THE VITALS:

Team: AC Milan

Brand: Adidas

Era: 2005-06 (Used for the 2005-06 Serie A season)

Name/Number: Maldini #3

CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This classic shirt comes to you in nothing short of excellent condition! There little to no blemishes to speak of, with the shirt material, vinyl 3-stripes down the sleeves, club crest, Adidas embroidery, sponsor decal and name and numbering are all immaculate!

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Small

Pit to Pit Measurement: 19 inches

Shirt Length: 28.5 inches

Made by Adidas in their ‘ClimaCool’ range of shirts which they introduced in 2005; although not as baggy as some of the football shirts in the mid-2000’s, this shirt would still likely fit a size medium based on the dimensions.

DESCRIPTION: 

Taking suit from the previous season; Adidas would retain red as the main shirt colour for AC Milan’s home shirt for the 2005-06 season! While the dynamic and flashy 2004-05 home shirt almost bled red, this effort was a far more conservative effort which integrated black into the upper arm of the sleeves and the use of conventional stripes, while a classic fold-over collar was used for the first time since the 1998-2000 home shirt. This would also be the last season of the Milan pantheon to use the Opel based sponsorships, with the Zafira wording adorning the front of the shirt. This would be final home shirt to be worn by club legend – Andriy Shevchenko during his first spell with the club, as well Manuel Rui Costa, Jaap Stam and even Christian Vieri during his short-lived tenure with the red side of Milan as they reached the semi-final of the Champions League and battled Juventus tooth and nail for the 2005-06 Scudetto, finishing runners-up, before the Calciopoli scandal reduced them to a 3^rd place finish!

THE SEASON: 

The 2004-05 season was on course to be a resounding success after winning the Supercoppa Italiana , however, they would lose their Scudetto title by 6 points and then fall to Liverpool in the final of the Champions League under the most dramatic of circumstances, otherwise known as the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’!

Carlo Ancelotti’s charges would have to dust themselves off ahead of what was going to be another war on all fronts in 2005-06, however, they would have to do so without Hernan Crespo who returned back to Chelsea after his season long loan, while the heroics of Jon Dahl Tomasson would also be missed as he traded Milan for Stuttgart after 3 seasons. Milan would prepare adequately however, as the highly sought after Alberto Gilardino and Marek Jankulovski were signed from Parma and Udinese respectively, while Johann Vogel was signed on a free transfer from PSV Eindhoven!

Milan’s poor form from the end of the 2004-05 season bled into the new season as they went 1-1-1 in their first 3 games of the new season! After their shock defeat to Sampdoria on 18^tH September, the team would get their act together and reel off 8 straight victories which included both Lazio and Juventus! After falling 3-2 to Internazionale in the Derby della Madonnina on 11^th December; Milan would lose just 2 more times all season! However, not even 18 wins from their remaining 23 games and winning 88 points - enough to win any other preceding Serie A season in history, was still not enough to unseat Juventus who accrued 91 points, as they would have to settle for another runners-up berth.

The Coppa Italia journey would be very disappointing as they were upset by Palermo in the quarter final of the Italian Cup.

One of the perennial favourites to win the UEFA Champions League; Milan’s quest for a 7^th European Cup began in Group E where they were drawn alongside: Fenerbahce, Schalke 04 and last season’s semi-final rival – PSV Eindhoven, and as expected, would qualify for the Last 16 as they claimed 1^st place.

Up next in Last 16, was Bayern Munich, who had also beaten Juventus in the Group Stage. Milan’s first appearance in the newly built Allianz Arena in the 1^st Leg ended 1-1 before handily beating the German giants 3-1 in the 2^nd Leg. The quarter-final yielded the highly-feared tournament dark-horses – Olympique Lyonnais. After a goalless draw in France, Milan would again win the 2^nd Leg by a 3-1 score-line, thanks to very late goals from Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko. The semi-final would be super showdown between themselves and FC Barcelona, and after a 1-0 defeat at home in the 1^st Leg, they were unable to overturn the deficit as a goalless draw unfolded in Spain; thus painfully ending the journey in the semi-final!

The notable players that season were:

Alberto Gilardino, Andriy Shevchenko, Filippo Inzaghi, Marcio Amoroso, Kaka, Clarence Seedorf, Rui Costa, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Massimo Ambrosini, Johann Vogel, Serginho, Kakha Kaladze, Marek Jankulovski, Alessandro Costacurta, Cafu, Paolo Maldini, Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta, Dida