw in the first five games, taking the lead in the standings with nine points. In the following match, the Rossoneri lost at home to the reigning Italian champions Juventus and left the top of the rankings to Perugia. The Umbrians were joined by the Rossoneri two rounds later and passed on matchday 11; Milan closed the first half of the season at the top of the table, with 25 points with Perugia three lengths behind. In the second half of the season, the dualism with the Umbrian team continued; Milan arrived on the matchday 25 against Perugia with a two-point lead which they maintained thanks to the 1-1 draw. On May 6, 1979, on the penultimate game of the championship, Milan could celebrate the conquest of their long-awaited tenth Scudetto, that of the first stella, thanks to a goalless draw with Bologna. Perugia (runner-up) ended the championship undefeated, first among the Italian teams to succeed in such an achievement (equaled by the Rossoneri who won the Serie A in 1991-1992 and by Juventus in 2011-2012).

In the UEFA Cup the Rossoneri eliminated the Czechoslovaks of Lokomotíva Košice on penalties in the round of 64 (1-0 home win in the first leg and defeat with the same result in the second leg in Košice) and the Bulgarians of Levski Spartak in the round of 32 (1-1 in Sofia and 3-0 in Milan). In the round of 16, Milan faced English side Manchester City who, after a 2-2 draw at San Siro, eliminated the Rossoneri and qualified for the next round thanks to a 3-0 victory at Maine Road.

At the end of the season, captain Gianni Rivera retired from football, after 19 seasons with the club in which he played 658 matches (a record at the time) scoring 164 goals.^[2] Nils Liedholm also left Milan to move to Roma, due to contractual disagreements with the management.

One of the most iconic scenes of the season, and of the entire career of Gianni Rivera, occurred on the day of the aforementioned title-winning game against Bologna. The San Siro was undergoing some maintenance work in a section of the second tier, but, before the start of the game, some fans invaded that area, putting themselves and those in the surroundings at risk. The probability was high that, if the situation was not resolved quickly, the sports judge would have forfeited the match with a defeat for Milan. Thus, Rivera took the microphone and improvised a speech to the crowd where he explained the situation and warned about the risk of a forfeited game. The tifosi, trusting their idol, slowly evacuated the area, allowing the match to start regularly, 26 minutes later than scheduled.^[3]

Squad

^[4] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ITA	Enrico Albertosi
—	GK	ITA	Antonio Rigamonti
—	DF	ITA	Franco Baresi
—	DF	ITA	Aldo Bet
—	DF	ITA	Simone Boldini
—	DF	ITA	Fulvio Collovati
—	DF	ITA	Aldo Maldera
—	DF	ITA	Alberto Minoia
—	MF	ITA	Alberto Bigon (vice captain)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ITA	Ruben Buriani
—	MF	ITA	Fabio Capello
—	MF	ITA	Walter De Vecchi
—	MF	ITA	Giorgio Morini
—	MF	ITA	Walter Novellino
—	MF	ITA	Gianni Rivera (captain)
—	FW	ITA	Roberto Antonelli
—	FW	ITA	Stefano Chiodi
—	FW	ITA	Giovanni Sartori

Transfers

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
MF	Walter De Vecchi	Monza
MF	Walter Novellino	Perugia
FW	Stefano Chiodi	Bologna

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
DF	Giuseppe Sabadini	Catanzaro
DF	Maurizio Turone	Catanzaro
FW	Egidio Calloni	Hellas Verona
FW	Luciano Gaudino	A.S. Bari
FW	Ugo Tosetto	Avellino
FW	Sergio Valentinuzzi	Savona

Competitions

^[5]

Serie A

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Milan (C)	30	17	10	3	46	19	+27	44	Qualification to European Cup
2	Perugia	30	11	19	0	34	16	+18	41	Qualification to UEFA Cup
3	Juventus	30	12	13	5	40	23	+17	37	Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup
4	Internazionale	30	10	16	4	38	24	+14	36	Qualification to UEFA Cup
5	Torino	30	11	14	5	35	23	+12	36	Qualification to UEFA Cup

Source: Panini
(C) Champions

Result by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A
Result	W	W	D	W	W	L	W	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	D	W	D	D	D	L	D	W	W	W	D	D
Position	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed; = Leader, 1979–80 European Cup; = 1979–80 UEFA Cup

Matches

1 October 1978 1	Milan	1–0	Avellino	Milan
	Buriani 79'	Report		Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 42,147 Referee: Mattei

8 October 1978 2	Roma	0–3	Milan	Roma
		Report	15' Maldera 38' (pen), 61' (pen) Chiodi	Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Attendance: 69,410 Referee: Agnolin

15 October 1978 3	Milan	0–0	Ascoli	Milan
		Report		Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 45,149 Referee: D'Elia

22 October 1978 4	Atalanta	1–3	Milan	Milan
	Garritano 31' (pen)	Report	3' Maldera 35' (pen), 60' (pen) Chiodi	Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 31,788 Referee: Reggiani

29 October 1978 5	Milan	4–1	Fiorentina	Milan
	Minoia 5' Bigon 16', 39', 80'	Report	29' Amenta	Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 46,136 Referee: Ciulli

5 November 1978 6	Juventus	1–0	Milan	Torino
	Bettega 2'	Report		Stadium: Stadio Comunale Attendance: 66,377 Referee: D'Elia

12 November 1978 7	Milan	1–0	Inter	Milan
	Maldera 49'	Report		Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 65,965 Referee: Michelotti

19 November 1978 8	Lanerossi Vicenza	2–3	Milan	Vicenza
	Paolo Rossi 45' Guidetti 89'	Report	8' Maldera 65' Bigon 80' Boldini	Stadium: Stadio Romeo Menti Attendance: 30,572 Referee: Menicucci

26 November 1978 9	S.S.C. Napoli	1–1	Milan	Napoli
	Savoldi 4'	Report	57' De Vecchi	Stadium: Stadio San Paolo Attendance: 68,185 Referee: Ciulli

3 December 1978 10	Milan	1–1	Perugia	Milan
	Antonelli 62'	Report	3' Vannini	Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 44,825 Referee: Longhi

10 December 1978 11	Milan	1–0	Torino	Milan
	De Vecchi 3'	Report		Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 37,415 Referee: Menicucci

17 December 1978 12	Hellas Verona	1–3	Milan	Verona
	Spinozzi 62'	Report	54' Novellino 63' Antonelli 73' De Vecchi	Stadium: Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi Attendance: 30,917 Referee: Reggiani

7 January 1979 13	Milan	4–0	Catanzaro	Milan
	Chiodi 16' Bigon 21' Novellino 76' Antonelli 81'	Report		Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 35,309 Referee: Lo Bello

14 January 1979 14	Bologna	0–1	Milan	Bologna
		Report	61' Maldera	Stadium: Comunale Attendance: 47,709 Referee: Menegali

21 January 1979 15	Milan	2–0	Lazio	Milan
	Maldera 16' Bigon 65'	Report		Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 39,090 Referee: Pieri

28 January 1979 16	Avellino	1–0	Milan	Avellino
	Vincenzo Romano 14'	Report		Stadium: Stadio Partenio Attendance: 47,286 Referee: Michelotti

4 February 1979 17	Milan	1–0	Roma	Milan
	Antonelli 80' (pen)	Report		Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 46,396 Referee: Milan

11 February 1979 18	Ascoli	0–1	Milan	Ascoli Piceno
		Report	30' Maldera	Stadium: Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca Attendance: 37,256 Referee: Ciulli

18 February 1979 19	Milan	1–1	Atalanta	Milan
	Bigon 24'	Report	42' Tavola	Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 44,532 Referee: Lattanzi

4 March 1979 20	Fiorentina	2–3	Milan	Firenze
	Lelj 44' Baresi 65' (o.g.)	Report	5' Maldera 35', 53' Bigon	Stadium: Stadio Comunale Attendance: 55,140 Referee: Benedetti

11 March 1979 2	Milan	0–0	Juventus	Milan
		Report		Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 65,235 Referee: Michelotti

18 March 1979 22	Inter Milan	2–2	Milan	Milan
	Oriali 50' Altobelli 78'	Report	80', 89' De Vecchi	Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 64,868 Referee: Agnolin

25 March 1979 23	Milan	0–0	Lanerossi Vicenza	Milan
		Report		Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 43,806 Referee: Longhi

1 April 1979 24	Milan	0–1	Napoli	Milan
		Report	40' Majo	Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 51,311 Referee: Menicucci

8 April 1979 25	Perugia	1–1	Milan	Perugia
	Casarsa 17' (pen)	Report	15' (pen) Chiodi	Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi Attendance: 28,717 Referee: Agnolin

14 April 1979 26	Torino	0–3	Milan	Torino
		Report	41', 53' Bigon 45' (pen) Chiodi	Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino Attendance: 56,429 Referee: Lattanzi

22 April 1979 27	Milan	2–1	Hellas Verona	Milan
	Rivera 47' Novellino 84'	Report	24' Calloni	Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 51,247 Referee: Ciulli

29 April 1979 28	Catanzaro	1–3	Milan	Catanzaro
	Ranieri 52'	Report	48' Maldera 58' Novellino 89' Antonelli	Stadium: Stadio Comunale Attendance: 25,491 Referee: Longhi

6 May 1979 29	Milan	0–0	Bologna	Milan
		Report		Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 65,044 Referee: Menicucci

13 May 1979 30	Lazio	1–1	Milan	Roma
	Bruno Giordano 32'	Report	8' Bigon	Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Attendance: 53,550 Referee: Terpin

Coppa Italia

First round

Group 4

30 August 1978 1	Lecce	2–3	Milan	Lecce
	Biondi 36' Magistrelli 69' (pen)		10' Rivera 14', 64' Bigon	Stadium: Comunale Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Vittorio Benedetti

3 September 1978 2	Milan	3–0	Foggia	Milan
	Maldera 37' (pen), 55' Chiodi 48'			Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 22,146 Referee: Prati

10 September 1978 3	SPAL	3–1	Milan	Ferrara
	Pezzato 24', 88' Gibellini 42'		85' Maldera	Stadium: Comunale Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Menegali

17 September 1978 4	Milan	2–2	Catanzaro	Milan
	Chiodi 19' (pen) Bet 65'		59' Ranieri 89' (pen) Palanca	Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 34,236 Referee: Agnolin

UEFA Cup

First round

13 September 1978	Milan	1–0	FC Lokomotíva Košice	Milan
	Novellino 34'			Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 34,529 Referee: Charles Scerri

27 September 1978	FC Lokomotíva Košice	1–0 (6–7 p)	Milan	Kosice
	Ján Kozák 81'			Stadium: Stadion Lokomotiva Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Renggli
	Penalties
	Kozák Ujhely Jacko Móder Suchánek Dobrovič Fecko Repík		Maldera Novellino Chiodi Buriani Antonelli Morini De Vecchi Baresi

Round of 32

19 October 1978	Levski Spartak	1–1	Milan	Sofia
	Milkov 12'		11' Chiodi	Stadium: Georgi Asparuhov Attendance: 55,000 Referee: Linemayr

1 November 1978	Milan	3–0	Levski Spartak	Milan
	Maldera 12' Bigon 40' Chiodi 75'			Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 24,635 Referee: Gordon

Eightfinals

23 November 1978	Milan	2–2	Manchester City	Milan
	Bigon 59', 82'		37' Kidd 57' Power	Stadium: Stadio San Siro Attendance: 27,102 Referee: Einbeck

6 December 1978	Manchester City	3–0 ^[6]	Milan	Manchester
	Booth 15' Hartford 31' Kidd 43'			Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Aldinger

Statistics

Squad statistics

Competition^[7]	Points	Home						Away						Total						GD
Competition^[7]	Points	G	W	D	L	Gs	Ga	G	W	D	L	Gs	Ga	G	W	D	L	Gs	Ga	GD
1978-79 Serie A	44	15	8	6	1	18	5	15	9	4	2	28	14	30	17	10	3	46	19	+27
1978-79 Coppa Italia	–	2	1	1	0	5	2	2	1	0	1	4	5	4	2	1	1	9	7	+2
1978-79 UEFA Cup	–	3	2	1	0	6	2	3	0	1	2	1	5	6	2	2	2	7	7	0
Total	–	20	11	8	1	29	9	20	10	5	5	33	24	40	21	13	6	62	33	+29

Players statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		1978–79 Serie A		1978-79 Coppa Italia		1978-79 UEFA Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ITA	Albertosi	40	-33	30	-19	4	-7	6	-7
	DF	ITA	Collovati	34	0	27	0	2	0	5	0
	DF	ITA	Baresi	40	0	30	0	4	0	6	0
	DF	ITA	Bet	27	1	17	0	4	1	6	0
	DF	ITA	Maldera	40	13	30	9	4	3	6	1
	MF	ITA	Novellino	40	5	30	4	4	0	6	1
	MF	ITA	Bigon	34	17	26	12	4	2	4	3
	MF	ITA	Buriani	39	1	29	1	4	0	6	0
	MF	ITA	De Vecchi	37	5	28	5	4	0	5	0
	FW	ITA	Chiodi	33	11	24	7	4	2	5	2
	FW	ITA	Antonelli	29	5	21	5	3	0	5	0
	GK	ITA	Rigamonti	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ITA	Rivera	22	2	13	1	4	0	5	1
	MF	ITA	Morini	19	0	14	0	2	0	3	0
	DF	ITA	Boldini	16	1	14	1	0	0	2	0
	MF	ITA	Capello	11	0	8	0	0	0	3	0
	FW	ITA	Sartori	13	0	7	0	4	0	2	0
	DF	ITA	Minoia	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	0

Source: http://calcio-seriea.net/presenze/1978/808/

References

^ "Attendance Statistics of Serie A". stadiapostcards.com.
^ "6 maggio 1979". archiviostorico.gazzetta.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^ "Il discorso di Rivera". guerinsportivo.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2023.
^ "ACM Squad". footballsquads.co.uk.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Milan season 78–79" (PDF).
^ suspended on 5 December 1978 due to fog: Almanacco illustrato del Milan, 2ª ed., March 2005 (in Italian), Panini, p. 419.
^ "Milan Associazione Calcio 1979–80" (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 14 June 2021.

External links

[1] "Attendance Statistics of Serie A". stadiapostcards.com.

[2] "6 maggio 1979". archiviostorico.gazzetta.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2023.

[3] "Il discorso di Rivera". guerinsportivo.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2023.

[4] "ACM Squad". footballsquads.co.uk.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[5] "Milan season 78–79" (PDF).

[6] suspended on 5 December 1978 due to fog: Almanacco illustrato del Milan, 2ª ed., March 2005 (in Italian), Panini, p. 419.

[7] "Milan Associazione Calcio 1979–80" (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 14 June 2021.

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